27 Comments

thank you, Mike. we voted on 1st day of early voting here in Asheville. was a great scene, crowded and joyous, they had cases of water and a food truck and people were thrilled to be together after the first few weeks post-Helene. but I'm preparing to hunker down at home for last days of voting and some weeks after. we best be prepared for the next few months. I hope people understand where we are now. not only is Trump teeing up violence, the Bezos capitulation is, as JVL points out, not a journalism story, its the story of obeying in advance, and if one of the richest men in the world thinks he'd best kiss the hem to avoid retribution (the announcement of no endorsement came the same day Bezos' space company and Bezos himself met with Trump).

we thought we were on the precipice of falling. looks like we're partway down the hill.

not giving up, of course. but def scared. that's never stopped me before.

Expand full comment

Lesley - Asheville? Y'all have been thru a lot already. Bless you & yours. I don't believe you're the giving-up type, and you've got a country of brothers & sisters all around you. It makes sense to be scared in some situations, AND we're all gonna keep moving forward together.

Expand full comment

Excellent piece, Mike.

Expand full comment

Thanks Susan

Expand full comment

Thanks, Mike, for writing this. My mouth kept dropping open watching it. Truly sickening. I can’t understand why the racism and misogyny isn’t a non-starter for almost everyone I know. And I don’t know how to get them to see it (Fox talking heads probably won’t point it out) or to care if they do see it. It’s depressing. On the bright side, tomorrow morning I am meeting up with my 19 year old daughter to early vote. It is now tradition for us to vote together and go for lunch afterwards. I can’t wait.

Expand full comment

Take her to BBQ

Expand full comment

Or Whole Foods has a great cafeteria. The original store is in Austin

Expand full comment

Ha! You should see it😉 But we have to meet down south since she’s coming up fr San Antonio. Probably go for some pho nearby.

Expand full comment

Thanks Mike for some hopefulness on the Puerto Rican votes in PA. Ballot boxes got burned down in WA-03 is both scary and dangerous. MAGA mob is hell bent on using every means to sow chaos, and Trump thrives in chaos. Hope we all link hand and beat back this monster movement.

Expand full comment

Mike, we appreciate your sounding the alarm. Tonight's hate-fest was yet another brick in the wall Trump seeks to build between Americans. He has a cult. We have each other - a diverse, often disconnected bunch of amazing people. Thank you for giving us a place to connect, to talk about our situation, to learn more about what's happening, to rally each other & ourselves for this ongoing work. May we keep faith together.

Expand full comment

I couldn't make it through the so-called 'comedian' before I needed a shower. Had to turn it off. The venue was a conscious choice, the demeaning and scapegoating of POC was vile and deliberate targeting. Personally, I think Trump knows he's going to lose this election; this 'rally' was about priming the mob for afterwards.

That gathering at Madison Square Garden is the dark, violent underbelly of our country that's been allowed to crawl out into daylight because of Trump. It makes me nauseous. Supporting Trump now, knowing what he is, is a character flaw in my judgment. They can wave all the flags they want to, wear the biggest crosses they can find, and it won't make them patriotic or decent people. Ever. Not after this.

I feel confident that VP Harris is going to win this election, but the Biden administration and lots of state governments are going to have to do their damndest to secure the result. IMO defeating Trump is just the first step. The hard work begins when we start stamping out every last trace of MAGA.

Expand full comment

I am from Puerto Rico and those comments made my blood boil!! I hope enough puertorricans see this and vote accordingly!!!!

Expand full comment

I hear you, amiga, and this old anglo is boiling right along with you. We are all in this TOGETHER. That kind of hate and division has no place in our shared culture.

Expand full comment

Amen

Expand full comment

I guess my question at this point is ... are officials prepared for this issue at polling and counting places? How do they prevent disruption?

Expand full comment

Thank you, Mike, and thank you for your book, The Latino Century!

Expand full comment

Help NuestroPAC spread the word. As of this morning they have already raised $30K to text every Puerto Rican voter in PA, and are expanding to other states. Here's Chuck Rocha's tweet with a donation link included.

---

Can someone please give @NuestroPAC $30,000 so I can text this to every Puerto Rican voter in Pennsylvania https://secure.actblue.com/donate/nuestropac

Expand full comment

Wish things would go back to at least “kind of Normal” at least…

Expand full comment

I think Mike's observation on Twitter yesterday was so astute:

"We’re so immune to Trumps racist outbursts no one would’ve said much if he made the comments.

It was jarring because we heard it from another voice, and that reminded us how horrible it all is."

I think it was also newly shocking and repellant because the "comedian" told such low, gross, aggressively dirty jokes -- designed to humiliate their targets and, as Mike has also observed, encourage violence by Trump supporters, rather than to amuse anyone.

There's a lot on television that is sexy or erotic, but it's generally designed to entice rather than disgust, or it happens in crime shows, where it's treated seriously. Trump himself alludes to sex but doesn't cross a certain line, perhaps because of how old-fashioned he is. Even his recent remarks about Arnold Palmer that drew so much attention were obliquely worded: children in the family living room would have had no idea that Trump was talking about Arnold Palmer's dick on the TV.

Trump is appealing to his supporters' worst instincts. This doesn't augur well for the coming months.

Expand full comment

A lot of content for commercials from tonight's Klan rally at MSG.

SHE WILL WIN!

Expand full comment

JW - yes, SHE will because WE are with her

Expand full comment

Didn’t realize that Puerto Ricans were a plurality in PA. Thanks for the edification. Heading to Santa Rosa tomorrow for 10 days w my 2 grand-daughters, 7mos & 6yo, who should keep me busy - and distracted - til Nov 6. Already voted here in the grainy waffle, my ballot has been received and counted.

I appreciate your posts so much. You helped keep me sane 4 yrs ago and I trust you and your numbers.

Expand full comment

People also need to be made aware that lower level offices on the ballot might be what actually chooses our next president: not the popular vote, nor even the electoral college – but rather our next president could be chosen in a Trumpist electoral coup through a “contingent election” (which is what Trump was referring to regarding his “little secret” with Mike Johnson at the Madison Square Garden rally). Voting a COMPLETE ballot, and if you split your ticket voting strategically for certain lower level offices, is crucial to stopping it. See the article linked below with a Rachel Maddow clip to learn more about what a contingent election is, and to know what you’re doing when you vote. A vote at the top of the ticket is not enough – independents and Republican cross-over voters, this goes especially for you. Share the article so that the 30% of voters who normally don’t vote a complete ballot will learn about the importance of doing so. Spread the word.

https://crisafulli.substack.com/p/vote-blue-down-ballot-or-house-may-elect-trump

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Oct 28Edited
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

Yes, and speaking of under the radar, what has Erik Prince been up to, I wonder?

Expand full comment