When Matt started DCW back in 2005, the world was a different place in so many ways. When Oreo and I joined him a couple years later the world had such promise.
I’ve been thinking back recently as I watch the 2020 campaigns unfold. And I’m thinking about our kids who were so cute and little back then – close to adults now. And the grandkid who wasn’t even a twinkle in his parents’ eyes back then. I think about “we bloggers” and our readership and what we are leaving our kids and their kids…cue the popcorn, and settle in, this is going to take a while.
First, a shout out to TMess who keeps posting here about what the courts are doing. I so appreciate his work, as his posts are both deep and informative, and in certain ways, the courts are all we really have left unless we pull it together.
Back in 2008, we spent a lot of time on the Super Delegates – because they held the keys to the kingdom. We had scoops on the upcoming convention, and also projected individual Senate races, and overall looks at House races. And the snark, THE SNARK.
Two quick memories: first, Vito Fossella, my favorite criminal Congressman. Yeah, yeah, he didn’t steal any money, he didn’t do appreciable jail time….but WOW! the hubris. If you don’t recall, Vito represented the old 13th on Staten Island. He was arrested in Rossyln for blowing a .18 and taken to the station because that’s automatic jail time in Virginia. Did Vito call his wife for bail money? Nope. Did he call his Chief of Staff who lived walking distance from the police station? Nope. He called his girlfriend. She rushed over, and it was the middle of the night, so she brought her 3 year old, who was half asleep, and awoke with all the lights and noise, looked around and yelled “DADDY!!!”
PRICELESS!
In summary, he cried on the House floor about how alcoholism was a disease, he refused to resign, and initially committed to running for re-election because (and I quote since he often spoke about himself in the third person) “I have to run, the people love Vito”. His wife, unlike most political wives in a pale suit with pearls and a steely expression, did not stand with him. In the end, his career was over, and when he made another foray to get his seat back a few years later, it didn’t go well.
Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins are going to go to jail, Michael Grimm did – but none is a spectacular a flame out as Vito. Good times.
My second memory is from the DNC meeting in DC to discuss what should happen to the Florida and Michigan delegates. The states had gone too early in the process and there was a question about how many delegates would be seated, and how their votes would be allocated. The meeting was a couple weeks before we lost Tim Russert, and his team was out in force at the hotel where the meeting was being held.
A few days before, there had been a photograph of the room where NBC was tracking Super Delegates, with the walls filled with notes and charts. At the time, DCW was the only place where we listed names and counts – all the other media outlets only listed general numbers of delegates. So I wandered over, having discussed ahead of time with Matt and Oreo, and offered that we had a computerized spreadsheet we’d be glad to share if all they had were post-its. I was told that they actually DID keep spreadsheets, but they read DCW every day since we were often first with information. Heady times.
Fly forward to today.
Blogging has been killed for the most part by the fact that people don’t read anymore. If you think about it, that’s what’s killing magazines and newspapers, too — it’s not just the lack of paid advertising, it’s the fact that people can’t be bothered to read more than 50 words at a time.
At the 2008 DNC there were several hundred bloggers — all of us chosen by the party predicated on our work either nationally or statewide. We had media credentials, invites to all the media events, and special sessions just for bloggers. We had specialties within the political realm, we had Twitter followings before it was popular, we subscribed to the Code of Journalistic Ethics, and most important, we did our research and wrote our pieces – no click bait, no viral passing of one tidbit of information. Sigh.
I bring all of this up because in the past two and half years, the United States has been morphing into an autocratic regime complete with nepotism, the dismantling of government departments, and a total disregard for the rule of law. We’ve got some courts left, but really, what we need is journalism. And bloggers – well researched information with independent voices. Sigh.
I keep thinking about our kids and grandkids. What are we teaching them? What are we leaving them? How do we fix it?
When I was a kid, we had drills where we got under our desks in case Russia dropped an atom bomb on us. All our elementary schools were fallout shelters….and yeah, we had fire drills. But there were no active shooter drills, there was no actual belief that something bad would happen in school. Parents didn’t take a photo of their kids every day in case they need to identify them by their clothing….it’s heartbreaking. Our kids have PTSD and yet we can’t find elected officials with backbones.
Here in my little world of Chester County, PA, we have pipelines. They carry not just crude, but also by-products, like butane and propane and the building blocks of single use plastics. (I am not making this up.) The pipelines cross streams and heavily traveled roads, and run within 100 feet of schools, libraries, malls and housing. We’ve already lost houses to sinkholes caused by construction. And we’re all too well aware that the refinery that blew up in Philadelphia recently is a harbinger of the explosion that will happen here, too. (Not making that up, either.)
And I could go on – climate change is rampant, and the Orange Menace is shutting down the government department that researches solutions (in two weeks). Five states have passed laws that say abortion is reversible (and yes, the AMA sued). Women’s healthcare is gone in too many places (they not only outlaw abortion, but some are fighting to take away access to birth control). And don’t get me started on foreign policy.
Have you read the Mueller Report? Raise your hand. Congratulations – it appears that only 3% of us have. The greatest assault ever on America by an internal threat and people can’t be bothered.
Sigh.
Before I joined DCW, I used to write a daily email on politics. It was read by hundreds of people – it got hard to send as gmail thought I was a spammer. (Yeah, I know, quaint.) And then I started blogging at DCW where not only did people read my posts, but they commented, and discussed. And yes, thanks to everyone who pointed out FOR YEARS that I often needed an editor since my ability to type is less than optimal.
We need change, we need political action, but I think what we really need is reading. So here goes…Two and a half years ago, I joined an Indivisible group. A lot of Indivisible groups sprung up around the country, and some still exist.
Our local group is vibrant. We have about 3,000 members. We host candidate forums, and recently co-hosted a Congressional forum. We hold rallies, protests and a monthly Beer Night (and this month, Beer Night includes a field trip to see the pipeline, which is 50 paces from the bar where we hold Beer Night). We have solid working relationships with our elected officials, we spur actual political action. Our newsletter is awesome. We are awesome.
When the group was forming, several of us ended up being leadership and there was a meeting to decide who would fill which role. I ran for “blogger” and the only vote I received for that position was my own. They elected me to a different position — and I should have held out for “blogger” because that’s what I love. Sorry, I digress.
Point is, one must put their money where their mouth is — I think everyone should read, because that yields information, context, and hopefully spurs action. So I’m going to start blogging again. Here at DCW – starting with 2 posts a week and hopefully working up from there. I hope you’ll join me! And read, and comment, and discuss.
