I’ve been writing some version of this blog for eight years. I started the morning after the 2016 presidential election. It is time to take a break. (I’m already a year overdue for a traditional “sabbatical”.) I intend to publish only sporadically, if at all, during the rest of November and December. If I can summon the oomph I will resume posting in January.
This morning I am “cross-posting” an entry from Doug Porter that I thought offered some useful insight on our national political disaster, how we got here, and maybe a few hints of what needs to be done (see the second email that should arrive in your inbox at about the same time as this one). Murdoch’s name isn’t mentioned in Porter’s article, but let’s just say I’m not a fan of the Australian immigrant Rupert Murdoch, the multibillionaire owner of the right wing media empire that includes Fox “News”, nor am I fond of his son Lachlan. Much of our current predicament can be traced back to the Murdoch family’s Fox “News” and the lies and misinformation it systematically spread.
While Trump was elected president by a small margin, voters in many states passed initiatives supporting reproductive rights and minimum wage laws—priorities supported by the Democratic Party and rejected by Republicans. Similarly, voters rejected “school choice” initiatives that would have funneled public money to private, often religious, schools. This voting paradox speaks to the power of Fox “News’” and social media’s lies and misinformation in deceiving voters.
On the brighter side, in Washington State it looks like we slightly increased the Dem majorities in the State House and Senate. The state’s executive branch was a clean sweep by the Dems. Washington State stands out as the only state in the union that, by percentage of votes, turned slightly bluer in the presidential race from 2020 to 2024.
Three of the four Washington State Republican Greed initiatives were soundly rejected by margins ranging from ten to forty percent. Brian Heywood, the man whose effort and money launched the initiatives, will have to either pay the capital gains excise tax he so wanted to overturn, or move to another state—which would be a lovely outcome. I would stand in line to kick him in the backside on his way out. Tellingly, the “natural gas initiative” the one that passed on a tiny three percent margin, was deceptively hawked to the electorate on the bald-faced lie that “the government is coming for your gas stove.” To my surprise, Spokane County voters joined the rest of the state in a convincing rejection of the same three Greed Initiatives (although we passed the gas initiative by a higher margin [about 20%] than it passed statewide [3%]—perhaps based on our colder climate).
At the same time Spokane County voters (and eastern Washington voters generally) retained or installed Republicans for public office (except in LD3, the City of Spokane’s core)—and favored Trump over Harris by a 5% margin. Once again this would appear to be a messaging failure. What possesses a voter to cast a ballot in favor of retaining a tax on the über-wealthy (No on I-2109), retaining a tax to fund longterm care (No on I-2124), and retaining a cap-and-trade system in the battle against climate change (No on I-2117) while simultaneously voting for Republicans who, in general, stand against all taxes and mandatory social programs—and deny that climate change is even a valid issue? There is a disconnect here, a gap in understanding.
The next two years, thanks to the Trump election, promise to be a wild ride for the entire world. Trump’s early cabinet picks offer a frightening prevue of things to come. Do what you can to recharge your batteries. See you in January. Meanwhile,
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry