Lately this blog has felt more like a time capsule, capturing my thoughts at any given moment in time. Elections are a massive tipping point in history (in the sense that a major change happens based on a single result, marking a stark change), so it seems like a good time to capture those thoughts just a week out.
Continue reading 2024 Presidential ElectionTag Archives: Joe Biden
Better Politics Please Again
In 2020, after four years of Donald Trump and in the midst of the divisiveness of a pandemic response, I wrote a book called Better Politics, Please.
It was hopeful.
Maybe naively hopeful.
On January 6, 2021, as the nation witnessed a violent attempt to overthrow an election—an unprecedented assault on our democracy—that hopeful book felt worse than naive.
Here we are four years later, barreling toward the 2024 election. Are our politics any better? Please?
Continue reading Better Politics Please AgainA Political Snapshot in Time
Sometimes a blog like this works best as a time capsule. What did I think at the time? Our perspective tends to distort over time, so capturing an honest assessment in the moment is important for the sake of accuracy. With politics and history, doubly so. Everything seems inevitable in hindsight. But at the time it often didn’t feel that way.
And politics in the last month? Oof. From President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, to Biden withdrawing from the election and Vice President Kamala Harris taking the mantle—it’s been wild.
I could write about this for days, but nobody wants to read that. So I’m going to try to capture my thoughts in short, quick bursts. Here goes nothing…
Continue reading A Political Snapshot in TimeThere Is Always Light
Every time we sing the national anthem we ask the question, “does that star-spangled banner yet wave?” amid the perilous fight and the bombs bursting in air.
These past two weeks, since violent insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capital, the answer has been in doubt. Not literally—Congress reconvened that same day and democracy carried on—but the spirit of the nation has been dazed as we suffered this terrible attack and reckoned with the deeper divide.
But today, Inauguration Day, as Lady Gaga belted out “The Star Spangled Banner” on the same Capital steps that two weeks ago held a swarming mob, it did the spirit of this nation well to see those broad stripes and bright stars so gallantly streaming.
Continue reading There Is Always LightThe January 6 Insurrection: The Loss of Trust and Truth
Yesterday a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as a joint session of Congress attempted their Constitutionally mandated task of approving the electors for the next president. We spent yesterday watching the news unfold on Twitter and live TV.
I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m grieving for our nation.
There will be so many better opinions and commentaries and I hesitate to add to the noise, but I keep coming back to one thing that I think is important to emphasize.
An erosion of trust and a lack of common truth has imperiled our democracy.
Continue reading The January 6 Insurrection: The Loss of Trust and Truth
2020 Accomplishments: Better Politics, Please
Since 2020 has been such a dumpster fire, I thought it might help to recap a few accomplishments. One of the big ones is my latest book: Better Politics, Please.
The Idea
I came up with this idea before the pandemic struck, but really fleshing it out and making it happen was a total pandemic project. I needed that. I needed something to focus on in the midst of all the chaos.
A project I worked on for 15 years came to an end at the close of 2019. I went into 2020 not knowing what was next (whoa, boy howdy!). Better Politics, Please was a fun way to try something different. It gave me a lot of hope, despite a real lack of hope in the rest of the world.
I’m grateful for all the help that made this project a reality. I couldn’t have done it without the many people who supported it.
Continue reading 2020 Accomplishments: Better Politics, PleaseCoronavirus: 5 Months In
I’ve been too busy to blog. We’re in a weird time here in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and probably the most important presidential election in my lifetime. That pandemic has caused an economic scare (never mind, you know, death), and things are just weird.
I wrote about it a bit this spring to capture my feelings, and those days feel so long ago. So maybe it’s time to do it again. (This is going to be a bit scattered, so I apologize in advance for that.)
Continue reading Coronavirus: 5 Months InSuper TuesDay 2020 Thoughts
It’s Presidential Primary Day here in Minnesota. I like to capture my thoughts in the moment, because sometimes things change so much and so fast it’s hard to remember what we actually thought.
And sometimes it’s funny to see how wrong we are.
Back in November I shared my thoughts on the Democratic Presidential Primary. Folks have actually voted since then, and everything has changed. Pete Buttigieg dropped out Sunday and Amy Klobuchar dropped out yesterday, making this a simpler race.
I’m voting for Elizabeth Warren.
Continue reading Super TuesDay 2020 ThoughtsTaking Stock of the 2020 Democratic Canidates
So I opined on impeachment last week (and I have to say, it feels much more urgent and possible this week), and in the midst of the inquiry the Democrats have another debate. Seems like a good time to take stock of the 2020 candidates.
More than anything, I just want to note my thoughts and moods at this moment in time.
In general, I don’t follow the horse race that closely. I don’t watch the debates, but I do pay attention to where things are at. I’ve had my eye on a few candidates, but I haven’t felt ready to jump in with support yet. The overwhelming number of candidates feels ridiculous (sheesh, go run for Senate!), but I do feel like there are plenty of contenders here that could win and I’d be happy to support.
Continue reading Taking Stock of the 2020 Democratic Canidates