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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Now I’m even more fearful of the next 74 days, when I consider all you’ve written here, and the VRAA act and Harris promising to pass it. This post is so important. I’m sending to everyone I know who has a brain. Thank you for your fearless reporting and the awareness it imparts. Thank you! Also were Manchin and Sinema the only Dem hold outs? (I can google this of course).

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Passing the VRAA would completely transform our society. The current Republican party would cease to exist. It would be a devastating wound to minority rule. I can't remember if they needed both Manchin and Sinema or just one or the other, but yes, they were the ones who blocked it.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Glad they're both gone, even though now WV will be a Repub seat. At least we know their awfulness. Manchin was unpredictable, unreliable, and craven.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Sending DNC money to Manchin meant it didn’t go to a candidate that could actually serve us. Good riddance.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Thanks re info. Precarious times. Your insights are so revelatory and necessary.

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Gene Wood's avatar

Great content .. this is kind of a WTF .. why are some people so afraid of letting everyone vote .. hmmm let me think, they might be able to demand accountability to those who are elected . .. We need all to vote .. this BS must stop!

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Yeah... when you strip away all the BS, the only opposition is an unwillingness to let people vote. That's indefensible.

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Bill Gerace's avatar

Hey Walter I agree with Ms. Jeannine awesome informative post. I didn't even know anything about the VRAA act. This is probably because I don't watch the news but then again watching it with all the craziness going on makes me anxious. Thanks again for keeping us abreast as always. Great well written content. You rock friend. Blessings.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thank you Bill. I don’t understand why the DNC doesn’t embrace the truth about what’s going on. They’re doing a little bit better, but all they have to do to get elected is tell people what the opposition is trying to steal.

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Bill Gerace's avatar

I agree. The whole political is such a hot mess. It’s so bad my skin tone. Being stupid don’t mind me. But yeah it’s awful. :(

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LC Sharkey (they/them)'s avatar

Thank you for this. I had, indeed, forgotten that it was Manchin and Sinema who killed it. Whenever I come across someone who says they're not going to bother voting because their vote doesn't matter, this is what I ask them: If your vote doesn't matter, why does the right (and I include "moderate" liberals in my definition of the right) spend so much time and energy trying to prevent people from voting? The right to vote is a prerequisite to all our other rights and liberties because there is no way for us to have an impact on the decisions of those in power if we don't have the ability to both choose the ones who will act ethically on our behalf and fire their fascist asses if they decide to disregard us.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

They want us to forget because the truth doesn’t fit in with the narrative about “productive” moderates. The moderates are, in truth, the biggest obstacle to progress.

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Barbara Frandsen's avatar

Thank you for a well-written post that is honest and inspiring.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thank you, I appreciate you!

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Gloria Petit-Clair's avatar

Thank you for the clear explanation and reminder.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thanks. We really do need to be angry about this. There are a lot of ways our government is failing us. All these lectures about how we should passively accept it are really frustrating. Thanks for the comment!

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Judith Cuinier's avatar

One man one vote before one man one gun

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Carin Froehlich's avatar

We will never change till the John Lewis Act is passed . I was thrilled when I heard Kamala Harris speak those words I saw no media coverage whatsoever

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Mary Birdsong's avatar

Thank you for sharing this. I am old and had not read about John Lewis act. I’ve been very worried about this election, greed and money are a threat to democracy. I don’t watch tv, so I appreciate your writing and naming names 👏👍🙏🙋‍♀️🇺🇸💙

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Walter Rhein's avatar

We need our right to vote protected. The fact that there are some that oppose this idea tells you everything you need to know!

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Bob McWilliams's avatar

Always follow the money. The 1% certainly don't want everyone to vote. God forbid, they might elect people who tax them, pave roads, feed children, improve education, etc. Can't have that.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Absolutely true.

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Allison Wiltz's avatar

I agree. We should be enraged at these fascists

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Every time somebody tells me to "calm down" I say, "No, YOU start getting excited!"

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Excellent summary, Walter! It makes me think of my BIL, a self-described moderate who disliked the two old men choice and was contemplating voting for the brainworm guy (before the worm story came out.) What can be said of an entire party that shamelessly tries to suppress the vote, rather than extend the right of the people to choose their own leadership? That ability and privilege is exactly what the Founders had in mind when they conceived of self governance. And this very same party claims to be Constitutionalists and originalists. What malarkey, as Joe would say.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Who is he going to vote for now? How could any one seriously consider not voting for Kamala! She’s so impressive.

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Gladwyn d'Souza's avatar

Baldwin writes for Vote Blue no matter who folks that the election in 1980 was consequential to the last white country the world would ever see and we had to survive it. Robert’s was White House counsel for Reagan before moving to DOJ as deputy solicitor general determining the resume for Shelby.

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Judith Cuinier's avatar

This was actually a hashtag I had on Twitter before some jerk hacked my account and Twitter ignored my multiple messages and complaints. I lost all my long term contacts.. it was:

#OneManOneVoteBeforeOneManOneGun

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Walter Rhein's avatar

I'm sorry you lost your Twitter account, that's frustrating. Yes, I agree with that hashtag. Though it should be one person one vote before one man one gun.

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Judith Cuinier's avatar

Thank you for your comment Walter…

I was using ‘man’ rather as the species. Sorry ladies! Please don’t think I intended it otherwise! There are also women who are big gun fans… some are even in Congress ☹️.

The essential point is that quite frankly I believe there should be two statues of John Lewis, one as representatives go into Congress and the other when Senators go into the Senate. Every Representative and every Senator should be obliged to walk past his statue every time they have a session.

‘Lest we forget’ was the WWI slogan; here it would be ‘Lest THEY forget’.

Everything MUST be done so that the act of voting be THE fairest act possible. End the gerrymandering, end the train wreck method of calculating the number of reps. End the Electoral College. Punish anyone who tries to mess about with the system, at whatever level. Give representation to DC and Porto Rico. End the filibuster! 51% wins! THAT is a majority! End of story!

The last US census was HALTED when numbers got uncomfortable for the former president.

You don’t mess with voting rights, ever!

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Vickie Dereng's avatar

You are so right about not messing with voting rights. I don't know why this hasn't been front and center in the news. OK, OK, I know that it has been talked about I don't think it was ever spelled out like Walter did here in this article. Maybe Rachel Maddow on MSNBC did, but it would have been one of the weeks I missed seeing her, because she would have covered it in a similar fashion.

I guess I just wish that there had been way more noise made about it. I think I am also ticked with myself for not looking into this on my own. I do know that whenever something consequential happened, those people who have been working behind the scenes to hone Project 2025 would send out the former president to make a lot of noise or start some uproar on social media and suck all the air out of the room. I'm mad at myself because I know that is the plan and I stopped watching for it.

And you're right - there's also the filibuster. While I know the reason for it, I think it is a nasty piece of work. We have something similar in Canada - the "notwithstanding clause" that causes chaos as well, but it is about a rather different situation.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

I didn't mean that as a criticism, I have to remind myself to swap "people" for "man" too. I completely agree with you, thanks for your kind words!

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Vickie Dereng's avatar

Women own those damned things too - -

OnePersonOneVoteBeforeOnePersonOneGun

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Jordan Deforest King's avatar

What are the 3-4 major factions within both the fascist and moderate camps?

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Aug 23
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Walter Rhein's avatar

Yes, it infuriates me when people spread the corporate sponsored lie that "moderates are the strength of the DNC." Every time they run moderates they lose.

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