Welcome to my first discussion post for The Beinart Notebook. Between 10 and 11am Eastern, I will be online to participate in a discussion with newsletter subscribers. You can access the discussion now to leave a question, or join me starting from 10am. I hope to see many of you there.
hi consider this i come on Monday to claim the lotto wins with a ticket bought on Sunday for the day before Saturday draw. will they pay me? is Biden not doing the same?
Biden has shown socialistic signs bordering communist principle. he wants to tax high earning people who in tturn will pas the tax to the final consumers ie the lower class. interesting enough he will increase union powers and finally double minimum wage. tgat will cause people to loose their jobs
clearly something is not kosher out there.
this joke of making the election day ballots being wiped out by mail vote is just do bizaar. why don't you carry the entire election via internet or just by mail in the future. this will end the charade we are witnessing.
very worried what will happen in USA when a breeze start by you a storm ends on third world economies
Expanding on both #1 and #2, perhaps there are different directions that should be considered. 3 - Social media - and especially Twitter, but also Facebook, Instagram and TikTok - have allowed politicians (as well as nefarious governments and others) to communicate directly with the populace. And particularly to promote lies and disinformation. 4 - Examining the psychology of persuasive techniques (as was discussed below re: Sanders etc). Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame and now a Trumpist) wrote an important book after the last election - Winning Bigly which should have been required reading for Dem leaders - about how Trump is a "Master Persuader". Very interesting
I remember the article you wrote after the election four years ago when you said you've never felt "less American and more Jewish." How will you reflect on this outcome, assuming a Biden win? Even with a once-in-century pandemic and against a centrist candidate, Trump still managed to increase his own voter turnout over last time.
I hope Biden starts his Acceptance Speech by repeating that he is the President of ALL Americans - not a Democrat or a Republican. That he recognizes that there are many Trump supporters that are feeling disappointed and that he wants to reassure them that he hears their voices and will learn from their concerns. While their are many issues that divide Americans, and many who feel worried about their future there are many more reasons to feel proud of the values and spirit that built America. EVERYONE is needed and VALUED and together we are so much stronger - something like that!!
We're almost done so in the last few minutes if you have any suggestions for how to do this next time, please let me know. Or email me. Still getting the hang of this but enjoying it!
Given the rise of single-vote ultra orthodox and right wing, and the diminished power of the left in Israel, coupled with a well organized plan of de facto annexation, things look bleak. Peter, your plan of a single state or binational state would bring a Palestinian presence to counter the right wing. While the PA is corrupt and ineffective, the Joint List is at least the equal of other Israeli political parties. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem possible in the present political climate. Thoughts?
Speaking of somewhat-contrived political lines drawn around ostensibly distinct groups...one half-formed thought has been bouncing around my head for a while: if Biden wins, how might some of the thinking a younger Joe Biden demonstrated years ago in his foreign policy ideas manifest itself closer to home? I'm thinking specifically of his plan (first mentioned in 2003, and officially suggested in 2006) to split Iraq into three states along ethno-religious lines. Biden was quick to propose withdrawing from Iraq and segregating it into self-governing regions of Sunni, Shia, and Kurds. Also Biden is a longtime supporter of a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine. He has demonstrated an inclination to partition countries thousands of miles away...how do you think this could (or should) inform his domestic policy in a nation clearly divided along geographic AND ideological lines?
Larry Grossman emails about the importance of Fox and it's true. The polling shows a real divide between Republicans who watch Fox and those who consume other news. The question is whether Fox is the symptom or the disease. If they moderated would another network like Sinclair just take their place. Not hard to imagine Trump creating one, especially since he won't forgive Fox for calling Arizona for biden
I agree but think the Trump support is more multi-faceted. A thick soup of 1. Feeling like outsiders, disrespected and distrustful. 2. Evangelists whose faith leaders say vote Trump (like the Haredi community that says vote Bibi. 3. Tax-phobics. 4. Anti-Abortion. 5. The Supreme Court. 6. Economically disadvantaged and fearful of losing working class jobs. 7. True believers of the Trump rock star. 8. White supremacists and anti-immigration. 9. The electoral system that is 'gamed' by the part in power...and more - if we look to pigeon hole we will miss that this is more deep seated and will need some real mastery by Biden to respond in a way that breaks down some of these very difficult barriers. Barbara Landau
Do you think, assuming R control of the Senate, that McConnell will slow walk Biden's nominees for judicial positions, and will Biden respond without drawing lines in the sand as Obama did?
Responding to your kick-off post: both seem to be true in a way to me, but I certainly find #1 more convincing, and think perhaps that it exacerbates the effect of #2. It's abundantly clear that #1 is true in the abstract, that the system is deeply undemocratic in ways that have come to favor Republicans, both because of increased urban/rural polarization within our political system (Electoral College, 2 Senators per state) and because of deliberate Republican efforts to maintain permanent minority rule (voter suppression, gerrymandering, etc.). Within a system in which Democrats have to win in gerrymandered districts to win the House, and win in states that lean more Republican than the median voter to win the presidency/Senate, of course they're going to have disappointing margins. But all of that might reinforce #2. Abigail Spanberger (who narrowly won reelection after flipping a heavily Republican district formerly held by Eric Cantor in 2018) reportedly said on a House Democratic Caucus call yesterday that attack ads accusing her of wanting to defund the police nearly cost her her seat. If that's true, it seems to support argument #2. That said, if Democrats didn't need to win districts as red as Spanberger's to hold majorities, would any of this really matter? If the average swing district looked more like the average swing voter, this all might not matter as much. Thoughts?
I’ll put in my two cents. I know that it is ironic, but I believe in retrospect that Trump actually benefited from the pandemic. I know that it sounds weird, but I believe that pandemic fatigue is extremely widespread as is magical thinking. Trump denied the severity of Covid and disputed the numbers, while Biden reinforced the reality of the spread of the virus. People who did not want to hear this — despite its truth — voted for Trump. This is not to say that Biden should have done anything different.
There is another possibility, which is a sort of subset of argument 1. Trump clearly taps into deeply held fears and resentments on the part of many poor and working class people who feel looked down on and excluded by a metropolitan intelligentsia. He knows how to 'communicate' in a simplistic and populist fashion that enables people who are deprived and looked down upon to feel included and respected. We on the left, and I use 'left' in a very broad way to include Democrats generally, mostly lack those communication skills. I reckon Sanders has them, and I saw the speech of the new black representative in Missouri, which also displayed such skills brilliantly - but mostly we dont know how to make a complex point simple, to answer a simple lie equally simply, and to make 'ordinary' angry people feel respected and involved. As most politics is complex, and most of the issues we are talking about are nuanced and multi-layered, the 'system', insofar as it concerns 'communications' is inevitably stacked against us. So what can we do to shift the way we hold debate and to respond with respect to views we know to be based on lies etc.... Asking this question from London, England, where we have a similar (if less crude) problem.
Gershon Baskin had a recent commentary in the Jerusalem Post, stating that several in senior Palestinians have contacted him about possibly restarting negotiations possibly with impetus from the UAE. "I am now receiving phone calls from senior Palestinians requesting to organize discreet meetings with senior Israeli officials and those with influence with the aim of renewing the dialogue in the search for a path towards a new vision for a shared future. Some of these people believe that it might still be possible to save the two-state solution. Others suggest that we try to find common principles and views for a different political paradigm. What they all have in common is the possibility that they may become part of the Palestinian leadership in the post-Abbas era, which is in the not very distant future." Given defacto annexation, perhaps I'm grasping for any hopeful sign, but with a Biden victory, do you see possibility here?
Reposting my kick-off post for those who missed it: The debate that will dominate politics for years to come is why Trump lost but Trumpism didn’t. Why, after all this horror, weren’t Republicans vanquished up and down the line. There are two competing arguments: 1) The problem is the system: Which favors Republicans in deeply undemocratic ways. 2) The problem is the people: Who get scared when Democrats move too far left. I’m a bit more inclined to #1 but can’t totally dismiss #2. What do you think?
Hi Peter, I would love to hear your thoughts on how we can aggressively combat the all the disinformation out there—disinformation that convinced half this country to re-elect a sadistic con man. I am already hearing criticism of the Democratic Party for not doing what was necessary to fully repudiate Trumpism. But, unless we can stop the GOP from utilizing the same authoritarian tactics that Trump has been using, we won’t be able to fix our broken system.
The debate that will dominate politics for years to come is why Trump lost but Trumpism didn’t. Why, after all this horror, weren’t Republicans vanquished up and down the line. There are two competing arguments: 1) The problem is the system: Which favors Republicans in deeply undemocratic ways. 2) The problem is the people: Who get scared when Democrats move too far left. I’m a bit more inclined to #1 but can’t totally dismiss #2. What do you think?
Peter: Looking forward to your comments. Who would chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Senator Coons goes to the State Dept? And who replaces Eliot Engel as Chair of House Foreign Relations Committee? Mitchell
So glad you're doing this, Peter. I've got deadlines that take priority ... and I look forward to hearing/reading your take on election results, particularly trends in voting in Jewish and Muslim communities.
hi consider this i come on Monday to claim the lotto wins with a ticket bought on Sunday for the day before Saturday draw. will they pay me? is Biden not doing the same?
Biden has shown socialistic signs bordering communist principle. he wants to tax high earning people who in tturn will pas the tax to the final consumers ie the lower class. interesting enough he will increase union powers and finally double minimum wage. tgat will cause people to loose their jobs
clearly something is not kosher out there.
this joke of making the election day ballots being wiped out by mail vote is just do bizaar. why don't you carry the entire election via internet or just by mail in the future. this will end the charade we are witnessing.
very worried what will happen in USA when a breeze start by you a storm ends on third world economies
Expanding on both #1 and #2, perhaps there are different directions that should be considered. 3 - Social media - and especially Twitter, but also Facebook, Instagram and TikTok - have allowed politicians (as well as nefarious governments and others) to communicate directly with the populace. And particularly to promote lies and disinformation. 4 - Examining the psychology of persuasive techniques (as was discussed below re: Sanders etc). Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame and now a Trumpist) wrote an important book after the last election - Winning Bigly which should have been required reading for Dem leaders - about how Trump is a "Master Persuader". Very interesting
Signing off for now. Thank you so much to everyone who took part. Keep an eye out for the next one, probably next week
I remember the article you wrote after the election four years ago when you said you've never felt "less American and more Jewish." How will you reflect on this outcome, assuming a Biden win? Even with a once-in-century pandemic and against a centrist candidate, Trump still managed to increase his own voter turnout over last time.
I would love this to be a webinar - see each other on Zoom... great beginning!!
I hope Biden starts his Acceptance Speech by repeating that he is the President of ALL Americans - not a Democrat or a Republican. That he recognizes that there are many Trump supporters that are feeling disappointed and that he wants to reassure them that he hears their voices and will learn from their concerns. While their are many issues that divide Americans, and many who feel worried about their future there are many more reasons to feel proud of the values and spirit that built America. EVERYONE is needed and VALUED and together we are so much stronger - something like that!!
We're almost done so in the last few minutes if you have any suggestions for how to do this next time, please let me know. Or email me. Still getting the hang of this but enjoying it!
Given the rise of single-vote ultra orthodox and right wing, and the diminished power of the left in Israel, coupled with a well organized plan of de facto annexation, things look bleak. Peter, your plan of a single state or binational state would bring a Palestinian presence to counter the right wing. While the PA is corrupt and ineffective, the Joint List is at least the equal of other Israeli political parties. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem possible in the present political climate. Thoughts?
Speaking of somewhat-contrived political lines drawn around ostensibly distinct groups...one half-formed thought has been bouncing around my head for a while: if Biden wins, how might some of the thinking a younger Joe Biden demonstrated years ago in his foreign policy ideas manifest itself closer to home? I'm thinking specifically of his plan (first mentioned in 2003, and officially suggested in 2006) to split Iraq into three states along ethno-religious lines. Biden was quick to propose withdrawing from Iraq and segregating it into self-governing regions of Sunni, Shia, and Kurds. Also Biden is a longtime supporter of a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine. He has demonstrated an inclination to partition countries thousands of miles away...how do you think this could (or should) inform his domestic policy in a nation clearly divided along geographic AND ideological lines?
Try Hilary!
Who do you think Biden could be able to get through to be Secretary of State?
Larry Grossman emails about the importance of Fox and it's true. The polling shows a real divide between Republicans who watch Fox and those who consume other news. The question is whether Fox is the symptom or the disease. If they moderated would another network like Sinclair just take their place. Not hard to imagine Trump creating one, especially since he won't forgive Fox for calling Arizona for biden
If you were Biden's Acceptance Speech writer (inshallah) what would you say? I found myself writing the speech instead of sleeping!
I agree but think the Trump support is more multi-faceted. A thick soup of 1. Feeling like outsiders, disrespected and distrustful. 2. Evangelists whose faith leaders say vote Trump (like the Haredi community that says vote Bibi. 3. Tax-phobics. 4. Anti-Abortion. 5. The Supreme Court. 6. Economically disadvantaged and fearful of losing working class jobs. 7. True believers of the Trump rock star. 8. White supremacists and anti-immigration. 9. The electoral system that is 'gamed' by the part in power...and more - if we look to pigeon hole we will miss that this is more deep seated and will need some real mastery by Biden to respond in a way that breaks down some of these very difficult barriers. Barbara Landau
Do you think, assuming R control of the Senate, that McConnell will slow walk Biden's nominees for judicial positions, and will Biden respond without drawing lines in the sand as Obama did?
Congratulations on your move to the Times, Peter.
Responding to your kick-off post: both seem to be true in a way to me, but I certainly find #1 more convincing, and think perhaps that it exacerbates the effect of #2. It's abundantly clear that #1 is true in the abstract, that the system is deeply undemocratic in ways that have come to favor Republicans, both because of increased urban/rural polarization within our political system (Electoral College, 2 Senators per state) and because of deliberate Republican efforts to maintain permanent minority rule (voter suppression, gerrymandering, etc.). Within a system in which Democrats have to win in gerrymandered districts to win the House, and win in states that lean more Republican than the median voter to win the presidency/Senate, of course they're going to have disappointing margins. But all of that might reinforce #2. Abigail Spanberger (who narrowly won reelection after flipping a heavily Republican district formerly held by Eric Cantor in 2018) reportedly said on a House Democratic Caucus call yesterday that attack ads accusing her of wanting to defund the police nearly cost her her seat. If that's true, it seems to support argument #2. That said, if Democrats didn't need to win districts as red as Spanberger's to hold majorities, would any of this really matter? If the average swing district looked more like the average swing voter, this all might not matter as much. Thoughts?
I’ll put in my two cents. I know that it is ironic, but I believe in retrospect that Trump actually benefited from the pandemic. I know that it sounds weird, but I believe that pandemic fatigue is extremely widespread as is magical thinking. Trump denied the severity of Covid and disputed the numbers, while Biden reinforced the reality of the spread of the virus. People who did not want to hear this — despite its truth — voted for Trump. This is not to say that Biden should have done anything different.
There is another possibility, which is a sort of subset of argument 1. Trump clearly taps into deeply held fears and resentments on the part of many poor and working class people who feel looked down on and excluded by a metropolitan intelligentsia. He knows how to 'communicate' in a simplistic and populist fashion that enables people who are deprived and looked down upon to feel included and respected. We on the left, and I use 'left' in a very broad way to include Democrats generally, mostly lack those communication skills. I reckon Sanders has them, and I saw the speech of the new black representative in Missouri, which also displayed such skills brilliantly - but mostly we dont know how to make a complex point simple, to answer a simple lie equally simply, and to make 'ordinary' angry people feel respected and involved. As most politics is complex, and most of the issues we are talking about are nuanced and multi-layered, the 'system', insofar as it concerns 'communications' is inevitably stacked against us. So what can we do to shift the way we hold debate and to respond with respect to views we know to be based on lies etc.... Asking this question from London, England, where we have a similar (if less crude) problem.
Is this a written discussion or is this a webinar format? I can only see the written comments Barbara Landau (in Canada - you are all WELCOME!!)
Gershon Baskin had a recent commentary in the Jerusalem Post, stating that several in senior Palestinians have contacted him about possibly restarting negotiations possibly with impetus from the UAE. "I am now receiving phone calls from senior Palestinians requesting to organize discreet meetings with senior Israeli officials and those with influence with the aim of renewing the dialogue in the search for a path towards a new vision for a shared future. Some of these people believe that it might still be possible to save the two-state solution. Others suggest that we try to find common principles and views for a different political paradigm. What they all have in common is the possibility that they may become part of the Palestinian leadership in the post-Abbas era, which is in the not very distant future." Given defacto annexation, perhaps I'm grasping for any hopeful sign, but with a Biden victory, do you see possibility here?
Reposting my kick-off post for those who missed it: The debate that will dominate politics for years to come is why Trump lost but Trumpism didn’t. Why, after all this horror, weren’t Republicans vanquished up and down the line. There are two competing arguments: 1) The problem is the system: Which favors Republicans in deeply undemocratic ways. 2) The problem is the people: Who get scared when Democrats move too far left. I’m a bit more inclined to #1 but can’t totally dismiss #2. What do you think?
What role do you think feminists will have in moving the US forward after the Trump misogynistic years?
has this discussion begun?
How should we interpret Trump's apparent gain among minority voters in the election - is this a repudiation of the cultural left and "wokeness"?
Hi Peter, I would love to hear your thoughts on how we can aggressively combat the all the disinformation out there—disinformation that convinced half this country to re-elect a sadistic con man. I am already hearing criticism of the Democratic Party for not doing what was necessary to fully repudiate Trumpism. But, unless we can stop the GOP from utilizing the same authoritarian tactics that Trump has been using, we won’t be able to fix our broken system.
I don’t see a link
The debate that will dominate politics for years to come is why Trump lost but Trumpism didn’t. Why, after all this horror, weren’t Republicans vanquished up and down the line. There are two competing arguments: 1) The problem is the system: Which favors Republicans in deeply undemocratic ways. 2) The problem is the people: Who get scared when Democrats move too far left. I’m a bit more inclined to #1 but can’t totally dismiss #2. What do you think?
Peter what change in USA policy towards Israel would you expect in a Biden Administration?
Peter: Looking forward to your comments. Who would chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Senator Coons goes to the State Dept? And who replaces Eliot Engel as Chair of House Foreign Relations Committee? Mitchell
To everyone who got here early, thanks. I'll start the conversation with some thoughts on the recent news just before 10 EST
So glad you're doing this, Peter. I've got deadlines that take priority ... and I look forward to hearing/reading your take on election results, particularly trends in voting in Jewish and Muslim communities.
What’s the link?
Thank you Peter! Looking forward to the discussion.