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Ellen Jannol's avatar

We also need to really put a huge effort into making sure that the House and Senate are blue.. that will be our only guardrail should the orange guy regain the presidency (assuming he doesn't immediately order their arrests and start charging them all with treason because he has determined he can do that with full immunity)

Personally, I don't think that what happened on Saturday is really going to push those who were undecided into the Trump camp (ever the optimist). I like to think that they can still be reasoned with.

I am really troubled by how many former progressive Jewish Democrats are totally in the Trump camp now. I sadly have lost respect for and have started unfollowing a lot of them on social media because I can't stand listening to them glorify him. They would rather vote for a malignant narcissist felon hell bent on tearing this country apart piece by piece simply because they believe that Trump was the best president for Israel that we've had and that he'll end those protests and shut down those encampments immediately. It really sickens me :( to listen to them.

Claudia Hagadus Long's avatar

This is a serious comment, and fully in support of your post.

The turning "the left against the left" has already succeeded beyond the Republicans' wildest dreams. While we as Jews are currently suffering under that because of October 7, this has been going on a long time before now. When we omit the strong, stalwart voters of the middle of the country, when we ignore the long-standing liberal white men, when we slide right by the older voters, we are basically shooting ourselves in the...ear?...foot.

The number of times in the past 8 years I've heard "old white men" or the disparagement of middle America as "trailer trash" is astounding. The speakers then expect to be praised, included and rewarded for this by our own side, and are surprised when those they disparage don't vote Democrat.

For years we've been hearing "White Christians" as a slur. Now we hear "Zionists" like it's a bad thing. Do we want to vote for those who disparage us? We do not. So let's take a lesson from that.

In order to get through this election without ending up with T and Vance, we need to unite. Not just "people of color" and "women" but all of us. Men. Women. Of all colors and religions.

Men vote. Older people vote. White people in Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania vote. Christians vote, and so do Jews. Some right, some left.

It's time to stop cannibalizing our own side, stop our divisive tests and our virtue signaling, and get on with the inclusive business of electing a Democrat-- and in this case not just Joe Biden and Kamala Harris but all the way down the ticket-- and not letting our country go down the drain while we're busy being so damned pure.

Schilian Helene's avatar

Your column is keeping me from sinking into despair.

Elissa Wald's avatar

This means the world to me. Thank you so much.

Schilian Helene's avatar

I have been trying to find current info on the Women’s March. I do not see any mention of them coming out against the sexual violence against Israeli women on 10/7. Have you heard anything different?

https://www.ncjw.org/news/ncjw-israel-womens-network-and-140-womens-organizations-call-for-urgent-action-response-to-un-womens-statement-of-october-13/

Michele Clark's avatar

Thanks, Elissa. Just seeing your title appear in my email feed is comforting...I read JD Vance's book and when his politics and opportunism became clear I tried, among friends, to get anyone who'd read his book mail it back to his campaign office. I don't think I got many people to do it. But i did it with a note.

Carol Matas's avatar

Elissa, I wake up and fall asleep feeling the same. As someone who has spent my writing life warning - this could happen here, it could happen anywhere - as I wrote about the Holocaust, I never actually thought I would witness an entire American party turning into a fascist party in real time. And even though I wrote about it I am not sure I ever really understood how or why people would willingly give over their freedoms to a crude "clown" who would murder them as soon as look at them. And yet... Here we are. I am currently writing a book set in Berlin 1935 about the quick descent into fascism and my publisher has every intention of publishing it. So that's good. Or is it? Does it matter anymore? I have to hope that somehow it will to someone. We are about to be tested in ways we never thought possible. An easy life is no longer possible. Thank you for your words. Always.

Ellen Jannol's avatar

This isn't in response to your post, but I feel safe asking this here- This is in regard to the young man who was killed at Trumps rally on Saturday- His wife refused to speak to President Biden (Trump has yet to call as of the time of publication) :

"Helen told the Post that President Joe Biden tried to call her, but she declined to speak to him since her husband 'was a devout Republican, and he would not have wanted me to talk to him.'"

I know she's grieving, but generally when someone offers words of comfort, including the current POTUS, even if they're not your people, you usually don't decline to speak to them. Especially when she acknowledges that this had nothing to do with something Biden's done. That there would be such blatant disrespect for the president really saddens me.

Does this bother anyone else or am I too sensitive?

I just needed to get this off my chest, just read this article and there's no one 's awake yet here at home, and I'm not comfortable posting that on any of my social's.

Pinkluna's avatar

It bothers me. It's unimaginable to me, she said she "isn't political" yet refused to speak to the President? So many things feel like a series of smaller and bigger stabs, this is just another. The level of disrespect shown to President Biden including from high ranking members of his own party is so disheartening.

Ellen Jannol's avatar

It's extremely disheartening.

Patty Barnard's avatar

I’ll be hosting a Troubled Nation (a Red, Wine & Blue affiliation) gathering soon so we can unite in concrete actions. I’ll let you know the deets.