"The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month..." Today we celebrate, for those of you who know your history, Armistice Day. The day when the hostilities ended between the Allies and Germany, ending World War. This year marks 100 years since that event, which did not "end all wars" but historians say was the spark which led to the rise of Nazi Germany and World War II. Sobering...yes? Today, in the United States and following action by Congress in 1954, we call this day Veterans Day. Thank you to each and every Veteran who has served this nation. Some volunteered, some were pressed into service...but you all gave and we are grateful.
The French Fiasco
Meanwhile, while we remember more embarrassment was laid on the United States as your president decided not to attend a gathering in France because of bad weather. And that was AFTER he tweeted that a suggestion by French President Macron to defend itself with a, "true European army" rather than rely on America was "an insult" to the United States. And he had not even gotten off the plane. Weary.
But, it was not over. "45" who seems to love the idea of nationalism, which is becoming more of a dog whistle for scared white people, stood next to President Macron in Paris as the french leader said, “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first... we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what gives it grace, and what is essential: its moral values."
Of course none of which "45" would be capable of understanding.
I can't take credit for this, but my brother can. We were talking about the apparent troubles Matthew Whitaker finds himself. Hand picked by "45" to leap-frog over the the Assistant Attorney General to become the "acting Attorney General" has a litany of bad deals in his resume. From being on a board that siphoned life savings of investors and then strong arming them with threats to the misguided prosecution of an Iowa State Senator mostly because he is gay. And this is only the latest example. The entire cabinet of "45" takes on the appearance of, as my brother says, "The cartoon character of a room of Batman villains." I think he is right.
Yesterday Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was in Des Moines meeting with the Iowa Asian Latino Coalition and said of Matthew Whitaker, "And now we have (in Whitaker) a hand picked assassin to go after Robert Mueller." As the noose tightens "45" and his minions are getting more and more desperate. That, and for no other reason, is why this Whitaker guy was picked. Mark it down. But of course "45" will lie about it...of course.
There are really only two reasons Republicans used House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as their target during the midterms:
- Nancy Pelosi is a Women - Make no mistake Republicans really don't like women. Even if you are a Republican woman (Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) you make certain that you do everything you can to make being a woman a bad deal;
- Nancy Pelosi is Smart - She knows how congress works and she is already lining up legislation that will throttle the GOP and they KNEW that she knows what to do and they were, and are, scared. That is why they ran against her as much, or even more, than they did against their Democratic challengers.
While there is talk among some about denying Pelosi the office of Majority Leader I'm starting to think that would be way off base and a major distraction. We don't need, at this critical time, to split as the GOP has done in their caucus. While it shouldn't be "business as usual" we've got t be smart about this...thoughts?
Winners/Losers
On a national basis, and votes are still being counted, it was a major win last week for the Democrats. Here in Iowa we are sending two strong leaders to the House of Representatives. Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer will serve us well and what an honor to have been just a small part in sending, for the first time in our history, women to Congress. We...won and so too did America.
A number of my friends won seats in the Iowa Senate and House and they all deserve to be there. I celebrate with each of you and when the next session gavels to order we will have some strong people in those seats. Thank you for running. You will make a difference even in the minority.
Yet, there were others that worked hard but didn't make it. I know how much that hurts...been there, done that. But now comes the real test of the real winners. We need you to stay in the game. Because you ran you have become a symbol of leadership and action. We need you to continue to speak out about the issues that matter because, at some point, those issues will become the law of the land. We must keep working. If you were in the race for the right reasons you will remain in the race because time is running out for the opposition and the mood of this state and nation is changing. We'll get this. Stay in the game.
Rural vs. Urban
It was closing in on 10pm on Election Night. I made the decision not to attend any victory parties. Not out of disrespect but because I worked and supported so many...who to pick? And, because I spend much of my time out there working I decided to stay home and watch the numbers. When the votes started coming in I knew we were not going to win the governorship. The rural/urban divide was going to be too large. I went to bed and was up at 4am on Wednesday scrolling through the numbers. In some rural counties Democrats were outvoted two and three to one. While we had fantastic candidates rural voters continued to move to the GOP. We must fix this and fix this we will.
If there was one race that truly disappointed me it was the Secretary of Agriculture where a farmer, somebody who understands agriculture to its core and was as plain speaking as any candidate for that office I've seen, was defeated by a former Monsanto lobbyist. That one hurt because it just does not make any sense.
Of course it's hard to do battle against the entrenched interests of the Iowa Farm Bureau and its minions. Yet I really thought we had a shot especially given the crisis we're facing in Rural America with the continuing exodus to urban areas, low commodity prices and now anti-farmer trade issues.
So, if we are going to be successful in 2020 we need to continue our efforts to reach out to rural voters and have serious conversations about what we have in common vs. what others say divide us. We'll get this...we need to work on it...now.
The reason Cindy Axne is going to Congress is because Democrats in Iowa's largest county worked and worked and worked. She bested her opponent by over 31,000 votes. She did not win another county. The other 15 went to the Republican. I know, very well, this Third District and while her campaign visited every corner of the district it was the grassroots in Polk County that made the difference. Volunteers here have created a stunning number of local neighborhood groups who do more than vote. Hundreds of people knocked doors, spent hours on the phone, went to countless public meetings and supported each other across house and senate district lines.
There were major "pep rallies" to private conversations with neighbors and friends. It truly was brilliant and it was all led by...volunteers. Stunning and congratulations...you deserve it.
Partly Personal
Yesterday our family was honored to have been invited to a Diwali Celebration at the Hindu Temple in Madrid by my friend Prakash Kopparapu. It was really an amazing afternoon. We were fortunate to run into Dr. Yogesh Shah who took the time to not only take us on a tour of the temple but to also explain the celebrations and the spiritual nature of the faith. Usually it is me, or my brother, explaining faith issues to others. As Jews we've been answering faith questions for decades. For nearly 40 years I've led hundreds of non-Jews through my synagogues or spoke at churches about my faith. This was an interesting reversal where the teacher becomes the student and it was fascinating to learn of the similarities between what I know and what I experienced there.
I now know what it is like when people visit the synagogue and hear words they do not know, see a service they may not understand and experience a totally different way of practicing a faith. This visit will, I hope, make me a better teacher. Thank you...again.
Have a wonderful Sunday and thanks for reading!
I support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker for several reasons. She is smart. She knows how the system works. She knows many of the Republicans personally and what their weaknesses are. She should be given the chance for some payback for what she has endured from the Republicans for the last two years, and at the same time give the Republicans the opportunity to work in a more bi-partisan manner, or if not that, then expose them to to the world for the extreme partisans they are.
Posted by: Paul Stough | 11/11/2018 at 10:13 AM
My favorite part of the election was all of the weird rhetoric around Cindy Axne. I'd already made up my mind to vote straight-ticket Democrat this election (and I really dislike that approach normally, but these are not normal times), but some of the commercials were genuinely funny. "Cindy Axne will vote with NANCY PELOSI." Is that supposed to be a bad thing?
Posted by: Troy | 11/12/2018 at 01:10 PM