Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Apathy the Killer

Apathy
lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
~~~~~~~~
My pantry, a picture of apathy.

Does it bother me that my pantry looks like this? Yes, but not enough to do anything about it. Do I think about it. Yes, but not enough to clean it.  That's apathy.

Many health problems are related to apathy, too apathetic to exercise or eat right.

Many organizations and churches die of apathy.

Political parties also die of apathy and the Democratic party was apathetic until this election. Now we're seeing a surge in interest, enthusiasm, and concern. Democrats were apathetic too long. Now it's going to take a lot of work to bring the Party back to health. Are we ready to make the effort? The hopeful thing is things change quickly in politics.

I'm going to give you some information on things I'm watching, and people I'm following. That's all that's keeping me sane these days.

Obama is on vacation but he was working before he left on a few things. People are critical of him and want to blame him for the condition of the party and he's said he could have done more. It's also true that the Clintons held the Party and the stage until November 8.


The National Democratic Redistricting Committee is up and working. Obama appointed Eric Holder to oversee this project. Kelly Ward is the new interim director. Read about the work of this committee on their website. I was pleased to see  Norm Eisen,  Ronald Klain and Marc E. Elias, are on board, and they will soon be recruiting lawyers, and  ethicists across the country to assist in this work.
_________________________________
I don't know a lot about Liz Jaff but I'm reading good things about her. I'm thinking she works for Crowdpac and uses her skills to motivate Democrats. She's running for vice-chair of the DNC. I read about a very successful workshop she did in Houston, and believe me, you have to be good to motivate Texas Democrats.
_________________________________
Run For Something, I've heard about in passing but know nothing about it.
_________________________________
Again I will plug Swing Left. The reason I like this website so much is because I live in one of only six states in the nation that has both a Democrat governor and state legislature. Pretty sweet let me tell you, except it means I need to go out of state to make a difference in a campaign. This site asks for your zip code or address and then shows you the nearest swing district to your location.  Cool! I'm too far away to physically go to any of these districts but there are two races coming up in 2018 that I will be seeking a way to support the Democrat. One is in California, for the district of Rep. Darrell Issa. He won in 2016 by about 1600 votes. This needs to be his last term in the House. The other is the Senate race of Senator Ted Cruz in Texas.

I know I can contribute money but I'm looking for more than that. I'm thinking there's something like a phone bank where you can go in and make calls to other states and districts. I'd be interested in doing that but only if I could get some good training, and I do mean good training. I generally find Democratic Party events to be pretty unorganized. Shape it up people!
_________________________________
I have more but this is enough for today. I'll leave you with only two suggested articles to read.

Conservatives Have Little Choice But To Take It Issue By Issue
An interesting article from The Federalist.

How to Build an Autocracy
David Frum is a conservative writing in The Atlantic.

22 comments:

  1. Hawaii is another state that has a Democratic Governor and legislature. I think we need more Republicans in the legislature though for some checks and balances. I do think the Democratic Party needs to step up its game in other states though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you have one elected official that's being talked about in Washington for going on a trip to Syria. I love living in a blue state but it certainly makes it easy to become apathetic.

      Delete
  2. I am excited about learning more about Obama's post-presidency years will bring.

    I don't think apathy is going to be a problem in politics for awhile. People are getting involved who never have in the past. #45 (who shall remain nameless to me) woke up a sleeping dragon.

    You should see my pantry if you think yours looks bad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It makes me nervous, I want to get everybody locked in somewhere before they lose their passion and become apathetic again. I want Obama to come home and get right to work. Of course he does have a few other things to think about.

      Delete
    2. LOL They look like they're enjoying their well-deserved vacation.

      Delete
  3. You really catch up on opinion pieces. Opinion is a tough read as we have to make judgements about what they say but we will learn something.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read a lot and I read everything. David Frum is actually a Canadian. He kind of plays between the two countries. He's what the right wing calls a RHINO (Republican in name only). I don't always agree with him but I enjoy his writing most of the time. He was a speech writer for George W. Bush.

      Delete
    2. Here, Frum is considered to be an extreme right winger who has no place in this country.

      Delete
    3. Here, Frum is considered to be an extreme right winger who has no place in this country.

      Delete
  4. I can't read any more today. My day filled up and I am finally winding down this evening, but watching Rachel Maddow while I read blogs. Not sure that is the way to wind down. :-)
    We have new SCOTUS nominee. I guess it could be worse. Probably will be confirmed. I'm more interested in the outcome of some of the cabinet nominees who might be in trouble.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly the conversation I had with Susan. It makes me angry about Judge Garland but this Judge Gorsuch looks the be the best of the lot. I didn't think I could stand it if he chose Pryor. He was from Alabama and a buddy of Sessions.

      Democrats are going to have to pick their battles.

      Delete
  5. Good information. Hope it's not too late. We're well down the road toward establishing an autocracy. We're quickly losing the checks and balances that can prevent further decline, especially if our Justice Dept. is run by a yes man along with so many he has appointed. Desired violence across country increasing. so supporters will welcome his taking power to establish law and order. There's more to be alarmed about. Election 2020 may be Putin-like by then.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is not the time to grow weary. This is the time to fight with every breath in us. Things change very quickly in politics. We can go a long way to restoring the Democratic Party to health by 2018 but everyone of us must add our voice.

      Delete
  6. I live in both red and blue states. Vermont's new governor is a Republican. He announced that he will not use state law enforcement to detain individuals in noncompliance with the recent executive order -- earning the comment on FB, "Vermont, where even the Republicans are Democrats."

    I support those in Florida who are working for change in ways that I can. It is a whole other world.
    FL legislators recently failed to support easing restrictive policies on use of solar energy because "it rains so much and besides the sun does not shine at night." A lot of the political thinking around here does seem to come from a place where the sun don't shine and it is not the FL sky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it interesting how different the culture is from state to state and sometimes even town to town? We must not let up. We have to give it all we've got between 2018 and 2020. I will not go down silently. I refuse to believe we can't turn this thing around.

      Delete
  7. Good info. I moved to Clinton's home state thinking it was Democratic and it might have been but no more. I keep bugging my officials, plant money where it may help and will put on my sneakers to march if need be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good for you. That's what it takes. We cannot afford to grow weary.

      Delete
  8. I saw David Frum today and was planning to check out his latest article. I'm interested to see how Obama will go forward. He's young.

    ReplyDelete