Democrats and Progressives have a pathway to a landslide victory in 2024. The question is whether we will take it.
Republicans have all but ceded women’s autonomy over their bodies and lives, Medicare and Social Security rights, childcare assistance, a living wage, and more. Elections are not often won on policy alone. One has to connect the issues and personalize them for individuals so that those receiving the message map it to their wants and needs.
Whether you are in the grocery store, a donut shop, a doctor’s office, online, or anywhere in between, we must engage whenever we hear misleading information. We must do so in a civil, non-confrontational, and matter-of-fact manner.
Progressives have a lot of work to do.
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I frequent the localized social media site NextDoor. Following is an interaction that I hope many use as an example of how to civilly engage and correct lies and misinformation in public forums. The intent isn’t necessarily to change the minds of the misinformer but to correct the record for the thousand who will read the message.
Shawn M. Houston mayor John Whitmire just said Houston is “broke”. City council says it may come down to a financial sacrifice by the city and now tax increases are on the table. Also extra fees and even paying for parking after 6…. They are looking for close a nearly 200m dollar deficit. Does the tax aspect affect Atascocita?
LaDonna Lambright: Most Democratic run states and sanctuary cities are BROKE! You get what you vote for!
MY RESPONSE:
Egberto W.LaDonna
LaDonna, The most dangerous thing for our democracy is an uninformed or misinformed citizenry. I know in some media purported as news, it would have many of our good Republican brothers and sisters fall for the belief that party correlates to a city, municipality, or state being broke. That is often the case, but not in the way many have been programmed to believe.
So, let’s be clear: Most Red States are taking more money from the Federal Government than they contribute. Most Blue States subsidize the Red States. Why, because Red States refuse to tax commensurate with the needs of their states while they accuse Blue State of taxing too much even as they subsidize the Red States.
The reality is that, for very technical reasons, if one wanted to research rather than parrot talking points from a controlling misinformation machine, most large cities face financial hurdles irrespective of party control.
Here is another nugget for digestion. The crime rate in the Red States and major Red Cities is higher than in the Blue States. Unfortunately, many are informed by a media that knows its listeners will not dig deeper and will accept their misinformation at face value. The good thing is that anyone here can fact-check me with real data available to all if they choose to do it.
Folks, if we are to move forward as a Democratic country, we must not allow misinformation to flourish as we make bad decisions and vote in those who do not have our best interest at hand.
As an example, we pay billions in taxes for healthcare. Yet, our “fiscally responsible” state legislature leaves these billions on the table for ideological reasons. We are entitled to monies to insure millions of Texans. That is your mother, brother, father, sister, and aunt, who are uninsured by the choice of the state of Texas. So, many die because our legislature, who purport to center on life, refuses the implementation of the Medicaid Expansion to the Affordable Care Act.
Many people read these blurbs. When you see misinformation, please do not let it go uncorrected. Democracy requires an educated population; otherwise, it morphs into an autocracy controlled by a sect that has neither your interest nor mine. We must take responsibility.
We must all be part of the army doing this work in every venue and on all platforms. The Right has been engaging and priming its sycophants for decades. Truth is on our side, and we must assert it. The path to win the 2024 election is there for all to see. We must not go into the 2024 election timidly. We must be bold and self-assured.
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