One reason Republican politicians are increasingly wanting to slow or halt support to Ukraine is simply that a victory for Ukraine before 2024 would make Biden really difficult to beat. It would infuse a level of optimism and confidence into the American psyche that we haven't experienced for a while. Paired with a healing economy Democrats would be in a very strong position. They know that.
I just listened to the Bulwark today and they talked about how dangerous DeSantis' message is to decisions that are being made today. My only hope is that the Europeans see what Putin is doing now a precursor of what is next. The comparisons to Hitler are fair and apt. I do think that the establishment wing of the Rep party (National Review types) who have signed on to DeSantis may end up with buyer's remorse. We shall see.
DeSantis, Trump, R's have some traction in their argument. Not merit, but traction. Your essay was one of your best writings. Their argument can be persuasive --how can America tackle two global forces at the same time, will be repeated. We have to state do you or do you know support Putin and his form of govt? We have to remind people that we have the capacity and moral calling to fight more than one battle for democracy on more than one continent at the same time. (SLN, no relative)
Excellent analysis of why Ukraine 🇺🇦 is no laissez-faire option like DeSantis would like America to believe. Ex-Gov Chris Christie said it was the equivalent of Neville Chamberlain the British PM at the time downplaying Hitler's invasion of Chechoslavkia and Austria 🇦🇹 before WW2 I read today. Just shows how 🤔 much DeSantis is accepting of Putin, kinda like how Mussolini was accepting of Hitler until Italy 🇮🇹 ended up in over their heads in WW2. They all were fascist autocratic leaders too.
The quickest way to deal with a bully and achieve "peace" is to punch him in the face. Fast. Hard. With confidence and righteous anger.
This applies to Putin, who is finally getting punched in the face by Ukraine and NATO every day. If he'd gotten punched in the face in 2014 we would have achieved a much cheaper and more just peace.
And it applies to Ron DeSantis, who is transparently nothing more than a little brat. His only power comes from the deference the media gives him.
Simon, my critique of this piece is in the framing. "MAGA's rancid appeasement of Putin has been among the darkest chapters in our history" cedes power to DeSantis and MAGA, which they love. THEY have the power to write the darkest chapter in our history. Like manna. It feeds them and keeps them alive. We fret and pray that they can't come into power.
We need to stop playing along. It's time to mock this little brat. Point out non-stop his pathetic weakness.
I know we can't say "DeSantis bows to Putin like a little bitch" in all communications and channels, but that's a frame that sucks power from MAGA. Progressives should ask "does my headline / post / take cede power to MAGA or diminish MAGA."
We know how dangerous MAGA can be. We don't need any more reminders. Instead we need to produce rhetoric that embarrasses MAGA, empowers progressives and small-d democrats, and stops feeding the impression that MAGA is some all-powerful dark force.
Agree. And to "get louder" effectively, we do need -- as Simon points out -- a term for this conflict we are in with Putin's Russia. Something better than "hybrid war". Something that can catch hold in the national narrative. Something a debate moderator can reference when asking "whose side are you on in this "______ war?" Maybe this forum is a good place to surface ideas.
“It’s one of the reasons I am so adamant about us learning how to get louder, and becoming far more intentional about contesting the information space every day…. I have become convinced that part of Greater MAGA’s strategy is to intentionally poison our discourse with negative sentiment every day. “ Mr. Rosenberg
We need to withdraw as unwitting participants in the discourse poisoning by especially "contesting the information space" as Mr. Rosenberg has pointed out.
It took 3 versions but the NYT finally accepted my comment in response to an op ed where it was so clear that the author had gotten mesmerized by the Republicans’ “woke” obsession.
Here is my comment: “It's no secret the Republicans are waging a war. A Culture War. They refuse to work for the American people. They have no policy, no budget, no interest in working with the Democratic Party. It's up to the Democratic Party, Voters and the Media to not get sucked into this maelstrom of such idiocies as the "woke" strategy of the Republicans. Next time could Mr. Bouie resist quoting the inanities of Republicans and instead discuss real issues?”
We must challenge the media at every step. This can happen in the comments sections.
Well-written. If Simon (and other curious readers) want to flesh out the geopolitics further, I recommend reading Peter Zeihan's The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization. For a great read on bridging the gap in trying to understand AND communicate civilly with those on "the other side" from you, I just finished, and recommend strongly, Monica Guzman's I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. An easy read with some excellent suggestions.
Glad this is being highlighted by Simon as a major issue we must come to grips with in the United States. We better get the language sorted on Putin and his enablers in this never-ending horse race news cycle.
Thankfully we will have this space with Simon to better understand how we can fight back and make a difference. Looking forward to tonight’s discussion with Simon, Bill Kristol and Robert Hubbell at 7:30 pm EST.
"...we are struggling here in the US to understand the nature of the conflict we now find ourselves in.." I am begging Americans who value Democracy to stop getting immersed in culture wars. Getting sucked into hating, name calling, and crafting made up names in lieu of knowing the facts, developing strategy and questioning what the mainstream media is saying plays right into the purpose of the Culture Warriors. Distraction keeps Americans from seeing the threat Mr. Rosenberg is speaking of here. An example of this is a seasoned columnist in a famous publication spending a whole column complaining because the Republicans keep calling us woke.
One reason Republican politicians are increasingly wanting to slow or halt support to Ukraine is simply that a victory for Ukraine before 2024 would make Biden really difficult to beat. It would infuse a level of optimism and confidence into the American psyche that we haven't experienced for a while. Paired with a healing economy Democrats would be in a very strong position. They know that.
I just listened to the Bulwark today and they talked about how dangerous DeSantis' message is to decisions that are being made today. My only hope is that the Europeans see what Putin is doing now a precursor of what is next. The comparisons to Hitler are fair and apt. I do think that the establishment wing of the Rep party (National Review types) who have signed on to DeSantis may end up with buyer's remorse. We shall see.
DeSantis, Trump, R's have some traction in their argument. Not merit, but traction. Your essay was one of your best writings. Their argument can be persuasive --how can America tackle two global forces at the same time, will be repeated. We have to state do you or do you know support Putin and his form of govt? We have to remind people that we have the capacity and moral calling to fight more than one battle for democracy on more than one continent at the same time. (SLN, no relative)
The new term for the war we are in is called Mindfuck.
Excellent analysis of why Ukraine 🇺🇦 is no laissez-faire option like DeSantis would like America to believe. Ex-Gov Chris Christie said it was the equivalent of Neville Chamberlain the British PM at the time downplaying Hitler's invasion of Chechoslavkia and Austria 🇦🇹 before WW2 I read today. Just shows how 🤔 much DeSantis is accepting of Putin, kinda like how Mussolini was accepting of Hitler until Italy 🇮🇹 ended up in over their heads in WW2. They all were fascist autocratic leaders too.
The quickest way to deal with a bully and achieve "peace" is to punch him in the face. Fast. Hard. With confidence and righteous anger.
This applies to Putin, who is finally getting punched in the face by Ukraine and NATO every day. If he'd gotten punched in the face in 2014 we would have achieved a much cheaper and more just peace.
And it applies to Ron DeSantis, who is transparently nothing more than a little brat. His only power comes from the deference the media gives him.
Simon, my critique of this piece is in the framing. "MAGA's rancid appeasement of Putin has been among the darkest chapters in our history" cedes power to DeSantis and MAGA, which they love. THEY have the power to write the darkest chapter in our history. Like manna. It feeds them and keeps them alive. We fret and pray that they can't come into power.
We need to stop playing along. It's time to mock this little brat. Point out non-stop his pathetic weakness.
I know we can't say "DeSantis bows to Putin like a little bitch" in all communications and channels, but that's a frame that sucks power from MAGA. Progressives should ask "does my headline / post / take cede power to MAGA or diminish MAGA."
We know how dangerous MAGA can be. We don't need any more reminders. Instead we need to produce rhetoric that embarrasses MAGA, empowers progressives and small-d democrats, and stops feeding the impression that MAGA is some all-powerful dark force.
Agree. And to "get louder" effectively, we do need -- as Simon points out -- a term for this conflict we are in with Putin's Russia. Something better than "hybrid war". Something that can catch hold in the national narrative. Something a debate moderator can reference when asking "whose side are you on in this "______ war?" Maybe this forum is a good place to surface ideas.
“It’s one of the reasons I am so adamant about us learning how to get louder, and becoming far more intentional about contesting the information space every day…. I have become convinced that part of Greater MAGA’s strategy is to intentionally poison our discourse with negative sentiment every day. “ Mr. Rosenberg
We need to withdraw as unwitting participants in the discourse poisoning by especially "contesting the information space" as Mr. Rosenberg has pointed out.
It took 3 versions but the NYT finally accepted my comment in response to an op ed where it was so clear that the author had gotten mesmerized by the Republicans’ “woke” obsession.
Here is my comment: “It's no secret the Republicans are waging a war. A Culture War. They refuse to work for the American people. They have no policy, no budget, no interest in working with the Democratic Party. It's up to the Democratic Party, Voters and the Media to not get sucked into this maelstrom of such idiocies as the "woke" strategy of the Republicans. Next time could Mr. Bouie resist quoting the inanities of Republicans and instead discuss real issues?”
We must challenge the media at every step. This can happen in the comments sections.
Well-written. If Simon (and other curious readers) want to flesh out the geopolitics further, I recommend reading Peter Zeihan's The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization. For a great read on bridging the gap in trying to understand AND communicate civilly with those on "the other side" from you, I just finished, and recommend strongly, Monica Guzman's I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. An easy read with some excellent suggestions.
Glad this is being highlighted by Simon as a major issue we must come to grips with in the United States. We better get the language sorted on Putin and his enablers in this never-ending horse race news cycle.
Thankfully we will have this space with Simon to better understand how we can fight back and make a difference. Looking forward to tonight’s discussion with Simon, Bill Kristol and Robert Hubbell at 7:30 pm EST.
"...we are struggling here in the US to understand the nature of the conflict we now find ourselves in.." I am begging Americans who value Democracy to stop getting immersed in culture wars. Getting sucked into hating, name calling, and crafting made up names in lieu of knowing the facts, developing strategy and questioning what the mainstream media is saying plays right into the purpose of the Culture Warriors. Distraction keeps Americans from seeing the threat Mr. Rosenberg is speaking of here. An example of this is a seasoned columnist in a famous publication spending a whole column complaining because the Republicans keep calling us woke.