Media Creator, Producer, Director, Editor, and Marketing strategist. Work in film, television, radio, print, and web media. From NYC. Live in Boston.
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Tony Bennis retweeted
There is one group of Americans who have every right to have lost faith in the American Experiment and the possibility of change through democracy. African Americans have been murdered, tortured, denied equal rights and protection simply for being Americans who wanted to be treated equally and vote.
When they lost elections, they didn't storm the Capitol in a violent attempt to throw out results.
They organized, registered more voters and kept faith with the promise of America.
Yesterday, that faith once again made history.
On TV in days before elections, Republican leaders stated that Republicans were gonna win in midterms.
They knew they weren't but of course it's what they said.
TV networks make mistake asking political party leaders that question. It's meaningless
@jayrosen_nyu @JRubinBlogger
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Extremely important explanation about the situation for the Mississippi US Senate election with @scott_colom holding a 50-vote lead and what the complex process is for counting the rest of the votes.
Thank you Denita @TheSouthPiece for mapping this out.
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Tony Bennis retweeted
In 1860, an enslaved man named Sheppard Peek was listed among the possessions of William Peek. His value was placed at $1,400, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
They put a price on his body, but they could NEVER put a limit on his bloodline’s potential! THAT is the POWER of our ancestors’ resilience! Congratulations to Sheppard Peek’s great-great-granddaughter, Keisha Lance Bottoms, on making history!
Reason Republican Party suffered historic defeats in midterm election is NOT primarily due to Iran War (a war created by current administration).
Americans were fed-up by virtually every aspect of GOP-led governance during the last 2 years.
GOP lost track of their responsibility
One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.
So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."
Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.
There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.
But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.
Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel
Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)
In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.
The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.
If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.
But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.
I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.
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Excellent article - and timely - by @drlynnmargolies for @PsychToday
Are we fueling narcissism without realizing it? Learn the psychology behind how everyday reactions can reinforce inflated egos.
#Narcissist #PsychologyToday #Confidence
psychologytoday.com/us/blog/…
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This is so stunningly racist - and clueless.
But what's truly the worst part, is that Secretary Rollins likely doesn't even understand her own racist ignorance.
The racism, bigotry, and hate-provoking fear-mongering from current administration is opposite of American values.
Tony Bennis retweeted
🧵 To all of the Black people who believe your vote doesn't matter—and you're out here trying to convince Black people to stay home:
Take a moment to hear me out.
This is Elbert Williams. He is one of many who gave his life for your right to vote.
Here's how: (cont)
Tony Bennis retweeted
A private prison company offered Minnesota an empty prison for 75 million dollars. The state said no. Then Trump’s administration paid the same company almost 500 million for it.
The prison has sat empty in Appleton, Minnesota since 2010. Last year CoreCivic emailed the state and offered to sell it for 75 million, upgrades included. Minnesota passed. Fifteen months later, Homeland Security bought it for an ICE detention center at 495.6 million.
How could this be? You guessed it. CoreCivic gave half a million dollars to Trump’s inaugural committee. And it still gets paid about 75 million a year to run the place.
Republicans love talking about fraud in Minnesota. JD Vance says his task force is all over it. So where are they on this one? I break it all down in today’s show (link in reply).
This is extremely powerful and compelling commentary. I urge everybody to watch this video by @aprilajoyr
Tony Bennis retweeted
If every voter in South Carolina watches this Fox News interview with @AnnieAndrewsMD, she will win this election by 20 points.
Tony Bennis retweeted
Easy choice: A child handed a Senate seat she’s unqualified for vs a professional grown up.
THE SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE SUMMARY IN TWO LINES:
🔴DARLINE GRAHAM: "KISS MY ASS."
🔵DR. ANNIE ANDREWS: "I'LL SAVE YOUR HOSPITALS."
Dr. Andrews is a peditrician who's #1 priority is stopping the Medicaid cuts.
This is devastatingly horrible - and must be watched.
So much ignorant hateful racism & bigotry.
A cancer on humanity.
School administration and school committee must have major conversations with these misguided young men - and their parents.
@LqLana @NAACP @splcenter @ACLU
It starts at home.
This is the next generation of racists.
They will be at jobs. They will be in politics. They will be on sports teams.
The bus driver and coach should have shut this shit down but if you agree why would you?
#DemsUnited
It seems like judges need to issue serious consequences for the lawyers. Warnings are no longer enough. Contempt and disbarment perhaps should be considered.
DC judge orders new golf course hearing after Trump vows to push ahead with redevelopment thehill.com/policy/sports-ga…
You can't just fire people because you fear what they will uncover while they're doing their job.
You can't claim to be the "law and order" party when you are blocking the law from being carried out.
Court rules firing of Maureen Comey without cause or due process violated the law. The president’s duty is to execute the law “faithfully.”
storage.courtlistener.com/re…
Tony Bennis retweeted
I believe this will be considered one of the most important videos in US history from this time.
Tony Bennis retweeted
The Republican governor of Ohio, @GovMikeDeWine, should withdraw his support for Vivek Ramaswamy.
Key part is when @CBSEveningNews @tonydokoupil says "okay, we'll leave it there."
Stunning journalism failure.
A strong neutral reporter would give 10 examples of clear Trump corruption. He buys Dell stock then urges public to purchase Dell computers.
@jayrosen_nyu @grynbaum
JD Vance: "I've not seen a single shred of evidence that Donald Trump participates or sanctions in that corruption ... I've not once seen evidence that Donald Trump has enriched himself"
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Tony Bennis retweeted
In 1946 WWII veteran Maceo Snipes was shot in his back by the KKK the day after he became the first Black person to cast a vote in Taylor County, Georgia.
After he was shot, Mr. Snipes walked three miles to the hospital with his mother. For six hours doctors left him waiting and bleeding. By the time he was seen, he needed a blood transfusion. The doctors said the hospital had no “black blood.” Snipes died two days later.
This is why I will vote in every election. This is why you should vote in every election.
The day I stop voting is the day I stop breathing. What about you?
#DemsUnited
