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Control The Conversation

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I’m tired.

I’m tired of the Right throwing temper tantrums — and grenades. When things aren’t going their way (and after eight long and literally torturous years, it’s about time they aren’t!) what do they do? They act like children.

Essentially, the entire GOP playbook consists of, “Oh, yeah, well, he started it!” and “I’m rubber, you’re glue…” and “Mommy, look what so-and-so did!”

I’m not a parent, but after twenty five years of running businesses, I know a thing or two about managing people. When you have an unproductive or disruptive employee you need to “counsel,” the first thing they do is try to change the conversation, or blame someone for their inability to do their job. That’s what the Republicans are trying to do by their outbursts. (“You lie!” “Socialism!” “Death Panels!”) And that’s the time to start controlling the conversation.

For example, let’s take Steve “Gay Marriage Is Socialism” King. As I wrote yesterday, Rep. King’s latest homophobic rant has him equating same sex marriage with socialism. Seriously. So, I wrote a piece and at the end I reminded folks that (sadly,) Mr. King’s state is in pretty bad shape when it comes to the things that he gets paid to make better. Like child homelessness.

(Never mind that 92% of Iowans say that same sex marriage has not affected them in any way. Rep. King continues to mouth off about it. Get a life, Mr. King! Maybe that’s why he decided to not run for governor. Because then he really would have to do something about the problems he was elected to fix.)

So, I threw a few facts about the condition of Iowa’s children into the mix. Facts like,

  • “Iowa has 142,000 children living in poverty.”
  • “More than 10,033 of Iowa’s children experience homelessness each year…”
  • “Iowa ranks 11th in the nation in child homelessness.”

And that, my friends, is the answer to our Republican nightmare. Get them to focus on doing what they were elected to do, not on what their ideology is forcing them to do.

As activists, writers, journalists, bloggers, change agents, or just concerned citizens, the next time you hear some wingnut start mouthing off about how healthcare, a public option, gay marriage, taxes, a bailout, the census, President Obama, etc., is “Socialism,” — or whatever the GOP has cooked up as its latest talking point, it’s our job to turn the tables and say this:

So, Congressman So-And-So, tell me about the level of education/poverty/homelessness/unemployment/healthcare… in your state. Tell me, what have YOU done to fix it? Why isn’t it fixed? Is it better than when you took office? Is it better than when you got re-elected? Why not?

And then,

“Don’t you dare talk to me about issues like same sex marriage, when there are hungry children, homeless families, people who have lost their jobs, people who don’t have health insurance, food, or shelter in your state. When you’ve fixed those things, THEN you can start attacking the citizens of your state who simply want to live with and love each other, and maybe start a family, and contribute to society. Until then, Congressman, you need to do YOUR job, and take care of those issues and the people in YOUR state.”

THAT’S how we control the conversation.

Let’s not accept the argument as they present it. Let’s not succumb to their talking points. Let’s start talking about issues that really make sense. Let’s bring the conversation down to basics, and force the question:

“Congressman, are you doing your job?”

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News

‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

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First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, speaking Monday afternoon at a National League of Cities conference, told attendees, “Our children deserve better,” as she broke the news of the Nashville school mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School where three children and three adults were shot dead.

“You know,” Dr. Biden, herself an educator and clearly pained by the news, began her remarks by saying, “I hate to say what I’m gonna say next because you know you’re so enthusiastic and with so much energy and hope and I feel it.”

“But while you’ve been in this room, I don’t know whether you’ve been on your phones but we just learned about another shooting in Tennessee, a school shooting and I am truly without words and our children deserve better, and we stand – all of us – we stand with Nashville in prayer.”

READ MORE: New WSJ Poll Is Devastating for DeSantis and His ‘Anti-Woke’ Policies

The First Lady, a former public high school English teacher and currently a professor of English at a community college, was speaking at the organization’s Congressional City Conference.

Watch Dr. Biden below or at this link.

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BREAKING NEWS

Death Toll Rises to Six as Three Children and Three Adults Declared Dead In Covenant School Mass Shooting (Streaming Video)

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Six people have now died after a shooter shot and killed three young children and three adults at The Covenant Presbyterian School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Police say the shooter was a 28-year old woman who had two assault rifles and a handgun.

WSMV announced the rise in deaths on-air, noting that the shooter is also dead. A police spokesperson later increased the announced death toll from five to six. Including the shooter the death toll is seven.

Live streaming video via CBS News below.

This article has been updated with additional video.

1:56 PM ET: Updated to change age of shooter based on new reporting from WSMV.

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ANALYSIS

New WSJ Poll Is Devastating for DeSantis and His ‘Anti-Woke’ Policies

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“Florida is where woke goes to die,” according to the Sunshine State’s governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, who has based much of his expected 2024 presidential campaign on being “anti-woke.”

But a new poll from Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal is devastating to many of the policies being promoted and enacted by Governor DeSantis in his “free state of Florida,” calling into question how he and other Republicans who embrace his ideas will fare on the national stage.

“Patriotism, religious faith, having children and other priorities that helped define the national character for generations are receding in importance to Americans,” warns the WSJ, with some on social media pointing to a graphic that purports to capture how much America has changed in the past 25 years.

READ MORE: Trump Team’s Efforts to Rein Him ‘Wilted’ in Waco as He Invoked ‘Retribution and Violence’: Report

The importance of issues of patriotism, religion, having children, and community involvement have dropped dramatically across America. The one that has increased? Money.

One Democratic strategist calls it “eye-popping.”

Money is also the only issue on which Democrats and Republicans both agree.

But the real siren for Republicans comes in answers to so-called “culture war” questions.

The gap between Democrats and Republicans, expectedly, is huge, but DeSantis – should he launch a presidential run – will confront conservative and independent voters (not to mention, of course, Democrats) who aren’t as keen on, say, banning books, as he might like.

Asked, “Which of these concerns you more about schools today?,” a whopping 61% chose “some schools may ban books and censor topics that are educationally important.” Just 36% opted for “some schools may teach books and topics that some students or their parents feel are inappropriate or offensive.”

And more than half the country (56%) say they have some or a great deal of confidence in public schools. Just one-third (33%) said very little or none.

READ MORE: ‘Pits Parents Against Parents’: House Republicans Pass Anti-LGBTQ Florida-Style K-12 ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’

DeSantis’ attempts to radically reshape the concept of public education in Florida made another dramatic move last week, when the Republican-majority legislature passed a bill the expands the school voucher program to every student. It could decimate enrollment in public schools, which would also reduce the amount of federal funding public schools in the Sunshine State get. Expected to cost billions, it could also lead to expansions of private and faith-based schools.

Monday morning, surrounded by school children, DeSantis signed it into law.

And yet nationally, according to the WSJ poll, a plurality of Americans oppose school vouchers.

“Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose states giving parents tax-funded vouchers they can use to help pay for tuition for their children to attend private or religious schools of their choice instead of public schools?”

37% oppose the vouchers.
34% support them.

Democratic strategist and former Hillary Clinton campaign national spokesperson Josh Schwerin lists a “few findings from the new WSJ poll that should scare Republicans relying on ‘woke’ attacks”: “1) Tolerance is as important as money 2) Book banning is far worse than offensive content 3) Majorities think society has been about right or not gone far enough on range of DEI issues.”

For those who look at Trump rallies, watch right-wing news, or listen to GOP politicians or influencers, the idea that another “red wave” is coming next year may seem real, but even the right-wing Wall Street Journal found that a plurality of voters (44%) identify as Democrats – and just 38% identify as Republicans. 18% call themselves independents without leaning one way or another.

Nearly half the country (47%) identifies as moderate.

One issue from the poll DeSantis and the GOP do seem to have support on is diminishing the rights of transgender Americans, who are under attack every day.

Despite increased anti-trans hate crimes, despite the 430 anti-LGBTQ bills filed this year alone (according to the ACLU,) a plurality of Americans (43%) say society has “gone too far” in accepting transgender people. Just one-third say society hasn’t gone far enough.

But on other issues of equality, as Schwerin mentioned, nearly half the country (48%) say society has not gone far enough in promoting equality between men and women. And pluralities also say society has not gone far enough in accepting people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual (37%), and businesses taking steps to promote racial and ethnic diversity (39%).

There’s another statistic that also flies directly in the face of DeSantis and his “where woke goes to die” motto.

Two-thirds of the country say society has either not gone far enough has been “about right” on “Schools and universities taking steps to promote racial and ethnic diversity.”

Just three in ten Americans (30%) say society has gone too far.

See the video and graphics above or at this link.

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