It’s so easy for sane Americans to focus on the horrible, terrible, cruel and unbelievably stupid things that MAGA Republicans are doing daily. A recent example is the devastation in Texas, where inadequate warnings in advance of the weather–a result partially attributable to massive employee cuts to the Weather Service– cost over 85 people their lives.
What is frustrating is that it was so foreseeable: When the mindless, reckless cuts were being made, Scientific American ran a story headlined “How Trump’s National Weather Service Cuts Could Cost Lives,” warning that “staff cuts at the National Weather Service that have been made by the Trump administration are a danger to public safety as tornadoes, hurricanes and heat loom this spring and summer.”
The GOP has given rational Americans so many targets at both the state and federal levels that there is an understandable tendency to spend our time pointing and complaining. But as the new Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party has reminded us, complaining neglects the most important story, which is that–unlike the GOP– Democrats understand the obligations of governing, and we need to remind voters that all Americans, not just wealthy White ones, do better when Democrats are in charge.
I agree, so I wrote the following:
What happens when Americans elect Democrats? People do better.
When Democrats are in charge, states like California, New York, Massachusetts, Washington raise the minimum wage to $15/hour or higher.
Democrats in Blue states act to protect health coverage (Washington State even created a public health insurance option—the only one in the country) and pass laws requiring paid family and medical leave.
Blue states—including Oregon, California, Washington, Colorado and New York—make it easier to vote, expanding early voting and passing election reforms like automatic voter registration and same day registration.
Democrats support public education, and Blue states like New York, California and Oregon offer tuition-free college programs.
Indiana’s neighbor, Illinois, is a good example of the difference between Democrats who govern for We the People and Republicans who govern for the donor class. This July, Illinois Governor Pritzker signed the state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Act, limiting unfair pricing practices and supporting independent pharmacies, along with four bills to help high school students afford college. In January, Pritzker signed a bill forbidding payment of less than minimum wage to disabled workers.
And the Republicans?
In Red Indiana, they’ve kept the minimum wage at 7.25 since 2009, when they grudgingly had to raise it to match the federal rate.
In Red Indiana, Republicans are throwing people off Medicaid using stricter eligibility checks, work requirements, and enrollment caps, erecting barriers that hurt the most vulnerable populations.
Red States have made it harder for their citizens to vote– cutting early voting, requiring specific government-issued IDs, and throwing out ballots with minor errors. Polls in Red Indiana and Kentucky close at 6– earlier than any other state—making it harder for working people to cast ballots.
From education to gun safety, from climate and the environment, from education to worker protection, Democratic lawmakers work to make citizens’ lives better and fairer, while Republicans wage culture wars and make it harder for middle-class Americans to earn a decent living.
Which approach really makes America great?
Indiana’s neighbor, Illinois, is just one example of the difference between government for We the People and government for the donor class. Just this month, Governor Pritzker signed the state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Act, limiting unfair pricing practices and supporting independent pharmacies, along with four bills designed to help high school students get into and afford to pay for college in Illinois. In January, he signed a bill forbidding payment of less than minimum wage to disabled workers.
There’s much more.
From education to gun safety, from climate and the environment, from education to worker protection, Democratic lawmakers in Blue America are working to protect the right to vote and the right to fair treatment. Meanwhile, Republicans in Red America are rolling back their citizens’ rights, making it harder to vote and harder for middle-class Americans to earn a decent living.
Which approach really makes America great?
I find it hard to take the advice of anyone from the DP in Indiana, where they’ve had zero success. They’ve allowed Andre Carson to rule in the spot where his family has ruled for decades. Other than that, they are a nothinburger.
I think the Democrats in general are smarter than the Republicans, so they make a more convincing case, especially when facing their Republican counterparts in Congress. However, when they have the power to rule, they always whiff. And, as we’ve seen since January, they cannot coordinate a meaningful opposition to the Elite Billionaire Rule because they take money from the same people. Has a single Democrat added a plank to go after Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Thiel, etc.?
They talk, talk, talk, talk, and make speeches after speeches about our gross wealth and income inequality, but have proposed nothing to remedy the situation. Once Bill Clinton moved the party under Wall Street control and away from the working class, they’ve been cultural warriors just like the Republicans.
Watching the Democratic Party meltdown over Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, is all I need to know about the so-called left wing of the uniparty.
I agree with Todd about Indiana’s Democrats, and have for years. Feckless is my usual term. Yes, Democrats govern better, but that is in comparison with the Republicans.
Is there such a thing as a Young Democrats group any more? I read and hear about activities of Young Republicans, but there’s nothing to see or hear about Young Democrats. Admittedly, that might be because of where I live, but I saw many young people at the No Kings rally. They didn’t have any organization, though.
When I talk with younger potential voters, they have no understanding about either the function of nor the purpose of government. Where’s “School House Rock,” when we need it? I don’t expect them to have the intricate knowledge of someone with experience in the system, but it would be nice if they knew that Senators have a six year term, while Representatives serve two year terms,THE BASICS.
If Zorhan Mamdani gets the young voters excited enough to show up, then thank God and welcome, brother! The Democrats who are appalled need to wake up and smell the coffee. Do it now before the cost of coffee is up by fifty percent.😎
A NYTimes article ran a story about how the Republican state legislature in Missouri overturned two of last year’s state ballot initiatives, a $15 minimum wage and a sick leave law, both passed by more than a 60% majority. The article then pointed out that Missouri voters keep voting for Republicans. Republicans just don’t care what constituents want and the voters are too stubborn, ignorant, or brainwashed to understand.
Here is the article. It should not be behind a paywall.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/us/missouri-minimum-wage-leave.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WE8.jlVy.M77IX1hS69YF&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Thanks for your succinct take on Republicans and their voters. The confirmation bias among them is profound and, really, pathological. They will vote against their own best interests including limiting their ability to vote. They should be up for a mass Darwin Award.
Meanwhile, in Texas, their Republicans decided it was too expensive to install a flood warning siren system. No problem. They just let to summer camps be devastated with multiple deaths that could have been prevented. It’s how Republicans rule, isn’t it? Deaths of innocent, unsuspecting people is the cost of doing business in their world of donors.
As has been said may times on this blog: EVERYTHING REPUBLICANS TOUCH DIES. Don’t let them touch your children.
I am a little tired of all the negative comments about the Indiana Dems. They had qualified, competent candidates running for state offices and still faced the hard core rural, racist, evangelical, good ol’ boys’ business networks who control everything in the state with the dark money handlers pushing the agendas that mean voter suppression, homophobia, misogyny and xenophobia. If you are so disillusioned then do something about it whenever you can.
The deep-rooted bigotry never really went away in many parts of the state after the Klan fell apart in the 1920s.
We have sociopaths in office as governor, lt. governor, the AG and Secretary of State, to name just a few. Toss in white Christian nationalism and you have the perfect recipe for a failed state and authoritarian ascendance. The attributes of all these officeholders have been on clear display for decades, yet they get elected and re-elected by the same mindless, willfully ignorant regulars at the polls while the disinterested or disenfranchised, gerrymandered voters decide to stay home because they know their voice doesn’t matter at the state or federal level, often where the only candidate on the ballot is an unopposed GOP..
Like others on this comment section. I refuse to give any money to the national Dems because it all goes to swing states, little, if any, is used in Indiana. I supported state and local Dems both financially and physically. It made no difference when faced with people whose sole aim was to cause others to suffer as much as possible to justify their own bigotry, all while calling themselves Christian. RESIST.
Marx
As I mentioned the other day, Ohio and Kentucky have started their own Pharmacy Benefit Manager program (socialism), which not only saves millions/billions in taxpayer dollars, but also provides superior service. Imagine that!
Indiana Dems could offer the same proposal, along with legalizing marijuana. We could also consider embracing worker co-ops and unions, where rank-and-file committee members take the lead, rather than the corrupt unions.
There are so many pro-working-class planks they could represent, but for decades, their only platform is that we’re not Republicans. That. Excites. Nobody.
I just returned from 12 days aboard an excursion ship that circumnavigated Iceland. On board were about 190 passengers (Adventure Canada) most of whom were Canadians. Briefly, they’re sad, frightened and disappointed at our government’s behavior and “decisions” from the psychopathic bully. They recognize this fully and have put aside their own political differences to unite against what they see as really hard times while they restructure their trade partner emphasis. We apologized for the 24% of the idiots who are MAGA and the 82 million morons who didn’t vote. I warned the Canadians that they’re witnessing how democracies die and to take care of their own by participating and voting. They heartily agreed.
And oh, how nice, polite and erudite they were – as a group. Must be something to do with their funding of schools. Silly me. Who knew?
Folks, let’s be cautious in blaming weather bureaus and NOAA for deaths due to flooding and inadequate warnings. The owners of Camp Mystic never applied to be accredited by the American Camping Association with over 300 standards including published emergency preparedness and alternative communications when cellphones become useless.
The owners of Camp Mystic lobbied, supported by influence, to move 100 year flood plain maps in order to get building permits to expand sleeping cabins for children.
Mystic had a night watchman on duty but he had no means to communicate with urgency literally running as fast as he could to warn cabin units.
Kerr County would not approve technology to install warning transmitters as water reached danger levels upstream at intervals. Other river authorities in Texas routinely install and maintain interval warning systems. Property owners and operators in river authorities have long established and drill emergency procedures. There is no sacred canopy protecting children of wealth when entrusted to people who have groomed parents into believing they are in good hands. Mystic is a for profit private camp and should be accountable for their lack of preparedness and poor decisions in the development of the camping grounds while they should be focusing foremost on safety of children first before profit.
Politics has become as dull as television. OK, both parties are sub-standard but the Democrats at least are capable of proposing some policies and ideas that don’t pivot around MAGA. Some of the ideas are pretty good. But Democrats are up against the holy trinity of gerrymander, lies and professional disinformation. Thank Reagan and the Republicans that followed his administration for legislation that made Fox, InfoWars and the others possible.
Good for Washington state, offering a public health insurance option! Maybe they saw the meme, “Universal health care is such a complex beast that only 32 of the world’s 33 developed nations have been able to make it work.”
Gosh Norris, I’ll bet the people who send their kids to those private, for-profit camps vote for Republicans too. No wonder there’s so much incompetence at every level.