Ask Me Anything About Politics

What the hell do we do now?!Has it EVER been this bad before?! Worried we’re teetering on edge of democracy.Is anything going to be okay? Is our country over?

1968 was just as bad, if not worse. But this is definitely in the top 5 hardest moments in American history.

But things will not be okay until liberals and progressives start voting the way Republicans do.

Republicans vote for their candidate, come hell or high water. They do not put them through the emotional, wooing gauntlet that we do. They show up for every election - local to federal - and vote down the ticket Republican. They also volunteer as poll workers and donate money to their local party, state party, national party, and to candidates. 

This money funds legal efforts to write election laws in their favor, and to file lawsuits to dismantle laws not in their favor through the courts. And given the number of federal judicial appointments Trump has made in his first term, their job has become a lot easier.

Republicans fall in line. They open their wallets. They pass laws that protect their majority. Meanwhile, Democrats have to fall in love. This is why we keep losing.

All of these things are legal. They may not be right, but they’re legal. And if you don’t like them, then vote for and fund the candidates and groups that write and pass new laws and dismantle unjust ones through the courts.

Breonna Taylor. Is this a joke?

The law was upheld. Which is a clear reminder that just because something is legal doesn’t make it right.

Don’t like it? Do what the Republicans do. Vote in every SINGLE election. Donate to the party. Focus on local elections - DA, AG, state courts - because that’s where decisions like these are made and how justice is enforced has some sway. 

And if you live in Manhattan, PLEASE support Eliza Orlins for DA. She is a tireless champion for the underrepresented and I am going to do everything in my power to get her elected. DM me if you’d like to get involved.

Does this count? How much wine has it caused you to drink this week?

I’m keeping it to one glass a night (I drink half while cooking, half with dinner) because I’m old and hangovers are really hard when you’re 36.

That said, I’ve upped my CBD dosage - an extra-strength gelcap in the morning, a standard-strength gelcap with extra-strength oil at night.

Clarification on how the Senate works? Referencing your earlier stories from the other dayAre you for getting rid of filibuster? It scares me because can’t go back!

There are a couple important things to know about the Senate:

1. Typically, a bill requires 60 votes to pass the Senate. Reconciliation - a process that expedites passing legislation related to budgets - only requires a simple majority, or 51 votes. The Affordable Care Act and the Republican tax bill were passed via reconciliation, and they can be undone by reconciliation.

2. Filibuster is a method to delay or block legislative action that can be invoked by the minority party in the Senate. Cloture is the procedure to end a filibuster, and it typically requires 60 votes in the Senate. However, due to Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, only a simple majority is required to invoke cloture on nominations.

3. The ‘nuclear option’ - eliminating the 60 votes required on executive branch nominations and judicial appoints - was exercised by Harry Reid in 2013. Why? Because 82 executive branch nominations and judicial appointments made by Obama were blocked by cloture in his first four years as president, contrasted with the 86 blocked by all other presidents collectively. McConnell extended this option in 2017, allowing for Supreme Court justices to be confirmed with a simple majority.

I can understand why Harry Reid opted for the nuclear option, but I didn’t agree with it then and I don’t agree with it now. Fully eliminating the filibuster - and thus, the 60 votes required for cloture - puts us in grave danger of single party rule, and I fear that Congress and the presidency will be continuously undoing whatever the previous party did, and we the people would suffer for it.

I believe we need to reform the filibuster. This article suggests to change the votes required for cloture to 40, and all bills to be passed by a simple majority. It’s the first pragmatic suggestion I’ve seen yet, but I’m keeping my eyes open for more.

Thoughts on Supreme Court and Congress (how they function or not)

Honestly, books can and have been written about this and A User’s Guide To Democracy is an excellent and illustrated one. Highly recommend reading it!

Is there any way to stop Trump and the senate for appointing a new Supreme Court Justice?Is there any hope there won’t be a nomination if we can’t round up 4 Republican senators?Is there any feasible way to prevent Trump/McConnell from pushing SCOTUS?

No. Mitch McConnell has the votes, the dates set, and Trump will have appointed 3 Supreme Court Justices in his first term.

I’m more focused on who the nominee is going to be. I hope Trump does pick a center-right nominee (Barbara Lagoa would be a strong choice, and her judicial appointment received a 80-15 votes).

I hope that the Democrats do win back the Senate and that Justice Breyer retires early so we may fill that seat, as Trump did with Justice Kennedy.

Does a president have the power to expand the Supreme Court beyond 9?Is packing the court in 2021 a viable strategy if the Senate pushes a confirmation through?So if Dems do expand the court whats to stop Republicans from doing the same? 😞

Congress must pass an act that is then signed by the President, in order to add seats to the court. A party will need both houses of Congress and the presidency in order to do so.

That said, I don’t think it’ll happen. A number of Democrats have already spoken out against packing the courts, and any Democratic pickups in the Senate would likely align with them in order to hold on to those seats. 

What do you think happens if we have a 4-4 court AND a contested election?

First of all, we won’t have a 4-4 court. Barring a miracle, a new SCOTUS justice will be seated before the election.

Trump will most certainly win a contested election. SCOTUS has ruled conservatively on voting rights and access, and it’s important to remember that Justice Roberts advised Governor Jeb Bush during the 2000 recount, and Brett Kavanaugh was a lawyer for the Bush campaign at the time. 

Do people know that 700k+ DC residents don’t have a voting rep in Congress?

DC does have a representative in the House, but they do not have representation in the Senate as it’s not been granted statehood.

What would the founders think of this? I can’t imagine they’d expect this.

Remember that the founders were White men, many who were slaveowners, and the world in 2020 would probably send them right back into their graves.

I do think Ben Franklin would be in a corner, laugh-crying into his beer.

What do you think is the most secure way to vote in this election? Fearing manipulation.I registered for an absentee ballot but worry it won’t count, can I just vote early instead?

I think voting in-person early is the safest option, if you are in good health and not immunocompromised in any way. If you have a health reason to vote via absentee ballot, then I would drop off your ballot at the local elections office (or whatever your state decides) to bypass the mail.

Why are citizens who had been in jail not allowed to vote?What’s the condition for felons voting in states that allow them to vote?

It’s a state-by-state issue if inmates, probationers, and parolees can vote. Maine and Vermont are the only two states who allow them to vote.

Many states have reinstated voting rights to returning citizens who have served their time, though there is often a fee (a poll tax) that the citizen must pay in order to have their voting rights reformed. 

I’d love a methodology for researching the judges on my ballot.

Ballotpedia is a great resource for this.

How can a multi-party system come about? Is this likely?

Despite our founders’ best intentions, our two party system was birthed shortly after our nation was. The Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party emerged in the 1790s, and we’ve been a two-party country ever since.

I don’t see a viable third party emerging in my lifetime, if history is any indicator.

How long in the past has it taken Supreme Court Justices to be replaced?

On average, 67 days.

Why hasn’t Biden talked more about the economy? Should be an easy win! Frustrating.

Biden does talk about the economy. The media doesn’t report on it.

What is the right response from Biden if GOP controlled states redirect their electors to Trump?

In this case, Biden has the SCOTUS on his side, as they unanimously ruled that a state’s ‘faithless elector’ laws are constitutional (meaning a state can punish a faithless elector if they vote against the candidate they were pledged to support).

But it does come down to every state, and their laws. These punishments are often fines, and some key swing states have no laws punishing faithless electors (Pennsylvania, for one). That said, if the election is thrown to the House Of Representatives, Biden would likely win.

Why is there such a big gap between Election Day and Inauguration Day?

To allow the president-elect to prepare for the transition (Cabinet nominations, staffing, transfer from the current administration to the new one). The last few episodes of the last season of The West Wing do a great job of showing how chaotic it is.

Who, according to you, has been the best president so far? Why?

Every president has his achievements and his failings, so I can’t answer that question as intended. 

I personally find Johnson and Nixon fascinating, for their failures and how they contended with them as much as their achievements. I do find them both the most politically productive presidents in modern history - Johnson with civil rights, Nixon on foreign policy. Nixon also had an incredible national health care program that had consensus on both sides of the aisle…but he had to be a paranoid crook and impeachment proceedings took over.

Is there anything good that Trump has done in his 4 years?

The First Step Act, paid parental leave for federal employees, permanent funding for HBCUs, and the Abraham Accords. The jury’s out on Opportunity Zones, but we will see if that policy does improve communities for the people who currently live there (and isn’t just another gentrification ploy).

What were some of the bad/wrong decisions taken by Obama during his tenure?

I want to preface this with my love and deep respect for Obama, and the ACA (even with its flaws) was monumental. I wish we had spent the past 8 years building upon it versus trying to destroy it, but I digress…

Bipartisanship took a death blow under the Obama presidency (though he wasn’t the cause for it). And I blame both Obama (an ideologue who thought he knew best and didn’t try to cross the aisle at the beginning) and congressional Republicans (who felt they gave and gave during the recession recovery programs and socialized healthcare, in their view, was just too much too fast). The bad blood between both parties intensified and has only gotten worse under Trump.

I think Biden could help heal this divisiveness by introducing a massive infrastructure bill (which has bipartisan support) - it’s got job creation, much needed repair work in our nation, bringing in private sector investment and pilot testing union reform, and allows us to repair the electrical grid and install high speed connectivity in the process. Biden could do a lot of COVID-19 medical recovery through the executive branch, and the infrastructure bill would be followed up with bipartisan economic recovery bills from COVID. 

This is highly unlikely to happen, but a girl can dream...

What is the case for the electoral college? (Aka wtf do we still use that system)Please explain the electoral college in simple terms, if possible. Thanks!What would be the process to eliminate the electoral college?

Each state’s electoral votes are the sum of their congressional representatives and senators. So Wyoming has 1 representative and two senators, thus 3 electoral votes. The number of congressional seats is dependent on the census, so PLEASE FILL OUT THE CENSUS IF YOU HAVEN’T YET.

Why do we have an electoral college? Frankly, because our founders didn’t trust democracy. In the early days, votes were for a slate of electors who then voted for President. Today, those electors are bound by laws or party pledges to vote in line with the popular vote of the state, though that could be tested in this election in a significant way.

An amendment would be required to abolish the electoral college, which requires a 2/3 vote in the House and Senate respectively and for 3/4 of the states to adopt it. 

Rather than abolishing the electoral college, I think statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico is more likely. DC would receive 3 electoral college votes and Puerto Rico is likely to receive 6, with a similar population to that of Iowa. Statehood requires passage in Congress, and states may not be created from parts of existing states without the consent form those states. Adding 4 new senators and 9 more electoral college votes would be the prudent move.

Resources for immigrant missing years of background info?

Axios, @emilyinyourphone, you can always DM me any questions you might have and I’ll direct you to the best resources I know of. I also recommend you read your local newspaper to get caught up on the issues that are affecting your community.

I’ve seen a lot of people writing postcards for dems and I‘d like to do that but can’t find how to start?!

Vote Forward!

How do I figure out which pro-voting agency to volunteer for?

The one that represents your values the most! I’m working with They See Blue and the Biden campaign because I’m most aligned with them.

What’s your best argument for “they’re all corrupt so I’m not going to vote” people?What to say to third party voters who wont’t budge?

Your vote is your voice. If you don’t vote, you’re abdicating your voice and you need to make peace with that.

We have been a two-party system since the founding of the union and history and the Constitution shows that a change isn’t going to happen anytime soon, so vote for the lesser of two evils and the party that represents you best and quit your bitchin’.

No q’s but wanted to say thank you for sharing what u know! I will be a citizen in time to vote!

Welcome to this grand experiment! I’m thrilled to welcome you to the circus.

Why didn’t anyone get in trouble for having RNC at the WH? What about the Hatch Act?

Because the Justice Department would have to file against the President and executive branch, and Bill Barr will never do so.

How do we break out of our echo chambers and engage with people in different parties?

You have to be willing to listen, as hard as it may be. And a good way to kick off the conversation is to talk about outcomes - strong economy, fewer abortions, job growth.

These are shared goals of both Democrats and Republicans. We differ on how to get there. And when you keep the conversation focused on the outcome, you can have a productive conversation where you don’t focus on changing minds, but listening and learning from each other.

I also have longtime friends that are conservative who I have these kinds of conversations with, and they pull me from the echo chamber that I often find myself in and to evaluate policy critically. By no means have they converted me into a Republican, but they help check my bias when it goes too far and focus on fact. 

Are Dems truly prepared for every way Trump will undermine and try stealing the election?

They are not. And that worries me a lot.

How will we avoid news channels preemptively calling the election on Nov 3?

Don’t watch the news. We’re having a movie marathon with Dave, The American President, and Air Force One lined up. I’m not expecting the results to be announced that day, so I’m making joyful plans for Election Day instead (plans that also allow me to text bank throughout the day).

Realistically, what would it look like if Trump refuses to leave office?

If the vote is ratified in favor of Biden, then Trump will be escorted out of the White House by the Secret Service on Inauguration Day.

Can Roe v Wade truly be over turned? What about the Planned Parenthood case, in the early 90s?

PP vs Casey may have upheld Roe in that abortion remained legal nationally, but it did allow states to restrict abortion at their level. And that’s given way to many of the anti-abortion laws that have been passed in many states in the past few years.

If Roe was overturned, then abortion law would fall to each state. There are 16 states with highly restrictive abortion laws, and it would likely become illegal in those.

What are two action steps the public can do to gain longer maternity leave, for the country. Is it realistic to hope for mandatory paid maternity leave in the next 10 years?

From a legislative standpoint, replacing FMLA with a more comprehensive law would be a start. There are enough states with paid family leave that we have a baseline on how to develop a law that states can enact, but no one has pulled the trigger yet.

Biden has an excellent child & elder care plan, with a substantive way to pay for it.