#spanberger

(Source)

(via Virginia’s GOP Went All In on Voter Suppression—And Still Got Wrecked – Mother Jones)

Despite years of voter suppression efforts by the state’s Republican Party, Virginians have spoken: It’s time for GOP gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to “go somewhere and sit down.”

-MAMDANI WON NEW YORK CITY MAYOR, as expected.

This is a monumental win for the "progressive" and "pro-Palestine" wings of the Democratic Party. Whether it is a win for New York and the US will depend on how effectively Mamdani can work with more moderate Democrats (I neither expect nor want him to work with Republicans), and what, if anything, he will do to reassure those who doubt his commitment to fighting antisemitism.

It will also mean escalating conflict between NY and the Federal Regime, but that was coming regardless. At least now America's largest city presumably has a mayor who won't role over and offer its people up to ICE on a silver platter.

-SPANBERGER WON VIRGINIA GOVERNOR!

This is a huge win, as its a flip in a race that was polling quite close, in a large state that Democrats probably can't win the Presidency without, and removed the MAGA lickspittle Gov. Youngkin.

Its also VA's first woman governor!

Perhaps most importantly, we all know that Tr*mp and MAGA won't leave power willingly in 2028, whatever the Constitution or any election results say. On Jan. 6th, 2021, VA's then-Democratic governor sent National Guard forces to DC. Youngkin almost certainly would not have- or would have sent them to aid the coup. Who is VA Governor, and what they do, will be immensely important to securing DC when the next crisis comes.

-DEMOCRATS RETAINED CONTROL OF ALL THREE CONTESTED SEATS ON THE PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT, AND THE MAJORITY OF THE COURT!

This is another absolutely vital win. Even though the MAGA-controlled US Supreme Court has the final say judicially-speaking, this will continue to bog down MAGA's agenda in the courts.

Moreover, because Pennsylvania is probably THE single most important swing state in the US (Florida now being solidly red and Texas too voter-suppressed to be truly competitive for Democrats). Both times Tr*mp won, he won with PA. When he lost to Biden, he lost PA. It is extremely doubtful that Democrats could regain power even in a relatively fair election without PA- and the PA Supreme Court will be hearing cases on voting rights and election results in that state, which will be hard-fought.

Had we lost those seats, the state Supreme Court could have deadlocked, which would have been a disaster going into the 2026 and 2028 elections. That outcome is now averted.

It's also a very positive sign for Democrats to win like this in such a vital swing state.

STILL OUTSTANDING AS OF THIS TIME:

The big one is Prop 50 in California, the resolution to redistrict and create more Democratic-leaning seats to counter Republican partisan redistricting in other states.

MY ULTIMATE TAKEAWAY FOR TONIGHT:

People often overlook local and state level elections, focussing on federal races, especially the Presidential one. This is a mistake. While those races are doubtless of vital importance, a great deal in the US is decided at the state and local levels, and with all branches of the Federal currently under MAGA Regime control, this is where the most meaningful checks and resistance can be and is occurring.

And, let's be honest about this: We all know that MAGA will not leave peacefully, as I said above. They didn't last time, and they will be FAR more entrenched and prepared now. They will not honour the Constitution or elections in 2028, and given that they are already refusing to seat Adelita Grijalva, a Democratic Congresswoman elected in Arizona in a special election, I very much doubt that they will honour the 2026 midterms either.

When the crisis comes, any meaningful resistance to a MAGA attempt to rig, overturn, or ignore elections will likely begin at the state and local level, specifically in Democratic-controlled cities and states.

dave :: @roweafr :: @FinancialReview :: should i go on..?

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 25, 2026

Heather Cox Richardson

Feb 26, 2026

At last night’s State of the Union address, President Donald Trump went on offense, seeming to try to set the terms for the upcoming midterm elections. Although the State of the Union in the past was an opportunity for the president to tell the American people where the country stood with regard to foreign affairs, finances, the economy, the public lands, and so on, it has, over the years, become more about messaging and future plans rather than a summing up of the past year.

With his approval ratings under 40%, administration officials mired in corruption scandals, and every one of his policies underwater, Trump delivered a campaign rally. To answer Americans’ concerns about his economic policies, the slowing of economic growth, and rising inflation, he insisted that he had “inherited a nation in crisis” but had “achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before.” He proceeded to claim that the economy is booming, using statistics that were either made up or staggeringly misleading, like his boast that “in one year we have lifted 2.4 million Americans—a record—off of food stamps.” In fact, Republicans cut food assistance from those people, so they are indeed off the rolls, but “lifted” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

In between his celebrations of what he assured the audience was a “golden age,” Trump turned the event into what appeared to be an awards show. “Our country is winning again,” he claimed. “In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we’re winning too much. We can’t take it anymore. We’re not used to winning in our country until you came along, we’re just always losing. But now we’re winning too much. And I say, no, no, no, you’re going to win again. You’re going to win big. You’re going to win bigger than ever. And to prove that point, to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud. The men’s gold medal Olympic hockey team. Come on in!”

Trump said he would be awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to the goalie of that team, which had just won the gold medal at the Olympics.

He also presented two recipients with Purple Hearts, a military decoration awarded to service members killed or wounded in action; and one with the Legion of Merit award for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of an outstanding service or achievement. Trump awarded two recipients the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s highest decoration for valor in action. After awarding one, Trump mused: “I’ve always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed I’m not allowed to give it to myself, and I wouldn’t know why I’d be taking it. But if they ever opened up that law I will be there with you someday.”

Trump did not serve in the military.

But the party atmosphere was selective. Trump did not acknowledge the Epstein survivors in the audience, invited by Democratic representatives. Representative Al Green (D-TX) was escorted out after holding up a sign that referred to the president’s posting of an image of former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, reading: “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES.” And Trump’s descriptions of murders committed by undocumented immigrants—with apparent relish and with the victims’ family members in the audience—seemed to glorify cruelty and violence.

It seemed clear that Trump intends to try to persuade Americans who have soured on his economy and hate his immigration policies that they are wrong, and that both are, in fact, triumphs. He also appeared to try to answer concerns about the skyrocketing deficit on his watch by blaming immigrants for it, claiming that they are committing fraud that is “plundering” the country. He announced a “war on fraud to be led by our great Vice President J.D. Vance,” saying, “And we’re able to find enough of that fraud, we will actually have a balanced budget overnight.”

Trump’s tax cuts primarily benefited the wealthy and corporations, and pinning their effects on immigrants illustrates how Trump’s strongest calls were to his base. Not only did he portray immigrants as violent criminals, in a moment scripted for television, he then turned on Democrats in the chamber, setting them up to force them to back off their insistence on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol by demanding that they stand to show their support for the statement: “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

It was a deliberate division of the country into “us” and “them,” a classic authoritarian move, that he followed up by calling the Democrats “crazy” and claiming that “Democrats are destroying our country.” Facing a midterm election in which voters appear strongly to favor Democrats, Trump went out of his way to try to define them, rather than his own administration, as dangerous extremists.

Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times noted that deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, an adherent of the Great Replacement theory who is the key figure driving the administration’s crusade against migrants, made it “clear that the night’s performance had been built around this moment.” Miller posted: “0 democrats stood for the foundational principle of all government that leaders must serve citizens before invaders. Never has there been a more stunning moment in Congress.”

And he was right, in a way, because it was indeed stunning that Republican members of Congress cheered and applauded at the attacks on their colleagues. In his 1951 The True Believer: Notes on the Nature of Mass Movements, philosopher Eric Hoffer noted that once people are wedded to a strongman, they will cling to him ever more tightly as his behavior becomes more and more erratic. This loyalty is in part to demonstrate their own devotion to the cause, and in part to justify their own attacks on those the strongman has given them permission to hurt.

The behavior of the Republican representatives was really the only memorable part of the evening. Trump’s almost two-hour State of the Union—the longest State of the Union address in history—felt pretty much like a Trump rally, full of outrageous exaggerations, lies, game show promises, and attacks, and those are old hat by now.

In contrast, the response to the State of the Union—which is usually deadly—was a breath of fresh air. Delivered by Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger, the response was short and clean, and in a refreshing change from Trump’s constant focus on himself, it centered the American people.

Spanberger noted that she was speaking from the Virginia House of Burgesses, where “[b]efore there was a Declaration of Independence, a Constitution, or a Bill of Rights—there were people in this very room” who “dreamed of what a new nation…could be.” She continued: “The United States was founded on the idea that ordinary people could reject the unacceptable excesses of poor leadership, band together to demand better of their government, and create a nation that would be an example for the world.”

“Tonight,” she said, “we did not hear the truth from our President.” She asked, is the president “working to make life more affordable for you and your family,” is he “working to keep Americans safe—both at home and abroad,” and is he “working for YOU?”

She noted that the rising costs of housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare are pressing everyone. Trump’s trade policies, especially tariffs, have hurt small businesses, farmers, and everyday Americans, while the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is forcing rural health clinics to close, stripping healthcare from millions of Americans, and cutting food programs for children.

Turning to the excesses of federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol, Spanberger highlighted her own career as a law enforcement officer working money-laundering and narcotics cases alongside local and state police to note that law enforcement requires “an abiding sense of duty and commitment to community.” “And yet,” she said, “our President has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans—and they have done it without a warrant.

“They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies, they have sent children—a little boy in a blue bunny hat—to far-off detention centers, and they have killed American citizens on our streets. And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability. Every minute spent sowing fear is a minute not spent investigating murders, crimes against children, or the criminals defrauding seniors of their life savings.”

“Our President told us tonight that we are safer because these agents arrest mothers and detain children,” she said. “Think about that. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed—not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities.”

At the same time, she said, the president “continues to cede economic power and technological strength to China, bow down to a Russian dictator, and make plans for war with Iran.” “[T]hrough [the Department of Government Efficiency], mass firings, and the appointment of deeply unserious people to our nation’s most serious positions, our President has endangered the long and storied history of the United States of America being a force for good.”

“In his speech tonight,” she said, “the President did what he always does: he lied, he scapegoated, and he distracted. He also offered no real solutions to our nation’s pressing challenges—so many of which he is actively making worse.” Who is benefitting from “his rhetoric, his policies, his actions, and the short list of laws he’s pushed through this Republican Congress?” she asked.

“He’s enriching himself, his family, his friends,” she said. “The scale of the corruption is unprecedented. There’s the cover-up of the Epstein files, the crypto scams, cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms, putting his name and face on buildings all over our nation’s capital. This is not what our founders envisioned. So, I’ll ask again: Is the President working for you?”

“We all know the answer is no.”

“But here is the special thing about America,” she said. “[W]e know better than any nation what is possible when ordinary citizens—like those who once dreamed right here in this room—reject the unacceptable and demand more of their government.” She noted the power of the Americans taking action across the country to protest the government and to vote. “With their votes,” she said, “they are writing a new story.”

In November, Spanberger said, she won her election by 15 points, earning votes “from Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and everyone in-between; because they knew as citizens, they could demand more. That they could vote for what they believe matters, and they didn’t need to be constrained by a party or political affiliation.” In that election, Democrats flipped legislative seats in Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, and Texas. Now “[o]rdinary Americans are stepping up to run…to demand more and do more for their neighbors and communities.”

“Those who are stepping up now to run will win in November because Americans know you can demand more, and that we are working to lower costs, we are working to keep our communities and country safe, and we are working for you,” she said.

“In his Farewell Address,” she concluded, “George Washington warned us about the possibility of ‘cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men’ rising to power. But he also encouraged us—all Americans—to unite in ‘a common cause’ to move this nation forward. That is our charge once more. And that is what we are seeing across the country.

“It is deeply American and patriotic to do so, and it is how we ensure that the State of our Union remains strong, not just this year but for the next 250 years as well.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

WITCHCRAFT IS POLITICAL!!!!!!!!!! and I’ll scream that from the roof-tops! have you volunteered this election cycle? are you involved with your local Planned Parenthood affiliate? LGBTQ+ community center? Black Lives Matter chapter? Witchcraft is liberation and liberation takes organizing so don’t sit out. If you have voting privilege, VOTE on Tuesday! Organizing doesn’t begin or end at the ballot box - so vote, then organize like our lives depend on it (they do!)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Tuesday that Americans “did not hear the truth” from President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Watch the full clip in our video player above. In the official Democratic response to the president’s speech, Spanberger stressed how Trump’s policies on a host of daily issues, from health care to housing, hasn’t made life more affordable. Instead,…