by liberal japonicus
Thought we needed an (h)open thread about the midterms. I did like the Guardian graphics, which are here. Comments, observations, and praises to whatever deity manages karmic retribution.
"This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . "
“Let’s’ hope this was just pre-election stress.”
If I’m not mistaken, that encounter was after the race was called for El-Sayed.
El-Sayed and Matthews have a history. The clip isn’t a great look for El-Sayed, he would obviously come off better if he brought a kinder gentler persona to interactions with the press. I think he’s probably just a very blunt guy.
Matthews will get good air time out of it, so there’s that.
Also:
“It’s the billionaires and the nepo babies, not the immigrants or the trans folks, who are ripping you off,” should be the Democrats’ mantra. “We’re here to expose the crooks and charlatans, not compromise with them,” Democrats should explain, “because they’ll keep robbing you if we don’t.”
Sounds good to me.
Civil Rights may not to be a “kitchen table issue” because the folks who are getting denied their Civil Rights tend to ‘go to ground’. There was this NYT podcast entitled A Political Rebellion in the Rio Grande Valley and it is pretty striking to me how long it took them to realize what was happening. I’ve got a colleague who is doing some stuff with Japanese-American history etc and I’m giving him all the books I have related to the topic and have had a bit of time to reread some of them. What really stands out is how the parents tended to be panglossian in their optimism, in large part to shield their children. I don’t think this is just a JA thing. The NYT podcast interviews one person who was born in Mexico, but came with their parents and didn’t have any idea that his status was problematic until he wanted to take a high school trip.
Were Civil Rights a bit issue in any of the races? I would have thought that having people shot in the streets would have provoked more of a reaction, but it is absolutely astonishing how easily the whole thing was deflated by suggesting that Good was somehow weaponizing her car and Pretti, because he was carrying a firearm exhibited ‘intent’. (as a side not, it’s enlightening to note how the gun rights crowd went to ground after that)
I may have an idiosyncratic view of kitchen table issues, but it seems like they are things that people don’t feel constrained when they talk about them. Part of the play with both the classist view meritocratic constructions of the society is to try and stop people from talking about their situation and economic issues because it is either 1) a natural result of the class they are in or 2)they somehow didn’t make enough effort to get out of the hole they found themselves in. If you really buy into this, you basically take almost all the issues off the kitchen table.
As a follow-up to TonyP’s comment – one thing the newly elected (D)’s might want to call out is all of the Big Beautiful Bill provisions that are going to kick in now that the midterms are over.
People are going to lose benefits from SNAP and Medicare. Student loan debt relief will be eliminated or curtailed.
It’s all “kitchen table” stuff, intended to take effect sometime after the midterms. The (D)’s should make it clear that it was all already baked in, and is not something they are responsible for.
ICE violence definitely had an effect on voting. That’s why people in Minneapolis and Houston were sticking their “I Voted” stickers up on the public memorials to Pretti, Good, and Salgado.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/deadly-ice-shooting/lorenzo-salgado-memorial-houston-voting-stickers/285-ab1ba36e-5bda-4b0c-926c-41438e3750e3
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/03/minneapolis-i-voted-stickers-alex-pretti-memorial
My understanding is that for the groups that have been targeted by the Church of Spraytan and Cardinal Miller, Civil Rights are being treated as Kitchen Table issues because without them they have no access to any of the economic, health, or education benefits that have traditionally been viewed as the pillars of kitchen table issues.
Yes, the Dems need to deliver tangible aid for families struggling with their household issues, but the Dems also need to note that 1.5 million more latinos voted this election than did in 2022, and that those latino votes broke +30 points for Democrats this time, versus +21 points in 2022 and only +9 points in 2024. We still have some way to go to get back to the +40 we had in 2018, so no one should think that any of these successes are repeatable without tending to the security and wellbeing of latino voters.
And every black Dem I have interacted with over the election cycle has mentioned the VRA rollback as their cue to show up in overwhelming numbers. They will expect more than just a lukewarm push for economic relief. They want a pledge that the Dems will fight even if that means making the rural white anti-DEI swing voters uncomfortable.
Those who have ears, let them hear.