Illinois is an interesting state. Seems like more of a battleground than is made to be known. Carries alotv weight an reliably blue but also has a track record of corruption at the highest levels.
It’s clear that ranked choice voting is essential for actual democracy to function. And the ability to hide where money comes from is just as dangerous for election integrity and the huge amounts of money coming in. These are fixable if we stand together to demand such changes.
One example is MA which is a one-party state that happens to be in the D column. But state legislators are lining each others pockets with “jobs” that pay extra just for doing the work they were elected to do (like chairing a committee) and fighting tooth and nail against being audited or having open records laws apply to them.
Efforts now underway to force (by referendum) open primaries so that we will no longer have a majority (51%) of seats in the state legislature uncontested at all over the past 20 years. It’s not JUST the party labels (though Reps are dangerously spineless for the most part) but the presence or absence of actual accountability to voters.
This was interesting -- thank you, Qasim, for explaining, what to me, is a dry subject. Since I have thought forever, that being in office is a Service, not a lifelong job, I am freaked out by the enormous sums of money it takes to win an election. But it all comes back to $$$ -- AIPAC, & the ones with billions, WANT certain things from a certain candidate, so they are BUYING a result, and ordinary people and their opinions, wants, needs, their candidate doesn't make it to office. Money really is the root of all evil.
Collaboration, so important. In TX, I'm hoping there will be solid cooperation with Crockett and Talarico, bringing their constituents together, so we can defeat the repubs. Since most politicians have large egos, humility, the common good, is needed -- will Crockett do that? [I voted for her, but Talarico won, so .... I'm for the Dem] Texas needs to return to Blue. I like the idea of ranked choice voting, "sounds" effective. I want the Electoral College gone, so we can have a true democracy ... one person, one vote -- that old idea that the common man wasn't smart enough to select his own candidate -- should have been gone long ago -- but here is another place for the powerful to tip the scales .... and even as I typed, I'm thinking to myself .... ARE we smart enough?! -- look what a third of the country did, in getting trump elected!!!
I don't know -- I'm not giving up, but I sure feel down. Because LYING has become the norm. Whenever something goes against you, ... LIE. Being old, and having been raised that honor and integrity was what one strove for, ... I don't "get" the lying and love of money. Looking forward to next Saturday, the 28th, when I and my friends, and "friends-to-be" will meet and celebrate goodness and music and smiles and joy -- because we WILL take down this aberrant fake of a president, and go back to fixing our woes, progressing to the meaning of our written words. See you there!!!!!
Thank you for this article. Glad that Juliana Stratton won and Kat came really close, she sounds like a great candidate. Although it is incredibly scary how aggressive the corporate spending is, it is uplifting to see there was real support behind Kat and hope she runs again. I am sick of hearing the "too far left" copout and I think many are starting to see how critical it is for our survival to go far left. Moderate policies are not working to stop fascism. We can't have these wars and we can't have a moderate response to anyone who starts them without Congressional approval. We can't have these violent ICE arrests, we have to abolish ICE. We can't have genocide in Palestine, Iran, Ukraine, multiple genocides in our world. We can't go on without health care. We have to have education accessible for all. We have to have voting rights for all. We can't get anything substantial done if we keep supporting candidates who get bought out. We need to support progressive candidates with real people-centered platforms. Always respecting people who run on platforms of real substance that are actually investing in improving the quality of life locally and globally.
Wow! That was a mouth full! You have just presented one of the three legs of what a the president of the US should do - educate and present a vision. Well done.
I just saw on MSNOW that Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego is going to vote to confirm dumbf___, scum-bucket Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullen to be the next DHS Secretary.
I can’t help but be reminded of the good work done by Russ Feingold and John McCain, which was undone by the Supreme Court of the United States. I hope that someday we can turn around the unfortunate result of allowing corporations to be on an equal footing with US citizens when it comes to elections. Your analysis of the effect of dark money and how we can combat it fills me with hope. I am an old person who believes that the young progressives are our future.
Qasim, you are the proof of how young, very progressive candidates can create ongoing influence. I live in Wisconsin. I discovered you via a Facebook post when you were running for the House in Virginia. I was so impressed with what you had to say and how you said it. I recognized you as the type of leader we need in this country, and I have followed you ever since. I believe the work you are doing here with Let’s Address This may be more important than anything you could have accomplished in Congress. You are doing amazing work and you have built an amazing organization. I really enjoyed your interview with Kat and look forward to watching what she creates in the future. I know you will keep up the good work!
This is a good analysis, overall. AIPAC had a very mediocre election night in Illinois. Most Americans, especially most Democrats, realize that it is a fifth column and an enemy within.
But I disagree with you a little bit about Illinois senior Senator Richard Durbin. My problem with him is not with his compassion and/or the specifics of his policies.
Much to his credit, he voted for both of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’s amendments last year that would suspend sending most of the American made weapons to Israel it is using in its genocide against the Palestinians.
And I am not certain if Durbin still has ties to AIPAC, being that he voted for both of those amendments.
My problem with Durbin is that in recent years he has been a very weak Senator who backs down almost immediately when the going gets tough.
If empathy is not backed up with fortitude, it is essentially meaningless.
Most people are extremely busy and don't have time to research the details of every candidate. But that's no excuse, just a reality. We need to elevate our organizing abilities as I share above.
Illinois is an interesting state. Seems like more of a battleground than is made to be known. Carries alotv weight an reliably blue but also has a track record of corruption at the highest levels.
It’s clear that ranked choice voting is essential for actual democracy to function. And the ability to hide where money comes from is just as dangerous for election integrity and the huge amounts of money coming in. These are fixable if we stand together to demand such changes.
One example is MA which is a one-party state that happens to be in the D column. But state legislators are lining each others pockets with “jobs” that pay extra just for doing the work they were elected to do (like chairing a committee) and fighting tooth and nail against being audited or having open records laws apply to them.
Efforts now underway to force (by referendum) open primaries so that we will no longer have a majority (51%) of seats in the state legislature uncontested at all over the past 20 years. It’s not JUST the party labels (though Reps are dangerously spineless for the most part) but the presence or absence of actual accountability to voters.
Thank you for all you do, and for your tireless efforts to keep us informed and motivated!
This was interesting -- thank you, Qasim, for explaining, what to me, is a dry subject. Since I have thought forever, that being in office is a Service, not a lifelong job, I am freaked out by the enormous sums of money it takes to win an election. But it all comes back to $$$ -- AIPAC, & the ones with billions, WANT certain things from a certain candidate, so they are BUYING a result, and ordinary people and their opinions, wants, needs, their candidate doesn't make it to office. Money really is the root of all evil.
Collaboration, so important. In TX, I'm hoping there will be solid cooperation with Crockett and Talarico, bringing their constituents together, so we can defeat the repubs. Since most politicians have large egos, humility, the common good, is needed -- will Crockett do that? [I voted for her, but Talarico won, so .... I'm for the Dem] Texas needs to return to Blue. I like the idea of ranked choice voting, "sounds" effective. I want the Electoral College gone, so we can have a true democracy ... one person, one vote -- that old idea that the common man wasn't smart enough to select his own candidate -- should have been gone long ago -- but here is another place for the powerful to tip the scales .... and even as I typed, I'm thinking to myself .... ARE we smart enough?! -- look what a third of the country did, in getting trump elected!!!
I don't know -- I'm not giving up, but I sure feel down. Because LYING has become the norm. Whenever something goes against you, ... LIE. Being old, and having been raised that honor and integrity was what one strove for, ... I don't "get" the lying and love of money. Looking forward to next Saturday, the 28th, when I and my friends, and "friends-to-be" will meet and celebrate goodness and music and smiles and joy -- because we WILL take down this aberrant fake of a president, and go back to fixing our woes, progressing to the meaning of our written words. See you there!!!!!
Thank you for this article. Glad that Juliana Stratton won and Kat came really close, she sounds like a great candidate. Although it is incredibly scary how aggressive the corporate spending is, it is uplifting to see there was real support behind Kat and hope she runs again. I am sick of hearing the "too far left" copout and I think many are starting to see how critical it is for our survival to go far left. Moderate policies are not working to stop fascism. We can't have these wars and we can't have a moderate response to anyone who starts them without Congressional approval. We can't have these violent ICE arrests, we have to abolish ICE. We can't have genocide in Palestine, Iran, Ukraine, multiple genocides in our world. We can't go on without health care. We have to have education accessible for all. We have to have voting rights for all. We can't get anything substantial done if we keep supporting candidates who get bought out. We need to support progressive candidates with real people-centered platforms. Always respecting people who run on platforms of real substance that are actually investing in improving the quality of life locally and globally.
Wow! That was a mouth full! You have just presented one of the three legs of what a the president of the US should do - educate and present a vision. Well done.
Good to know that there's still hope...
I like the idea of leaning into ranked choice voting.
IKR? We have that in California.
No!!!! Our Jungle Primary is nothing like Ranked Choice. Completely different results.
Thanks Qasim for the details. Please keep us informed on the "horses" in the race and their real intentions. You are priceless.
Bravo, Qasim!!
Bravo Kat!!
It's thrilling for me to know we have such leaders.
Qasim,
I just saw on MSNOW that Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego is going to vote to confirm dumbf___, scum-bucket Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullen to be the next DHS Secretary.
Is he out of his mind?
I have no idea what he's doing. I don't think he does either. I've been so disappointed in him.
Thank you Qasim for all your hard work!
I can’t help but be reminded of the good work done by Russ Feingold and John McCain, which was undone by the Supreme Court of the United States. I hope that someday we can turn around the unfortunate result of allowing corporations to be on an equal footing with US citizens when it comes to elections. Your analysis of the effect of dark money and how we can combat it fills me with hope. I am an old person who believes that the young progressives are our future.
Qasim, you are the proof of how young, very progressive candidates can create ongoing influence. I live in Wisconsin. I discovered you via a Facebook post when you were running for the House in Virginia. I was so impressed with what you had to say and how you said it. I recognized you as the type of leader we need in this country, and I have followed you ever since. I believe the work you are doing here with Let’s Address This may be more important than anything you could have accomplished in Congress. You are doing amazing work and you have built an amazing organization. I really enjoyed your interview with Kat and look forward to watching what she creates in the future. I know you will keep up the good work!
Qasim,
This is a good analysis, overall. AIPAC had a very mediocre election night in Illinois. Most Americans, especially most Democrats, realize that it is a fifth column and an enemy within.
But I disagree with you a little bit about Illinois senior Senator Richard Durbin. My problem with him is not with his compassion and/or the specifics of his policies.
Much to his credit, he voted for both of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’s amendments last year that would suspend sending most of the American made weapons to Israel it is using in its genocide against the Palestinians.
And I am not certain if Durbin still has ties to AIPAC, being that he voted for both of those amendments.
My problem with Durbin is that in recent years he has been a very weak Senator who backs down almost immediately when the going gets tough.
If empathy is not backed up with fortitude, it is essentially meaningless.
Yep, agreed.
💯 Excellent.
If people would research candidates instead of believing clickbait, it wouldn't matter how much money is thrown at an election.
Most people are extremely busy and don't have time to research the details of every candidate. But that's no excuse, just a reality. We need to elevate our organizing abilities as I share above.
Yes the fastest way to do this is to look up your local tea party, and hate-church write down every one they like, and vote their opponent.