Break Glass: THIS Is the Emergency

Morning Dispatch

[PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Huizinga]

[Update: Apologies—my usually reliable source is behind on the vote tally. I will continue to update as I get more information.]

The precipice is here and we are on it. And we’re closer to falling off of it than we have been in over a hundred and fifty years. I cannot claim to have any insight into the minds of Democratic leaders. I don’t know if they are driven by good if tragically misguided and ill-informed motives; I do not know if they are blinkered by having inhabited the insular world of the Senate for far too long; I do not know if there are other, worse things at play. Whatever the case, in the end, it doesn’t matter. This level of appeasement is dangerous beyond my ability to convey. This kind of abdication, regardless of the rationale, is pure and abject and sickening cowardice. The appeasement and the abdication are a betrayal of all of us who have held fast; of those of us who have sacrificed, who have continued to believe in the cause of the American experiment no matter how bleak the prospects might have seemed, and who continue to have hope, despite the betrayal of those in our party, for the promise and potential of democracy in America.

I am still not giving up on any of that. But we need to find our own way.

As for the vote on the Continuing Resolution, we still have time to make our voices heard. Please, flood the zone with calls, emails, and protests. Stand up and be counted. Call your Democratic Senators, if you have any, and call your Democratic representative if you have one. Sadly, my Senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer have been leading the charge to abandon their base, their party, and their country. I am ashamed.

Here is a relatively up-to-date tally of Democratic senators who have not yet stated a position on the Continuing Resolution or the cloture (60-vote threshold) vote:

Sen. Rosen (NV)

Sen. Warnock (GA)

Sen. Booker (NJ

Sen. Smith (MN)

Sen. Wyden (OR)

Sen. King (ME)

Sen. Blumenthal (CT)

Sen. Warren (MA)

Sen. Markey (MA)

Sen. Klobuchar (MN)

Sen. Bennet (CO)

Sen. Duckworth (IL)

Yes on Cloture [overwhelm these people with your outrage]

Sen. Gillibrand (NY)

Sen. Schumer (NY)

Sen. Fetterman (PA)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom I believe should absolutely primary Sen. Chuck Schumer, who neither deserves to be the Senate Minority Leader, nor a senator at all, posted this earlier today:

We need to stay in this fight. And we will—together.

Onward.

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I want to share something that will, I hope, put a different kind of energy out into the world. We need to sustain ourselves in the middle of all of this.

A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with some friends and they had the Grammy’s on in the background. I never watch them, but one of my friends is a brilliant musician (which is a woefully inadequate understatement), and it was fascinating to hear what he had to say. We weren’t paying much attention and then a woman named Raye took the stage to perform a song called, “Oscar Winning Tears.” Neither of us had heard of her, but we were stopped in our tracks.

Everything about that performance—her poise, her brilliant musicianship, her rapport with the band, and the overall enthusiasm and commitment of every one of the musicians—blew me away, and filled me with joy. I hope it does the same for you. We need all the joy we can get.