Liberty and Justins
Quotes of the Week
In their haste to end Black power in Southern politics the GOP ignores that they are getting blasted away in the fall anyway. They are creating a scenario where Democratic states and some swings will do the same. And then, with a majority in 2029, kill the gerry forever, among other things.
Here for your delectation, is Jonathan Martin’s assessment of how futile this is for Republicans, hysterical NYTimes coverage notwithstanding.
Do not get hysterical!!
More soon,
Steve
Steve Brodner doesn’t decorate the news. He indicts it. “Liberty and Justins” does in a title what most op-eds can’t do in a thousand words — it replaces the promise of the Pledge with the names of the men dismantling it. That’s not a pun. That’s a primary source.
His instinct on the redistricting sprint is the one I keep coming back to: the Republican party is so drunk on the Alito permission slip that it hasn’t done the math. Eight days to crack Memphis into thirds. Six states lining up behind Tennessee. They are moving fast because they know the window is short — and Brodner is right that the speed of the grab will become the evidence for the reversal.
Here’s what I believe: political cartooning at its best is accountability journalism with a pen instead of a byline. Brodner operates in the tradition of Nast and Daumier — artists who understood that exaggeration isn’t distortion, it’s precision. When the line is loose and the face is monstrous, it’s because the subject earned it. The cartoon that makes you laugh and then makes you sick is doing exactly what the moment requires.
Don’t get hysterical. Get organized. Get on record. And if you want to understand what’s actually happening to democracy in real time — read Brodner. The image that cannot be walked back is sometimes the truest thing in the room.
Thank you Steve! Justin Pearson is an amazing legislator and advocate. Please check out these two links from Common Power, a group that has been in his corner all along. The first is an invite to a Webinar this Thursday at 1pm ET https://www.eventbrite.com/e/why-we-fight-why-and-how-we-will-win-justin-pearson-on-leadership-now-tickets-1989095703795?aff=oddtdtcreator. The second is a recording made by Common Power director Charles Douglas, talking about why the group is going to do whatever they can to help Pearson get to Congress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qT8NyD_Sk8