AnnArbor4Democracy

As someone who wants to believe in the power of words to make a positive difference, I am loathe to admit it, but I think it's true: there are no magic words a candidate can say to win, when the fundamentals of the race are against them.

Graham Platner was viciously smeared by Graham Platner when Graham Platner posted bigoted shit under the name Graham Platner and tattooed a Nazi symbol onto poor Graham Platner.

This collusion of Graham Platner against Graham Platner is obviously a nefarious conspiracy.

Great clip of Pete Buttigieg calling out Trump and the Republicans for being fast and decisive on slashing taxes for billionaires, but slow and ineffective when it comes to cutting prices for everyday Americans.

Last night's town hall with @votevets.org reminded me why conversations like this matter - and why a better future is still possible, but it's up to each of us to make it a reality.

Leslie Marshall: “When Pete Buttigieg was in charge of the transportation department, he hired 2,000 people. DOGE has fired maintenance mechanics, aeronautical infrastructure specialists, and people who are responsible for this type of coordination.”

People are literally running out of burning planes.

I don't remember planes engulfed in flames and falling out of the sky when @petebuttigieg.bsky.social was in charge.

DOGE's mass firings at FAA are risking lives, and @secduffy.bsky.social is unqualified to clean up Elon's mess.

Buttigieg gives the clearest signal yet that he's eyeing a presidential run in 2028 The former Transportation secretary is eyeing something bigger than the Senate.

"Pete Buttigieg is expected to announce Thursday he will not run for Michigan’s open Senate seat, according to a person briefed on his decision, clearing a path for a potential presidential campaign instead."
www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

I’ve got some free time this afternoon - let’s do a quick Q&A. Share your questions below, and I’ll answer as many as I can.

👀

Pay attention to the victories against Trump, Buttigieg advises – Baptist News Global “Yeah, it's really, really, really bad,” Buttigieg said in response. “We knew it would be bad; it was worse.”

.@petebuttigieg.bsky.social: "Part of [the Trump admin's] strategy... is to make it seem like... this is inevitable, unstoppable... And so it’s wildly important to show that isn’t true, and even more importantly, to point out all the examples of why it isn’t true.”
baptistnews.com/article/pay-...

Excellent thread on how we can fight cuts to Medicaid

YouTube video by UChicago Institute of Politics The Future of the Democratic Party

Great to be back at UChicago Institute of Politics tonight. Tune in.

You are not powerless, and he is not unstoppable. Look at, and learn from, the funding freeze and how quickly he was forced to surrender.

Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze Leaves Millions Without HIV Treatment President Trump’s pause on aid, and the gutting of the primary aid agency, could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, experts say.

PEPFAR has saved over 26 million lives worldwide since 2003. PEPFAR is a bipartisan program - but its critical work is at risk because of Trump's funding freeze.

On National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I'm calling on Trump to unfreeze PEPFAR now. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/h...

Trump’s disaster playbook: Blame Democrats and politicize tragedy "I have common sense and unfortunately a lot of people don't,” the president told reporters.

"Trump has a long record of politicizing disasters for his own benefit. And his press conference Thursday discussing in stark, politicized terms the worst air disaster in nearly two decades was no different."
www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

Reminder:

Pete Buttigieg ramped up air traffic controller hiring and reversed the long-term decline in controllers - a decline that had gotten worse under Donald Trump 👇

This past week, Trump *froze* air traffic controller hiring.

Bernie yelling, "Are you supportive of these onsies?" at RFK Jr. was not on my bingo card, but it is giving me life 😂

I seem to remember all lot of us warning that Trump would be much worse than Biden (or Harris) for Gaza, and being told that was impossible.

More and more, I think part of our problem is a failure of imagination. Some people really can't seem to conceptualize how bad things can get.

Choose your Pete.

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"Life is never one thing."

Congratulations, that's fantastic!

Pete Buttigieg in 2019: "We have to find people where they are, not change our values, but update our vocabulary so that we're truly connecting with Americans coast to coast."

www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Michigan now joins Georgia and Texas in banning firearms at places where people are voting.

*combat, not content

Democrats self-reflecting is good. Working on how to communicate better with all Americans and reach people where they're at, is good. Figuring our how to content disinformation is essential.

Finger-pointing and blame-gaming when the party was facing global headwinds doesn't seem helpful to me.

I know we like to believe in American exceptionalism, but given that incumbent governments are being voted or are in serious trouble all over the world, maybe we can stop acting like Harris did something wrong or that Democrats are uniquely bad at winning right now?

Thoughts on Hunter pardon:

- I don’t love it, but I completely understand why he did it

- with everything the incoming administration is telling us they’re going to do, we probably need to stop handcuffing ourselves with standards they won’t follow

- I wish it wasn’t this way

Mostly Grateful I'll get there

Connie Schultz:
"The day after the election, a reader asked me, 'What do we do now? Where is our safe place?'...

We are the safe space, I wrote. You and I, and all the Americans who share our commitment to what is right and good—we will find the hope."

connieschultz.substack.com/p/mostly-gra...