Southern Progressives

Moving to the left one post at a time

December 20, 2024

National News:

Opinion | Temporarily Disconnected From Politics? Feel No Guilt About It.

Black women aren’t the only voters who are taking a moment.

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/opinion/trump-liberals-resistance.html?unlocked_article_code=1.i04.cPiM.ch710Vgoa-1e&smid=url-share

Live updates: Time is running short to avert a government shutdown after funding bill is rejected

Speaker Mike Johnson prepares to rally the House on the eve of a potential government shutdown. The House rejected a plan Thursday backed by President-elect Donald Trump to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling.

apnews.com/live/congress-budget-government-shutdown-trump?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

The Most Litigated Election Ever

From Marc | Despite the sharp increase in litigation, pro-voting forces continued to win, notching three times as many victories as losses.

www.democracydocket.com/opinion/the-most-litigated-election-ever/?utm_source=Democracy+Docket+Newsletters&utm_campaign=bfc167323c-20241219_DailyDocket_LF&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-9812d8a903-607265390&mc_cid=bfc167323c&mc_eid=6b1dd2b5e2

State News:

States to lose out on billions if GOP spurns disaster aid in spending bill, Dems say • Tennessee Lookout

U.S. House Democrats released details on how much federal disaster aid states would lose if Republicans drop it from a stopgap spending bill.

tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/20/dc/states-to-lose-out-on-billions-if-gop-spurns-disaster-aid-in-spending-bill-dems-say

Local News & Arts:

• Athens Community Theatre will hold auditions for As She Likes It on January 12 and 13, 2025, at 6:00 PM at The Arts Center. Actors aged 18+ are invited to audition, with cold readings from the script required. The show runs March 13–16, 2025. Visit athensartscouncil.org/auditions or call 423-745-8781 for details.

• Dedicate a brick in honor of your favorite veteran at Veterans Memorial Park. Each new Veteran's name will be read during the next Brick Dedication Ceremony. Gift certificates are available for pickup at Athens City Hall to present this special gesture to your Veteran this Christmas. Bricks can be purchased online HERE by mail, by phone at 423-744-2704, or in person at Athens City Hall (815 N Jackson St., Athens).

We encourage you to e-mail community events in McMinn County, or other items of interest for possible use in the Southern Progressive. If you take a newsworthy photograph, e-mail it to: [email protected]

Indivisible:

Voters rejected the status quo -- they didn’t embrace fascism. The best way to understand this is that voters were given a choice between the status quo and “not the status quo.” President Biden’s approval rating sat under 40% for this entire election season; by wide margins, Americans said the country was on the wrong track, and large majorities cited lingering and intense economic pain due to inflation and the aftermath of COVID. Vice President Harris ran an impressive campaign on an impossible timeline -- but she couldn’t overcome the widespread frustration with the incumbent. The result was that a bunch of people chose “not the status quo,” either by voting for Trump or not voting at all.

There’s longer-term stuff here that we need to explore and take seriously. We’ve known for a long time that a lot of people do not believe that our democracy is responsive to their needs or that the economy is working for them. We’ve seen a multi-cycle erosion of working-class support for Democrats and a broad trend towards anti-establishment distrust from voters who think the system is broken. We’re in a short-term fight with MAGA as a political force -- but we have a much longer struggle to build the kind of political system that strengthens regular peoples’ trust in democracy because they experience it delivering for them.