The joke I never got

Yesterday’s joke will be tomorrow’s reality if we don’t act today ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ {NAME}, When I was growing up here in America, my parents and uncles would joke about the elections back in Syria, but I never really got the joke – or at least I didn’t find it funny. They said that when the President was up for reelection, the ballot gave you two options: Choose “Yes” to keep the current President, or “No” to replace him with someone else. No other name was ever mentioned on the ballot. When you cast your ballot, someone would be watching you vote, and if you happened to select “No,” they would have a ‘conversation’ with you to ask for some additional information. That conversation usually lasted a few years and took place in a prison cell. That election system, of course, led to some outstanding reelection numbers for the al-Assad family – first Hafez, and now, his brutal dictator son Bashar. Why am I bringing this up? Well, most Americans have never really grasped the idea that democracy isn’t guaranteed and could easily be taken away … but the reality is, America's democracy is under attack – from both inside and outside the country. Powerful forces, some domestic and others foreign, are making a play to end our current way of life. These forces have taken total control of the Republican Party, and they want to strip away our rights as citizens to elect our leaders and impose an authoritarian style of government where a chosen few get to make all the decisions about how the rest of us live our lives. I can tell you that immigrants like me – especially those of us who come from places where democracy is not the norm – well, we’re pretty keen on making sure America stays free and democratic. Is it any wonder so many Republicans want to curb immigration at any cost? As Democrats, we face some pretty big obstacles this upcoming midterm cycle. The corporate media has already made its decision – they desperately miss the Trump-era ratings and revenue, and they’ll happily do what they can to kneecap President Biden’s administration if they think it’ll bring their orange cash cow back to Washington. That’s because President Biden isn’t up at 3:00 A.M. tweeting at the German Chancellor, nor is he using his office to say things like “windmills cause cancer” or “let’s combat climate change by using our nukes!” President Biden is more concerned with leading this country into the future and avoiding World War 3 than he is with ratings, and that, quite frankly, bores the corporate media. The reason why Trump won in the first place in 2016 is because of the billions in free advertising the networks gave him. The more outlandish his statements, the more press he got, and that is how we arrived at the incredibly polarized political climate in which we find ourselves today. Had Republicans controlled the House during the last election, the evidence is overwhelming: They would have tried to throw out the electoral college votes and install Trump as president for a second term. If you’re reading this and think I’m going too far, let me remind you that on January 6th, 2021, our Capitol was invaded and occupied by domestic terrorists trying to overturn a free and fair election, and there is ample evidence they had help from the outgoing president, his advisors, and several sitting members of Congress! The reality is, there is no depth of depravity to which these people will not sink in the desperate pursuit of power. So, what can we do to fight back? For one thing, we can start paying more attention to down-ballot elections. Republicans have supermajorities in far too many state and local governments, and in many places, that’s because they’re running unopposed. From the top of the ticket to the bottom, we need to make sure that no Republican candidate ever takes office without a fight because we failed to offer an alternative. Next, we need to cultivate and promote entertaining and informative progressive voices across all kinds of media to combat the fear- and anger-driven narratives of the Radical Right. We need to stop depending on the corporate media to inform voters and use alternative forms of media to our advantage – not just social media, but local TV, radio, and newspapers in battleground states and districts. We also need to stop letting the Right control the conversation. When they claim, for example, that “Democrats want to take away your guns,” we don’t have to take the bait by engaging them in a bad-faith argument over gun policy that they only brought up to try to create a “gotcha” soundbite for their next ad campaign, anyway. We can just say “Actually, we’re more concerned with making sure the bridge your family drives on every day to and from work and school doesn't collapse underneath you. We want to make sure your kids have clean drinking water. We want to make sure that if one of you gets sick, you don’t lose your home.” And when they call Democrats names like “coastal elitists,” we can point to our all-star lineup of endorsed candidates who come from working-class backgrounds and know what it’s like to struggle … and who refuse to take dirty corporate money from big pharma and big oil, unlike our opponents. Let the truth be our biggest instrument to fight back. Lastly, look – it’s no secret when it comes to fundraising, we Democrats are getting creamed. Here at No Dem Left Behind, we are far below our 2020 numbers, and when I say far, I mean we’re not even in same ballpark. We really need to get those numbers back up so we can have the resources to compete with the Right’s dark-money arsenal. {NAME}[, will you chip in any amount today to help us get our numbers back on track?]( If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately Without support from folks like you, we can’t do any of the things we need to do to win this year. You play such a huge role in making our work possible, and we can't thank you enough. I know that you give over and over again when we ask, and I really wish there was another way. But as long as you keep giving, we will keep on fighting. --Hassan and the No Dem Left Behind team P.S. If you want to have even more of an impact, consider making a [monthly commitment]( to No Dem Left Behind. Even just a $5 or $10 a monthly commitment from a fraction of our supporters makes a huge difference in our ability to plan new programs, recruit and train new staff and volunteers, and budget for upcoming media buys, when we know we can count on those funds in advance. No Dem Left Behind is a federal PAC focused on building a base of support for progressive values in rural America. We are committed to helping solve the issues that people in rural America face by creating a foundation of trust and helping great local leaders emerge to run for elected office. We provide a national platform for our endorsed Democratic candidates to increase their exposure and help them mount winning campaigns. [Pitch in today to join our Democratic movement and help us flip more seats blue >>]( No Dem Left Behind PAC PO Box 15320 Washington, DC 20003 United States Paid for by No Dem Left Behind PAC. Not authorized by any federal candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to {EMAIL}. 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