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Eric Blair

@protecttruth.bsky.social

28K followers 1.5K following 4.7K posts

Status Quo Politics is holding us back. Who will call for a big fight, and big change? The status quo cannot hold. SCOTUS delenda est

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · Jun 22

Why push for impeachment?

Because politics is an exercise in moving public opinion as much as counting votes in the senate.

The Jan 6 Hearings were not a criminal proceeding against Trump that would end in jail, but they focused public attention.

Performative public investigations matter

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 1h

And people in Allentown talking about affordability?

The anti-immigrant view from the center right has a lot of attraction for a certain sort of status quo centrist

Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 1h

people who are “self-censoring“ generally are cowards who cannot defend their own ideas (which are usually bad ideas).

Also when someone says “people self-censor” that is generally a proxy way to say that they themselves self-censor.

Robin Brooks @robin-j-brooks.bsky.social • 1d The US is huge. Easy to forget that Trump's
immigration crackdown is popular in many places. You don't hear about that much, because people self-censor amid all the name-calling. But I was reminded of this earlier this week while travelling through the US. This is what lost the Dems the
election...
350
Obama : Trump : Biden : Trump
Southwest land border encounters, in '000s 300 -
Arrests made by ICE; in '000s
ICE detainees released for removal, in '000s
250
200
150
-
100 Jan
'13 Jan
'17
Jan:
'21 Jan
'25
50
in Aug
0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 2h

That said I think a decent amount of Yglesias’ work is good. its the strategic positioning around power, as he expresses in this quote, that is the worst part

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 2h

has the Oregon Republican Party heard of Sacco and Vanzetti I wonder.

Bet @sethcotlar.bsky.social has info

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 2h

ok so now we are re-polarizing around Columbus Day from the far right, cool cool

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 10h

Christopher Columbus, “American hero.”

Oregon Republican Party •
•.. X
2h • ©
Happy Columbus Day!
"Today our Nation honors the legendary Christopher Columbus — the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth. This Columbus Day, we honor his life with reverence and gratitude, and we pledge to reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory."
"I've never seen that happen. The press actually broke out in applause." ~President Donald J. Trump
#ItalianAmericanHeritage #courageoverfear #courageous #ColumbusDay2025 #ColumbusDay #TrumpVance #ProudAmerican #AmericanHeritage
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/
2025/10/columbus-day-2025/
"Columbus Day, we're back!"
IFIC
EAN
TORLD M
ORIGON
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
as he signed the proclamation declaring October 13, 2025, Columbus Day

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 2h

Maybe we should get rid of Columbus Day but not because of the history. It wasn’t created to celebrate Columbus’ Italian states, it was to defend against the sentiments directed at Italian-Americans Sacco and Vanzetti. No?

www.politico.com/magazine/sto...

When America Hated Catholics

In the late 19th century, statesmen feared that Catholics were something less than civilized (and less than white).

www.politico.com

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 2h

certainly many others suffered too.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 2h

While this is true, isn’t the contemporary history of Columbus Day’s creation the most powerful rationale?

125+ years ago, poor Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Italy made up despised minorities; there were lynchings of Italians and the KKK persecuted Catholics.

Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 12h

I mean no disrespect to Italian-Americans, you know the people whose ancestors come from a country that didn’t exist as a unified entity until 1861, 355 years after Columbus, “the Italian,” died.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 3h

I can sadly personally testify that everyone I’ve talked to under 40 who reads Yglesias does not know what they are being fed. they don’t see the agenda and they think it’s the smartest of the smart kid stuff

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

And the Elrond of the movies is the wrong Elrond. Very wrong

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

Oh yes

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

Leadership like that is what’s needed.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

And how did we get “No Kings”? Some great communicators and political experts at @indivisible.org came up with it, vibed with it, and ran with it. And it worked.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

mea culpa on that one. I see what #NoKings has become. It’s great.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

Boy was I wrong months ago to say “No Kings” was a bad message. Just goes to show no one really knows what messages will work; what people will vibe with; what will get amplified.

We just shld try things—get good communicators out there, don‘t chain them to poll-tested msgs, and see what works.

Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · 5h

A unifying color (and/or symbol) has been integral to movements against fascism across places and times. It allows us to know we are indeed a very big we. And to telegraph to others our beliefs in freedom and fairness, prosperity and peace. It makes us a team folks want to join.

Bright yellow background with No Kings written at the top left, below a crown Xed out in red. Below that the words: Saturday, October 18th. Wear yellow. Show up. Show out. nokings.org
Lower right a sign reading "Rejecting Kings Since 1776" and an arm holding it up on a stick.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 4h

I agree this is good evidence that outrage at fascism works.

The rightwing media env can lie R’s back to approval given enough time—watch what Fox airs, endless coverage of black and immigrant crime stories they find, and attacking Dems. That’s why status quo doesn’t work. We need to drive attn.

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 4h

The Dem generic ballot advantage was greater in the “This is not normal!” early phase of Trump’s first presidency than ever again

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 14h

Yep. We have seen this before, it’s the NY Post strategy: take small niche things that make liberals and democrats look bad and blow them up

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 15h

Correct

Sinsemilla Jones @sinsemillajones.bsky.social · 15h

D leaders need to show up at the protests this time.

They were absent last time, and that contributed to the lack of media coverage.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 15h

ikyk:

Danielle Sassoon is paid by Paul Singer and other far-right billionaires at the Manhattan Institute. Does she need the NYT to give her a platform? Why don’t they platform some #NoKings people who aren’t being paid by Project 2025/Trump allies?

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 15h

Bernie gets it. Now we need every Dem leader to:

1. Talk about and praise #NoKings on social media now
2. Go to a #NoKings protest and speak; rally people, lead the crowds.

Harness the energy, Dems!

George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 2d

@sanders.senate.gov: "No, Speaker Johnson, the #NoKings Rally on October 18th is not a 'hate America' rally. ... It’s a rally of millions of people who believe in American freedom and are not going to allow you and President Trump to turn us into an authoritarian country."

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 15h

Exactly. Take the win now, but we shouldn’t forget that Qatar and Netanyahu and other autocrats involved are bad actors who don't want freedom but authoritarianism.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 15h

Yes! This is it. When Bessent is on TV trying to deflect we know that this is getting to them
and they are feeling weakness.

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 15h

By the time you get to the point where the Transportation Secretary is complaining about political protests, you know the administration is truly scared of the public backlash.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17h

Sean Duffy: "The No Kings protest, Maria, really frustrating. This is part of antifa, paid protesters. It begs the question who's funding it."

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 16h

Yes. He could do it because he is an autocrat who is tight with autocrats in Israel and in the Arab world. Unlike Biden. The Qatar bribes helped him box in Netanyahu on Qatar attacks.

Still it’s worth celebrating.

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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 16h

All right. This is an opportunity. Prior #NoKings protests were huge but did not get the media coverage they deserved.

Now R’s are anticipating NoKings will hurt them. So they are proactively lying in the media about 10/18.

We shd use this: D leaders should be in the media talking about #NoKings.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16h

Bessent: "No Kings means no paychecks. No paychecks and no government."

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Reposted by Eric Blair

Wil Wheaton @wilwheaton.net · 1d

"To be a Republican in 2025 represents a clear public confession that you either don't know the difference between good and evil and you're so morally empty that you can't be bothered to begin to try, or that you do know the difference, and you prefer evil." Great essay from @juliusgoat.bsky.social

The Crime of Human Virtue

Sometimes it really is as simple as good vs. evil. This is one of those times. Human virtue is our great crime against the fascist project; it's also our great weapon against it.

www.the-reframe.com

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