The voiceless and voteless
Alec Karakatsanis of Alec’s Copaganda Newsletter referenced on Monday a summer post of his about how journalists too often report uncritically asserted motivations of politicians as their actual motivations. People are often not honest about their actual motivations.
Insincerity and mock outrage run wild in the U.S. Congress. Witness anytime Rep. Jim Jordan (R) of Ohio peppers witnesses he opposes with accusations and character attacks. Jordan is sincerely an asshole, but trust nothing beyond that.
Video of Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) went viral Thursday after she shed tears while begging colleagues to vote against the Respect for Marriage Act. President Joe Biden will sign the bill into law today. The act codifies federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. Hartzler’s gay nephew, Andrew Hartzler, took issue with her claim that the bill will harm “institutions and people of faith.” That they’ll feel “silenced.”
Andrew responded, “It’s more like you want the power to force your religious beliefs onto everyone else.” As the saying goes, When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
There are plenty of people in this country who know what oppression really is. And too few in politics to represent them. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison is one. He spoke tearfully over the weekend of underprivileged and undereducated and undervalued people who are “many times voiceless and voteless.”
Judge for yourselves whose motivations are more sincere and worthy of taking seriously.
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