Author Archives: Nicole Sanders

It’s a travesty.  An increasing number of Republicans have turned their backs on Ukraine.  For them, it’s a conflict on the other side of the world that doesn’t matter here at home.  But however far away geographically, the Ukraine war means something for all of us, even as we go about our everyday lives.  It has been said of the far-right so many times it has become cliche, but why is this a Republican vs. Democrat issue?  It is an issue of democracy.  These “Republicans” are telling us something about themselves.  First of all, they have nothing to do with being Republican; and second of all, the reason they have nothing to do with being Republican is they have nothing to do with democracy.  If they believed in democracy, then they would not have to think twice about supporting a people desperately holding onto their vulnerable democratic freedoms.

I know that Americans are tired.  The last several years have been a roller coaster: the pandemic, wars overseas, inflation here at home, China, now Gaza.  It is natural for people to fatigue.  But that makes this a moment for leadership.  Joe Biden displayed that leadership with his speech to the nation.  Mike Johnson displayed the exact opposite.  

Leadership is helping your constituency understand complex problems.  That is the point of having a representative in a democratic government.  It’s what a representative is paid to do–help the people s/he serves understand a complicated world without patronizing people.  It means standing up against things that are wrong regardless of the immediate impact on one’s political career.  What it doesn’t mean is catering to an extreme very few in an attempt to stay in power.

Vladimir Putin has been waiting for this all along.  Back at the beginning, when he first made the decision to invade, he did so believing that America would lose its resolve.  He bet that America would not be willing to put its money where its mouth was.  When it comes to an increasing number of Republican representatives, he apparently bet right.

This remains Putin’s calculus.  He is simply waiting.  Sanctions are having little to no effect.  The war is proving to be a long one.  Because of the Republican party’s nearsightedness, unwillingness or inability to see the big picture, and failure to value democracy at home and abroad; this tyrant has time on his side.  If centrist Republicans don’t win this fight, the only strategy Putin will need to win is to fight a war of slow attrition.  

I am a lifelong progressive, and if you had told me when I was younger that I would ever long for anything to do with Ronald Regan I would have laughed in your face.  But now lawmakers who believe in the Republican party of Ronald Regan have become a voice of reason.  I continue to disagree with them on many policy issues, but on democracy we can still agree.  Let us hope wiser minds within the Republican party prevail.

We should all agree that Donald Trump is bad.  He is crazy in some sense of the word; he is dangerous to American democracy.  But so too, in his own way, is Joe Biden.  Biden is probably the most truly decent person I have ever heard of in politics. He obviously sincerely wants what is best for his country.  He is also a very weak candidate.  An AP-NORC poll found that 77% of voters think he is too old. (I agree.)  His approval ratings are in the 40’s. In terms of his personality, he’s seen as soft on crime and unable to handle the crisis at the border.  He represents the Democratic party of the past.  He is unpopular with key demographics that are the core of the progressive movement.  Even African-Americans are unlikely to turn out the vote for him.  If Joe Biden wants to protect American democracy, he should step aside and let a new face be chosen to pick up the mantle.

If the Republicans are guilty of remaining silent while their party members undermine the proper functioning of government, the Democratic party is guilty of not finding strong candidates that can run on a variety of issues beyond people not liking the other guy.  People thinking Trump is a bad guy will not be enough to secure the presidency.  Biden needs a positive message, and that is going to be very hard for him to find.  Time is running short.  There is only a year to go before the election and pouring money into the situation isn’t working.  There is still time for a new leader to step up but it has to happen now.

There is always the prospect that Biden will have some kind of major health problem between now and when the election really begins to heat up.  There is the possibility that some kind of major problem related to his age occurs on the campaign trail.  A Lot of people can see that Biden is slowing down; his age is beginning to tell.  

Part of doing service to a democracy is putting forward strong candidates–ensuring you are running people that speak to the needs of the electorate.  The Democratic Party has a responsibility to find and run candidates that are able to effectively counter the message of extremist opponents.  Branding them will not be enough.  Progressives will have to out campaign them on making government work.  Running purely on the other guy having no respect for democracy will only make progressive candidates appear self-righteous.  It will do us no good for Biden to be a defender of democracy if people cannot trust him to be a good steward of the economy.  Meeting people where they are means understanding the issues that are most important to them and addressing them forcefully.  The Democratic party has a responsibility to democracy.  It needs a strong candidate–one that can project vigor, who can go head-to-head with Trump or anybody else on any issue.  

It is perhaps unfortunate that Israel is being blamed for a blast at a hospital that ostensibly it is not responsible for, but I have a lot of trouble feeling sorry for the IDF.  The situation exemplifies why Israel needs to follow the spirit of international law instead of constantly looking for technicalities.  If they committed to never bombing hospitals in the first place there would be no doubt that terrorists inside Gaza were responsible for the blast.  The IDF has set itself up to be accused of things it has not done.  It’s a matter of trust.

No one should deny that Hamas is a dangerous, barbaric, neighbor–a terrorist organization right on Israel’s doorstep.  But at some point Israel needs to come to terms with just how many civilians it is killing. More than anything, Israel has to learn when it just isn’t worth it.  Proportionality can be subjective.  But doing whatever you can do is different from doing what you should do.   

Israel needs to learn that it has nothing to gain and everything to lose by killing Palestinian children.  This has been the greatest obstacle to peace and a two state solution all along.  Israel believes that its only course of action is to create “collateral damage” when the exact opposite is true.  The only productive course of action is to reduce the death of innocent civilians.  Israel can’t accomplish anything to further their security until they embrace what international laws of war were designed to accomplish–that is, the reduction of civilian casualties.  Arguing about those laws is meaningless.  It really doesn’t matter why Israel is killing so many innocent civilians, it is that  it is killing so many innocent civilians.  A dead child is a dead child.  The family of that child will not, and should not have to, understand the minutiae of international law.  Humanitarian law is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.  If Israel wants peace it will have to find a way to kill fewer civilians–period, full stop.  It cannot expect peace and “collateral damage” to co-exist.

As long as Israel continues to push back on the international community it will continue to have the problems it has.  Not allowing fuel to enter Gaza serves no purpose whatsoever.  Even if Hamas mangages to somehow get its hands on some of the humanitarian aid, Israel is better off in the long run.  

Calls for a ceasefire go too far; Israel has the right to respond militarily.   An invasion of Gaza may be warranted and is understandable.  But, there are rules to war; and those rules apply to Israel just as they apply to any other country.  This is not a time to parse details or mince words.  At a certain moment Israel must face up to the things that it has done to further the violence in the Palestinian conflict. 

That doesn’t make Hamas right.  There is never any excuse for the kind of atrocities they engage in, and they too are an obstacle to peace that must be removed.   But there are things above and beyond a ground invasion Israel could, and will have, to do, to get Hamas out of power.  

 Only when Palestinians can trust that Israel isn’t going to engage in collective punishment can there be a way forward.  Without that the constant fear of dying as “collateral damage” will continue to inflict psychological damage on Palestinian children.  And as long as Palestinians live in fear, there will be Hamas.    

Conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza.  It is becoming clearer by the day that both sides of the Hamas-Israel war have walked away from any chance at peace.  The things most needed now are: caution, a cool head, genuine empathy for civilians on both sides, and a desire to actually reach a resolution instead of engaging in a war of vengeance.  There is a dearth of these on both sides.   Meanwhile, the international community stands by powerless. 

The international community will remain powerless until it comes to terms with the historical fears of common people on both sides.  For Palestinians, the air strikes and, now, the threat of a huge ground invasion hearken back to the “catastrophe” that led to the creation of the refugee crisis.  And, perhaps more important, and very much less understood, is the way the attacks by Hamas play out in the historical imagination of Israeli Jews.  However disproportionate Israel’s response may become, civilian death and international law have little or no meaning for people who still remember the Holocaust–not to mention the thousands of other times Jews have faced programs, exiles, massacres, etc.  The whole concept of Israel was for there at last to be a place where Jews could live in peace, free from threat and fear. 

Hamas shattered that hope.  It should not surprise us that the Israeli response is so forceful and so vengeful.  Israel sees itself as fighting for a place where Jews will not have to look over their shoulder.  The hard part is convincing them that no amount of air strikes and definitely not forcing a million people from their homes will get them the security they so desperately want and deserve.  

It is a moment to convince a people, as well as a nation, that humanitarian law is in their best interests, even when they have trouble hearing.  What is really needed is for the international community to convince not only the Israeli government, but the Israeli people, and Jews all over the world, that it is in the best long term security interests of its people to respect the human rights of everyone involved–most importantly the common people of Gaza.  Blinded by rage and fears that hearken back thousands of years, Israel cannot see right now that Palestinians having to pull dead children from bombed out houses will in no way bring them closer to security.  It will keep them locked in a never-ending cycle of violence and fear of violence.

Israel wants security, not terrorism, at its doorstep.  There is nothing wrong with that.  And it is human for a people with such a long history of oppression and dispossession to fear the loss of a homeland once they have finally achieved it.  Israel must know that its homeland is safe.  It must know that Hamas’ threats will never become a reality because the world community will never allow them to become a reality.  And, in return, it must learn to not disposes others as it has been dispossessed.  It is important to remember that nowhere in Judaism is the kind of behavior Israel is engaged in condoned.  Over and over in the Torah, Jews are taught, “Remember the stranger for once you were strangers…”

If there was ever any doubt as to whether or not the “militants” of Hamas are “freedom fighters,” we now know for sure–they are “terrorists.”  The only thing surprising is that people were this surprised.  The situation has been a long time in the making on both sides.  Both sides are guilty.  The terror of Hamas has no justification; nor does the counterproductive and inhumane response on the part of the Israeli Defense Forces.  

When it comes to Hamas, the everyday human rights violations of the Israeli military, no matter how wrong, are an excuse, not a reason.  Hamas is violent because they know they can convince the world that it is Israel’s fault they are violent.  They use people; they use issues.  The only cause they truly champion is violence and chaos.  That isn’t to say that Israel has no responsibility.  It is to say that Hamas is as much to blame as they appear to be.  Hamas is using the many Palestinians who support them.  They have usurped the cause of Palestinian statehood in an attempt to justify the murder of infants.  What is most important now is that the international community acknowledges Hamas for what it is, and finds a way to break its grip on the people of Gaza.

One source of hope is that the people of Gaza may now see what the regime they put in charge of their narrow strip of land that desires to be an independent state has done for them.  Theoretically, Hamas should pay the price, but, realistically, the IDF is going to lash out in ways that hurt the general population of Gaza.  Ultimately, it is they, not Hamas, who are going to pay the highest price in this conflict.  This was clear almost immediately, as Israel demanded a complete siege–not allowing food, fuel, and even medicine to flow into Gaza.  The world community, stunned by the ferocity of Hamas’ terror, has forgotten that this is a violation of international law and why it is a violation of international law.  Gazans now face a humanitarian catastrophe.  The question is whether the civilians of Gaza will recognize that all Hamas has brought them is war, deprivation, and bloodshed. 

Meanwhile, there will be no way to extricate Hamas from the general population in this small, densely packed strip of land where there is nowhere to run. Which means, once again, civilians will die.  As long as civilians die, there will be Hamas.  I fear Israel could be moving into a forever war.  Their stated goal–destroying Hamas–cannot be accomplished with military might.   

The only way out of this cycle is with the help of the international community.  Israel should not be left to fight Hamas alone. The Palestinians should be protected from Israel taking retribution on common people.  Common people who will then become the terrorist they rightly fear.  This may be Israel’s 9/11.  Let us hope they fare better than America with their war on terror.

It was understandable to let the guy sink.  But, it will prove to be a huge strategic mistake.  It isn’t that McCarthy lost, it’s that Matt Gaetz won.  As much as I disdain the things McCarthy did in order to pursue a policy of appeasement toward the hard-liners in his party, I am more worried about the ability of a few extremists to sow chaos–especially when sowing chaos is their only motivation.  We now, once again, have a house of government that is leaderless.  In the short term, it may seem as if that is not a problem for Democrats.  In the long term, it is bad for the country in very big ways.  For one thing, the alt-right has learned it can take the House of Representatives hostage.

I don’t like it either.  But, if helping McCarthy weather the challenge from the so-called right of his party was going to keep the House from devolving into chaos, it should have been done.  I fear very much what the road ahead looks like.  We may wind up with a Republican in power far worse than McCarthy.  If you think about it, where is the Republican party going to go from here?  Only a person even more beholden to the far-right can get enough votes to be elected speaker.

McCarthy has grown weary of his right flank.  If it had been made clear to him that he could keep his speakership, he might have been willing to break with the radicals for good.  That would have been a tremendous win for the nation as a whole.  Now, we face yet another speaker that made promises to get enough votes to secure the gavel. 

McCarthy could have been reformed.  With effort, he could have learned how to conduct himself politically in a way that would give him consistent bi-partisan support and, therefore, the ability to break free of the Representatives that have turned on him.  McCarthy did, ultimately, do the right thing.  He risked his speakership to do what was in the best interests of the nation.  We shouldn’t let a small group of radicals punish him for that.  It sets a very bad precedent, one that will have a chilling effect on future bi-partisan negotiation.  By allowing the hard-liners to oust McCarthy, Democrats have sent the message that extremists are capable of destroying the career of anyone who engages in bi-partisan talks.

In 45 days the country may be facing another government shutdown.  Who will be speaker of the House then?  Do Democrats really believe it will be somebody better than McCarthy? 

What will the Freedom Caucus demand this time? and, more importantly, will they be able to get it?  Moving forward, Democrats should take a different approach to the House speakership.  If they have an opportunity to support someone relatively moderate who seems willing to break with the alt-right, they should hold their noses and do it.  It will be a win not for a Republican, but for the country.

In Libya a damn breech kills thousands.  Libya, one of the countries most susceptible to climate change, is a war torn country so dysfunctional that it couldn’t warn its citizens to evacuate.  The costs of climate change will be high for this nation, which is unable to exploit its vast natural resources because it is so beset by conflict.  Libya, and a lot of places like it, are beginning to pay the price of climate change.  Soon, the West will also be paying the price for this damn breach.  In a country that is the staging point for many migrants and asylum seekers, tens of thousands are now displaced.  The costs of inaction on climate change are beginning to add up.

Yet, at the same time, there are those who still claim they have an economic interest in delaying action on climate change.   Some complain about the costs of jobs and livelihood and potential electricity rate hikes. We will lose jobs here, it will negatively affect a certain sector in a certain way.  After all, inflation is out of control.  The immediate price of crude oil on today’s market is of paramount importance.  The grid isn’t ready yet.      They claim we cannot afford to switch to clean energy now, that we will have to wait, that it will take time to implement, that in the meantime we still need fossil fuels.  The excuses abound. 

But when faced with a tragedy like the one in Libya all those excuses lose meaning. Let the people of Derna ask Joe Manchin about the impact on the local community.    What damage has been done to their local economy, how many jobs have been lost? 

 Unfortunately, it may take climate change becoming too expensive for the world to decide to act. As the costs mount all over the world, climate change is becoming harder and harder to ignore.  Very soon the costs of climate change are going to become so real that no amount trying to deny it is going to make it go away.  When there are too many disasters like Libya, the world will tire of sending aid. It is unfortunate that the world is choosing to wait for such tragedies to wake up to what is going wrong with Mother Nature, and how our disrespect of Her is going to be impacting us for many generations to come.   

As the cost of inaction mounts, more and more voices call for change; this is our moment.  Those who care about climate change have to step up.  At last our voices cannot simply be ignored.   It is sad we have waited, this long, until climate change is upon us. But at last it is clear that we cannot simply wait until later. 

Climate change, unfortunately, may begin to be acted on now simply because it has become too expensive.  What is tragic is the costs of climate change borne by one Libyan–his infant and seven of his family members drowned in the flood.

Typically, I am all for fatherly love.  It’s almost always a good thing.  But president Biden’s defense of his son Hunter is a rare exception.  I appreciate the impulse to stand behind his son, but the truth of the matter is Hunter has done things that are wrong.  The president has a responsibility to his party, and to the nation, to acknowledge that, no matter how difficult and painful that may be for him personally.  It is not the drug or gun charges that are at stake, but the implication of attempted influence peddling. Even if it becomes clear that he was unable to do so, the mere attempt is going to become a campaign issue.  

Biden has the right to make it clear that he loves his son.  He also has a responsibility to make it clear that if his son attempted to engage in influence peddling, then Hunter must accept the consequences of his actions–addiction or no addiction.  Biden must make it clear that he does not tolerate the kind of behavior his son is accused of, whether he believes his son is innocent or not.  A forceful condemnation of the crimes Hunter is alleged to have engaged in is in order.  Joe Biden needs to tell the world he will never excuse influence peddling, no matter how close it comes to him.

The problem is the appearance that he is in denial about the very serious nature of questions that are being raised about his son’s conduct.  Accusations of impropriety are not unreasonable.  Saying that Hunter will have to face the consequences of his actions if he is found guilty would go a long way toward defusing the situation.  The first lady flatly refusing to believe that Hunter may have done something wrong will not.

Biden runs the risk of allowing the most extreme wing of the Republican party to rally their base around an impeachment inquiry.  And if the Republicans in congress make good on their threats, the issue could become an albatross around Biden’s neck as he goes into the general election.  The White House is being too slow to act and too slow to take the problem seriously.  The fact that it isn’t bothering voters now is irrelevant.  His campaign must look ahead to the future and think about what could be coming down the line.  Just not responding is going to have serious, damaging consequences.  

I firmly believe that Biden has done nothing wrong, and it is very possible that his son is guilty of only minor crimes.  However, the attitude of the White House toward this scandal is difficult for me to understand.  If smacks of an overconfidence that I think is dangerous for Biden’s campaign.  Even if his son has done nothing wrong–which is doubtful–that doesn’t mean that the problem can go on unaddressed.  Everything, even if it persuades just a small percentage of voters, will be important in the future.  Biden must deal effectively with this deeply personal issue. 

As America faces a crisis in affordable housing, there is yet another way the rich are getting richer at the expense of those most vulnerable.  Hedge funds are buying up mobile home parks and jacking up lot rents, forcing people to abandon homes they have owned and lived in for years.  

Until now, mobile homes were seen as part of the answer for affordable housing.  Despite the stigma, mobile homes provide a path to home ownership for people who would not otherwise have such an opportunity.  Most people who live in mobile homes are working people for whom buying a traditional home is simply out of reach.  But mobile home owners do not own the land their homes sit on, making them vulnerable to price gouging. 

Despite the name “mobile,” they are extremely difficult and expensive to move.  Costing as much as $10,000, it is far outside that savings of most mobile home owners, who have a medium yearly income of about $34,000.   If greedy or unscrupulous businesses buy up these properties and then begin jacking up the lot rent, homeowners are faced with the prospect of attempting to live in a home that is no longer affordable for them, or abandoning their home.  Worse yet, hedge funds buy up mobile home parks, close them down, and have the land rezoned for development.

It’s not as if there aren’t potential legal solutions for this problem.   Legislation protecting these homeowners from such price gouging has been proposed in several states.  But with every turn the mobile home lobby has been able to block legislation or pass watered down “compromise” legislation that does nothing to address the true underlying causes of people losing their homes–homes they have invested in, in many cases heavily.    

  The inaction is a case of lawmakers ignoring their own constituents.  It goes deeper than just this one issue, to legislators who listen to powerful lobbies simply because they do not care about people at the bottom rung.  The solution is simple–care about the people who own these homes.  Treat them with the same respect we do those living in multi-million dollar mansions.  They are homeowners who are being ignored simply because they represent an underclass, because people in power believe that they can get away with ignoring their voices.  The only way to make change is for that to change.  

Legislation and other interventions to stop these abuses of power are relatively straightforward.  Movements have emerged that give mobile homeowners the right to own the land their homes sit on.   Limits can be put on rent hikes and city councils have the power to deny rezoning requests in order to preserve affordable housing.  “Development” is never a foregone conclusion, it is a choice.

America is at a crossroads.  It faces a reckoning.  Will it continue, at its own peril, to ignore the underdog? or will it begin to see that the rights of those who struggle the most economically are necessary for the functioning of government?