Jason LaBau

HS/MS History Teacher; Special interests in US politics and race; PhD; LDS; D&D; Opinions my own. he/him.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

The election results have again reminded me of Du Bois's statement on Robert E. Lee:

"People do not go to war for abstract theories of government. They fight for property and privilege."

It seems clear that people did not vote on democracy but on property and privilege.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

@johnmsides Has anyone done this arrow map compared to 2016? I'm curious to where/to what extent Trump got more popular not compared to Biden/Harris but compared to last time he won.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

@sounddude18 Congratulations to her!

And thank you for doing your part in NV!

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

A significant thread on how Florida's government is running ads to shape how Florida residents will (re)structure Florida's government through the amendment process.

[Jason Garcia @Jason_Garcia]

Ron DeSantis appears to have taken nearly $4 million that was supposed to be spent combating the opioid crisis – and burned the money instead on advertising against ballot measures that would legalize marijuana and overturn a statewide abortion ban.

🧵...

[Liz Cheney @Liz_Cheney]

Let’s be clear: This is illegal and unconstitutional. The American people had voted. The courts had ruled. The Electoral College had met and voted. The Governor in every state had certified the results and sent a legal slate of electors to the Congress to be counted. The Vice President has no constitutional authority to tell states to submit alternative slates of electors because his candidate lost. That is tyranny. Our institutions held on Jan 6 because Mike Pence refused to violate his oath to the Constitution. Trump picked JD Vance because Vance will do whatever Trump wants, including violating the Constitution. They are both far too dangerous to serve. It’s our duty to stop them.

[Jeff Flake @JeffFlake]

I’ll be supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @Tim_Walz for Vice President. My full statement below.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

We thought Vance had a weird obsession with "childless cat ladies." Given his newest messaging, perhaps it was the *cats* he was really fixated on all along?

Maybe he could raise money for an animal shelter or something?

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Literally what I expect of my high school students. Do the reading, be prepared to discuss, and if you want something from me, explain why. Not so hard.

[Leah Greenberg says NO KINGS ❌👑 @Leahgreenb]

this is an absolutely bananas complaint to have about the Vice President of the United States

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

It is not healthy for a democracy to give special privileges to someone because (a) they were president or (b) they are running for president. Any privileges of office should be limited to the time of holding the office. Otherwise, they should be treated as an equal citizen.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

@chaoticsequence @hotdamhistorian Adding: Difficult to underestimate the impact of 25 years of GOP vilification of Clinton, going back to the 1992 campaign. Pat Buchanan's convention speech is a good example of the anti-"Hillary" attack. Rare to have 1/4 century of national vilification before a presidential run.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

The thing is, the US includes citizens who live in DC and Puerto Rico. He's making an argument that their representation would matter, WHICH IS WHY THEY SHOULD HAVE REPRESENTATION!

[𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖_𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @SundaeDivine]

“Let’s assume our worst nightmare—the Democrats get the White House, the House, the Senate. The first thing they’ll do is get rid of the filibuster, and you’ll have two new states: D.C., Puerto Rico. That’s four new Democratic senators in perpetuity.”

- Mitch McConnell

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Really remarkable that the GOP's living former president and VP, and living presidential and VP candidates ALL aren't attending the convention.

It's become a party of one man. Dangerous for both the country and the party.

[. @GregTSargent]

They are being absolutely, 100% clear in declaring that you can no longer be a Republican unless you place Trump above the Constitution and the rule of law.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Is that fair? No. But complaining about it won't get Biden elected.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

The Republicans spent a quarter century vilifying Hillary before she ran. That didn't tell us anything about how qualified she was to be president, but it made it harder for her to get elected.

The media can be wrong about Biden's age AND it can be harder to elect him.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

This is an insidious part of the belief in meritocracy: Not only that people on the bottom deserve to be there but that whoever is on the top must be singularly qualified. Biden winning in 2020 isn't evidence that only he could have accomplished what he has done since.

[Jeet Heer @HeerJeet]

Worth noting that in the 2nd half of the question he's implicitly saying Kamala Harris isn't up to the job for president because "who else" can do the great job Biden is doing?

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Pairing a 'get out of jail free' card with the most powerful office in the world is not good for democracy. If not Trump now, future bad actors will be motivated by that combination. No political party is above such actors. Dem or GOP, it will come unless we correct this.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Here's the thing, though: Because they had executed Charles I for treason, England had established that the King of England *was* subject to English law!

SCOTUS has just ruled that presidents have more legal protections than the kings we rebelled against.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

This is one of the best arguments I have seen for why we need a prolonged effort to shift power back to Congress and away from both the president and the Supreme Court. Having so much ride on one person or nine people isn't healthy for a democracy.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Also, have you paid any attention to what Trump's appointees are doing over there on the Supreme Court? They're crafting an unaccountable branch to parallel what Trump's supporters think the presidency should be.

[Jason LaBau @JasonCLaBau]

Biden is old. We knew that.

I'd rather take "old after a lifetime of service" than "slightly less old and believes the law doesn't and shouldn't apply to him."

I don't agree with all of Biden's policy decisions, but we agree that democracy is worth preserving.