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Friends,

Republicans were okay canceling millions of American voters in the last election, but they draw the line at Dr. Seuss. The reality is that that Dr. Seuss Enterprises, a private company, decided to stop publishing six lesser-known books that contained racist imagery. As Scott Huler explains, "this is not cancel culture, as the right would have you believe; this is living forward through time. This is learning and growing. This is how you manage a legacy."

Andrew Silow-Carroll said that "one Dr. Seuss book, 'Dilly Goes to Delancey Street,' features a hook-nosed Jewish character leering at a pair of little girls in white pinafores. Actually, no such book exists, but if that sentence gave you pause, then it should help you empathize with others who object to some of his early depictions of other groups, and perhaps modify your righteous anger about 'cancel culture'."

As long as Republicans see political gain from whipping up white resentment and fear of others, they will use manufactured controversies like this to obscure their opposition to COVID relief supported by most Americans and to draw attention from legislation that would prevent them from suppressing votes at the state level.

The Republican Party is an anti-democratic party. America is, or should be, a democratic country. All minorities, including Jews, are safer and do better in countries that respect democratic norms. But 120 House GOP members shared incendiary social media content leading up to the Capitol attack on January 6.

Zack Beauchamp's detailed analysis shows that the GOP is "still committed to a political approach that can’t win in a majoritarian system, requiring the defense of the undemocratic status quo in institutions like the Senate and in state-level electoral rules. Republicans still control the bulk of statehouses and are gearing up for a new round of voter suppression bills and extreme gerrymandering in electorally vital states like Georgia and Texas." 

Dana Milbank explains that the GOP is "essentially, a white-nationalist party, in which racial animus is the main motivator of Republican votes. But in an increasingly multicultural America, such people don’t form a majority. The only route to power for a white-nationalist party, then, is to become anti-democratic: to keep non-White people from voting and to discredit elections themselves. In short, democracy is working against Republicans — and so Republicans are working against democracy."

The Republican agenda is tax cuts for the wealthy and as little interference with business as possible--even if the price is climate disaster and deaths from pandemic--but since the top 1% only have 1% of the vote, by appealing to racism and resentment Republicans can sway voters who don't benefit from their policies, and those votes can make the difference if other votes are suppressed.

That's why it's essential that Congress pass HR 1/ S 1, which contains voting protection measures that will prevent vote suppression at the state level. The reluctance of some Democrats to limit or abolish another anti-democratic relic, the filibuster, could result in significant erosion of our democracy in 2022 and beyond. Had GOP voter suppression measures been in place in 2020, even if Biden still won the popular vote, he might have lost in the Electoral College. 

Democracy is not the natural state of nature. Other primates don't operate democratically. Neanderthals did not write a constitution. Democracy has been the exception, not the norm, in human history. Many Americans probably would be fine living under a benevolent dictator as long as the dictator's benevolence extended to them and until their heads were in the guillotine.

But we don't need every American to support democracy. We need just enough Americans who remember our country's purpose and our dream. Democracy is hard work, and if we take it for granted, we will lose it. We would have lost it if Republicans had their way a few weeks ago. We might not be so lucky next time, especially if the Senate fails to enact legislation necessary to protect our democracy.

Republicans are complaining because Democrats passed COVID relief on a party-line vote. It would not have been a party-line vote if Republicans had joined Democrats in delivering much-needed resources to the American people. We should judge legislation and resolutions on the merits, not on whether they are watered down enough to get Republican support. By all means, compromise if Republican votes are needed for passage, but I'd rather have a good partisan bill than a less good bipartisan bill.

Ask the families who lost children, siblings, or parents in Vietnam if they think the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, was a good idea. Ask your friends with pre-existing conditions who are now eligible for health insurance whether they think Obamacare was a bad idea because only one Republican voted for it.

Israel's security establishment supported the Iran Deal and supports Biden's diplomatic efforts. An enduring myth is that the Iran Deal did not address Israel's security concerns. The reality is that opposing the Iran Deal served Netanyahu's political interests, aligning his interests with the Republican Party's interests in opposing all things Obama. That's not to say that Bibi sacrificed Israel's security for his own political survival; he may have believed that the Iran Deal was flawed on the merits.

But Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yair Golan explains why Israel's nuclear, security, and diplomatic experts were satisfied with the JCPOA and why he believes "that it is in Israel’s urgent national security interest for the United States to return to compliance with the deal, and to then use it as a basis for follow-on negotiations."

Biden opposes ICC efforts to investigate Israel. The International Criminal Court announced that it will investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel and by Palestinian groups.

The Biden administration reiterated its "strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly," outlined the legal arguments against the ICC decision, and stated that the U.S. "firmly opposes and is deeply disappointed by this decision."

The administration has not revoked the sanctions against the ICC imposed by Trump, which are still under review.

When is it appropriate to make Holocaust comparisons? The Holocaust was unique, but if we cannot apply the lessons of the Holocaust to events happening today, what is the point of remembering? By definition, a unique event cannot recur. We make comparisons not because anything happening today is identical to what happened then, but to prevent tragedy to the extent it is similar, either in cause or effect.

Shai Franklin writes that "in his four years as President, Trump rounded up asylum-seekers and immigrants, demonized African-Americans, banned Muslims, undermined the equal rights of LGBTQ Americans, extorted foreign governments, commandeered law enforcement for his political aims, and directly challenged the Constitutional foundations of our republic. While this was no Holocaust, perhaps the lessons of the Holocaust were never more relevant to the American story than during Trump’s tenure in office."

Franklin concludes that "if we want the memory of the six million to have a true and lasting impact, then this legacy must be the inheritance of all humanity...it was a particularly Jewish tragedy with an infinitely universal impact."

Last week's newsletter.

ICYMI. Mike Pence’s Blueprint for Permanent Authoritarian Rule.

Tweets of the Week. Neanderthal Museum. and Hillary Clinton.

Video Clip of the Week. Classic Steve Martin (watch the interview too).

Upcoming Events. Join Dana Gordon and me for a special event in support of Sen. Tammy Duckworth's (D-IL) 2022 reelection campaign. Tammy is not only a friend of the Jewish and pro-Israel communities, but she is a special friend of ours, and we hope you will attend on Thursday, March 11, at 3:30pm CT. Contributions are encouraged but not required. However, you must RSVP to get the Zoom link.

Join us for a conversation with Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) on Monday, March 15 at 6:00pm CT hosted by Politics with Dana and Steve and Democratic Jewish Outreach of Pennsylvania. The event is free, but RSVP is required.

Follow Politics with Dana and Steve on Facebook.

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