What they weren't talking about was the end of democracy
Stefanik's tweet output reduced dramatically as she enters diplomacy business
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It was a year ago that Miles Taylor, the deputy chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security during Donald Trump's first term, addressed the audience at Page Hall and said, "If he wins the next time, it will be a lot starker than the first."
There was silence in the room.
Taylor was infamous as "Anonymous," the author of a New York Times piece that warned the world of Donald Trump's authoritarian instincts and his hope to use the Insurrection Act to discredit critics and members of the media.
"We were terrified of that," Taylor said that night.
While Taylor's was the first warning shot, he was not the last. Newspaper articles, books, in-depth interviews from inside the administration, people who saw Trump at his worst, people who threw up roadblocks to thwart the president's ambition warned us again and again over the past year about Trump's darker impulses.
Without any impact.
So I returned Friday night to the University at Albany campus for the sixth edition of the New York State Writers Institute's "Telling the Truth" event looking for a reason not to flee the country.
Yes, there is a part of me that is serious about that.
The event was divided into the two panels: The Future of the Democratic Party and The Future of of The Republican Party.
I was taken aback.
I was not worried about the future of either political party.
I was worried about the future of the country and if democracy would hold.
I sensed others felt the same way.
Former Times Union journalist Paul Grondahl moderated the Democratic panel with Chuck Todd (NBC News), Charlotte Alter (TIME magazine) and Rep. Paul Tonko.
None of them seemed particularly on edge.
Tonko called the results of the election "disappointing" in perhaps the most understated sentiment of the past month.
Todd, an astute political historian, believed this was just another political upheaval to get through.
"These policies (of the Biden administration) will age well," Todd said. "In 2036, people will look back and love these policies."
If we make it to 2026.
Alter was more concerned, saying that Trump will act as if he has mandate, hesitating about the "existential threat" she could not define.
Todd did say the biggest problem was the "local news crisis" and the news deserts that have been created all over rural America by the collapse of the print newspaper business model.
Alter chimed in that the lack of local sports coverage played a role in people's distrust of the media, too. She argued that the accurate local sports coverage they could easily measure gave voters trust of the whole product.
That seemed a little too simple for me.
Alter explained what she saw while reporting from the front lines this summer as she interviewed regular people in shopping center parking lots around the country.
She called it a "very unsettling reality."
She explained the lack of a linear thought process that did not take voters from fact A, to B and on to C.
"No, it's like this," Alter said. "A leads to yellow, which leads to 9, which leads to banana."
She could only shrug her shoulders.
It made no sense.
Like the recent election.
Todd finally said Congress allowed the president to become too powerful.
The elephant in the room was the possibility Trump might end the independence of government agencies such as the Federal Reserve, Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department.
Earlier in the day, Russell Vought, co-author of Project 2025, was named to lead the Office of Management and Budget and the New York Times reported this:
Mr. Vought’s group listed using the Insurrection Act to stop riots as a “Day 1” idea, meaning one whose legal framework was already well established, and which could be put into effect by a president unilaterally, according to an internal email from early 2023 reviewed by The Times.
Both panels treated Trump's threat to democracy as if this was routine.
It was reported this week Trump had already outlined plans to build "vast holding facilities" to detain undocumented immigrants and then deport them.
He said during the campaign he would "kill" emission rules the EPA adopted to battle climate change.
He said he would use U.S. troops in Democratic cities to arrest undocumented immigrants and stop protests.
None of this was discussed Friday night.
At one point during the second panel, former Congressman Faso said, "I voted for Gary Johnson in 2016, then Trump in in '20 and '24."
During the question period, a woman asked Faso about Trump's failure to sign the ethics pledge as part of the transition with a new administration.
Faso did not approve of that and seemed to find it troubling.
"But you voted for him," the woman said in disgust and walked away from the microphone.
Faso's logic for voting for Trump seemed to be Point A, to yellow, to banana.
I wanted to ask this question but the line was long and the time short:
"Earlier this year I read Sinclair Lewis' novel It Can't Happen Here. Are any of you worried it CAN happen here?"
I suspect they would not have known what I was talking about.
Death of the tweet
Our of curiosity, I checked Rep. Elise Stefanik's Twitter feed this week. Instead of the incessant hourly tweets like she had during the campaign, her output was reduced to one tweet a day.
It was kind of refreshing.
Her "Elise Stefanik" feed was far more robust with a parade of photos of her with senators as she made the rounds to promote her appointment as U.N. Ambassador.
Still, a refreshing refrain from her incessant trash talking.
Looking forward to seeing how that works int he diplomacy business.
Sneak Preview
It was extremely reward for myself and other members of the Chapman Museum decorating committee to have so many people turn out for the "Sneak Preview" Sunday afternoon.
We had about 30 putting up their $10 to be among the first to see the holiday decorations this year. We also got a few new members.
The feedback was great as we all took the time just to enjoy something beautiful.
Spread the word that you MUST visit the Chapman Museum this holiday season.
Partisan polling
Perception is not reality except to voters.
Recent polling found that a significant number of Republicans now feel good about the economy since the election, even though Biden is still president and no policy has changed.
Before the election, 74 percent of Republicans said the economy was getting worse.
But from Nov. 14 to 18, only 48 percent of 1,500 people surveyed believed the economy was getting worse.
That a shift in 26 percentage points even though nothing had changed except their perception.
North Creek snow
I had an appointment in North Creek on Friday and as I approached the outskirts of town on Route 28, there was snow all along the side of the road.
My immediate reaction was that this was too early for snow, but then I realized we are a week away from Thanksgiving.
In fact, my lunch partner said it seemed more like a day we usually have in October.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
I could be wrong, because I don't know much about being an Ambassador, but I feel that when she tries to throw her weight around, she will be put in her place by other Ambassadors. Now THAT would be hysterical!
The piece on the lack of concern about the potential destruction of democracy is threatening in the most banal way. Even Rep. Tonko's reaction disturbs. Can today's adults really be that naive? How is it that after 9 tedious years people still give Trump the benefit of the doubt and think that somehow, someday, he's going to change. Except for a few days here and there, his record of consistency is very nearly 100% contrary to those so credulous. And this credulity is exactly why I seriously suspect that enough votes were stolen. After all, as so many say, every accusation Trump makes against the Democrats or anyone else is a confession.
Our Elise is someone I will never miss. I hope against all hope that some Democrat with a feeling for those who are less than rich figure out that the Republican Party would never be interested in them were it not for Trump's word usage which comes from Bernie Sanders's true political stance, particularly as Trump's hold on the party is steely because he threatens to find people to primary them. Those political positions in the House and Senate are very well paid and can lead to greater prospects on K Street once out of office.
Congratulations on the Chapman house. I hope to get there one day.