https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/07/the-quiet-confident-men-of-american-politics/679227/

When it comes to masculinity, Republicans have become everything they once accused Democrats of being.

The men leading Kamala Harris’s shortlist right now illustrate the differences in how the two major parties define modern masculinity.

America after World War II celebrated traditional masculinity. It venerated images of the strong, silent types in popular culture, characters who exuded confidence without being braggarts and who sent the message that being an honorable man meant doing your job, being good to your family, and keeping your feelings to yourself. Heroes in that postwar culture were cowboys, soldiers, cops, and other tough guys.

....

More than 40 years ago, the British singer Joe Jackson wrote a song about men, their changing roles, and sexual identity. “But now and then,” he sang, “we wonder who the real men are.” I don’t know the answer; like most men, I have tried to find my own way as a man, as a husband, and as a father. I’ve tried to learn from my own father’s mistakes while emulating his better qualities. I know that, like many men, I’ve failed more often than I’ve succeeded. But I keep trying.

I also know this: The real men are not the ones who have to keep crowing about manliness and putting down women. Real men serve their nation, their community, and their family, and unlike Trump and his elected Republican coterie, they do it without whining or demanding credit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/23/kamala-harris-donations-election/
Gift link: https://wapo.st/4d56rea



Weeks of pent-up Democratic panic gave way to a historic flood of campaign cash for likely presidential nominee Vice President Harris this week, as allied groups reported massive fundraising hauls amid donor elation.

The coordinated Harris campaign reported Tuesday morning that they had raised more than $100 million from 1.1 million donors in the first 41 hours after President Biden announced he was stepping aside. FF PAC, also known as Future Forward, the largest outside group supporting Biden, announced $150 million in commitments in the first 24 hours after Biden’s Sunday afternoon announcement.

Some funds had been withheld during the weeks of concern over Biden’s path to victory after his stumbling, confused performance at a June 27 debate prompted calls to drop out. But major donors and fundraisers reported a newfound energy, both in donations to political groups that report the contributions and to nonprofits that do not, which are funding much of the organizing effort in key states that will benefit the Democratic candidacy.
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Biden has canceled campaign events he had scheduled for the coming weeks, though campaign officials say some may be rescheduled. Fundraisers that first lady Jill Biden planned to headline will now be hosted by Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman. The Harris campaign also reported a massive increase in volunteer sign-ups, with 58,000 people in the first 48 hours, a sign-up rate that is 232 times larger than the Biden campaign’s daily average.

https://www.newsweek.com/why-i-took-teamsters-fight-american-workers-rnc-opinion-1925881
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Several months ago, I asked the RNC and the DNC for the opportunity to speak. To be frank, when President Trump invited me to speak at this convention, there was political unrest—n the Left and on the Right. Anti-union groups demanded the President rescind his invitation. The left called me a traitor. This is precisely why it is so important for me to be here today. The Teamsters are doing something right if the extremes in both parties think I shouldn't be on this stage.
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Corporatists hate when working people join together to form unions. But for a century, major employers have waged a war against labor by forming corporate unions of their own. We need to call the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable what they are—they are unions for Big Business.

Here's the fact: against gigantic multi-national corporations, an individual has zero power. It is only when Americans band together in democratic unions that we win real improvements on wages, benefits, and working conditions.
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We need corporate welfare reform. Under our current system, massive companies like Amazon, Uber, Lyft, and Walmart take zero responsibility for the workers they employ. These companies offer no real health insurance, no retirement benefits, no paid leave. Workers are left relying on underfunded public assistance. And who foots the bill? The individual taxpayer.

The biggest recipients of welfare in this country are corporations. This is real corruption. We must put workers first. What is more important to the security of our nation than long-term investment in the American worker?