“Larry’s Look”: #MovingHumanityForward Panel with Cheri Jacobus, Pam Keith and Ann Cusack (July 11, 2022) on The “Bad” Brad Berkwitt Show
By Larry Daniels
A #MovingHumanityForward panel review hosted by “Bad” Brad Berkwitt with panelists Cheri Jacobus, Pam Keith and Ann Cusack.
Cheri kicks the panel off with the first question. “Are we underestimating just how organized the radical right is in terms of putting forth fake electors in the 2024 Presidential election?” Pam responded absolutely. Her personal experience with a solid Republican ground game in Florida, coupled with a lack of organization on the Democratic side, should be a wake-up call to action right now, not 5 minutes from now. The Biden Administration should not be treading softly, it should be knocking down walls. Ann provides the perfect follow up question of how can we get to the tipping point? This launches Cheri and Pam into a Democratic strategy meeting that should be in the Roosevelt Room right now. Federal voter protection laws, expanding the Supreme Court, statehood for DC. Masterclass stuff with the emphasis on urgency and the broadest possible focus.
Ann submits this timely question. “What do the Democrats need to do to improve their messaging?”. Cheri quips, “A lot.” Her decades of experience in this area gives us the absolute credibility to answer this question. The cable news networks need to improve the booking of guests. Fight propaganda with high level officials that speak from the heart, instead of a “friend of a friend”. She called for the end of Peter Doocy’s access in the WH press room. I remember when John McCain took him to the woodshed over an irrelevant question. I don’t think biased reporting is taught in the nation’s finer journalism schools. Ann views the Republican messaging as an autocracy. Correct. Fox News is their state run “news” organization.
Pam and Cheri once again provide solid points on the lack of branding. The lack of a centralized core message to work with. Watch closely here. They know what works and what doesn’t. Cheri slips here, and releases a wonderful slogan for soft Trump voters. Scoop! “This isn’t your father’s GOP”. She also adds having Ron Reagan, JR. stating, “It’s not my father’s GOP, either”. Brilliant. Ann brings up the importance of her work with grassroots organizations in stimulating voter registrations. I agree here. Turn 155M voters into 175M voters. Pam responded by saying the data the Republicans use is up to date, it pinpoints unregistered voters, and allows the ground forces to knock on the correct doors. She continues to point out the huge issue of gerrymandering in her state of Florida, which has protected the unfair redrawn district maps by law. Governor DeSantis cheats to win. The panel shows disgust with the situation.
Pam’s question is put forth next. “What causes the forces of good in our country to be so much more passive than the forces of evil?”. Ann replied by the saying media coverage shies away from the good being done in the country. The negative stories generate interest and income. She went on say those in power can be corrupted by power (cue Lord Acton). Cheri used the example of good people “flipping” during the rise of Trump. She saw the whole thing occur first hand. Fox News executives latched onto the buzz he was creating. More and more people gradually came on board, at the end deciding which uniform they were going to wear for the war ahead. Pam chimed in to say her impression of President Biden and AG Garland lacks the fight to return fire from the GOP. We lose the contest if we allow the other side to break the rules. Brad jumps in with the example of John McCain. The GOP of today assassinates the character of a prominent Republican by following Trump’s lead remarks. Its moral compass cannot find true North. It just spins. A true Commander and Chief would never salute a North Korean general, and support Putin in any way. The panel brings the lack of action by the DOJ into question in this section. Pam is on fire here. I am with her. Justice can shift into a higher gear. If it can’t, get a new car.
The discussion turns to the Republican politicians who are supporters of Trump, get to free wheel and raise money outside of party scrutiny, while Democrats are ideologically boxed in for the large donor support. I am learning a great deal about how the money moves and/or doesn’t move here.
Cheri’s question is presented next. “Is the media doing their job regarding covering the J6 hearings?”. Pam replies absolutely not. While the hearings are riveting to the general public, the media is failing to put the law into context with the data presented. The education of the viewer is falling short in this area. The conversation moved back to the inaction of AG Garland to remove the dust off of the top of his inbox on his desk. The panel wonders why the President is not moving to replace him. Was a deal struck? The time to act has past in my opinion. So frustrating.
Brad submits the next question to Ann and Pam. “How do you feel about Kavanaugh being run out of the restaurant the other night? Pam brought up the hypocrisy of protests at abortion clinics. Their first Amendment rights supersede your right to privacy. Sorry, you can’t have it both ways here. Pam is right. Ann brings up the separation of church and state. She is correct as well. It was one of the main ideologies that formed our nation. It is not life, liberty, and the pursuit of one religion.
Pam submits the next question. “Will we see a massive exodus of young talented people from this country if we don’t turn things around?” Ann replied yes. She sees young people responding to losses in the midterm and 2024 elections to Republicans as a detriment to their ability to fight back with effective and fundamental change. Canada and Europe could see a surge in young expats. Cheri cites Rick Petree (a recent guest on her podcast), with laying out the GOP plans for keeping power indefinitely, i.e. voter suppression, Supreme Court rulings, and violent takeovers. The autocratic playbook! They held a recent CPAC conference in Hungary. How truly un-American can you get? Pam brings up an outstanding point here. President Biden could fire the board members of the United States Post Office for probable cause. Louis De Joy is a hold over from the Trump administration. He could cause a mail-in ballot nightmare in the midterm elections. Getting rid of him would not be a partisan move, it would be a protection of voters rights move. The panel lays out various cases where the DOJ failed hold national security cases accountable based on overwhelming evidence. It emboldens the criminal acts to continue! Please watch closely. Open and shut. No question about it.
Brad asks the panel to respond to one final question. “What do you do to recharge your batteries and rejuvenate your spirit in order to get back into the fight?” Ann responded by having a group of like-minded people around her to provide the support to keep going, and just unplugging from it all for a while on occasion. Oh boy, so true, Ann. Pam unplugs as well. She also enjoys working out, cooking and baking, spending time with her cats, and getting support from like-minded people online. Cheri unplugs from the chaos in longer intervals. She exercises and spends time in the great outdoors. An occasional glass of wine in the evening suits her well.
The panel is not going to unwind just yet at this point. What happens next? Please watch as various examples are shared. The concept of completely allowing the guests to make their viewpoints always makes this show educational and entertaining.
Closing thoughts:
I thought of a theoretical wish list for the ladies on this panel. If we could make it a reality, we could fix the nation. For Ann, I would like her to produce and direct a primetime TV show called, “Moving Humanity Forward”. She’s the boss, creative control is hers. For Pam, I would like to see a real life “Trading Places” with Vice President Harris. I would like to see how it would change the narrative out of the Executive Branch. For Cheri, I would just plug her in to a Senior Adviser position to the President. To use a sports analogy, we need a strong offensive coordinator in there. I enjoyed the panel very much. The term patriot is often misused these days. The passionate women we just heard from, exemplify what a patriot is supposed to be. Please support them in your own way. They truly want what is best for all of us.