“Religious liberty” can never be a cudgel to impinge on the fundamental constitutional rights of all. Any attempt to do so is the first step toward theocracy.

Before Reps. Axne and Finkenauer start piling up votes that can be used to “prove” that they are not progressive Democrats, someone needs to school them on how these traps work and how to avoid them.

While committed white supremacists may indeed maintain some of the virulent ideas mentioned, this does not explain the reaction of so many “ordinary” people we don’t usually associate with that ilk. What does explain it is the perceived upheaval of previously insular communities such as are prominent in the rural Midwest and South, as well as on the coasts. (Much of New York state went for Trump.)

For decades, residents of those communities had similar orientation as to mores, religion, politics and economic factors. Those have been challenged by exposure to the outside world via the internet, by the Great Recession and by immigration among other things. In many ways, this is similar to how Japan changed by first contact with Europe in the middle of the 19th century.

With the social, political and economic order seeming to slip away, many residents of those communities are attempting to preserve them by clinging to a past that cannot be sustained.

Unfortunately, there may be no way to face this except by waiting for this generation to die out and for succeeding generations, which have been shown to be more adaptable to this sort of change, to take over.

“When we [choose] a candidate, we think that candidate can win.”

That’s electability.

There are three priorities in this election: 1. Oust Trump. 2. Oust Trump. 3. Oust Trump.

Nothing else matters. Not moderate vs. progressive, not gender, not anything else. Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina need to rally behind the Democrat who is best situated to beat Trump. And to do that, we need the votes of the folks who voted Democrat in the midterms.

Interesting soul-searching, Laura. Thanks for sharing.

As for me, I will retain my username because it speaks to who I am, where I am. Being from the Bronx is special to me: like illustrious Bronxites General Colin Powell and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, we are children of working-class parents who benefited from a kind and generous City Of New York while taking advantage of our talents and opportunities. Being from the Bronx, we were looked at in lower esteem than our neighbors from other boroughs, especially Manhattan. And now that Brooklyn has become the trendy place to be in the city, the Bronx has receded even farther from view.

No matter. Bronxites are talented, perceptive, defiant and confident, and are determined to change the world, for the better. And I am determined to do it in Iowa, my adopted home, where I have lived for nearly 34 years. Where I have learned about and come to appreciate other people, other lifestyles, other traditions, other points of view.

So I remain Bronxiniowa. Wherever I go.

– Ira Lacher

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”