For the past three days, Vicki, Chuck and I have been working to get out the vote for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford. In a departure from prior election retreats, we have not been working with the Democratic Party, but instead with the Working Families Party and their partners Seed the Vote. This shift has been consequential. In years past, as a Democratic Party volunteer, I felt it from both the left and the Read more…
We’re back in Milwaukee again, this time for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election. Liberal judge Susan Crawford is running for a seat on the Court, and hopes to preserve the 4-3 liberal majority. Her Republican opponent is being bankrolled by Elon Musk, who has contributed over $10 million to the race — in a campaign that could easily top $100 million, more than double the record-breaking 2023 Supreme Court Election. This race is meaningful. Read more…
Sunday January 19, 2025 Today my plan was to attend the Trump “Victory Rally” at the Capital One Arena. For the past twenty years, through all our Election Retreats in Oregon, California, Nevada, and Wisconsin, I’ve had almost no contact with Republicans — for the simple reason that our work was laser-focused on getting out the Democratic vote. Back in the day I never met any Tea Party people, and I’ve never been to one Read more…
Saturday, January 18, 2025 Saturday my brother Andy and I joined the People’s March in DC. The weather was cold, but moderate, with dirty ice on the sidewalks. Snow is forecast for Sunday, and bitter 10-degree cold for Monday. On account of the coming cold snap Trump has moved the Monday Inauguration indoors to the Capitol Rotunda and canceled the Parade, leaving 220,000 ticket holders without access. (One wag asked why a man so afraid Read more…
by Rob Lyons So now what? One thing that my teacher Sojun Mel Weitsman spoke about, often, was the “appropriate response.” The practice of Engaged Buddhism, as Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, arises from compassion. We can’t turn away, and we should continue training ourselves not to turn away. The appropriate response will differ from one person to the next. Some of us will ameliorate: the care-givers, the listeners and supporters, the empathizers. The first Read more…
by Rob Lyons October 29, 2024 We’ve been busy Getting Out the Vote here in Wisconsin for the past week. There’s one week left before the Election. My friend Laurie Hogetsu Belzer asked: “What’s the mood of the voters?” For me this is a koan: Why did Bodhidharma come from the West? Does a dog have Buddha nature? What is your original face? It might be reframed as “How do voters feel about their lives?” Read more…
Polls by Rob Lyons I’ve stopped reading the polls, because they have no meaning. They tell us Trump and Harris are in a dead heat and it’s too close to call, but this can’t possibly be true, because the polls are always wrong. The margin of error in these polls may be as high as four points, which translates into an eight point swing. Completely meaningless. In actuality one of the two candidates is ahead, Read more…
by Rob Lyons Well, it’s over now: both conventions have packed up and gone home. I’m heading home myself this afternoon. If I had to pick one word to summarize these two Conventions it would be: slick. The Republicans throttled internal dissent from Haley delegates and Never Trumpers. The Democrats brooked no airing of grievances on the Gaza issue, and refused even to let a Palestinian delegate speak. Both conventions were designed to project an Read more…
by Rob Lyons DNC Day 2, Tuesday 8.20.24 Tuesday I took an afternoon train from Chicago to Milwaukee with my buddy Rita and we talked throughout the trip about our experiences (good and bad) with left-leaning organizations – she with various peace activist groups and me with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. We both had anecdotes about Ram Dass . . . Once we reached Wisconsin we went our separate ways. I connected with my fellow Read more…
by Rob Lyons Today was the first day of the Democratic Convention, and it began with a march. Last month I witnessed the Coalition to March on the RNC in Milwaukee, and here in Chicago I expected to see more of the same, but bigger and rowdier. I took the El to Union Square, the ride was smooth and the passengers didn’t appear to have the same harried look they have in NYC . . Read more…