Democrats Abroad: The Blue Vote Café – Details, episodes & analysis

Actor Ingrid Garner stops off from touring one of the one-woman shows she has developed from her grandmother's memoir, Eleanor's Story: an American Girl in Hitler's Germany by Eleanor Ramrath Garner, to make a rare in-person visit to the cafe.

Having travelled to Ottawa to perform at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, Ingrid tells David and Rachel about what it was like to be away from her LA home during the No Kings/No Tryants rallies of June 14.

She also talks about her experiences as an Orange County pollworker, and of course, about her grandmother (now 95). https://www.eleanorsstory.com

Find the full audio library of Blue Vote Café episodes at http://bluevotecafe.com.

Register and request your ballot every year at votefromabroad.org.

Novelist, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow joins Rachel and David in the cafe to talk about the enshittification of the internet and how we ended up in our current enshittogenic environment.

The conversation touches on digital locks, ink that's more expensive than a Kentucky Derby winner's semen, Robert Bork's taste in movies, "Fiddler on the Roof" the documentary, and moving fast and breaking kings.

Doctorow's most recent book is Picks & Shovels, and the next one to be released will be Enshittification.

For more information: https://craphound.com/, https://pluralistic.net/, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/ .

Find the full audio library of Blue Vote Café episodes at http://bluevotecafe.com.

Register and request your ballot every year at votefromabroad.org.

Troy Matthews, senior writer at Meidas Touch News, joins David and Rachel in the cafe.

After a brief foray into sports and wine, the discussion turns to grassroots progressive media in general, and Meidas Touch in particular, highlighting its success in pulling ahead of Joe Rogan on YouTube.

Troy talks about how podcasting these days resembles 1990s radio, and about his primary beats: abortion and economics.

Troy also talks about his own podcast, Just Buy Less Coffee, which he co-hosts with Cathy Cannon, and about helping spread the word that even those who decide to live outside the U.S. can still fight and vote from overseas.

What was it like to be elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court during a pandemic--and how did Justice Jill J. Karofsky launch her 10-year term with a run? What led her to public service, and why did she change her middle name? What measures can the courts take to help jurors?  What is the National Mustard Museum, and what does it have to do with Wisconsin's newest Supreme Court Justice? Rachel and David sit down to chat with Justice Karofsky about all of this and more.

For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org .

For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org .

The Heymans share stories about Joe Biden with David and Rachel, and talk about the campaign’s focus on getting out the American vote from around the world. They speak of Biden’s “secret sauce”—the leadership skills that make him particularly suited to this moment—and about how the deal he made with President Obama when accepting the vice presidency uniquely prepares him for the presidency. 

Learn about the importance of every vote, of hustling hard to preserve what we love, of what supporters of other candidates can look for from a Biden presidency, and of flipping Me to We. 

There is (as so often) a reference to pets—though not in their usual form. 

The episode ends with a heartfelt valentine to Canada.

Nse Ufot joined Rachel and David to talk about her work as Executive Director of The New Georgia Project (a non-partisan effort to register and civically engage Georgians), and how it had its roots in a conversation that began in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We talk about voter suppression, Georgia's place in a rapidly transforming population, the critical importance of every vote in every election, the gospel choir theory of organizing, and Nse's time as a member of Democrats Abroad. With a side of ice cream and a lot of laughter.
For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org .

Aaron Kruse, co-chair of the Platform Committee, joins Rachel and David from Beijing on the best day of his life to talk about the process of forging the Democrats Abroad 2020 Platform. We talk about health care, gun control, the environment, taxation, services for Americans abroad, and how everywhere you go, you will bump into someone from Iowa. We discuss the grueling process of reading 4800 submissions and steering 60 or 70 volunteers, and the multiple shirts needed to get through the final stages of approving a platform with an overwhelming majority. We touch on the question of whether progressives are readier to live overseas, or whether those who choose to live overseas adopt progressive outlooks, and we end the episode with a wedding proposal and pets.
For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org .

The Healthcare plank of the Democrats Abroad platform begins: "Understanding that healthcare is the highest concern for many Americans – including many of our families and friends living in the U.S. – Democrats Abroad advocates for high-quality, equitable, and freely available healthcare for all Americans – and for everyone living in the U.S. – which we regard as a fundamental human right." Rachel and David are joined by Kent Getsinger from Australia to explore the details of Democrats Abroad's vision for healthcare under a Democratic administration.
For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org .

A conversation with Heather Stone in Israel and Asha Subas in London, England, who brought the Democracy and Elections plank across the finish line. (Democrats Abroad's 2020 platform was adopted on June 7.) We discuss the vulnerability of the postal service, and its importance for citizens voting from outside the country. We touch on money in politics, corruption, voter suppression, and the necessity to explicitly state our support for civil rights, freedom of speech, and freedom to peaceably assemble, as well as how to address disinformation and misinformation.
For more info: democratsabroad.org . To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org .

In this wide-ranging conversation about racism, its effects, and what we can do to address it. Angela (who live in Germany) shares with David and Rachel the story of her involvement with DA, how she founded the Black Caucus, and what its role is within DA--and we even get into the definition of a kakistocracy.

For more info: democratsabroad.org 

To get your ballot (do it NOW!!): votefromabroad.org