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Kim Sherwood's avatar

Thanks to Democracy Defenders Action for this and all the other democratic causes and fights you've taken on since Jan. of '25. The pace has been relentless, but the wins are bright spots in a very dark time. Congratulations on helping Karen Attiah achieve justice. Once again, the Post's line "Democracy dies in silence" couldn't be more ironic...

Michelle Jordan's avatar

I am so glad that Karen has been reinstated. This makes WAPO look really bad.

Arkansas Blue's avatar

As if it hadn't looked really bad already. Bezos has managed to take a great and successful newspaper with a storied history and turned it into a rag to wrap fish in.

Anastasia Pantsios's avatar

They have been doing a good job of that themselves for the last several years.

Lisa Jean Walker's avatar

Thank you for making this connection (see below). I was not aware of it.

“Rather than challenge that premise, many left-of-center thought leaders fell in line, writing one election post-mortem after another, bemoaning the fact that the Democratic Party had lost sight of what and who is important. Political scientist Mark Lilla provocatively called for the “end of identity liberalism,” which essentially boils down to ‘power first, and then, maybe we can “help these people.”’ These so-called thought leaders tacitly admitted their willingness to sideline some of the very voices and communities that have led (and continue to lead) movements that make our society more just.”

It made me think of this recent opinion piece in the NYT with observations about Democrats compared to Republicans, by a former Republican strategist now supporting Democrats. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/opinion/democrats-fighters-trump-republicans.html?searchResultPosition=1

“For all the talk about Democrats being ruled by identity politics, it’s actually Republicans for whom politics is most tied to identity. Which is why Trump could upend the G.O.P.’s policy framework and voters didn’t really care. For Democrats it’s more tied to policies, and the relationship to voters can be more transactional. Which is why if a Democratic politician gets out of step with the base on a policy issue, their voters will punish them for it.”

Chris Miga's avatar

Well done Contrarian legal team. I hope she can continue as part of the WAPO staff, being treated as if this never happened. Be interesting to ask her how it’s going after six months or so.

Janell Ducrest's avatar

"Hello from Louisiana." Please say "hi from me" to the co-founders of the Contrarian when possible. Thanks.