E-mail:
Jack Balkin: jackbalkin at yahoo.com
Bruce Ackerman bruce.ackerman at yale.edu
Ian Ayres ian.ayres at yale.edu
Corey Brettschneider corey_brettschneider at brown.edu
Mary Dudziak mary.l.dudziak at emory.edu
Joey Fishkin joey.fishkin at gmail.com
Heather Gerken heather.gerken at yale.edu
Abbe Gluck abbe.gluck at yale.edu
Mark Graber mgraber at law.umaryland.edu
Stephen Griffin sgriffin at tulane.edu
Jonathan Hafetz jonathan.hafetz at shu.edu
Jeremy Kessler jkessler at law.columbia.edu
Andrew Koppelman akoppelman at law.northwestern.edu
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Sanford Levinson slevinson at law.utexas.edu
David Luban david.luban at gmail.com
Gerard Magliocca gmaglioc at iupui.edu
Jason Mazzone mazzonej at illinois.edu
Linda McClain lmcclain at bu.edu
John Mikhail mikhail at law.georgetown.edu
Frank Pasquale pasquale.frank at gmail.com
Nate Persily npersily at gmail.com
Michael Stokes Paulsen michaelstokespaulsen at gmail.com
Deborah Pearlstein dpearlst at yu.edu
Rick Pildes rick.pildes at nyu.edu
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Richard Primus raprimus at umich.edu
K. Sabeel Rahmansabeel.rahman at brooklaw.edu
Alice Ristroph alice.ristroph at shu.edu
Neil Siegel siegel at law.duke.edu
David Super david.super at law.georgetown.edu
Brian Tamanaha btamanaha at wulaw.wustl.edu
Nelson Tebbe nelson.tebbe at brooklaw.edu
Mark Tushnet mtushnet at law.harvard.edu
Adam Winkler winkler at ucla.edu
My Aunt Lee was the last New Dealer. I was always fascinated by her stories of my grandfather, who I never knew, and of life in the New York of the New Deal, which I could only read about. One thing was very clear. At some point in the 1930s or early 1940s, the Democrats did something that made Aunt Lee and numerous other Americans of her generation lifelong loyalists. For the next sixty years, my aunt religiously voted for FDR or whatever Democrat happened to occupy FDR's rightful place on the ballot. Democrats were the source of everything good in the world. Republicans, particularly Ronald Reagan (my exotic aunt lived in California), were the source of all evil. The younger members of her family also vote for Democrats, but with much less passion. In truth, the Democrats have done nothing since the Great Society to merit the passion and loyalty my aunt demonstrated throughout her life. When thinking of a progressive revival, we ought to think about what drove my Aunt Lee, a poor child of immigrants, who despite poverty, illness, and social pressures against women, fought for an education, fought to educate her children, and fought for a decent life for her and her community.
Aunt Lee died last week after a long illness. She was an exceptionally kind and decent person, giving everything she had to her family, liberal causes, and the Jewish community. When 90 years old and suffering from very painful arthritis, she would nevertheless spend every Friday evening driving other senior citizens to temple for religious services and much needed companionship. One can only hope that as her divine reward, she will now spend eternity playing her beloved scrabble with the Roosevelts. Eleanor had better bone up on her two letter words! Posted
8:05 AM
by Mark Graber [link]
Comments:
My dad's-dad an intinerant, Pennsylvania coal miner; my mom's-dad a Flint autoworker when the UAW was formed; and my mom and dad both die-hard Democrats; both adept at 3-way gambits and 2-letter words in Scrabble -- I can relate!