Having spent the weekend trying to lift my spirits (no assist from the Georgia Bulldogs or Atlanta Falcons, I should add ...) netted mixed results, and I'm unable to shake social media just yet. Because of that, I noticed a few trends from likeminded folks that bother me a bit, so I answer to four reactions I'm seeing in hopes of pulling players back into the huddle, so to speak, so we can get back in the game and start moving the ball again. I do love a good sports analogy.

Also, who'll lead us out of this? I make the case (and I'm just getting started) for Pete. While not among the highest rated Democrats in popularity, you'll hear why I think he's the messenger for the movement.

Nationally and locally (here in Georgia), liberals and progressives are starting to slowly come out of their depression caves to assess the damage and figure out who to blame. Georgia Democrats want change in the party, and say they've "never seen a more dysfunctional organization."

I've never been shy in vocalizing my issues with the state party, either; they're difficult to collaborate with, give time to on this show for their candidates and advocates, and access media necessities from them in an era where a response ecosystem to that of the right is lacking and sorely needed.

Meanwhile, frequent show guest Jay Bookman penned his post-electoral thoughts - with some criticisms for the Democratic Party as well - mostly, though, focusing on "we, the people."

He pins white evangelicals, of course; victims of "fear, anger and resentment" as "powerful corrosives."

Then there's MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle, who points out the realities of a post-COVID economy were always going to be hard for incumbents (domestically and globally) to overcome.

Darrel and I have known each other for about three decades now; we met when he served in the Air Force and was stationed in Augusta, Ga. We've been roommates here and there and best friends all that time. He's one of the most knowledgeable progressives not "in the system," so I made him hold onto his thoughts until I could rig up two mics in the kitchen we were having coffee talking in.

This is our rambling, post-election conversation.

We spoke of Hispanic voters in "the treehouse," the economic hardship Elon Musk promises, who and what is up next for Democrats and more.

So we awaken to what's pretty much "worst case scenario" this election cycle, and while we can (and will, later) nitpick how things went wrong, I thought it first useful to have a discussion about some hard truths we on the left need to start discussing - and openly.

The first? The Constitution, for all its revery, is a deeply flawed document and folks like Elie Mystal (he calls it 'trash') are brave enough to say so; maybe more of us should, too.

King Williams, author of "The Breakdown with King Williams," had a prescient tweet last night that I sought to hone in on, though, and I'm grateful he joined the show to discuss.

The TL/DR version? There is no "liberal media ecosystem, but there needs to be.

I've strayed from routinely watching "Real Time with Bill Maher," for a couple reasons: one, I just can't keep paying for all these streaming services (the show now re-airs on CNN, though) and he's too tone-deaf on trans issues for my taste. That said, on the economy, he was spitting facts on his last "new rule" prior to Election Day. The gist? The economy doesn't need saving; it's been saved. MAGA's have an alternate reality fog they won't see through and (I agree here) Democrats have been timid to tout this.

Closer to home, more than 3000 Cobb County absentee voters' ballots are imperiled by the Georgia Supreme Court's latest ruling. Will their votes count? Depends on when they're handed to Cobb Elections officials - who admit the mistake is on them & not the voters. C'mon, already .

On to discuss that and her organization's more than 75 endorsed candidates up and down the ballot is Georgia WIN List executive director Melita Easters.

Also on to respond to the litany of anti-trans messaging from the Trump campaign and to tout his organization's efforts to support pro-LGBTQIA+ candidates is Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham.

Caught '60 Minutes' last night as they spent 13-plus minutes detailing all the many and varied ways states like Georgia have exhaustively responded to election denialism. The consensus: it's nearly impossible to steal a Presidential election. Well, duh.

Still, over the weekend, a handful of Georgia counties opened their doors to let absentee ballot-holders hand in those ballots - what with Louis DeJoy having wrecked the US Postal Service - much to the chagrin of various county GOP folks, the Georgia GOP and the Trump family-infiltrated Republican National Committee. They sued; and lost. They're incapable of reading state law (so they'll surely seek to change it if 'he' loses again - watch).

It just got me to wondering: when will the duped MAGA voter get mad at being duped so much by the people duping them? "Bill & Irina" got their hackles up over misinformation so each of them got physically involved enough to see for themselves no laws were broken. They're never mad at talk radio, Fox News, the social media accounts they follow and they're certainly never going to be mad at "him," though.

On to discuss these and the millions of other sad-sacks is local Democratic strategist Andrew Heaton. We also talk polling (uh, hi Iowa) and in-state down-ballot prospects.

And getting a jump on Tuesday's show, I threw in the first segment for bonus audio because I wanted to get back to people being lied to and incapable of seeing "water's wet."

Bill Maher's final "new rule" on last Friday's show speaks to that, economically.

There's reason for optimism the outcome on Tuesday night (we hope that early) may swing in Kamala Harris' favor if polling that's now including "early voted" responses are any indication. In that subset, Harris leads Trump by 19-29 points depending on the poll, and in all but one swing state by solid or even gaudy margins, too. Remember, too, that MAGA voters have come to embrace early voting more this cycle, meaning their closing these gaps on Election Day become muted. We'll see.

From the Department of "I knew it; I f*cking KNEW IT" comes this Cato Institute report that shows criminals crossing illegally into the U.S. did so in FAR greater numbers under Donald Trump than under Joe Biden & Kamala Harris. That's right: Trump released more migrants with criminal records than Biden has. I knew it; I f*cking KNEW IT!

Lastly, my guest today is Mary Rose Wood, a Chapin, SC high school language arts teacher, whose use of the Ta-Nehisi Coates' book "Between the World and Me" got her caught up in controversy. Because, you know, a conversation about race in the United States makes o̶l̶d̶e̶r̶ w̶h̶i̶t̶e̶ p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ S̶o̶u̶t̶h̶ students uncomfortable.

I learned of her from her brother, musician John Wesley Satterfield, posting to his fan page on Facebook about his "bad ass" sister, he and her and their family meeting Ta-Nehisi Coates, and the sheer amount of blowback she's gotten in their hometown. Nevertheless, she persisted, bringing the book back into her classroom after it was forbidden to be used in curriculum. Bad ass.

Hear how this Chapin native, daughter of a former principal at the school she now teaches at, has been targeted by school board candidates with smears of "communism" and mailers featuring a photo of her circulating the town, along with quips that maybe she 'doesn't belong' there ... her hometown ... by folks nowhere near Chapin, itself.

After the toxic spew that spouted from the podium Sunday at Madison Square Garden, of COURSE MAGA is going to clutch their pearls over a mis-interpretation of Joe Biden's characterization. To the point that Donald waddled (what's with his right leg?) up into a garbage truck for a photo op.

There was the mainstream media to both lap it up and equivocate (falsely) of course. Spare me, and thanks to the Lincoln Project for their swift assemblage of clips where Donald's said "as bad or worse" about Biden and/or Harris supporters - to the void of noise from the same media.

Friend of the show, Jay Bookman, penned a great op-ed in the Georgia Voice,, on the ascent of "crudity in politics" - paralleling (coincidence, I'm sure) with the enter Trump era of American politics. Not to be outdone, Patricia Murphy at the AJC reminds us of the "unfinished business of January 6th" too.

The location and backdrop were perfect. The speech was spot-on, too. Today I review VP Kamala Harris' "closing argument" speech at the Ellipse between the White House and Washington Monument - the same park her opponent stirred up an angry mob on January 6, 2021.

Tim Onion, CEO at "The Onion," tweeted "the October surprise is an advent calendar of racism." Pretty well sums up the final few days of the month, no?

To close out the month we had the breathtaking parade of white nationalism and "bro-tastic" (not my term; that came from hyper-partisan Megyn Kelly) speeches from Madison Square Garden. The response from Puerto Rican voices was loud, swift and severe.

Then, a day later, enter Ryan Girdusky on the set of CNN's "NewsNight with Abby Phillip." the off-the-cuff, surely "in the chamber" swipe he made at Mehdi Hasan was grotesque. Inferring Hasan - I suppose because he's Arab - could be part of Hezbollah or Hamas, was "on brand" racist.

Within the "big tent" on the left are a lot of dissatisfied pro-Palestinian voices - chief among them, Senator Bernie Sanders. Earlier this week he took to social media to air his grievances with Biden/Harris on that crucial issue, but also to reason with others like him who somehow think "sitting it out" this election cycle is somehow going to send the right message.