theguardian--2020-03-15--'Sledgehammer on Trump, scalpel on Sanders': Biden approaches key debate

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will square off in the 11th Democratic debate on Sunday night , in a contest moved from Arizona to Washington DC and held without a live audience due to the coronavirus outbreak .
The escalating public health crisis has played havoc with all areas of US life , but Arizona , Florida , Illinois and Ohio will still go to the polls on Tuesday .
After his spectacular rebound on Super Tuesday and strong performances this week , Biden is ahead in delegates earned , seemingly on course for the nomination to face Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to throw in the towel , saying this week that though he may be “ losing the debate over electability ” , he is a champion for the views of most younger voters and wants to influence the general election platform .
“ On Sunday , I very much look forward to the debate in Arizona with my friend Joe Biden , ” Sanders said , indicating he would challenge the former vice-president on healthcare reform , the minimum wage and other progressive priorities .
Nick Carter , Sanders ’ political outreach director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times the Vermont senator was “ pivoting to ensure that the issues that he has built his political career around continue to be front and center in the political dialogue .
“ I also think he has [ at the ] top of [ his ] mind ensuring his supporters and those unenthusiastic about a Biden candidacy don ’ t call it a day.
” Many in the Democratic establishment would prefer the independent from Vermont admit defeat and put his shoulder to the wheel for Biden .
In emails to the Guardian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former Baltimore mayor , Maryland governor and candidate for the presidential nomination , said he was “ guessing , most kindly , that Bernie is thinking as quickly as Biden sprung back to political life , he could as easily stumble and so he has an obligation to hang in there .
“ What he risks is that more and more people [ see ] his messiah veneer fall away and his hypocrisy on many issues – gun safety , immigration reform , Russia interference – will strip away his lovable old uncle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s comeback from seemingly inevitable defeat has been powered by older voters , moderates , voters in swing counties and an overwhelming percentage of African Americans .
“ I think Biden has been so battered and scarred already , ” O ’ Malley said , “ [ that ] I ’ m not sure there is much more that Bernie can do … in fact , Bernie could be a useful foil for Biden ’ s need to appeal to and win more independents.
” Reed Galen , a former aide to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left the Republican party in 2016 and is now part of the Lincoln Project , a super Pac devoted to producing ads against Trump .
Sanders is “ using the core of his support base to not drop out gracefully ” , Galen told the Guardian on Saturday , adding : “ I don ’ t think Bernie Sanders has grace about him .
From my perspective I think he should have [ dropped out ] and let the Biden campaign go and do the things it needs to do vis-a-vis Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ because he ’ s not a Democrat and never has been , so from his supporters ’ perspective , if they wreck the Democratic party it ’ s just another win for them.
” Galen and O ’ Malley both expected a fiery contest in CNN ’ s Washington studio .
“ Biden won ’ t stand there like a punching bag , ” said O ’ Malley , who experienced the highs and lows of the debate stage alongside Sanders and Hillary Clinton .
“ He will hit back when pressed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ press.
” Galen said he thought Biden had a good opportunity to appeal again to moderates and independents , but added a warning about the pitfalls of any such bare-knuckle political bout , into which Biden has fallen in this and other elections .
“ When you hit that debate stage it ’ s like a roller coaster heading downhill , ” he said .
“ You hope it ’ s going to stay on the tracks but once in a while it goes flying off the edge.
” The coronavirus outbreak – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ step aside as a debate host after contact with someone exposed to Covid-19 – seems sure to dominate proceedings .
Both Biden and Sanders addressed the nation on the subject this week , attempting to present a contrast with Trump ’ s wildly uneven attempts to lead .
Galen said he thought Biden ’ s advisers would therefore seek to “ utilise what Biden has been best at , which is relying on personal experience .
“ We saw this week that he started talking about what he ’ s done in government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t do .
I think his team will try to stay in that fairly narrow zone .
“ But it wouldn ’ t surprise me if they also spend a fair amount of time focused on Trump .
Here ’ s a way that he can use a sledgehammer on Trump but a scalpel on Sanders : by saying , ‘ Here ’ s a guy we elected that had no experience , no people willing to work for him , no people he is willing to listen to .
We can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and O ’ Malley both deplored a tweet sent by Trump ’ s campaign this week which called Biden a “ rotting corpse of a candidate ” , and said it was a taste of the fierce and dirty fight to come .
“ There is one question and only one question that viewers will be asking themselves during Sunday ’ s debate , ” O ’ Malley said , “ and it is this : which of these two candidates would do the best job of keeping me and my family safe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pandemic .
“ What I do know is that of the three men left [ including Trump ] , more and more people are wishing Biden were already in charge.
” In fact , the Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is still campaigning .
For the debate in Washington on Sunday , however , she did not meet qualification criteria set by the Democratic National Committee .

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will square off in the 11th Democratic debate on Sunday night, in a contest moved from Arizona to Washington DC and held without a live audience due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The escalating public health crisis has played havoc with all areas of US life, but Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio will still go to the polls on Tuesday.
After his spectacular rebound on Super Tuesday and strong performances this week, Biden is ahead in delegates earned, seemingly on course for the nomination to face Donald Trump in November.
But Sanders has refused to throw in the towel, saying this week that though he may be “losing the debate over electability”, he is a champion for the views of most younger voters and wants to influence the general election platform.
“On Sunday, I very much look forward to the debate in Arizona with my friend Joe Biden,” Sanders said, indicating he would challenge the former vice-president on healthcare reform, the minimum wage and other progressive priorities.
Nick Carter, Sanders’ political outreach director in 2016, told the New York Times the Vermont senator was “pivoting to ensure that the issues that he has built his political career around continue to be front and center in the political dialogue.
“I also think he has [at the] top of [his] mind ensuring his supporters and those unenthusiastic about a Biden candidacy don’t call it a day.”
Many in the Democratic establishment would prefer the independent from Vermont admit defeat and put his shoulder to the wheel for Biden.
In emails to the Guardian, Martin O’Malley, a former Baltimore mayor, Maryland governor and candidate for the presidential nomination, said he was “guessing, most kindly, that Bernie is thinking as quickly as Biden sprung back to political life, he could as easily stumble and so he has an obligation to hang in there.
“What he risks is that more and more people [see] his messiah veneer fall away and his hypocrisy on many issues – gun safety, immigration reform, Russia interference – will strip away his lovable old uncle persona.”
02:36 Bernie Sanders: six key policies from his 2020 presidential campaign – video report
At the polls, Biden’s comeback from seemingly inevitable defeat has been powered by older voters, moderates, voters in swing counties and an overwhelming percentage of African Americans.
“I think Biden has been so battered and scarred already,” O’Malley said, “[that] I’m not sure there is much more that Bernie can do … in fact, Bernie could be a useful foil for Biden’s need to appeal to and win more independents.”
Reed Galen, a former aide to George W Bush and John McCain, left the Republican party in 2016 and is now part of the Lincoln Project, a super Pac devoted to producing ads against Trump.
Sanders is “using the core of his support base to not drop out gracefully”, Galen told the Guardian on Saturday, adding: “I don’t think Bernie Sanders has grace about him. From my perspective I think he should have [dropped out] and let the Biden campaign go and do the things it needs to do vis-a-vis Trump.
“But Bernie doesn’t care because he’s not a Democrat and never has been, so from his supporters’ perspective, if they wreck the Democratic party it’s just another win for them.”
Galen and O’Malley both expected a fiery contest in CNN’s Washington studio.
“Biden won’t stand there like a punching bag,” said O’Malley, who experienced the highs and lows of the debate stage alongside Sanders and Hillary Clinton. “He will hit back when pressed. And Bernie has no choice but to press.”
Galen said he thought Biden had a good opportunity to appeal again to moderates and independents, but added a warning about the pitfalls of any such bare-knuckle political bout, into which Biden has fallen in this and other elections.
“When you hit that debate stage it’s like a roller coaster heading downhill,” he said. “You hope it’s going to stay on the tracks but once in a while it goes flying off the edge.”
03:19 Joe Biden: six key policies from his 2020 presidential campaign – video report
The coronavirus outbreak – which caused Univision host Jorge Ramos to step aside as a debate host after contact with someone exposed to Covid-19 – seems sure to dominate proceedings.
Both Biden and Sanders addressed the nation on the subject this week, attempting to present a contrast with Trump’s wildly uneven attempts to lead.
Galen said he thought Biden’s advisers would therefore seek to “utilise what Biden has been best at, which is relying on personal experience.
“We saw this week that he started talking about what he’s done in government and what government can and can’t do. I think his team will try to stay in that fairly narrow zone.
“But it wouldn’t surprise me if they also spend a fair amount of time focused on Trump. Here’s a way that he can use a sledgehammer on Trump but a scalpel on Sanders: by saying, ‘Here’s a guy we elected that had no experience, no people willing to work for him, no people he is willing to listen to. We can’t have that anymore.’”
Galen and O’Malley both deplored a tweet sent by Trump’s campaign this week which called Biden a “rotting corpse of a candidate”, and said it was a taste of the fierce and dirty fight to come.
“There is one question and only one question that viewers will be asking themselves during Sunday’s debate,” O’Malley said, “and it is this: which of these two candidates would do the best job of keeping me and my family safe in a big emergency, like, a pandemic.
“What I do know is that of the three men left [including Trump], more and more people are wishing Biden were already in charge.”
In fact, the Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is still campaigning. For the debate in Washington on Sunday, however, she did not meet qualification criteria set by the Democratic National Committee.


theguardian--2020-03-15--The Hunt depicts elites hunting the poor for sport. The 'satire' feels a little too real | Jessa Cri

The Hunt depicts elites hunting the poor for sport. The 'satire' feels a little too real | Jessa Crispin

My entertainment options this week were a movie in which “ liberal elites ” hunt down and murder “ deplorables ” for sport – deaths that are ultra gory and played for laughs – and a Hulu documentary in which Hillary Clinton explains with a chuckle and a smile why the policies supported by her 2016 opponent , Bernie Sanders – policies like universal healthcare and prison reform , which would help countless Americans – are just not “ doable ” .
In other words , essentially the same thing .
The Hunt was supposed to be released last fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after some people wondered if a movie about political polarity and divisiveness in contemporary society , in which a bunch of poor people die violently was really going to be a good idea .
Released now , the controversy is its main selling point .
And – since we are in the beginning stages of a pandemic for which the United States is not remotely prepared and in which the uninsured , elderly , and poor are much more likely to die – well , let ’ s just say the timing creates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ producer Damon Lindelof – who recently read the legendary anti-fascist comic Watchmen and thought , huh , okay , but what if instead we made the cops the heroes ?
– has created a world where a group of rich , NPR-listening liberals , who bicker about gendered language and whether “ black ” or “ African-American ” is the more acceptable term , drug , abduct , and murder Trump voters for sport .
One of the Trump voters actually isn ’ t a Trump voter but is brought there by mistake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idiot , she manages to fight back .
I think that ’ s a metaphor .
For something .
Ultimately the film wants to pretend to be a commentary on cancel culture and our new culture wars .
It turns out the whole plan for liberal elites to hunt deplorables becomes a reality because deplorables can ’ t take a joke about liberal elites hunting deplorables .
The slapstick deaths are supposed to indicate that hey , we ’ re just playing around here , rather than show a callous disregard for human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And if you don ’ t find it funny to watch a woman impaled on spikes or a man blown up on a landmine or a woman choking to death after she ’ s poisoned , you must be one of those humorless cancel culture freaks who need to learn to take a joke .
But of course if you ’ re from and of the coasts it ’ s easy to believe these new culture wars are just about a difference of opinion about gun control or abortion and not about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instability causing the deaths of despair killing white middle Americans without college degrees through suicide and addiction .
It ’ s similar to how one segment of the population will remember the culture wars of the 1990s as a discussion about whether a crucifix of Jesus Christ submerged in urine should be considered art , and not about whether the thousands of gay people , IV drug users , hemophiliacs , and others deemed ultimately disposable by the government and society should have been allowed to die from Aids .
Or as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vulgarity in music , and not about whether black people or people in poor neighborhoods should be murdered , brutalized , and harassed by the police forces that claim to protect them .
It ’ s not clear that anyone involved with this film has ever even been to the south .
The star , Betty Gilpin , plays a working-class woman named Crystal who spends the entirety of the film holding her jaw as if she is trying not to let any spit from the chewing tobacco dribble out , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in chewing tobacco .
It ’ s like she saw a picture of someone once and thought , Oh , that must be how they do it down there , but no one explained to her it ’ s not just that all southerners have a severe underbite .
But then no one involved in the production thought it might be weird for the action of the film to play out in Croatia , a country still dealing with the aftermath of its own … uh , let ’ s call it political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m sure the millionaires who endorsed billionaire Mike Bloomberg in the Democratic primaries will watch this movie on their private jets and have a good chuckle at the depiction of clueless and out-of-touch elites heading to Croatia on their private plane with a cargo full of white trash .
“ Oh my God , that ’ s so us !
I also enjoy a little caviar snack while on my way to my private manor in the Balkans.
” And then they ’ ll go back to deciding which underprivileged group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead of just paying their taxes , which could fund an adequate public healthcare system that would keep people from having to beg online to afford chemotherapy .
Cinemas across the US are currently closing because of coronavirus ; perhaps only the elites who can afford private screenings of The Hunt in their palatial estates will be able to see it .
In the meantime , the rest of us are about to go on quarantine lockdown , forced to sustain ourselves on whatever mediocre bilge Netflix has put out this week .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For something .
• None Jessa Crispin is the host of the Public Intellectual podcast .
She is a Guardian US columnist

My entertainment options this week were a movie in which “liberal elites” hunt down and murder “deplorables” for sport – deaths that are ultra gory and played for laughs – and a Hulu documentary in which Hillary Clinton explains with a chuckle and a smile why the policies supported by her 2016 opponent, Bernie Sanders – policies like universal healthcare and prison reform, which would help countless Americans – are just not “doable”. In other words, essentially the same thing.
The Hunt was supposed to be released last fall, but it was put on hold after some people wondered if a movie about political polarity and divisiveness in contemporary society, in which a bunch of poor people die violently was really going to be a good idea. Released now, the controversy is its main selling point. And – since we are in the beginning stages of a pandemic for which the United States is not remotely prepared and in which the uninsured, elderly, and poor are much more likely to die – well, let’s just say the timing creates a certain tone.
The co-writer and producer Damon Lindelof – who recently read the legendary anti-fascist comic Watchmen and thought, huh, okay, but what if instead we made the cops the heroes? – has created a world where a group of rich, NPR-listening liberals, who bicker about gendered language and whether “black” or “African-American” is the more acceptable term, drug, abduct, and murder Trump voters for sport. One of the Trump voters actually isn’t a Trump voter but is brought there by mistake, and not being a redneck hillbilly idiot, she manages to fight back. I think that’s a metaphor. For something.
Ultimately the film wants to pretend to be a commentary on cancel culture and our new culture wars. It turns out the whole plan for liberal elites to hunt deplorables becomes a reality because deplorables can’t take a joke about liberal elites hunting deplorables. The slapstick deaths are supposed to indicate that hey, we’re just playing around here, rather than show a callous disregard for human life on the part of the film-makers. And if you don’t find it funny to watch a woman impaled on spikes or a man blown up on a landmine or a woman choking to death after she’s poisoned, you must be one of those humorless cancel culture freaks who need to learn to take a joke.
But of course if you’re from and of the coasts it’s easy to believe these new culture wars are just about a difference of opinion about gun control or abortion and not about the hopelessness and loss of meaning and instability causing the deaths of despair killing white middle Americans without college degrees through suicide and addiction. It’s similar to how one segment of the population will remember the culture wars of the 1990s as a discussion about whether a crucifix of Jesus Christ submerged in urine should be considered art, and not about whether the thousands of gay people, IV drug users, hemophiliacs, and others deemed ultimately disposable by the government and society should have been allowed to die from Aids. Or as a debate about whether children should be exposed to vulgarity in music, and not about whether black people or people in poor neighborhoods should be murdered, brutalized, and harassed by the police forces that claim to protect them.
It’s not clear that anyone involved with this film has ever even been to the south. The star, Betty Gilpin, plays a working-class woman named Crystal who spends the entirety of the film holding her jaw as if she is trying not to let any spit from the chewing tobacco dribble out, and yet at no time does she partake in chewing tobacco. It’s like she saw a picture of someone once and thought, Oh, that must be how they do it down there, but no one explained to her it’s not just that all southerners have a severe underbite. But then no one involved in the production thought it might be weird for the action of the film to play out in Croatia, a country still dealing with the aftermath of its own … uh, let’s call it political polarity and divisiveness, I guess.
I’m sure the millionaires who endorsed billionaire Mike Bloomberg in the Democratic primaries will watch this movie on their private jets and have a good chuckle at the depiction of clueless and out-of-touch elites heading to Croatia on their private plane with a cargo full of white trash. “Oh my God, that’s so us! I also enjoy a little caviar snack while on my way to my private manor in the Balkans.” And then they’ll go back to deciding which underprivileged group should receive their charity this month – instead of just paying their taxes, which could fund an adequate public healthcare system that would keep people from having to beg online to afford chemotherapy.
Cinemas across the US are currently closing because of coronavirus; perhaps only the elites who can afford private screenings of The Hunt in their palatial estates will be able to see it. In the meantime, the rest of us are about to go on quarantine lockdown, forced to sustain ourselves on whatever mediocre bilge Netflix has put out this week. I think that’s a metaphor. For something.


theguardian--2020-03-15--Trump aide Mnuchin: US does not face recession though shutdowns mount

The Trump administration on Sunday sought to downplay fears of a recession tied to the coronavirus pandemic , as Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he believed the US would avoid a sharp economic downturn .
In an interview on ABC ’ s This Week , Mnuchin acknowledged that the US economy would probably face a slowdown .
But he insisted claims earlier in the week by Donald Trump ’ s former top economic adviser Gary Cohn that the economy was already in recession were incorrect .
“ I don ’ t think so , ” Mnuchin said .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today … this is a unique situation .
We are going to have a slowdown .
Later in the year economic activity will pick up as we confront this virus.
” He added : “ We will use whatever tools we need to make sure the economy and hardworking Americans get through this.
” But Mnuchin ’ s upbeat assessment came at the same time a top member of Donald Trump ’ s coronavirus task force , Dr Anthony Fauci , declined to rule out a “ national lockdown ” of restaurants and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I would like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see in restaurants and in bars , ” Fauci told CNN ’ s State of the Union , as he appeared to open the door to hardline measures similar to restrictions in a number of European countries .
“ Whatever it takes to do that , that ’ s what I ’ d like to see.
” “ For a while , life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have to just accept that if we want to do what ’ s best for the American public.
” The doctor appeared on all the main political talk shows , as the administration sought to provide public reassurance .
On CNN , he was asked if it was possible that hundreds of thousands of Americans , or more , could die .
“ Yes , ” he said .
“ It is possible .
Our job , our challenge is to try and make that not happen.
” Speaking to NBC , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing.
” Later on Sunday , a White House statement urged Americans not to “ hoard ” groceries and goods and said the president had told store and supply chain executives they should “ help Americans feel calm and safe when shelves are stocked with the items they need ” .
A booming economy is any incumbent president ’ s trump card when up for re-election .
Market volatility around attempts to tackle the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be in November .
An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released on Sunday showed the president losing match-ups with both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders , the Democratic contenders set to debate in Washington .
The stock markets endured a tumultuous week as the Dow Jones plunged 10 % on Thursday , its worst day since 1987 , before rallying on Friday as Trump declared a national emergency and other measures meant to help combat the outbreak .
The House then passed a sweeping relief bill , backed by Trump and negotiated by Mnuchin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expected to pass the Senate on Monday .
But Cohn argued on Friday that the spread of Covid-19 had already “ curtailed consumer demand ” and that it was “ most likely … we are already in a recession ” , a view shared by experts including Barack Obama ’ s former top economic adviser , Jason Furman .
On Friday , he said that “ at this point , this feels much worse than 2008 ” , the last global financial crisis .
The latest numbers from the federal Centers for Disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which have not been updated since Friday , document 1,629 confirmed US cases of Covid-19 , with 41 fatalities .
Other estimates are higher and most experts think thousands of cases have not been diagnosed , in part because of a slow start to testing .
Mnuchin ’ s confidence in the economy came in the face of state and local leaders mandating policy designed to limit exposure to the virus .
Eighteen states , for example , have announced some form of school closure .
In Illinois , schools will be closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the month and St Patrick ’ s Day celebrations over the weekend were severely curtailed .
On Sunday , Governor JB Pritzker , a Democrat , issued stinging criticism of Trump .
“ We [ state governors ] are the ones who ’ ve had to provide the leadership because the federal government just has fallen down on this , ” he told NBC ’ s Meet the Press .
“ So they didn ’ t advise us to shutdown major events , sporting events , parades , we made those decisions on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ones that advised us to close schools , we made those decisions on our own .
So we are on our own out here .
I wish we had leadership from Washington , we are not getting it.
” Ohio governor Mike DeWine , a Republican , has closed schools until 3 April .
He said he was considering closing all bars and restaurants .
“ We are certainly looking at that , ” he said , also on NBC .
“ You know , we started off last week closing the schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gathered together to 100 .
You know , we have restricted access to our nursing homes , to our prisons .
So we are taking tough steps … Every day counts so much and you just can not wait.
” On Saturday Florida governor Ron DeSantis , a Republican , urged the White House to consider restricting domestic travel , after a fourth death in his state .
“ We ’ re seeing cases where people clearly contracted it somewhere else and brought it here , ” DeSantis said .
The comments came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for coronavirus on Friday and found to be clear – expanded a European travel ban to include the UK and Ireland , and cautioned that the administration was considering domestic restrictions .
On ABC , Fauci said : “ Travel restrictions within the country have not been seriously discussed .
I don ’ t see that now in the immediate future .
”

The Trump administration on Sunday sought to downplay fears of a recession tied to the coronavirus pandemic, as the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said he believed the US would avoid a sharp economic downturn.
In an interview on ABC’s This Week, Mnuchin acknowledged that the US economy would probably face a slowdown. But he insisted claims earlier in the week by Donald Trump’s former top economic adviser Gary Cohn that the economy was already in recession were incorrect.
“I don’t think so,” Mnuchin said. “The real issue is not the economic situation today … this is a unique situation. We are going to have a slowdown. Later in the year economic activity will pick up as we confront this virus.”
He added: “We will use whatever tools we need to make sure the economy and hardworking Americans get through this.”
But Mnuchin’s upbeat assessment came at the same time as a top member of Donald Trump’s coronavirus taskforce, Dr Anthony Fauci, declined to rule out a “national lockdown” of restaurants and bars, key drivers of consumer spending.
For a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States. We just have to accept that Dr Anthony Fauci
“I would like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see in restaurants and in bars,” Fauci told CNN’s State of the Union, as he appeared to open the door to hardline measures similar to restrictions in a number of European countries. “Whatever it takes to do that, that’s what I’d like to see.
“For a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States,” he said. “We have to just accept that if we want to do what’s best for the American public.”
The doctor appeared on all the main political talkshows, as the administration sought to provide public reassurance. On CNN, he was asked if it was possible that hundreds of thousands of Americans, or more, could die.
“Yes,” he said. “It is possible. Our job, our challenge is to try and make that not happen.”
Speaking to NBC, Fauci said: “Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing.”
Later on Sunday, a White House statement urged Americans not to “hoard” groceries and goods and said the president had told store and supply chain executives they should “help Americans feel calm and safe when shelves are stocked with the items they need”.
A booming economy is any incumbent president’s trump card when up for re-election. Market volatility around attempts to tackle the coronavirus outbreak has shown how exposed Trump could be in November. An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released on Sunday showed the president losing match-ups with both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the Democratic contenders set to debate in Washington.
The stock markets endured a tumultuous week as the Dow Jones plunged 10% on Thursday, its worst day since 1987, before rallying on Friday as Trump declared a national emergency and other measures meant to help combat the outbreak. The House then passed a sweeping relief bill, backed by Trump and negotiated by Mnuchin and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, which is expected to pass the Senate on Monday.
But Cohn argued on Friday that the spread of Covid-19 had already “curtailed consumer demand” and that it was “most likely … we are already in a recession”, a view shared by experts including Barack Obama’s former top economic adviser, Jason Furman. On Friday, he said that “at this point, this feels much worse than 2008”, the last global financial crisis.
The latest numbers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which have not been updated since Friday, document 1,629 confirmed US cases of Covid-19, with 41 fatalities. Other estimates are higher and most experts think thousands of cases have not been diagnosed, in part because of a slow start to testing.
Mnuchin’s confidence in the economy came in the face of state and local leaders mandating policy designed to limit exposure to the virus. Eighteen states, for example, have announced some form of school closure.
In Illinois, schools will be closed from 17 March until the end of the month and St Patrick’s Day celebrations over the weekend were severely curtailed. On Sunday, Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, issued stinging criticism of Trump.
“We [state governors] are the ones who’ve had to provide the leadership because the federal government just has fallen down on this,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“So they didn’t advise us to shut down major events, sporting events, parades, we made those decisions on our own. They are not the ones that advised us to close schools, we made those decisions on our own. So we are on our own out here. I wish we had leadership from Washington, we are not getting it.”
Dr Anthony Fauci speaks in the White House Rose Garden on Friday. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, a Republican, has closed schools until 3 April. He said he was considering closing all bars and restaurants.
“We are certainly looking at that,” he said, also on NBC. “You know, we started off last week closing the schools. We reduced the number of people gathered together to 100. You know, we have restricted access to our nursing homes, to our prisons. So we are taking tough steps … Every day counts so much and you just cannot wait.”
On Saturday Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, a Republican, urged the White House to consider restricting domestic travel, after a fourth death in his state.
“We’re seeing cases where people clearly contracted it somewhere else and brought it here,” DeSantis said.
The comments came shortly after Trump – who was tested for coronavirus on Friday and found to be clear – expanded a European travel ban to include the UK and Ireland, and cautioned that the administration was considering domestic restrictions.
On ABC, Fauci said: “Travel restrictions within the country have not been seriously discussed. I don’t see that now in the immediate future.”


theguardian--2020-03-15--Donald Trump 'strongly considering full pardon' for Michael Flynn

Donald Trump is “ strongly considering a full pardon ” for Michael Flynn , his first national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his dealings with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office .
Flynn cut a deal as part of special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s investigation of Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow .
He initially cooperated with the investigation , which concluded last year without establishing criminal conspiracy but did lay out extensive evidence of contact between Trump aides and Russia and possible obstruction of justice by the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as national security adviser after only 24 days in the role , has not yet been sentenced but a number of Trump aides and associates have been convicted and jailed in cases arising from Mueller ’ s work .
He sought to withdraw his guilty plea in January , “ because of the government ’ s bad faith , vindictiveness and breach of the plea agreement ” .
His change in tack came after he hired a new lawyer , Fox News pundit Sidney Powell , a longtime critic of the Mueller inquiry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the investigation and other Trump policies and issues in prime time interviews .
On Sunday , Trump tweeted : “ So now it is reported that , after destroying his life & the life of his wonderful family ( and many others also ) , the FBI , working in conjunction with the Justice Department , has ‘ lost ’ the records of General Michael Flynn .
How convenient .
Although Trump did not cite specific reports , Powell had tweeted hours earlier an unsubstantiated claim that “ # FBI still hiding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
Powell , who has also repeatedly retweeted antisemitic conspiracy theories , has contended in rambling legal filings that FBI officials altered an interview summary with Flynn and conspired to prevent him from obtaining legal counsel before he was interviewed .
Trump ’ s use of the presidential pardon power has proved vastly controversial , as he has commuted sentences or pardoned prominent supporters including former sheriff Joe Arpaio and former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik .
In cases related to the Russia investigation , Trump has flirted with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paul Manafort , his former campaign chair who was found guilty of financial charges , and to Roger Stone , a longtime ally who was found guilty of lying to Congress and tampering with a witness .
“ Somebody has to stick up for the people , ” Trump said in February .

Martin Pengelly in New York and Oliver Laughland in New Orleans

Donald Trump is “strongly considering a full pardon” for Michael Flynn, his first national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his dealings with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office.
Flynn cut a deal as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow.
He initially cooperated with the investigation, which concluded last year without establishing criminal conspiracy but did lay out extensive evidence of contact between Trump aides and Russia and possible obstruction of justice by the president himself.
Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser after only 24 days in the role, has not yet been sentenced but a number of Trump aides and associates have been convicted and jailed in cases arising from Mueller’s work.
Flynn faces possible prison time.
He sought to withdraw his guilty plea in January, “because of the government’s bad faith, vindictiveness and breach of the plea agreement”.
His change in tack came after he hired a new lawyer, Fox News pundit Sidney Powell, a longtime critic of the Mueller inquiry who has peddled numerous false conspiracy theories on the investigation and other Trump policies and issues in prime time interviews.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted: “So now it is reported that, after destroying his life & the life of his wonderful family (and many others also), the FBI, working in conjunction with the Justice Department, has ‘lost’ the records of General Michael Flynn. How convenient.
“I am strongly considering a Full Pardon!”
Although Trump did not cite specific reports, Powell had tweeted hours earlier an unsubstantiated claim that “#FBI still hiding evidence of #Flynn‘s innocence”.
Powell, who has also repeatedly retweeted antisemitic conspiracy theories, has contended in rambling legal filings that FBI officials altered an interview summary with Flynn and conspired to prevent him from obtaining legal counsel before he was interviewed.
Trump’s use of the presidential pardon power has proved vastly controversial, as he has commuted sentences or pardoned prominent supporters including former sheriff Joe Arpaio and former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik.
In cases related to the Russia investigation, Trump has flirted with the notion of pardoning or granting clemency to Paul Manafort, his former campaign chair who was found guilty of financial charges, and to Roger Stone, a longtime ally who was found guilty of lying to Congress and tampering with a witness.
“Somebody has to stick up for the people,” Trump said in February.


theguardian--2020-03-15--Florida: coronavirus fears could hurt voter turnout in crucial primary

Governor Ron DeSantis last week declared a state of emergency in Florida in the face of the coronavirus as millions of Floridians are set to vote on Tuesday in a crucial delegate-rich primary that will help determine whether Bernie Sanders stays in the Democratic presidential nomination race against Joe Biden .
In Florida , the impact of the virus , if left unchecked , could be particularly harsh on the state ’ s ability to allow people to vote or vote safely without fear of infection .
The state is home to one of the largest elderly populations in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the residents age 65 or older .
While this age group tends to be a stable voting bloc for both political parties , it ’ s also the most vulnerable to the virus – which has a mortality rate around 18 % for those over 80 years old .
DeSantis issued an executive order barring people who may have been exposed to the virus from visiting nursing homes .
He urged election officials throughout the state to consider moving their polling locations for the state ’ s 17 March primary out of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election day , the state seemed to be lacking a unified response , with many polling stations in senior centers and retirement communities still operating at status quo .
Workers at Country Aire Manor , Senate Manor Estates , and Crystal Lakes Manor – Pasco and Pinellas county polling sites all held in communities comprised entirely of people above 55 – said they had received no guidelines for the election , and were already receiving equipment to set up for Tuesday .
“ All locations will be open , ” said Robin Lehoux @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recreation department in Pompano Beach , Florida .
She hadn ’ t heard of any instructions from the state or local government regarding the Mullins Park Senior Center , a polling precinct where other senior programming had been shut down .
But Florida ’ s piecemeal response has been a stark departure from other election officials across the country implementing last-minute measures to stave off concerns about contracting coronavirus at the polls .
In Ohio , Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered all polling stations in senior centers and nursing homes to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s top election official , Kyle Ardoin , announced Friday the primary election next month would be postponed until June .
“ They ’ re playing catch up , ” said congressman Darren Soto , who represents a central Florida district that includes Orlando .
Soto was still expecting a large voter turnout on Friday , and said he was focused on making sure voting precincts remained open so crowds were dispersed .
“ The main thing is to avoid long lines so people can conduct best practices.
” Some election officials are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county , the local supervisor of elections announced this week the county was moving 12 precincts from senior centers and assisted living facilities to alternate locations .
The county sent out postcards to all of the voters who would normally cast ballots there letting them know their locations had moved .
Some senior living facilities don ’ t want to move their polling locations because they are wary of having to transport residents , said Steve Vancore , a spokesman for the Broward county elections office .
In such cases , the county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adequate cleaning and sanitization supplies , Vancore said .
State officials held a conference call with local supervisors of elections on Thursday to discuss sanitary measures they could take at the polls .
In Volusia county , the supervisor of elections reminded voters they could bring their own pens to fill out ballots .
In Marion county , elections officials have limited cleaning supplies and are encouraging people to bring their own from home , said Wesley Wilcox , the county ’ s supervisor of elections .
Florida is no stranger to adapting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hurricane Michael derailed precincts in the panhandle , and forced election officials to extend voting hours and move locations .
In 2016 , a federal judge extended voter registration because of disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew , despite opposition from Republican governor Rick Scott .
But the state often only acts at the last minute .
“ It ’ s a fight every time , ” said Brad Ashwell , the Florida director of All Voting is Local , an advocacy group .
The organization was looking to support changes for the primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deadlines , poll worker recruitment , as elderly poll workers dropped out , and more state funds to advertise changes to the polling stations .
“ It seems like the freak out level is slowly creeping in here , ” Ashwell said .
“ I don ’ t sense anxiety among people .
People are upset their conferences are being cancelled .
But it doesn ’ t seem like there ’ s a real high levels of concern.
” Meanwhile , he said , the fears around Covid-19 could build on other issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Under the pressure of lawsuit brought on by civil rights groups and Puerto Rican residents , the state has been attempting to provide bilingual language assistance at each station , which could be impacted if poll workers don ’ t show up on Tuesday .
And the state rejected tens of thousands of mail-in ballots and absentee ballots in recent elections , stoking mistrust in that system .
Danny Turkel , spokesperson for Voto Latino , an advocacy group focused on registering Latinx voters , said he predicted lower voter turnout in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He didn ’ t think any specific community would be impacted , he said , but predicted that the uncertainty would keep voters at home .
“ Being from Miami , I ’ m acutely aware of the difficulties people have , ” he said .
“ There were already obstacles in the way that the state has done nothing to improve.
” “ I think it will show out in the numbers .
”

Governor Ron DeSantis last week declared a state of emergency in Florida in the face of the coronavirus as millions of Floridians are set to vote on Tuesday in a crucial delegate-rich primary that will help determine whether Bernie Sanders stays in the Democratic presidential nomination race against Joe Biden.
In Florida, the impact of the virus, if left unchecked, could be particularly harsh on the state’s ability to allow people to vote or vote safely without fear of infection.
The state is home to one of the largest elderly populations in the country, with around 20% of the residents age 65 or older. While this age group tends to be a stable voting bloc for both political parties, it’s also the most vulnerable to the virus – which has a mortality rate around 18% for those over 80 years old.
DeSantis issued an executive order barring people who may have been exposed to the virus from visiting nursing homes. He urged election officials throughout the state to consider moving their polling locations for the state’s 17 March primary out of those locations.
But over the weekend before election day, the state seemed to be lacking a unified response, with many polling stations in senior centers and retirement communities still operating at status quo.
Workers at Country Aire Manor, Senate Manor Estates, and Crystal Lakes Manor – Pasco and Pinellas county polling sites all held in communities comprised entirely of people above 55 – said they had received no guidelines for the election, and were already receiving equipment to set up for Tuesday.
“All locations will be open,” said Robin Lehoux, who works at the parks and recreation department in Pompano Beach, Florida. She hadn’t heard of any instructions from the state or local government regarding the Mullins Park Senior Center, a polling precinct where other senior programming had been shut down.
But Florida’s piecemeal response has been a stark departure from other election officials across the country implementing last-minute measures to stave off concerns about contracting coronavirus at the polls. In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered all polling stations in senior centers and nursing homes to be relocated. Louisiana’s state’s top election official, Kyle Ardoin, announced Friday the primary election next month would be postponed until June.
“They’re playing catch up,” said congressman Darren Soto, who represents a central Florida district that includes Orlando. Soto was still expecting a large voter turnout on Friday, and said he was focused on making sure voting precincts remained open so crowds were dispersed. “The main thing is to avoid long lines so people can conduct best practices.”
Some election officials are still taking full precautions.
In Broward county, the local supervisor of elections announced this week the county was moving 12 precincts from senior centers and assisted living facilities to alternate locations. The county sent out postcards to all of the voters who would normally cast ballots there letting them know their locations had moved.
Some senior living facilities don’t want to move their polling locations because they are wary of having to transport residents, said Steve Vancore, a spokesman for the Broward county elections office. In such cases, the county elections office will make sure they have adequate cleaning and sanitization supplies, Vancore said.

State officials held a conference call with local supervisors of elections on Thursday to discuss sanitary measures they could take at the polls. In Volusia county, the supervisor of elections reminded voters they could bring their own pens to fill out ballots. In Marion county, elections officials have limited cleaning supplies and are encouraging people to bring their own from home, said Wesley Wilcox, the county’s supervisor of elections.
Florida is no stranger to adapting elections to emergencies.
In 2018, Hurricane Michael derailed precincts in the panhandle, and forced election officials to extend voting hours and move locations. In 2016, a federal judge extended voter registration because of disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew, despite opposition from Republican governor Rick Scott.
But the state often only acts at the last minute. “It’s a fight every time,” said Brad Ashwell, the Florida director of All Voting is Local, an advocacy group. The organization was looking to support changes for the primary that could include an extension in vote-by-mail deadlines, poll worker recruitment, as elderly poll workers dropped out, and more state funds to advertise changes to the polling stations.
“It seems like the freak out level is slowly creeping in here,” Ashwell said. “I don’t sense anxiety among people. People are upset their conferences are being cancelled. But it doesn’t seem like there’s a real high levels of concern.”
Meanwhile, he said, the fears around Covid-19 could build on other issues that voters faced in the state. Under the pressure of lawsuit brought on by civil rights groups and Puerto Rican residents, the state has been attempting to provide bilingual language assistance at each station, which could be impacted if poll workers don’t show up on Tuesday.
And the state rejected tens of thousands of mail-in ballots and absentee ballots in recent elections, stoking mistrust in that system.
Danny Turkel, spokesperson for Voto Latino, an advocacy group focused on registering Latinx voters, said he predicted lower voter turnout in the election because of the state of emergency. He didn’t think any specific community would be impacted, he said, but predicted that the uncertainty would keep voters at home.
“Being from Miami, I’m acutely aware of the difficulties people have,” he said. “There were already obstacles in the way that the state has done nothing to improve.”
“I think it will show out in the numbers.”


theguardian--2020-03-16--Biden and Sanders mull debate reaction as coronavirus response intensifies - live updates

Here ’ s a few more views on who came out on top in last night ’ s debate .
Chris Cillizza put both candidates into his loser ’ s basket , and made Trump one of the winners instead He also listed Elizabeth Warren , Kamala Harris , Stacey Abrams and Amy Klobuchar as potential winners .
With Biden ’ s pledge to nominate a woman as his VP pick , he ’ s got no shortage of high profile Democrat women to pick from .
Read it here - CNN : Chris Cillizza ’ s winners and losers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , behind the membership paywall at the Daily Beast , it was the night that Biden ‘ sealed the deal ’ This was really different from those early debates when he was ambushed from all sides .
Then , he was verbally drowning half the time .
Tonight , he was totally calm .
He did maybe miss an opportunity to try to reach out to Sanders voters , but overall , he was in control of himself .
It ought to make people feel more comfortable picturing him on a stage opposite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daily Beast : Joe Biden just sealed the deal The New York Times as ever got their opinion writers to give the candidates scores on their performances .
To be honest they are pretty uniformly high for both men , but among them , Mimi Swartz had these words of caution about what happens next with Sanders ’ supporters : The virus gave Sanders an opportunity to keep attacking the inequities in American life , and he took it and ran .
But his arguments are sounding tired because he so rarely expands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even in specific ways .
It ’ s not a good time to be an ideologue .
Great that Sanders agreed to support the nominee .
Let ’ s see if his followers do the same .
Read it here - NYT : Winners and losers of the Democratic Debate

17 Mar 2020 00.47 GMT Thanks for reading our blog on this exhausting news day! Here are some news points to keep in mind: San Francisco’s “shelter-in-place” lockdown leaves room for Californians to do outdoor activities like hike and walk.
The CDC announced its first employee sick with coronavirus.
California is set to spend up to $1bn on coronavirus relief. That’s all from me folks! Stay home if you can, and stay safe.
17 Mar 2020 00.40 GMT Evening Summary Thanks for reading our blog on this exhausting news day! Here are some news points to keep in mind: San Francisco’s “shelter-in-place lockdown leaves room for Californians to do outdoor activities like hike and walk.
The CDC announced its first employee sick with coronavirus.
California is set to pay up to $1bn in corona relief. That’s all from me folks! Stay home if you can, and stay safe.
Updated at 00.43 GMT
17 Mar 2020 00.26 GMT Chris McGreal The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, has ordered the closure of all bars and restaurants except for pick-up and delivery, and barred gatherings of more than 10 people in line with the president’s recommendation. Quinton Lucas also announced extensive school closures from Wednesday and stopped visits to retirement homes and long term care facilities. Although concerts and other events had already been cancelled, many Kansas City bars and restaurants remained open although with a sharp fall in regular business. “We understand these drastic measures will have unprecedented impacts on our local businesses and working families and recognize that this is one of the most challenging periods our city and nation has ever faced,” Lucas said in a tweet. There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kansas City, Missouri, but there has been one death of a 70-year-old man in a long term care facility in Kansas City, Kansas, as well as five confirmed cases in nearby Johnston county.
Updated at 00.48 GMT
17 Mar 2020 00.02 GMT Donald Trump tweeted about Covid-19 on Monday calling it “the Chinese virus” and promising to take steps to mitigate its effects on US industries. The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
Updated at 00.03 GMT
16 Mar 2020 23.48 GMT California is being forced to halt census outreach due to coronavirus, threatening the state’s ability to get an accurate count of its population, according to a report from Cal Matters. From the report: State and community organizers are particularly concerned about this year’s survey. California faces powerful headwinds, not only from the mounting threat of COVID-19, the infection caused by the virus, but also from widespread distrust sowed by the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, including a failed push to include a citizenship question on the census. For California, the stakes have never been higher: A low turnout could jeopardize one of the state’s 53 congressional seats, along with billions in federal funding.
16 Mar 2020 23.39 GMT California is prepared to spend $1bn on emergency coronavirus aid, Gavin Newsom announced Monday. The state’s governor has asked the state legislature to immediately free up $500m to address coronavirus, a fund that will be increased by $50m as needed until reaching a maximum of $1bn. These funds will also go towards local governments to help address coronavirus among homeless communities, providing hotel beds for the unsheltered. “Our state, our nation, and our world are facing a challenge unprecedented in modern times,” Newsom said in a letter to the assembly and senate. “The Covid-19 pandemic compels us all to find new ways of coming together, even as we must also seek out new ways of staying apart.
Updated at 23.58 GMT
16 Mar 2020 23.18 GMT The California governor, Gavin Newsom, posted on Monday a number of measures residents of the state can take to help during the coronavirus epidemic. A few ways you can help out your community 👇 pic.twitter.com/Sd5RlgRy11 — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 16, 2020 It suggests donating to a shelter, delivering meals to seniors and creating hygiene kits to drop off to people experiencing homelessness.
Updated at 23.58 GMT
16 Mar 2020 23.14 GMT Health secretary announces Covid-19 vaccine trial A trial evaluating a vaccine to protect against Covid-19 has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is funding the trial, announced. The trial is the first of its kind in the world, the HHS secretary, Alex Azar, said in a statement. “When the world faces a new public health threat, so often, American scientists and entrepreneurs have been the first to start uncovering ways to fight back”, he said. “The president’s whole-of-government, whole-of-America approach is using our best minds and all the resources we have to protect the American people from this unprecedented threat.”
The study is evaluating different doses of the experimental vaccine for safety and its ability to induce an immune response in participants. The vaccine was developed by NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc.; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) supported the clinical manufacturing of the vaccine candidate.
Updated at 00.00 GMT
16 Mar 2020 23.02 GMT William Barr, the US attorney general, sent out a directive on Monday to US attorneys telling them to focus investigating and prosecuting criminals taking advantage of the Covid-19 crisis to scam Americans. This includes fake cures for the coronavirus being peddled online and phishing emails from scammers posing as the World Health organization or the CDC. “This pandemic is dangerous enough without wrongdoers seeking to profit from public panic and this sort of conduct cannot be tolerated”, Barr wrote.
Updated at 23.07 GMT


theguardian--2020-03-16--Former felons with right to vote could increase Florida's primary turnout

Tonia Martinez doesn ’ t remember the last time she voted – she guesses it was about two decades ago .
The Florida native ’ s first brush with the prison system was in 1992 but she said her real struggle started in 2010 when she was convicted of a felony and sentenced to 19 months in a Broward county facility .
When she was released she did everything she was supposed to do : she paid her court fees and got a job at an iHop closer to her hometown in Palmetto , Florida .
Getting her voting rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as people in her situation are known , had to fill out paperwork and be individually granted clemency from the governor .
Martinez , who is now 51 , spent months trying to get her voting rights back .
“ This is something my ancestors fought for , ” she said .
But every time she sent in a form , or wrote an email , she was told there was another step or another problem .
“ I read somewhere about even if you ’ ve did your time , paid your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an active part of the community , the chances of the governor granting you clemency was little to none , ” she said .
“ That ’ s when I gave up.
” That changed at the end of 2018 , when Florida passed a constitutional amendment granting people with prior felony convictions the right to vote after they complete their sentence , including parole and probation .
Amendment 4 , as it often called , gives an estimated 1.4 million people the right to vote .
This Tuesday , as millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential primary , the impact of amendment 4 will be visible for the first time on such a scale .
In a state where elections are often won by razor-thin margins , that could mean changing the political makeup of Florida , as well as offering another pathway for people leaving the prison system to re-entering their community .
“ I expect there to be an increase in the 2020 primary turnout , ” said US representative Darren Soto , who represents a swath of central Florida that includes Orlando .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers.
” But there are still barriers for people with prior felony convictions .
For one , the Republican legislature ’ s attempts to place restrictions on the law – such as requiring former felons to pay off all court fines and fees associated with their sentence – have created confusion .
“ We ’ ll never know the size of that group that was made eligible but was deterred , ” said Marc Mauer , executive director of The Sentencing Project , a criminal justice advocacy group in Washington DC .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year the Guardian reported that Florida ’ s supervisors of elections were still unclear as to which crimes were exempt from the law .
States with similar laws often decide that some crimes – such as murder or rape – mean losing voting rights permanently .
Some returning citizens are also grappling with the registration process , which can prove confusing for any Florida residents who change address or party affiliation .
Tracey Washington was an avid voter until 2017 , when she was convicted of a fraud-related felony at her workplace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months in prison .
She said it was a particularly difficult time : her father was incarcerated when she was young and she had experienced the trauma her family suffered .
“ That six months was very – I don ’ t know what word to use for it – it was an experience , ” she said .
“ I was away from my kids , from my grandchildren .
It just really drained me mentally.
” When Washington was released earlier this year , she was embarrassed but relieved and started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court fees of $ 646 and started working part-time at a dry cleaners .
She lives with her extended family , is saving money to rent her own apartment again and has started a not-for-profit for children with incarcerated parents .
She has also tried to register to vote , but she hasn ’ t received her voter registration card or any confirmation .
Since she doesn ’ t see any barriers after amendment 4 that would stop her , she plans to go to the polling center in Manatee county in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s hoping things go smoothly .
Mauer said it was difficult to tell how many people like Washington and Martinez , who are eligible to vote , will actually be able to vote in this election .
While amendment 4 has garnered lots of attention , he said , turnout may not immediately reflect the change .
“ Even at best , it ’ s going to be a small fraction of the more than 1 million who potentially could be eligible , ” he said .
For Martinez , her new right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She chose her Democratic affiliation by weighing the issues and political platforms and watching the news at home .
And she ’ s going to the polling station on Tuesday to vote for who she thinks will make the country a more humane place to live .
“ For me it ’ s about the treatment of people – millions of people , ” she said .

Tonia Martinez doesn’t remember the last time she voted – she guesses it was about two decades ago. The Florida native’s first brush with the prison system was in 1992 but she said her real struggle started in 2010 when she was convicted of a felony and sentenced to 19 months in a Broward county facility.
When she was released she did everything she was supposed to do: she paid her court fees and got a job at an Ihop closer to her hometown in Palmetto, Florida. Getting her voting rights back was hard. Returning citizens, as people in her situation are known, had to fill out paperwork and be individually granted clemency from the governor.
Martinez, who is now 51, spent months trying to get her voting rights back.
“This is something my ancestors fought for,” she said. But every time she sent in a form, or wrote an email, she was told there was another step or another problem.
“I read somewhere about even if you’ve did your time, paid your fines, and you want to become an active part of the community, the chances of the governor granting you clemency was little to none,” she said. “That’s when I gave up.”
That changed at the end of 2018, when Florida passed a constitutional amendment granting people with prior felony convictions the right to vote after they complete their sentence, including parole and probation. Amendment 4, as it often called, gives an estimated 1.4 million people the right to vote.
This Tuesday, as millions of Floridians head to the polls for the presidential primary, the impact of amendment 4 will be visible for the first time on such a scale. In a state where elections are often won by razor-thin margins, that could mean changing the political makeup of Florida, as well as offering another pathway for people leaving the prison system to re-entering their community.
“I expect there to be an increase in the 2020 primary turnout,” said US representative Darren Soto, who represents a swath of central Florida that includes Orlando. “The returning citizens should be voting in high numbers.”
But there are still barriers for people with prior felony convictions. For one, the Republican legislature’s attempts to place restrictions on the law – such as requiring former felons to pay off all court fines and fees associated with their sentence – have created confusion.
“We’ll never know the size of that group that was made eligible but was deterred,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice advocacy group in Washington DC.
The confusion affects election officials too. Earlier this year the Guardian reported that Florida’s supervisors of elections were still unclear as to which crimes were exempt from the law. States with similar laws often decide that some crimes – such as murder or rape – mean losing voting rights permanently.
Some returning citizens are also grappling with the registration process, which can prove confusing for any Florida residents who change address or party affiliation.
Tracey Washington was an avid voter until 2017, when she was convicted of a fraud-related felony at her workplace in Manatee county and sentenced to six months in prison. She said it was a particularly difficult time: her father was incarcerated when she was young and she had experienced the trauma her family suffered.
“That six months was very – I don’t know what word to use for it – it was an experience,” she said. “I was away from my kids, from my grandchildren. It just really drained me mentally.”
When Washington was released earlier this year, she was embarrassed but relieved and started rebuilding her life. She paid her court fees of $646 and started working part-time at a dry cleaners. She lives with her extended family, is saving money to rent her own apartment again and has started a not-for-profit for children with incarcerated parents.
03:00 Bigger than Trump: John Legend's guide to what matters in the US election – video
She has also tried to register to vote, but she hasn’t received her voter registration card or any confirmation. Since she doesn’t see any barriers after amendment 4 that would stop her, she plans to go to the polling center in Manatee county in order to cast her ballot. She’s hoping things go smoothly.
Mauer said it was difficult to tell how many people like Washington and Martinez, who are eligible to vote, will actually be able to vote in this election. While amendment 4 has garnered lots of attention, he said, turnout may not immediately reflect the change.
“Even at best, it’s going to be a small fraction of the more than 1 million who potentially could be eligible,” he said.
For Martinez, her new right to vote is something she is protecting. She chose her Democratic affiliation by weighing the issues and political platforms and watching the news at home. And she’s going to the polling station on Tuesday to vote for who she thinks will make the country a more humane place to live.
“For me it’s about the treatment of people – millions of people,” she said.


theguardian--2020-03-16--Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro review – how the bard found his greatest stage

The readiness is all .
Ever since president John Adams rewrote a passage from Henry V to demonstrate how a foreign power might conspire to place a more pliable president in the White House , Shakespeare ’ s plays have been at the heart of America ’ s debate about itself .
Today , with the United States more disrupted than ever , and with a make-or-break election looming , Prof Shapiro , the author of 1599 : A Year in the life of William Shakespeare , is once again right on the money .
He has plunged fearlessly into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to examine the strange and potent dialogue between Shakespeare ’ s 400-year-old theatre and the drama of contemporary American politics .
We think of Shakespeare as our national poet , but the truth is that , in the words of Kiss Me , Kate , “ the bard of Stratford-on-Avon ” has for centuries played a pivotal role in the cultural and political life of the US – more pivotal , in fact , than we might realise .
Shakespeare in a Divided America , Shapiro ’ s timely and resonant new study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kinds of Americans – assassins , soldiers , hustlers , demagogues and even a few literati – have turned to Shakespeare “ to give voice to what could not readily or otherwise be said ” .
It ’ s a typically American paradox that a nation that staked everything to throw off the hateful yoke of British imperial power should , within a generation of 1776 , turn to an Elizabethan English playwright for wisdom and consolation , a secure narrative-line amid the confusion of nation-building .
Shapiro concedes that this is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Shakespeare ’ s prose to the colonists ’ founding obsession , the Bible .
Whatever the explanation , by the mid-19th century , Shakespeare ’ s plays had become braided into American popular consciousness , in some senses more so than in Britain .
Thus it was that Othello was taken up as a commentary on the intractable race question , widely performed in the antebellum south , and even staged by servicemen on garrison duty in the newly annexed state of Texas in 1845 .
On that occasion , the part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and gender-fluid Ulysses S Grant , eventually the 18th president of the union .
It was , however , president Abraham Lincoln whose fate would signal the apex of the dialogue between Shakespeare and the states ’ divisions .
Both Lincoln and his nemesis , John Wilkes Booth , were obsessed with Shakespeare .
For the president , it was all about Macbeth ; for his assassin , Julius Caesar .
In perhaps the finest chapter of this prescient book , Shapiro explores the enthralling backstory to 14 April 1865 .
This was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Washington DC , during a performance of a farce , Our American Cousin , on which the actor Booth fired the fatal shot and fled across the stage quoting Brutus , “ Sic semper tyrannis ” ( “ Thus always to tyrants ” ) , which also happens to be Virginia ’ s state motto .
Lincoln ’ s lifelong hunger for Shakespeare had been extraordinary , and the nation ’ s grief at his death was expressed in the official slogan of national bereavement , Shakespeare ’ s epitaph on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his faculties so meek , hath been So clear in his great office , that his virtues Will plead like angels , trumpet-tongued , against The deep damnation of his taking-off .
Shapiro ’ s message , which reverberates through some sparkling chapters on class , immigration and manifest destiny , is that such Shakespeare lines offered a collective catharsis – the story of an assassination refashioned as a national tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions – that allowed the US to defer , once again , its reckoning with the issue that had inspired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as he put it , “ was formed for the white not the black man ” .
History , says Marx , repeats itself as tragedy then farce .
After Trump ’ s inauguration in 2017 , it was not long before New York ’ s Public Theater launched its Shakespeare-in-the-Park season with a provocative and highly transgressive production of Julius Caesar , giving the Roman dictator a white shirt , long red tie , and MAGA baseball cap .
Equally vivid was the tyrant ’ s bloody assassination .
New Yorkers grew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deepest wish .
The media went mad .
Fox News denounced the play , at first not recognising that it was a 400-year-old classic by a well-known Elizabethan playwright .
And Shapiro was inspired to write this book .
Not all of it is political , however .
Shapiro ’ s chapter on same-sex marriage is cleverly framed around a fascinating description of the making of Shakespeare in Love .
The professor ’ s final words on the contemporary American disruption offers some bleak cultural pessimism .
Having noted that 91 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plays , he declares that , nonetheless , “ his future seems as precarious as it has ever been .
When one side no longer sees value in staging his plays , only a threat , things can unravel quickly.
” We ’ ve been here before .
In 1642 , after the outbreak of the civil war , parliament decided that “ public stage-plays shall cease ” .
The Globe and all London ’ s playhouses were closed , then demolished .
More than 100 years would pass before Shakespeare began to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ literature is a long game .
• Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro is published by Faber ( £20 ) .
To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com .
Free UK p & p over £15

The readiness is all. Ever since president John Adams rewrote a passage from Henry V to demonstrate how a foreign power might conspire to place a more pliable president in the White House, Shakespeare’s plays have been at the heart of America’s debate about itself.
Today, with the United States more disrupted than ever, and with a make-or-break election looming, Prof Shapiro, the author of 1599: A Year in the life of William Shakespeare, is once again right on the money. He has plunged fearlessly into the enthralling afterlife of the Complete Works to examine the strange and potent dialogue between Shakespeare’s 400-year-old theatre and the drama of contemporary American politics.
We think of Shakespeare as our national poet, but the truth is that, in the words of Kiss Me, Kate, “the bard of Stratford-on-Avon” has for centuries played a pivotal role in the cultural and political life of the US – more pivotal, in fact, than we might realise.
Shakespeare in a Divided America, Shapiro’s timely and resonant new study of this phenomenon, describes how all kinds of Americans – assassins, soldiers, hustlers, demagogues and even a few literati – have turned to Shakespeare “to give voice to what could not readily or otherwise be said”.
It’s a typically American paradox that a nation that staked everything to throw off the hateful yoke of British imperial power should, within a generation of 1776, turn to an Elizabethan English playwright for wisdom and consolation, a secure narrative-line amid the confusion of nation-building.
Shapiro concedes that this is a mystery, possibly connected to the propinquity of Shakespeare’s prose to the colonists’ founding obsession, the Bible. Whatever the explanation, by the mid-19th century, Shakespeare’s plays had become braided into American popular consciousness, in some senses more so than in Britain.
Othello was taken up as a commentary on the intractable race question, widely performed in the antebellum South
Thus it was that Othello was taken up as a commentary on the intractable race question, widely performed in the antebellum south, and even staged by servicemen on garrison duty in the newly annexed state of Texas in 1845. On that occasion, the part of Desdemona was played by a young and gender-fluid Ulysses S Grant, eventually the 18th president of the union.
It was, however, president Abraham Lincoln whose fate would signal the apex of the dialogue between Shakespeare and the states’ divisions. Both Lincoln and his nemesis, John Wilkes Booth, were obsessed with Shakespeare. For the president, it was all about Macbeth; for his assassin, Julius Caesar. In perhaps the finest chapter of this prescient book, Shapiro explores the enthralling backstory to 14 April 1865. This was the night at Ford’s theatre in Washington DC, during a performance of a farce, Our American Cousin, on which the actor Booth fired the fatal shot and fled across the stage quoting Brutus, “Sic semper tyrannis” (“Thus always to tyrants”), which also happens to be Virginia’s state motto.
Lincoln’s lifelong hunger for Shakespeare had been extraordinary, and the nation’s grief at his death was expressed in the official slogan of national bereavement, Shakespeare’s epitaph on the murdered Duncan, who:
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off.
Shapiro’s message, which reverberates through some sparkling chapters on class, immigration and manifest destiny, is that such Shakespeare lines offered a collective catharsis – the story of an assassination refashioned as a national tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions – that allowed the US to defer, once again, its reckoning with the issue that had inspired Booth: the conviction that America, as he put it, “was formed for the white not the black man”.
History, says Marx, repeats itself as tragedy then farce. After Trump’s inauguration in 2017, it was not long before New York’s Public Theater launched its Shakespeare-in-the-Park season with a provocative and highly transgressive production of Julius Caesar, giving the Roman dictator a white shirt, long red tie, and MAGA baseball cap. Equally vivid was the tyrant’s bloody assassination. New Yorkers grew agog at the nightly enactment of their deepest wish. The media went mad. Fox News denounced the play, at first not recognising that it was a 400-year-old classic by a well-known Elizabethan playwright. And Shapiro was inspired to write this book.
Not all of it is political, however. Shapiro’s chapter on same-sex marriage is cleverly framed around a fascinating description of the making of Shakespeare in Love.
The professor’s final words on the contemporary American disruption offers some bleak cultural pessimism. Having noted that 91% of US high schools teach Shakespeare’s plays, he declares that, nonetheless, “his future seems as precarious as it has ever been. When one side no longer sees value in staging his plays, only a threat, things can unravel quickly.”
We’ve been here before. In 1642, after the outbreak of the civil war, parliament decided that “public stage-plays shall cease”. The Globe and all London’s playhouses were closed, then demolished. More than 100 years would pass before Shakespeare began to attract his lasting American audience. Great literature is a long game.


theguardian--2020-03-16--Five key takeaways from Sanders and Biden's first one-to-one debate

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders offered different visions for how to combat the crisis .
After the pair bumped elbows to greet each other , Biden described the coronavirus crisis as an “ all hands on deck ” situation that required immediate steps to protect vulnerable communities , while Sanders said the pandemic underscored the need for an overhaul of the US healthcare system to protect all Americans .
The contrast reflected one of the key questions in the primary race : should the country focus on immediate , short-term results or broad , structural change ?
Biden pledged to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s pledge could help to reassure Democrats who are disappointed that the party ’ s historically diverse field has narrowed down to two white men in their late seventies .
Sanders would not explicitly commit to selecting a woman running mate but said “ In all likelihood , I will.
” It would mark the first time in more than 35 years that a woman ran for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination .
Biden did stumble at times , but considering his significant delegate lead , Sanders needed his opponent to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chance at turning the tide of the race .
Biden managed to avoid that catastrophe .
The debate was surprisingly combative considering the current crisis Many commentators had predicted the night would be relatively tame as the candidates focused on the health crisis gripping the country .
However , Sanders went after Biden for his refusal to disavow Super Pacs and his past comments on social security , and Biden returned the favor by criticizing Sanders for his record on gun control and his recent praise of Fidel Castro .
Tonight made the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The debate was conducted without a live audience or a media spinroom because of coronavirus , and a number of commentators said it was a welcome change from past debates , making proceedings appear less of a spectacle .
It ’ s possible the practice could be replicated with general election debates .

Coronavirus dominated the debate
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders offered different visions for how to combat the crisis. After the pair bumped elbows to greet each other, Biden described the coronavirus crisis as an “all hands on deck” situation that required immediate steps to protect vulnerable communities, while Sanders said the pandemic underscored the need for an overhaul of the US healthcare system to protect all Americans. The contrast reflected one of the key questions in the primary race: should the country focus on immediate, short-term results or broad, structural change?
Biden pledged to choose a woman as his running mate
Biden’s pledge could help to reassure Democrats who are disappointed that the party’s historically diverse field has narrowed down to two white men in their late 70s. Sanders would not explicitly commit to selecting a woman running mate but said: “In all likelihood, I will.” It would mark the first time in more than 35 years that a woman ran for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination.
Biden avoided a complete debacle
Biden did stumble at times, but considering his significant delegate lead, Sanders needed his opponent to have a terrible night if he wanted any chance at turning the tide of the race. Biden managed to avoid that catastrophe.
The debate was surprisingly combative considering the current crisis
Many commentators had predicted the night would be relatively tame as the candidates focused on the health crisis gripping the country. However, Sanders went after Biden for his refusal to disavow Super Pacs and his past comments on social security, and Biden returned the favor by criticizing Sanders for his record on gun control and his recent praise of Fidel Castro.
Tonight made the case for holding debates without live audiences
The debate was conducted without a live audience or a media spin room because of coronavirus, and a number of commentators said it was a welcome change from past debates, making proceedings appear less of a spectacle. It’s possible the practice could be replicated with general election debates.


theguardian--2020-03-16--Biden and Sanders confront coronavirus crisis in first one-on-one debate

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders auditioned in real time for the job of president on Sunday night during the first one-on-one debate of the Democratic primary , as the world confronts the growing threat of the coronavirus pandemic and American public health officials warned the worst is yet to come .
The fast-escalating national emergency dominated the prime-time encounter between two candidates with starkly different visions for the country .
Yet Biden and Sanders vigorously agreed on the need for a much more aggressive government response to the virus , which had already resulted in 3,244 confirmed cases in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as of Sunday night .
“ This is bigger than any one of us , ” Biden said .
“ This calls for a national rallying for one another.
” Biden , who has presented himself as a pragmatic standard-bearer , compared the battle against the disease to a war , calling for a whole-of-government strategy that includes deploying the the military and enacting a “ multi-multi-billion-dollar program ” to address the public health and economic crises .
Sanders , a democratic socialist , urged sweeping economic reforms and the creation of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic had revealed “ the dysfunctionality ” of the country ’ s patchwork healthcare system , arguing that the adoption of a Medicare for All-style system like the one he has championed would help mitigate the toll of future pandemics .
“ One of the reasons that we are unprepared , and have been unprepared , is we don ’ t have a system , ” Sanders said .
“ We ’ ve got thousands of private insurance plans .
That is not a system that is prepared to provide healthcare to all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the epidemic.
” But Biden said a single-payer healthcare system was not the solution , pointing to Italy , where the outbreak has overwhelmed the country ’ s national health services .
“ People are looking for results , not a revolution , ” Biden said .
Both candidates were sharply critical of Donald Trump ’ s ability to lead the nation through a time of crisis .
“ Well , the first thing we have got to do , whether or not I ’ m president , is to shut this president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ He ’ s undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American people.
” After the debate , which Trump deemed “ VERY boring ” , his campaign operation accused the candidates of “ plagiarizing ” the president ’ s response to coronavirus , which it described as “ a model for all future pandemics ” .
At a press conference from the White House on Sunday afternoon , Trump urged Americans to “ relax ” and refrain from hoarding food .
But moments later , Anthony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , warned : “ The worst is , yes , ahead for us.
” The two-hour debate , hosted by CNN and Univision , took place as viewers across the nation retreated into their homes amid disruptive , even draconian , efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus .
Hours earlier , New York City had ordered public schools closed ; California had asked bars to shutter , and the Federal Reserve announced it was slashing interest rates to near zero .
As the debate opened , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advisory on its website recommending that events of 50 people or more be cancelled or postponed for the next eight weeks throughout the United States .
In a sign of the times , the candidates , both septuagenarians at greater risk , bumped elbows instead of shaking hands when they stepped on stage , where their podiums were arranged noticeably far apart in accordance with guidelines for social distancing .
The debate itself was relocated from a convention center in Phoenix to a television studio in Washington to limit unnecessary travel and exposure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press filing center or spin room .
And ahead of the event , the Univision anchor Jorge Ramos , a moderator who may have been exposed to the virus , bowed out as a precautionary measure .
The race has changed dramatically since the Democrats ’ last debate , before the South Carolina primary three weeks ago , when Sanders was winning early contests as Biden ’ s campaign verged on collapse .
In a sharp reversal of fortunes , Biden stepped on to the debate stage on Sunday night as the frontrunner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his candidacy , just days ahead of four more primary votes .
After rebounding in remarkable fashion , Biden now leads Sanders by roughly 150 delegates following a second consecutive week of commanding primary victories .
A strong showing on Tuesday – when Illinois , Ohio , Arizona and Florida will go to the polls to vote for their preferred candidates – could all but guarantee Biden ’ s ascent to the nomination to face Trump in the November election .
Throughout the evening , Biden kept his sights set on the general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders on a number of policy issues , including social security , gun control , climate change , abortion rights and immigration .
At one point , Biden committed to selecting a woman to be his running mate if he becomes the Democratic nominee and re-committed to nominating a black woman to the supreme court if elected president .
Sanders said he would also choose a woman “ in all likelihood ” as his pick for vice-president , but said his priority is finding a lieutenant who supports his progressive values .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about nominating a woman .
It ’ s about making sure that we have a progressive woman , ” Sanders said , adding wryly : “ There are progressive women out there.
” Ahead of the debate , Biden extended an olive branch to the party ’ s left wing , adopting a bankruptcy reform plan introduced by his former rival Elizabeth Warren and expanding his higher education platform to move closer to Sanders ’ proposal to eliminate college tuition at all two- and four-year public colleges for students regardless of income .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan did not go far enough .
The candidates sought to strike a delicate balance between debating the issues and addressing the urgent health crisis .
Sanders confronted Biden over his positions on healthcare and climate change , among other issues .
In one tense exchange , Sanders said Biden ’ s climate plan fell short .
“ All well and good , but not nearly enough , ” the Vermont senator said , later accusing Biden of “ missing the point ” .
Sanders is a proponent of the Green New Deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggressive action to combat climate change .
The pandemic has reshaped the way the candidates campaign for the nomination , forcing Biden and Sanders to cancel rallies , suspend field operations and hold virtual campaign events .
The candidates said they were taking extra precautions to protect themselves from becoming infected , emphasizing that they were in good health and had not displayed any of the underlying symptoms .
“ I ’ m not shaking hands , ” Sanders said , noting that he held a “ fireside chat ” from his home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rally .
Biden added : “ I wash my hands God knows how many times a day .
”

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders auditioned in real time for the job of president on Sunday night during the first one-on-one debate of the Democratic primary, as the world confronts the growing threat of the coronavirus pandemic and American public health officials warned the worst is yet to come.
The fast-escalating national emergency dominated the prime-time encounter between two candidates with starkly different visions for the country. Yet Biden and Sanders vigorously agreed on the need for a much more aggressive government response to the virus, which had already resulted in 3,244 confirmed cases in the US, with 62 reported deaths, as of Sunday night.
“This is bigger than any one of us,” Biden said. “This calls for a national rallying for one another.”
Biden, who has presented himself as a pragmatic standard-bearer, compared the battle against the disease to a war, calling for a whole-of-government strategy that includes deploying the the military and enacting a “multi-multi-billion-dollar program” to address the public health and economic crises.
Sanders, a democratic socialist, urged sweeping economic reforms and the creation of a single-payer healthcare system. He said the pandemic had revealed “the dysfunctionality” of the country’s patchwork healthcare system, arguing that the adoption of a Medicare for All-style system like the one he has championed would help mitigate the toll of future pandemics.
“One of the reasons that we are unprepared, and have been unprepared, is we don’t have a system,” Sanders said. “We’ve got thousands of private insurance plans. That is not a system that is prepared to provide healthcare to all people in a good year, without the epidemic.”
But Biden said a single-payer healthcare system was not the solution, pointing to Italy, where the outbreak has overwhelmed the country’s national health services.
“People are looking for results, not a revolution,” Biden said.
03:19 Joe Biden: six key policies from his 2020 presidential campaign – video report
Where there was consensus was in their denunciation of Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and his ability to lead the nation through a time of crisis.
“Well, the first thing we have got to do, whether or not I’m president, is to shut this president up right now,” Sanders said. “He’s undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American people.”
After the debate, which Trump deemed “VERY boring”, his campaign operation accused the candidates of “plagiarizing” the president’s response to coronavirus, which it described as “a model for all future pandemics”.
At a press conference from the White House on Sunday afternoon, Trump urged Americans to “relax” and refrain from hoarding food. But moments later, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned: “The worst is, yes, ahead for us.”
The two-hour debate, hosted by CNN and Univision, took place as viewers across the nation retreated into their homes amid disruptive, even draconian, efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. Hours earlier, New York City had ordered public schools closed; California had asked bars to shutter, and the Federal Reserve announced it was slashing interest rates to near zero.
As the debate opened, the US Centers for Disease Control published an advisory on its website recommending that events of 50 people or more be cancelled or postponed for the next eight weeks throughout the United States.
In a sign of the times, the candidates, both septuagenarians at greater risk, bumped elbows instead of shaking hands when they stepped on stage, where their podiums were arranged noticeably far apart in accordance with guidelines for social distancing.
The candidates stood far apart at the debate. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The debate itself was relocated from a convention center in Phoenix to a television studio in Washington to limit unnecessary travel and exposure. There was no live audience, press filing center or spin room. And ahead of the event, the Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, a moderator who may have been exposed to the virus, bowed out as a precautionary measure.
The race has changed dramatically since the Democrats’ last debate, before the South Carolina primary three weeks ago, when Sanders was winning early contests as Biden’s campaign verged on collapse. In a sharp reversal of fortunes, Biden stepped on to the debate stage on Sunday night as the frontrunner while Sanders fought for the future of his candidacy, just days ahead of four more primary votes.
After rebounding in remarkable fashion, Biden now leads Sanders by roughly 150 delegates following a second consecutive week of commanding primary victories. A strong showing on Tuesday – when Illinois, Ohio, Arizona and Florida will go to the polls to vote for their preferred candidates – could all but guarantee Biden’s ascent to the nomination to face Trump in the November election.
Throughout the evening, Biden kept his sights set on the general election, even as he clashed with Sanders on a number of policy issues, including social security, gun control, climate change, abortion rights and immigration.
At one point, Biden committed to selecting a woman to be his running mate if he becomes the Democratic nominee and re-committed to nominating a black woman to the supreme court if elected president. Sanders said he would also choose a woman “in all likelihood” as his pick for vice-president, but said his priority is finding a lieutenant who supports his progressive values.
“For me it’s not just about nominating a woman. It’s about making sure that we have a progressive woman,” Sanders said, adding wryly: “There are progressive women out there.”
02:36 Bernie Sanders: six key policies from his 2020 presidential campaign – video report
Ahead of the debate, Biden extended an olive branch to the party’s left wing, adopting a bankruptcy reform plan introduced by his former rival Elizabeth Warren and expanding his higher education platform to move closer to Sanders’ proposal to eliminate college tuition at all two- and four-year public colleges for students regardless of income. In a statement, Sanders said the plan did not go far enough.
The candidates sought to strike a delicate balance between debating the issues and addressing the urgent health crisis. Sanders confronted Biden over his positions on healthcare and climate change, among other issues. In one tense exchange, Sanders said Biden’s climate plan fell short.
“All well and good, but not nearly enough,” the Vermont senator said, later accusing Biden of “missing the point”. Sanders is a proponent of the Green New Deal, a sweeping proposal that calls for aggressive action to combat climate change.
The pandemic has reshaped the way the candidates campaign for the nomination, forcing Biden and Sanders to cancel rallies, suspend field operations and hold virtual campaign events. The candidates said they were taking extra precautions to protect themselves from becoming infected, emphasizing that they were in good health and had not displayed any of the known symptoms.
“I’m not shaking hands,” Sanders said, noting that he held a “fireside chat” from his home in Burlington on Sunday instead of a rally.
Biden added: “I wash my hands God knows how many times a day.”