truthout--2020-12-16--Jesus Was a Victim of Empire. Acknowledging This Should Transform Christianity.

After the COVID-19 pandemic started sweeping through Kenya , my home country , the president , Uhuru Kenyatta , called on all of us who live here to offer up prayers for God ’ s intervention , direction and favor amid the pandemic .
He made this call just a few weeks after a major investigative journalism exposé had revealed alleged misuse of millions of dollars by Kenyan government officials , dollars meant for buying COVID-19 medical supplies , exposing health workers to infection and death .
Later that week , in an appearance on a TV morning talk show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s suggestion by saying I wouldn ’ t be praying for the leaders — as is our default interpretation of what a national day of prayer calls for — but instead I would be praying that we , the Kenyan people , would survive the greed , mendacity , callousness and cruelty of our political elite .
I said that I hoped we would realize that our future and destiny as Kenyans didn ’ t have to be tied to the callous decisions and unconscionable limitations that the political elite place on us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , my Twitter timeline was ablaze , with many people lauding me for my bravery in “ speaking the truth.
” Among the likes and retweets was the sentiment that it was actually radical to suggest that a Christian response to government corruption and impunity would be to reject performances of piety , and imagine a world where we , the people , transcended the strictures of the nation state and its attendant logics .
The fact that religiosity ( in my context , Christian religiosity ) is often used as a cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has even a cursory understanding of history .
Religious officials have long been available to be co-opted to serve as moral chaplains to those in power , “ resulting in turning the moral witness of the church into a mere political gallery , ” in the words of theologian and historian Lamin Sanneh .
But there is another way to read the scriptures , and that is to seriously contend with the historical and material circumstances of Christianity ’ s central figure — Jesus of Nazareth — and against that backdrop , see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Gospels not as one that is easily coopted in the service of the nation-state but as one that inherently challenges state power and violence , and invites us to do the same .
For God and for Country ?
The Kenyan national anthem is a prayer , that begins : “ Oh God of all creation/ Bless this our land and nation/ Justice be our shield and defender.
” The preamble of Kenya ’ s constitution begins : “ We , the people of Kenya , acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not that the notion of separation of church and state is lacking in Kenya .
Rather , to be a good , patriotic citizen is presumed to mean a person who acknowledges God ’ s authority .
This idea is not as benign as it first appears .
Over the past decade or so , with the pushing of white American evangelicals , Kenya has followed the trend of many other countries by making its own National Prayer Breakfasts a regular feature on the political calendar .
As Kenya recorded its first coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first moves that the government made was to declare a National Day of Prayer .
But the same government is headed by a president and deputy president who were both indicted by the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) in relation to violence that broke out in the country in the wake of a disputed election in 2007 .
Neither of the two men were in the presidency then , and neither were they running for the highest office in that election , but they were both implicated in organizing the violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ICC , the improbable duo — Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto — teamed up and ran for the highest office in the land and won , in an election animated by hate speech and the stoking of ethnic tensions .
In their first term as president and deputy president , the two mobilized substantial government resources and state power to have their cases deferred , referred to an African court , or to stall , discredit and frustrate the ICC ’ s cases against them .
When both cases were dropped — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s — the ICC ’ s Office of the Prosecutor stated extensive witness tampering as the reason for the collapse in the cases .
As the cases were in preliminary hearing , a critical mass of witnesses withdrew cooperation and recanted earlier testimonies due to what prosecutors and human rights groups alleged were threats , intimidation and bribery .
Not only that , but nearly a dozen people connected to the international court proceedings against the Kenyan leaders were turning up dead , all while the two leaders and their allies crisscrossed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and asking Kenyans to pray for them that their cases would be dropped .
Once the two were in the clear , the president ’ s Twitter handle read : “ By the grace of God , justice has been done .
# AsanteKenya ( thank you Kenya ) .
” That Twitter handle has since been deleted .
I attended a girls ’ high school in Kenya that was founded by a coalition of Anglican , Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries .
It was the first high school for African girls in Kenya @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for high-profile positions in colonial and independent Kenya .
That we would be in leadership positions in the future was a given — in fact , we were already leaders among our peers , simply by virtue of being students there .
The intertwining of patriotism and religiosity was taken for granted in the school ’ s ethos and mission , a legacy of British colonialism where the brutal edicts of Empire were tempered by an appeal to the fostering of Christian love , devotion and obedience .
We wanted to grow up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being “ subject to governing authorities , ” as Paul in Romans 13 asserts .
It wasn ’ t until many years later that I began to question what this intertwining between what loving your country and loving Jesus actually means .
In 2017 , I was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University , and I spent a year in Cambridge , Massachusetts , reading , reflecting and being a part of that intellectual community .
I arrived to the U.S. less than a year after Donald Trump became president , and everywhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still in shock , grappling with that election ’ s result .
That year , Michael Brown ’ s mother , Lesley McSpadden , came to speak at Harvard ’ s Kennedy School of Government .
I was in the audience that rainy April afternoon , and I remember the tension in the room that day .
Hearing her speak about her baby boy , and the callousness and cruelty from the state she ’ d had to endure since her son ’ s killing , was more heartbreaking than I can describe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the killings of Alton Sterling , Philando Castile and Sandra Bland were still fresh .
It was at Cambridge that I first read Howard Thurman ’ s Jesus and the Disinherited , and began to ask myself what response my faith could give me when confronted with the reality that the state did not always act with benevolence toward its citizens .
State-sanctioned murder was the reality for Black people in the U.S. , and it was the reality for me back in Kenya , where the police have always acted with impunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces can always intimidate , bribe , harass , murder and “ disappear ” people — as happened with the ICC cases .
Until this point , I had not seriously wrestled with what my faith could give me in this moment .
In my younger years , I took it for granted that although Kenya ’ s political and economic system was flawed , I could still overcome it with hard work and good connections .
In the wake of that disputed election in 2007 , and the spiral of political dysfunction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Ruto became president ) , I could no longer say this with confidence .
By this time , I had also stopped calling myself a Christian , because in my mind , it meant aligning myself with people who wielded prayer rallies and public performances of piety as a shield to deflect calls for justice and accountability .
But in Howard Thurman I found a different reading of Jesus .
In my formative years , although I had read the Bible cover to cover and New Testament many times over , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the historical Jesus was , his material circumstances , his political realities , his social limitations .
Perhaps having always read the Gospels with the systematic theology and abstractions of St. Paul influencing my reading , I knew Christ the figure , but not Jesus the man .
Thurman introduced me to Jesus , a man who grew up in Palestine — Judea — in the first century , which was under Roman colonialism .
The Romans were ruthless and extractive .
Jesus grew up in Nazareth , a place of entrenched poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known as a place of revolt and unrest .
In Galilee , a certain man called Judas led a revolt and broke into a Roman armory in Sepphoris — a city next to Nazareth .
The rebels broke into the armory , intending to steal weapons to start a rebellion .
The revolt failed .
Historical texts say the Romans defeated Judas and his followers with the help of mercenary warriors from Arabia .
The city was burned to the ground , the rebels were captured , and 2,000 Jews crucified as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Jesus was not an abstract Christ .
He was a man who existed at a particular moment in historical time , grappling with real , material oppression .
It is impossible to think that the young Jesus was untouched by this central question of the day .
The question was not academic — as Thurman argued , it was the most crucial of questions .
In essence , Rome was the enemy ; Rome symbolized total frustration ; Rome was the great barrier to peace of mind .
And Rome was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for me was life and freedom , because for the first time in my life , I had some kind of blueprint for actually seeing and wrestling with the injustice , cruelty and pain of an unjust state and of unaccountable power , instead of thinking that if I kept my head down and worked hard it would all work out in the end .
My friend , J.L .
Legard , pushed this revelation even further for me when he argued a case for Christian anarchy .
In his abolitionist reading , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims to possess a monopoly of violence — itself is illegitimate and unnecessary for liberating the oppressed .
We should never assume that we must cooperate with the state or work within state structures in order to achieve freedom .
Legard ’ s reading of Jesus is that of an apocalyptic prophet who dares us to reject all forms of coercion and invites us to imagine liberation as a voluntary and cooperative effort that affirms the agency of all and rejects the domination and subordination of human beings .
“ The apocalyptic Christ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities can be trusted , because God entrusted God ’ s power in our very beings over which no state or person can rule without our consent , ” he writes .
We can read the scriptures in any number of ways , and for me , I have now found in the Gospels a template for imagining a world where the execution of Jesus by an unjust power elite , as a state-sanctioned lynching , tore apart the Temple curtain which kept ordinary people from the Holy of Holies where God ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with the breaking of this hierarchical barrier separating the masses from God , “ our bodies become the temple and empire of God , and thus the jurisdiction of God .
Therefore , no state can legitimately encroach or impose its power upon the sacred — the human being .
It is a merging of both flesh and spirit , which elevates the once downtrodden and oppressed into a position of power , not to coerce but to extend the voluntary divine community.
” I am amazed that I hadn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spiritual and political technology until I saw Jesus as a victim of empire — oppressed , marginalized and disinherited .
The neat intertwining of patriotism and religiosity is not possible when one takes the vantage point of the disinherited .
The message of the cross is that an unjust killing itself exposes the injustice of the power structure that sanctioned the killing .
But the other message of the cross is that unaccountable power never has the last word .
God could not allow Jesus to remain in the grave — Sunday morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be long , oppressive systems will one day fall in judgement , and “ the kingdoms of this world , will become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ , ” as the New Testament asserts .
Instead of using scripture as “ a way to baptize our bigotries and consecrate our callousness , ” as Jonathan L. Walton argues , I instead would like to invite other Christians to place this Jesus of Nazareth at the center of their faith and practice .
This Jesus was not available to provide spiritual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corruption .
This Jesus was not in the business of abetting oppression while preaching patriotism , quiet obedience , or simplistic appeals to law and order .
This Jesus did not even move to Rome to cozy up to the power structures of Empire and “ influence ” Caesar for good .
This Jesus was executed because his life ’ s work dared to speak of another kingdom and another way of being in the world , where God is on the side of the poor and oppressed and is fighting alongside them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wake of a global pandemic and a year of worldwide protests against racism , police brutality and state-sanctioned murder , imagining this kind of world has never been more urgent .

Part of the Series Religion's Role in the Struggle for Justice
After the COVID-19 pandemic started sweeping through Kenya, my home country, the president, Uhuru Kenyatta, called on all of us who live here to offer up prayers for God’s intervention, direction and favor amid the pandemic.
He made this call just a few weeks after a major investigative journalism exposé had revealed alleged misuse of millions of dollars by Kenyan government officials, dollars meant for buying COVID-19 medical supplies, exposing health workers to infection and death.
Later that week, in an appearance on a TV morning talk show, I responded to the president’s suggestion by saying I wouldn’t be praying for the leaders — as is our default interpretation of what a national day of prayer calls for — but instead I would be praying that we, the Kenyan people, would survive the greed, mendacity, callousness and cruelty of our political elite.
I said that I hoped we would realize that our future and destiny as Kenyans didn’t have to be tied to the callous decisions and unconscionable limitations that the political elite place on us for their own benefit.
Within hours, my Twitter timeline was ablaze, with many people lauding me for my bravery in “speaking the truth.” Among the likes and retweets was the sentiment that it was actually radical to suggest that a Christian response to government corruption and impunity would be to reject performances of piety, and imagine a world where we, the people, transcended the strictures of the nation state and its attendant logics.
The fact that religiosity (in my context, Christian religiosity) is often used as a cover for impunity is obvious for anyone who has even a cursory understanding of history. Religious officials have long been available to be co-opted to serve as moral chaplains to those in power, “resulting in turning the moral witness of the church into a mere political gallery,” in the words of theologian and historian Lamin Sanneh.
But there is another way to read the scriptures, and that is to seriously contend with the historical and material circumstances of Christianity’s central figure — Jesus of Nazareth — and against that backdrop, see Jesus’s message as recorded in the Gospels not as one that is easily coopted in the service of the nation-state but as one that inherently challenges state power and violence, and invites us to do the same.
For God and for Country?
The Kenyan national anthem is a prayer, that begins: “Oh God of all creation/ Bless this our land and nation/ Justice be our shield and defender.” The preamble of Kenya’s constitution begins: “We, the people of Kenya, acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation…”
Jesus’s message as recorded in the Gospels inherently challenges state power and violence, and invites us to do the same.
It is not that the notion of separation of church and state is lacking in Kenya. Rather, to be a good, patriotic citizen is presumed to mean a person who acknowledges God’s authority.
This idea is not as benign as it first appears. Over the past decade or so, with the pushing of white American evangelicals, Kenya has followed the trend of many other countries by making its own National Prayer Breakfasts a regular feature on the political calendar. As Kenya recorded its first coronavirus cases in March 2020, one of the first moves that the government made was to declare a National Day of Prayer.
But the same government is headed by a president and deputy president who were both indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to violence that broke out in the country in the wake of a disputed election in 2007. Neither of the two men were in the presidency then, and neither were they running for the highest office in that election, but they were both implicated in organizing the violence on opposing sides. Once indicted by the ICC, the improbable duo — Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto — teamed up and ran for the highest office in the land and won, in an election animated by hate speech and the stoking of ethnic tensions.
In their first term as president and deputy president, the two mobilized substantial government resources and state power to have their cases deferred, referred to an African court, or to stall, discredit and frustrate the ICC’s cases against them.
When both cases were dropped — Kenyatta’s first, then Ruto’s — the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor stated extensive witness tampering as the reason for the collapse in the cases. As the cases were in preliminary hearing, a critical mass of witnesses withdrew cooperation and recanted earlier testimonies due to what prosecutors and human rights groups alleged were threats, intimidation and bribery. Not only that, but nearly a dozen people connected to the international court proceedings against the Kenyan leaders were turning up dead, all while the two leaders and their allies crisscrossed the country holding “prayer rallies” and asking Kenyans to pray for them that their cases would be dropped.
Once the two were in the clear, the president’s Twitter handle read:
“By the grace of God, justice has been done. #AsanteKenya (thank you Kenya).” That Twitter handle has since been deleted.
Reimagining the Citizen-Believer
I attended a girls’ high school in Kenya that was founded by a coalition of Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries. It was the first high school for African girls in Kenya, an elite institution that trained students for high-profile positions in colonial and independent Kenya. That we would be in leadership positions in the future was a given — in fact, we were already leaders among our peers, simply by virtue of being students there. The intertwining of patriotism and religiosity was taken for granted in the school’s ethos and mission, a legacy of British colonialism where the brutal edicts of Empire were tempered by an appeal to the fostering of Christian love, devotion and obedience. We wanted to grow up to be good Kenyans and this meant being “subject to governing authorities,” as Paul in Romans 13 asserts.
I saw Jesus as a victim of empire — oppressed, marginalized and disinherited.
It wasn’t until many years later that I began to question what this intertwining between what loving your country and loving Jesus actually means. In 2017, I was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University, and I spent a year in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reading, reflecting and being a part of that intellectual community. I arrived to the U.S. less than a year after Donald Trump became president, and everywhere I looked in Cambridge, people were still in shock, grappling with that election’s result.
That year, Michael Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, came to speak at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. I was in the audience that rainy April afternoon, and I remember the tension in the room that day. Hearing her speak about her baby boy, and the callousness and cruelty from the state she’d had to endure since her son’s killing, was more heartbreaking than I can describe. To add to it all, the killings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and Sandra Bland were still fresh.
It was at Cambridge that I first read Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited, and began to ask myself what response my faith could give me when confronted with the reality that the state did not always act with benevolence toward its citizens. State-sanctioned murder was the reality for Black people in the U.S., and it was the reality for me back in Kenya, where the police have always acted with impunity and without accountability, and where political forces can always intimidate, bribe, harass, murder and “disappear” people — as happened with the ICC cases.
Until this point, I had not seriously wrestled with what my faith could give me in this moment. In my younger years, I took it for granted that although Kenya’s political and economic system was flawed, I could still overcome it with hard work and good connections. In the wake of that disputed election in 2007, and the spiral of political dysfunction that followed (and especially after Uhuru and Ruto became president), I could no longer say this with confidence. By this time, I had also stopped calling myself a Christian, because in my mind, it meant aligning myself with people who wielded prayer rallies and public performances of piety as a shield to deflect calls for justice and accountability.
But in Howard Thurman I found a different reading of Jesus. In my formative years, although I had read the Bible cover to cover and New Testament many times over, I had never actually spent time contemplating who the historical Jesus was, his material circumstances, his political realities, his social limitations. Perhaps having always read the Gospels with the systematic theology and abstractions of St. Paul influencing my reading, I knew Christ the figure, but not Jesus the man.
Thurman introduced me to Jesus, a man who grew up in Palestine — Judea — in the first century, which was under Roman colonialism. The Romans were ruthless and extractive. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a place of entrenched poverty in the ancient world; Nazareth was known as a place of revolt and unrest. In Galilee, a certain man called Judas led a revolt and broke into a Roman armory in Sepphoris — a city next to Nazareth. The rebels broke into the armory, intending to steal weapons to start a rebellion. The revolt failed. Historical texts say the Romans defeated Judas and his followers with the help of mercenary warriors from Arabia. The city was burned to the ground, the rebels were captured, and 2,000 Jews crucified as a public warning against such revolts.
Thurman’s Jesus was not an abstract Christ. He was a man who existed at a particular moment in historical time, grappling with real, material oppression. It is impossible to think that the young Jesus was untouched by this central question of the day. The question was not academic — as Thurman argued, it was the most crucial of questions. In essence, Rome was the enemy; Rome symbolized total frustration; Rome was the great barrier to peace of mind. And Rome was everywhere.
Howard Thurman writes:
No Jewish person of the period could deal with the question of his practical life, his vocation, his place in society, until first he had settled deep within himself this critical issue…. This is the position of the disinherited in every age. This is the great question of today. What must be the attitude toward the rulers, the controllers of political, social, and economic life?
This reading of the Gospel for me was life and freedom, because for the first time in my life, I had some kind of blueprint for actually seeing and wrestling with the injustice, cruelty and pain of an unjust state and of unaccountable power, instead of thinking that if I kept my head down and worked hard it would all work out in the end.
Jesus was not in the business of abetting oppression while preaching patriotism, quiet obedience, or simplistic appeals to law and order.
My friend, J.L. Legard, pushed this revelation even further for me when he argued a case for Christian anarchy. In his abolitionist reading, the nation-state — as an entity that claims to possess a monopoly of violence — itself is illegitimate and unnecessary for liberating the oppressed. We should never assume that we must cooperate with the state or work within state structures in order to achieve freedom. Legard’s reading of Jesus is that of an apocalyptic prophet who dares us to reject all forms of coercion and invites us to imagine liberation as a voluntary and cooperative effort that affirms the agency of all and rejects the domination and subordination of human beings.
“The apocalyptic Christ allows us to imagine that individuals and communities can be trusted, because God entrusted God’s power in our very beings over which no state or person can rule without our consent,” he writes.
We can read the scriptures in any number of ways, and for me, I have now found in the Gospels a template for imagining a world where the execution of Jesus by an unjust power elite, as a state-sanctioned lynching, tore apart the Temple curtain which kept ordinary people from the Holy of Holies where God’s presence resided. As Legard argues, with the breaking of this hierarchical barrier separating the masses from God, “our bodies become the temple and empire of God, and thus the jurisdiction of God. Therefore, no state can legitimately encroach or impose its power upon the sacred — the human being. It is a merging of both flesh and spirit, which elevates the once downtrodden and oppressed into a position of power, not to coerce but to extend the voluntary divine community.”
I am amazed that I hadn’t really seen the Gospels as a disruptive spiritual and political technology until I saw Jesus as a victim of empire — oppressed, marginalized and disinherited. The neat intertwining of patriotism and religiosity is not possible when one takes the vantage point of the disinherited.
The message of the cross is that an unjust killing itself exposes the injustice of the power structure that sanctioned the killing. But the other message of the cross is that unaccountable power never has the last word. God could not allow Jesus to remain in the grave — Sunday morning tells me that even though the night may be long, oppressive systems will one day fall in judgement, and “the kingdoms of this world, will become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ,” as the New Testament asserts.
Instead of using scripture as “a way to baptize our bigotries and consecrate our callousness,” as Jonathan L. Walton argues, I instead would like to invite other Christians to place this Jesus of Nazareth at the center of their faith and practice.
This Jesus was not available to provide spiritual cover for state power, impunity and corruption. This Jesus was not in the business of abetting oppression while preaching patriotism, quiet obedience, or simplistic appeals to law and order. This Jesus did not even move to Rome to cozy up to the power structures of Empire and “influence” Caesar for good. This Jesus was executed because his life’s work dared to speak of another kingdom and another way of being in the world, where God is on the side of the poor and oppressed and is fighting alongside them for their full humanity.
In the wake of a global pandemic and a year of worldwide protests against racism, police brutality and state-sanctioned murder, imagining this kind of world has never been more urgent.
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truthout--2020-12-16--Don’t Fawn Over Biden. Fight Neoliberalism.

It ’ s easy to forget in the fog of Trumpism that mass privatization , the dismantling of this country ’ s social safety net , escalating corporate welfare and the mass expansion of prisons are all bipartisan projects .
Kelly Hayes talks about the neoliberal policies we can expect from the Biden administration and how we can fight them .
Note : This a rush transcript and has been lightly edited for clarity .
Copy may not be in its final form .
Kelly Hayes : We ’ re back after a two-week break and a lot has happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden officially won the Electoral College vote on Monday , doses of the Pfizer vaccine are being administered to health care workers , and there has been a frenzy of controversy about Biden ’ s cabinet picks .
The centrist position on Biden ’ s cabinet has been that because Trump was a fascist nightmare , we should completely submit to the whims of the new administration — even though Trump ’ s disastrous actions mean we have more at stake than ever .
We are experiencing an era of collapse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The question is , who decides what that reorganization looks like , and who benefits ?
Under Trumpism , we were faced with the threat of total domination .
Our ability to affect policy was being seized by force .
Under Biden , we are expected to surrender our political will to the establishment out of sheer gratitude .
Now that the Electoral College has affirmed that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States , people are counting the days until we escape from Trump .
And while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be free of that man , I also understand what awaits us .
As we have seen under presidents like Clinton and Obama , neoliberalism consolidates resources through privatization , and touts “ free market ” solutions to social and economic problems .
Impoverished people are ground under to ensure the maintenance of profit .
Liberal ideas and concerns are touted while government resources that could address those concerns are eliminated , in favor of private contracts .
As Tyler Walicek wrote in Truthout this week : Neoliberals preach about the free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Globalists : The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism , “ free ” is a poor descriptor in this case , because neoliberalism actually seeks to “ encase ” economic structures and mechanisms , to make them dominant and nonnegotiable .
These objectives create a damning bipartisan overlap between neoliberalism and some of the most odious financial objectives of the right-wing .
So we know that both parties serve the rich and have wrought horrible violence through acts of war , austerity , and the prison industrial complex on many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have taken the position that we should simply enjoy the relief of the transition , and wait until our disenchantment catches up with us .
This is a dangerous perspective because we are living in catastrophic times .
COVID-19 is now killing one person in the United States per minute and the death toll has topped 300,000 .
Next year , 30 to 40 million people will be vulnerable to eviction .
In a normal year , about 3.6 million eviction cases are filed .
We have so much at stake , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including the Obama administration , tells us that we are going to have to fight for meaningful relief .
I voted for Biden because I believe we have more of a fighting chance under neoliberalism than we did under fascism , but we are no longer faced with a choice between fascism and neoliberalism .
The whole , “ if you criticize Biden you are helping Trump ” bit has been disingenuous for weeks , but it officially died on Monday .
Some may say it ’ s not over until Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really believes that criticizing Biden now could help Trump stay in the White House anymore than they ’ ve believed it these last few weeks .
Those arguments are about silencing Biden ’ s critics , and they will not go away .
Next we will hear that it ’ s too soon in his presidency to complain .
Then , we will be told that we are jeopardizing the midterms with critique , and on and on .
As we have seen in the past , there will never be an acceptable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ hold Biden accountable.
” Until now , we have been scolded and told that we are helping Trump any time we point out Biden ’ s terrible and alarming record — or any time we criticize how weak and useless specific initiatives sound .
On COVID-19 , Biden recently announced that in his first 100 days , everyone would be wearing masks , children would be back in schools and 100 million vaccinations would be distributed .
Those vaccines had already been ordered under the Trump administration , Trump himself has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and masks are already universally recommended .
But those of us who complained that Biden , who could take comprehensive action to stop the spread , is offering us so little , were scolded yet again .
Members of the establishment will continue to portray anything but total submission as ingratitude .
They will hold Biden up as a savior worthy of exaltation .
They will continue to depict all dissent as betrayal , and to demand thank yous from the very people who will suffer under Biden ’ s austerity .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trumpism .
Voters did that .
Many of us even showed up at the polls in-person , risking our lives to cast a ballot against Trump , despite loathing Biden .
To declare we must surrender our political will now , or simply make polite , easy-to-ignore demands , of people who have publicly emphasized that they will ignore us , is just another brand of domination .
But that is the governance we can expect under Biden .
Fans of the establishment , and people who are simply swept up in relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cabinet appointments as pro-business .
They vaguely dismiss concerns about the military industrial complex , and in the case of Rahm Emanuel , the cover-up of an anti-Black police murder .
While it appears outcry may have nixed an Emanuel appointment — affirming the power of leftist dissent — the fact that his appointment was ever on the table underlines what we should expect from this administration .
Some Biden supporters have claimed Emanuel was never really being considered , and that stories about him potentially being appointed were leaked by Emanuel ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence to support that claim , but it is demonstrative of the climate we are in : people will twist themselves in knots , or ignore whatever they have to , in order to avoid criticizing Joe Biden .
Many people , however , are quite accustomed to finding fault with Rahm Emanuel , who closed 50 public schools in Chicago and shuttered half of our city ’ s publicly funded mental health clinics .
The practice of “ disappearing arrestees ” into the Chicago Police Department ’ s infamous Homan Square facility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role in the coverup of Laquan McDonald ’ s murder at the hands of Chicago police was revealed , there were daily protests calling for Emanuel ’ s resignation .
And speaking of protesters , Emanuel actually pioneered the use of drones to surveil protesters in Chicago .
Chicago teachers were also forced to launch a historic strike under Emanuel to beat back his austerity agenda .
This man was Obama ’ s chief of staff .
His character is the character of neoliberalism , and that is all that we can realistically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slogan that you “ never want a serious crisis to go to waste , ” will be the tone of the new administration .
The fact that Emanuel was even considered as an appointee should have those words ringing in everyone ’ s ears .
“ You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.
” But if , as appears to be the case , Emanuel will not sit on Biden ’ s cabinet , Biden ’ s victory still managed to elevate Rahm Emanuel ’ s brother , Ezekiel Emanuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disregard for other human beings .
Ezekiel Emanuel , who has written publicly that 75 is “ a good age to stop ” trying to prolong people ’ s lives , is on Biden ’ s coronavirus task force .
The vast majority of people dying of COVID-19 in the United States — about 70 percent — are over 70 .
To save those people , Biden has brought in a doctor who thinks their lives are not worth saving .
This is what you can expect from neoliberalism , every step of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expect from this administration on the basis of Biden ’ s history .
We know what to expect on the basis of who he is appointing , and who he has considered .
We also know what to expect because there are existing neoliberal playbooks out there — and I mean literally , they have playbooks , like the Broad Foundation ’ s “ School Closure Guidebook.
” I watched in my own city as those techniques were exercised and Rahm Emanuel gutted our schools .
Neoliberal politicians have best practices for turning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over crumbs .
In Chicago , during the school closures , parents were pitted against each other , with hearings that invited people to rally around their own schools , siloing defensive efforts .
It ’ s easy to forget in the fog of Trumpism that mass privatization , the dismantling of this country ’ s social safety net , escalating corporate welfare and the mass expansion of prisons are all bipartisan projects .
People like Joe Biden have perpetrated that violence alongside Republicans for decades .
They gut funding for public services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and disorganization — then they claim those problems can only be overcome through privatization .
Democrats also have models to work from while presiding over mass displacement , and if anyone believes the Biden administration will resolve the coming housing crisis in a way that serves tenants , I question either their knowledge of history or their willingness to remember it .
Nothing about what we know of Biden or those he runs with suggests we will get bailed out out of this mess without a fight .
As we chanted during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration , “ Banks got bailed out !
We got sold out !
” Mass displacement begets various forms of mass disposal , including mass criminalization , the increased institutionalization of disabled people and the continued expansion of e-carceration , which outsources incarceration into our own homes .
We have every reason to expect these carceral policies because they have bipartisan support .
There ’ s a reason for that .
Many in our government know there are dark times ahead , and they want control of the populace , by whatever means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to study previous instances of mass displacement in the United States , like the dismantling of the Chicago Housing Projects in Chicago .
You will see histories of struggle and crisis leveraged by the powerful to enact policies that left people worse off .
They will claim to be rescuing us , while they leave us with even less than we had before , as they line the pockets of the rich .
It is incumbent upon us to review and acknowledge these histories .
It is essential that we evaluate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what they have won , and how people have fought .
We are moving into a new and uncertain era .
We do not fully know what to expect , but we do know that there has not been a moment in our lifetimes when it made sense to consign our fates to the whims of this government .
Some people say that the Democrats would rather lose to a Republican than a leftist candidate .
While that is not an absolute truth , it is worth naming that in the current shape @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relevance is guaranteed .
So long as they maintain the current binary of power , between themselves and the Republicans , they will remain relevant .
Whereas losing to a leftist agenda could lead to a new dynamic , where they would be less able to serve their corporate funders , and thus , disempowered .
The left is an existential threat to the establishment because it offers to do what the establishment can not : prioritize the well-being of its base .
So it ’ s no surprise that establishment Democrats hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden ’ s comments about Trump ’ s attempted coup are laid-back in comparison to the wailing of failed Democratic incumbents who insist it was the words “ defund the police , ” rather than their Republican opponents , that defeated them .
The truth is , the establishment has been perfecting the art of losing for quite some time .
This year , Trump ’ s disastrous tenure put establishment Democrats back in the White House , but not even the nightmare of Trumpism could give Democrats the down-ticket momentum they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a villain .
Someone to blame .
So , as usual , they blamed the left .
The reason is simple : they are afraid of us .
Our agenda threatens the bottom line of the people who author their politics for them .
Since the primary function of authority is to maintain itself , the center has no choice but to attack those who advocate against austerity policies that harm the public .
They have to try to stop us , because their keepers do not want to fund our survival .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of us to death .
Fewer people may feel threatened by that than did by Trumpism , but feeling less afraid is not an excuse to sacrifice others to neoliberalism .
We can not declare that this is the best we could do , because elections alone are never the best we can do .
In time , some of the people telling you to be quiet will change their tune .
Because right now , they are overwhelmed with relief and hope , but within some months , those feelings will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ betrayal , because while this administration may not be as hyped to annihilate people , it is poised to let a whole lot of people die .
I know this for the same reasons I knew what to expect from Trump : an analysis of relevant histories and present actions , and a review of the man ’ s own words .
By those measures , we know Biden will leave many , many people behind — and that nothing will fundamentally change .
We don ’ t get to set the bar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quiet down , ever .
Don ’ t let anyone tell you to be grateful .
When people swoon over Biden executing some formality of the presidency correctly , don ’ t join in .
It may be tempting , because the feelings at work will be positive ones , and we have grown accustomed to a lot of hurt .
But romanticizing institutions , fetishizing the rule of law and glorifying Biden because he understands the formalities of the executive branch , will only give cover to austerity and state violence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ every turn .
We have had time to feel our relief .
Now , we must prepare to fight .
One of the primary issues Trump ’ s critics have emphasized over the last four years has been immigration .
Biden has deprioritized immigration reform , on the basis of immigration activists being too adversarial .
If someone thinks that Biden should not be pushed on immigration right now , I think they should have to account for that — to themselves , to the people around them , and to the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Those facilities are currently being ravaged by COVID-19 .
Where are Biden ’ s supporters ’ demands to free them ?
Why are people consigning their fates to Biden , who is deprioritizing immigration reform , and who ran on having served in the Obama administration , which had a reprehensible record on immigration ?
The story of the United States , prior to Trumpism is a story of rapidly consolidating wealth .
It is a story of increasingly militarized police and borders .
It is the story of ever-expanding criminalization , mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world for resources .
It is not a story that should be merrily resumed .
So how do we fight ?
The ultimate weakness of neoliberalism is that it only appeals to people when things are going well , or when they are trying to escape something worse .
When conditions deteriorate , democracy becomes a potential threat to capitalism , as do leftist ideas — and conditions will deteriorate , and we know this , because both history and the conditions of the present tell us as much .
In times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the continued consolidation of wealth or the glorification of corporate competence .
As Slobodian put it , “ no one is willing to die ” for the World Trade Organization .
Right now , Democrats are trying to shore up their position with a savior narrative .
They hope that narrative will keep the public loyal in catastrophic times .
But this is not a time for renewed patriotism .
It ’ s time to tell a better story — and in that we have the advantage , because the establishment ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of mass suffering .
They have already failed us .
Some people have forgotten .
But they will remember , and we will fight for the future .
I want to thank our listers for joining us today .
If you want to read up on some of the histories and ideas I ’ ve mentioned today , you can find some great resources in the show notes of this episode on our website .
I know these are dark times , but it is truer today than it ’ s ever been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do good , and to remember , that the good we do matters .
Until next time , I ’ ll see you in the streets .
The Left Has Valid Criticisms of Biden ’ s Appointments But Centrists Won ’ t Listen by Tyler Walicek The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Exposing the Plague of Neoliberalism by Henry Giroux U.S. Capitalism Is in Total Meltdown by Sarah Jaffe A History of Neoliberalism with Quinn Slobodian by Daniel Denvir Nine-Tenths of the Law : Property and Resistance in the United States by Hannah Dobbz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiencing grief during the pandemic and need free counseling or other grief-related services , the Mutual Aid Mourning and Healing Project may be able to help .
Please take care of yourselves during these times .

Then-former vice president Joe Biden speaks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on November 1, 2017, in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson / Getty Images
Part of the Series Movement Memos
It’s easy to forget in the fog of Trumpism that mass privatization, the dismantling of this country’s social safety net, escalating corporate welfare and the mass expansion of prisons are all bipartisan projects. Kelly Hayes talks about the neoliberal policies we can expect from the Biden administration and how we can fight them.
TRANSCRIPT
Note: This a rush transcript and has been lightly edited for clarity. Copy may not be in its final form.
Kelly Hayes: We’re back after a two-week break and a lot has happened, in the last few days alone. Biden officially won the Electoral College vote on Monday, doses of the Pfizer vaccine are being administered to health care workers, and there has been a frenzy of controversy about Biden’s cabinet picks. The centrist position on Biden’s cabinet has been that because Trump was a fascist nightmare, we should completely submit to the whims of the new administration — even though Trump’s disastrous actions mean we have more at stake than ever. We are experiencing an era of collapse. That means struggle and reorganization are inevitable. The question is, who decides what that reorganization looks like, and who benefits?
Under Trumpism, we were faced with the threat of total domination. Our ability to affect policy was being seized by force.
Under Biden, we are expected to surrender our political will to the establishment out of sheer gratitude.
Now that the Electoral College has affirmed that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States, people are counting the days until we escape from Trump. And while I, too, cannot wait to be free of that man, I also understand what awaits us.
As we have seen under presidents like Clinton and Obama, neoliberalism consolidates resources through privatization, and touts “free market” solutions to social and economic problems. Impoverished people are ground under to ensure the maintenance of profit. Liberal ideas and concerns are touted while government resources that could address those concerns are eliminated, in favor of private contracts.
As Tyler Walicek wrote in Truthout this week:
Biden’s appointments have so far demonstrated their formidable prowess in expertly facilitating drone killings (Avril Haines and Michael Morrell), skillfully turning the screws of the deportation machine (Cecilia Muñoz) and promulgating investor-friendly non-solutions to climate change (John Kerry) with consummate professionalism. (Less professional, perhaps, is austerity advocate and faux-progressive think-tank head Neera Tanden.)
Neoliberals preach about the free market, but as Quinn Slobodian wrote in Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism, “free” is a poor descriptor in this case, because neoliberalism actually seeks to “encase” economic structures and mechanisms, to make them dominant and nonnegotiable. These objectives create a damning bipartisan overlap between neoliberalism and some of the most odious financial objectives of the right-wing.
So we know that both parties serve the rich and have wrought horrible violence through acts of war, austerity, and the prison industrial complex on many fronts. So many people seem to have taken the position that we should simply enjoy the relief of the transition, and wait until our disenchantment catches up with us. This is a dangerous perspective because we are living in catastrophic times. COVID-19 is now killing one person in the United States per minute and the death toll has topped 300,000. Next year, 30 to 40 million people will be vulnerable to eviction. In a normal year, about 3.6 million eviction cases are filed. We have so much at stake, and everything about the history of this government, including the Obama administration, tells us that we are going to have to fight for meaningful relief.
I voted for Biden because I believe we have more of a fighting chance under neoliberalism than we did under fascism, but we are no longer faced with a choice between fascism and neoliberalism. The whole, “if you criticize Biden you are helping Trump” bit has been disingenuous for weeks, but it officially died on Monday. Some may say it’s not over until Biden is sworn in, but no one really believes that criticizing Biden now could help Trump stay in the White House anymore than they’ve believed it these last few weeks. Those arguments are about silencing Biden’s critics, and they will not go away. Next we will hear that it’s too soon in his presidency to complain. Then, we will be told that we are jeopardizing the midterms with critique, and on and on.
As we have seen in the past, there will never be an acceptable time to, as people say, “hold Biden accountable.” Until now, we have been scolded and told that we are helping Trump any time we point out Biden’s terrible and alarming record — or any time we criticize how weak and useless specific initiatives sound. On COVID-19, Biden recently announced that in his first 100 days, everyone would be wearing masks, children would be back in schools and 100 million vaccinations would be distributed. Those vaccines had already been ordered under the Trump administration, Trump himself has been pushing to reopen schools for months, and masks are already universally recommended. But those of us who complained that Biden, who could take comprehensive action to stop the spread, is offering us so little, were scolded yet again.
Members of the establishment will continue to portray anything but total submission as ingratitude. They will hold Biden up as a savior worthy of exaltation. They will continue to depict all dissent as betrayal, and to demand thank yous from the very people who will suffer under Biden’s austerity. But the establishment did not deliver us from Trumpism. Voters did that. Many of us even showed up at the polls in-person, risking our lives to cast a ballot against Trump, despite loathing Biden. To declare we must surrender our political will now, or simply make polite, easy-to-ignore demands, of people who have publicly emphasized that they will ignore us, is just another brand of domination. But that is the governance we can expect under Biden.
Fans of the establishment, and people who are simply swept up in relief, have defended Biden’s corporate-heavy cabinet appointments as pro-business. They vaguely dismiss concerns about the military industrial complex, and in the case of Rahm Emanuel, the cover-up of an anti-Black police murder.
It’s easy to forget in the fog of Trumpism that mass privatization, the dismantling of this country’s social safety net, escalating corporate welfare and the mass expansion of prisons are all bipartisan projects.
While it appears outcry may have nixed an Emanuel appointment — affirming the power of leftist dissent — the fact that his appointment was ever on the table underlines what we should expect from this administration. Some Biden supporters have claimed Emanuel was never really being considered, and that stories about him potentially being appointed were leaked by Emanuel’s own people. There is no evidence to support that claim, but it is demonstrative of the climate we are in: people will twist themselves in knots, or ignore whatever they have to, in order to avoid criticizing Joe Biden.
Many people, however, are quite accustomed to finding fault with Rahm Emanuel, who closed 50 public schools in Chicago and shuttered half of our city’s publicly funded mental health clinics. The practice of “disappearing arrestees” into the Chicago Police Department’s infamous Homan Square facility also increased under Emanuel. After his role in the coverup of Laquan McDonald’s murder at the hands of Chicago police was revealed, there were daily protests calling for Emanuel’s resignation. And speaking of protesters, Emanuel actually pioneered the use of drones to surveil protesters in Chicago.
Chicago teachers were also forced to launch a historic strike under Emanuel to beat back his austerity agenda.
This man was Obama’s chief of staff. His character is the character of neoliberalism, and that is all that we can realistically expect from Biden. Emanuel’s slogan that you “never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” will be the tone of the new administration. The fact that Emanuel was even considered as an appointee should have those words ringing in everyone’s ears.
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”
But if, as appears to be the case, Emanuel will not sit on Biden’s cabinet, Biden’s victory still managed to elevate Rahm Emanuel’s brother, Ezekiel Emanuel, whose politics also reflect a neoliberal disregard for other human beings. Ezekiel Emanuel, who has written publicly that 75 is “a good age to stop” trying to prolong people’s lives, is on Biden’s coronavirus task force. The vast majority of people dying of COVID-19 in the United States — about 70 percent — are over 70. To save those people, Biden has brought in a doctor who thinks their lives are not worth saving. This is what you can expect from neoliberalism, every step of the way.
We know what to expect from this administration on the basis of Biden’s history. We know what to expect on the basis of who he is appointing, and who he has considered. We also know what to expect because there are existing neoliberal playbooks out there — and I mean literally, they have playbooks, like the Broad Foundation’s “School Closure Guidebook.” I watched in my own city as those techniques were exercised and Rahm Emanuel gutted our schools.
Neoliberal politicians have best practices for turning us against each other as we grovel over crumbs. In Chicago, during the school closures, parents were pitted against each other, with hearings that invited people to rally around their own schools, siloing defensive efforts. It’s easy to forget in the fog of Trumpism that mass privatization, the dismantling of this country’s social safety net, escalating corporate welfare and the mass expansion of prisons are all bipartisan projects. People like Joe Biden have perpetrated that violence alongside Republicans for decades.
They gut funding for public services, creating staff shortages, infrastructure problems, and disorganization — then they claim those problems can only be overcome through privatization.
Democrats also have models to work from while presiding over mass displacement, and if anyone believes the Biden administration will resolve the coming housing crisis in a way that serves tenants, I question either their knowledge of history or their willingness to remember it. Nothing about what we know of Biden or those he runs with suggests we will get bailed out out of this mess without a fight. As we chanted during the Occupy movement, under the Obama administration, “Banks got bailed out! We got sold out!”
Mass displacement begets various forms of mass disposal, including mass criminalization, the increased institutionalization of disabled people and the continued expansion of e-carceration, which outsources incarceration into our own homes. We have every reason to expect these carceral policies because they have bipartisan support. There’s a reason for that. Many in our government know there are dark times ahead, and they want control of the populace, by whatever means are ultimately necessary.
This is a time to study previous instances of mass displacement in the United States, like the dismantling of the Chicago Housing Projects in Chicago. You will see histories of struggle and crisis leveraged by the powerful to enact policies that left people worse off. They will claim to be rescuing us, while they leave us with even less than we had before, as they line the pockets of the rich. It is incumbent upon us to review and acknowledge these histories. It is essential that we evaluate the time tested strategies of our enemies, what they have won, and how people have fought. We are moving into a new and uncertain era. We do not fully know what to expect, but we do know that there has not been a moment in our lifetimes when it made sense to consign our fates to the whims of this government.
Some people say that the Democrats would rather lose to a Republican than a leftist candidate. While that is not an absolute truth, it is worth naming that in the current shape of things, the establishment’s relevance is guaranteed. So long as they maintain the current binary of power, between themselves and the Republicans, they will remain relevant. Whereas losing to a leftist agenda could lead to a new dynamic, where they would be less able to serve their corporate funders, and thus, disempowered. The left is an existential threat to the establishment because it offers to do what the establishment cannot: prioritize the well-being of its base.
So it’s no surprise that establishment Democrats hold the left in contempt at all times. Biden’s comments about Trump’s attempted coup are laid-back in comparison to the wailing of failed Democratic incumbents who insist it was the words “defund the police,” rather than their Republican opponents, that defeated them.
The truth is, the establishment has been perfecting the art of losing for quite some time. This year, Trump’s disastrous tenure put establishment Democrats back in the White House, but not even the nightmare of Trumpism could give Democrats the down-ticket momentum they had hoped for. So they needed a villain. Someone to blame. So, as usual, they blamed the left.
The reason is simple: they are afraid of us. Our agenda threatens the bottom line of the people who author their politics for them. Since the primary function of authority is to maintain itself, the center has no choice but to attack those who advocate against austerity policies that harm the public. They have to try to stop us, because their keepers do not want to fund our survival. Their model of governance condemns a great many of us to death. Fewer people may feel threatened by that than did by Trumpism, but feeling less afraid is not an excuse to sacrifice others to neoliberalism. We cannot declare that this is the best we could do, because elections alone are never the best we can do.
In time, some of the people telling you to be quiet will change their tune. Because right now, they are overwhelmed with relief and hope, but within some months, those feelings will be replaced by fear, anxiety and betrayal, because while this administration may not be as hyped to annihilate people, it is poised to let a whole lot of people die. I know this for the same reasons I knew what to expect from Trump: an analysis of relevant histories and present actions, and a review of the man’s own words. By those measures, we know Biden will leave many, many people behind — and that nothing will fundamentally change. We don’t get to set the bar that low.
So don’t quiet down, ever. Don’t let anyone tell you to be grateful. When people swoon over Biden executing some formality of the presidency correctly, don’t join in. It may be tempting, because the feelings at work will be positive ones, and we have grown accustomed to a lot of hurt. But romanticizing institutions, fetishizing the rule of law and glorifying Biden because he understands the formalities of the executive branch, will only give cover to austerity and state violence. That veneer must be scraped off at every turn. We have had time to feel our relief. Now, we must prepare to fight.
One of the primary issues Trump’s critics have emphasized over the last four years has been immigration. Biden has deprioritized immigration reform, on the basis of immigration activists being too adversarial. If someone thinks that Biden should not be pushed on immigration right now, I think they should have to account for that — to themselves, to the people around them, and to the people trapped in detention centers right now. Those facilities are currently being ravaged by COVID-19. Where are Biden’s supporters’ demands to free them? Why are people consigning their fates to Biden, who is deprioritizing immigration reform, and who ran on having served in the Obama administration, which had a reprehensible record on immigration?
The story of the United States, prior to Trumpism is a story of rapidly consolidating wealth. It is a story of increasingly militarized police and borders. It is the story of ever-expanding criminalization, mass surveillance and a race to strip mine the world for resources. It is not a story that should be merrily resumed.
So how do we fight?
The ultimate weakness of neoliberalism is that it only appeals to people when things are going well, or when they are trying to escape something worse. When conditions deteriorate, democracy becomes a potential threat to capitalism, as do leftist ideas — and conditions will deteriorate, and we know this, because both history and the conditions of the present tell us as much. In times of strife, there is nothing inspiring about the continued consolidation of wealth or the glorification of corporate competence. As Slobodian put it, “no one is willing to die” for the World Trade Organization.
Right now, Democrats are trying to shore up their position with a savior narrative. They hope that narrative will keep the public loyal in catastrophic times. But this is not a time for renewed patriotism. It’s time to tell a better story — and in that we have the advantage, because the establishment’s story falls apart in the face of mass suffering. They have already failed us. Some people have forgotten. But they will remember, and we will fight for the future.
[Music]
I want to thank our listers for joining us today. If you want to read up on some of the histories and ideas I’ve mentioned today, you can find some great resources in the show notes of this episode on our website. I know these are dark times, but it is truer today than it’s ever been that our best defense against cynicism is to do good, and to remember, that the good we do matters. Until next time, I’ll see you in the streets.
Show Notes
Further reading:
The Left Has Valid Criticisms of Biden’s Appointments But Centrists Won’t Listen by Tyler Walicek
The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Exposing the Plague of Neoliberalism by Henry Giroux
U.S. Capitalism Is in Total Meltdown by Sarah Jaffe
Recommended podcast:
A History of Neoliberalism with Quinn Slobodian by Daniel Denvir
Books:
Nine-Tenths of the Law: Property and Resistance in the United States by Hannah Dobbz
For your research:
Broad’s School Closure Guide
Note:
Just a reminder that if you are experiencing grief during the pandemic and need free counseling or other grief-related services, the Mutual Aid Mourning and Healing Project may be able to help. Please take care of yourselves during these times.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
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truthout--2020-12-17--Following Deadliest Day of Pandemic, Trump Brags About the Stock Market

The United States witnessed more deaths from COVID-19 over the course of a single 24-hour period this week than it has seen at any other point during the coronavirus pandemic .
According to numbers from Johns Hopkins University , 3,656 individuals in the U.S. died from COVID within a 24-hour time frame ending on Wednesday .
On top of that , more than 247,000 new infections of the virus were recorded , the highest single-day number yet since the beginning of the crisis .
Current hospitalizations also reached a record high , with more than 113,000 patients currently being treated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More than 307,600 deaths in the U.S. have been recorded since the start of the pandemic .
Total documented infections of coronavirus exceeded 17 million individuals as of Thursday .
President Donald Trump , however , didn ’ t seem fazed by the grim numbers .
On the day after the largest death toll in a 24-hour period was recorded , he bragged on Twitter about the stock market , and did what could be described as a premature victory lap about vaccines for the virus .
“ All-time Stock Market high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday morning .
“ The Vaccine and the Vaccine rollout are getting the best of reviews .
Moving along really well .
Get those ‘ shots ’ everyone !
” While news of vaccines being distributed across the entire country is indeed great news , Trump ’ s encouragement for everyone to “ get those ‘ shots ' ” disregards one very important fact : there aren ’ t enough vaccinations at this time to go around , in large part because of the Trump administration ’ s failure to purchase enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have enough doses of the Pfizer vaccine , for instance , to inoculate 50 million Americans between now and March .
Although that ’ s a sizable number , it represents less than one-sixth of the entire population of the United States .
For the coronavirus vaccine to be effective , most experts agree that at least 70 percent of the population has to have received it .
Even with the likely introduction of another option for a vaccine from Moderna , the U.S. isn ’ t likely to reach that immunity threshold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration , only 150 million Americans — less than half the country ’ s total population — will be able to access either of the vaccines before June .
For a number of reasons , Trump has received poor marks from the American people , with recent polls demonstrating a majority of the country disapproves of how he ’ s handled the pandemic .
The president has played a clear role in causing people to be skeptical ( and reckless ) about the virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions , put thousands of lives at risk .
Though Trump reluctantly agreed to promote social distancing in March , he abruptly reversed himself not soon after and encouraged Americans to disregard those measures .
At one point the president actually told residents of several states to “ liberate ” themselves from stay-at-home orders and other social distancing rules — in clear defiance of what his own public health experts were saying and in spite of the fact that the virus was still spreading uncontrolled in those places .
Trump himself refused to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several months , and when he eventually did , he still only did so sparingly .
His reluctance to wear a facial covering seems to have been driven by his politics , as Trump once explained he believed masks were worn by people to express their opposition to him .
He also continuously downplayed the severity of the virus itself , even after he contracted it in October .
After leaving the hospital and receiving world-class care that ’ s unavailable to most Americans , Trump wrongly compared coronavirus to the flu , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to learn to “ live with.
” Trump did so in spite of the fact that , several months prior , he admitted in an interview with journalist Bob Woodward that the virus was deadlier than influenza .
In fact , the president openly said to the veteran journalist that he purposely played down the threat of COVID in his public statements .
Those actions , and more like them , likely led to a large segment of American society to be skeptical of COVID-19 , and to engage in activities that resulted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump has also unnecessarily exposed people to the virus through his numerous campaign rallies and other events that ignored social distancing rules and were largely conducted without face masks being worn by attendees .
According to a Stanford University study , those rallies likely resulted in tens of thousands of coronavirus cases across the country on their own , including at least 700 deaths .
The pandemic is likely to continue to infect and result in the deaths of thousands of Americans in the coming months .
According to modeling from the Institute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Washington , around 153,000 more Americans are projected to die from COVID between now and March 1 , even accounting for the vaccines .
If masks are worn universally during that time , however , there could be close to 37,000 fewer deaths .

The United States witnessed more deaths from COVID-19 over the course of a single 24-hour period this week than it has seen at any other point during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to numbers from Johns Hopkins University, 3,656 individuals in the U.S. died from COVID within a 24-hour time frame ending on Wednesday. On top of that, more than 247,000 new infections of the virus were recorded, the highest single-day number yet since the beginning of the crisis.
Current hospitalizations also reached a record high, with more than 113,000 patients currently being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals across the nation.
More than 307,600 deaths in the U.S. have been recorded since the start of the pandemic. Total documented infections of coronavirus exceeded 17 million individuals as of Thursday.
President Donald Trump, however, didn’t seem fazed by the grim numbers. On the day after the largest death toll in a 24-hour period was recorded, he bragged on Twitter about the stock market, and did what could be described as a premature victory lap about vaccines for the virus.
“All-time Stock Market high,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Thursday morning. “The Vaccine and the Vaccine rollout are getting the best of reviews. Moving along really well. Get those ‘shots’ everyone!”
While news of vaccines being distributed across the entire country is indeed great news, Trump’s encouragement for everyone to “get those ‘shots'” disregards one very important fact: there aren’t enough vaccinations at this time to go around, in large part because of the Trump administration’s failure to purchase enough of them.
The U.S. will only have enough doses of the Pfizer vaccine, for instance, to inoculate 50 million Americans between now and March. Although that’s a sizable number, it represents less than one-sixth of the entire population of the United States. For the coronavirus vaccine to be effective, most experts agree that at least 70 percent of the population has to have received it.
Even with the likely introduction of another option for a vaccine from Moderna, the U.S. isn’t likely to reach that immunity threshold for quite some time. If that vaccine receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration, only 150 million Americans — less than half the country’s total population — will be able to access either of the vaccines before June.
For a number of reasons, Trump has received poor marks from the American people, with recent polls demonstrating a majority of the country disapproves of how he’s handled the pandemic. The president has played a clear role in causing people to be skeptical (and reckless) about the virus, and has himself, through his personal actions, put thousands of lives at risk.
Though Trump reluctantly agreed to promote social distancing in March, he abruptly reversed himself not soon after and encouraged Americans to disregard those measures. At one point the president actually told residents of several states to “liberate” themselves from stay-at-home orders and other social distancing rules — in clear defiance of what his own public health experts were saying and in spite of the fact that the virus was still spreading uncontrolled in those places.
Trump himself refused to wear a mask in public spaces for several months, and when he eventually did, he still only did so sparingly. His reluctance to wear a facial covering seems to have been driven by his politics, as Trump once explained he believed masks were worn by people to express their opposition to him.
He also continuously downplayed the severity of the virus itself, even after he contracted it in October. After leaving the hospital and receiving world-class care that’s unavailable to most Americans, Trump wrongly compared coronavirus to the flu, and said it was something people had to learn to “live with.”
Trump did so in spite of the fact that, several months prior, he admitted in an interview with journalist Bob Woodward that the virus was deadlier than influenza. In fact, the president openly said to the veteran journalist that he purposely played down the threat of COVID in his public statements.
Those actions, and more like them, likely led to a large segment of American society to be skeptical of COVID-19, and to engage in activities that resulted in its further spread. Additionally, Trump has also unnecessarily exposed people to the virus through his numerous campaign rallies and other events that ignored social distancing rules and were largely conducted without face masks being worn by attendees. According to a Stanford University study, those rallies likely resulted in tens of thousands of coronavirus cases across the country on their own, including at least 700 deaths.
The pandemic is likely to continue to infect and result in the deaths of thousands of Americans in the coming months. According to modeling from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, around 153,000 more Americans are projected to die from COVID between now and March 1, even accounting for the vaccines. If masks are worn universally during that time, however, there could be close to 37,000 fewer deaths.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
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truthout--2020-12-17--Did Trump Deliberately Pursue Genocide via His “Herd Immunity” Strategy?

It is getting harder by the hour for those so inclined to make the case that it ’ s best for the country to stop investigating the Trump administration after he leaves office .
Fears that such investigations would further elevate Trump and overtake Joe Biden ’ s agenda — while entirely valid — do not justify ignoring the horrific revelations flying out of the White House in these waning days .
If the facts hold true , Trump and his people attempted , and at least partially accomplished , a form of targeted genocide against the people , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vehicle for policy .
Capitalism demanded the nation not shut down and the workers keep working , even in the teeth of a lethal pandemic .
Lacking a vaccine for all those months , the only viable solution that satisfied “ the markets ” was to let the virus burn through the population — particularly disabled , elderly , Black , Indigenous , Latinx , low-income , houseless and incarcerated populations — unchecked .
What is herd immunity ?
“ Absent a vaccine , herd immunity implies that sufficient numbers of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Covid-19 , to make its spread less and less likely , ” reports Joshua Cohen for Forbes .
“ As a result , over time the entire community is protected , even those who are not themselves immune.
” The problem , of course , is that achieving this level of mass immunity without a vaccine will happen only after massive death among the populace .
Groups that have proven to be specifically vulnerable — elderly , sick and immunocompromised people , as well as people of color and low-income people — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not hundreds , of thousands .
By any rational moral code , it is a gruesome and utterly unacceptable avenue to pursue .
Furthermore , there may be no herd immunity possible for SARS-CoV-2 , a bleak possibility further darkening that path .
For many months now , Donald Trump has been accused of negligence , ignorance , arrogance and stubbornness regarding his utter failure to respond effectively to the pandemic .
It now appears horrifically clear that presidential laziness in the face of COVID was a feature , not a bug .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ many people as possible , claiming what lives as it may on the way to “ herd immunity.
” This avenue required no effort beyond ignoring the agony of the nation , a talent with which Trump is truly gifted .
Conservative estimates of the death toll from any such effort run over a million souls .
We currently stand at over 300,000 lost , with a long and brutal winter amid a new COVID spike laid out before us .
Accident ?
Negligence ?
Or deliberate policy ?
Recent revelations strongly suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter .
“ There is no other way , we need to establish herd , and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus .
PERIOD , ” reads a July 4 email from former Health and Human Services ( HHS ) science adviser Paul Alexander .
“ Infants , kids , teens , young people , young adults , middle aged with no conditions etc .
have zero to little risk … so we use them to develop herd … we want them infected.
” Paul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public affairs Michael Caputo at the time of these exchanges , and it was widely accepted that Alexander spoke for Caputo , who spoke for Trump .
By October , Scott Atlas was on the scene as Trump ’ s newest science adviser , and immediately began peddling the herd immunity policy to the president .
A quack document called the Great Barrington Report painted a veneer of respectability over a policy many have compared to eugenics .
“ Alexander left his position at HHS in September , ” reports Chris Walker for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and others in the department attempted to interfere with a CDC report on coronavirus morbidity .
The alterations were meant to help fit Trump ’ s narratives on the pandemic , and sought to retroactively change reports that the president thought wrongly inflated the risks associated with the virus.
” By then , however , the damage was apparently done .
Caputo , Alexander , Atlas and Trump rarely spoke openly of their support for herd immunity and its lethal consequences , but every so often it slipped out .
Trump himself babbled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a televised September town hall , an obvious verbal stumble over “ herd immunity.
” Only a week ago , Trump said , “ I hear we ’ re close to 15 percent , I ’ m hearing that , and that ’ s terrific , that ’ s a very powerful vaccine in itself.
” Calling anything about this pandemic “ terrific ” is itself abominable , his reference to “ a very powerful vaccine in itself ” is a clear reference to herd immunity .
All of this , every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endured , appears to have been allowed to happen because it was the only policy capitalism would accept .
Shutting down the country until the pandemic is contained could be accomplished if Mitch McConnell allowed legislation to support businesses and individuals as they ride it out ; we have the money , and borrowing is free right now .
We don ’ t do that , however , because it is ideologically unsound .
Even the possibility that this was all deliberate policy is reason enough to shut down any talk about “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If true , this represents one of the greatest crimes ever committed in this country .
We can not turn away from it .
We need to know what has happened to us , what was done to us , and why ?
I suspect the answer is obvious , but I want to hear them say it .

Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
It is getting harder by the hour for those so inclined to make the case that it’s best for the country to stop investigating the Trump administration after he leaves office. Fears that such investigations would further elevate Trump and overtake Joe Biden’s agenda — while entirely valid — do not justify ignoring the horrific revelations flying out of the White House in these waning days.
If the facts hold true, Trump and his people attempted, and at least partially accomplished, a form of targeted genocide against the people, and particularly marginalized people, using COVID-19 as the vehicle for policy. Capitalism demanded the nation not shut down and the workers keep working, even in the teeth of a lethal pandemic. Lacking a vaccine for all those months, the only viable solution that satisfied “the markets” was to let the virus burn through the population — particularly disabled, elderly, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, low-income, houseless and incarcerated populations — unchecked.
What is herd immunity? “Absent a vaccine, herd immunity implies that sufficient numbers of people become immune to a disease, such as Covid-19, to make its spread less and less likely,” reports Joshua Cohen for Forbes. “As a result, over time the entire community is protected, even those who are not themselves immune.”
The problem, of course, is that achieving this level of mass immunity without a vaccine will happen only after massive death among the populace. Groups that have proven to be specifically vulnerable — elderly, sick and immunocompromised people, as well as people of color and low-income people — will die by the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands. By any rational moral code, it is a gruesome and utterly unacceptable avenue to pursue. Furthermore, there may be no herd immunity possible for SARS-CoV-2, a bleak possibility further darkening that path.
For many months now, Donald Trump has been accused of negligence, ignorance, arrogance and stubbornness regarding his utter failure to respond effectively to the pandemic. It now appears horrifically clear that presidential laziness in the face of COVID was a feature, not a bug. They wanted the virus to infect as many people as possible, claiming what lives as it may on the way to “herd immunity.” This avenue required no effort beyond ignoring the agony of the nation, a talent with which Trump is truly gifted.
Conservative estimates of the death toll from any such effort run over a million souls. We currently stand at over 300,000 lost, with a long and brutal winter amid a new COVID spike laid out before us. Accident? Negligence? Or deliberate policy? Recent revelations strongly suggest the latter is the fact of the matter.
It now appears horrifically clear that presidential laziness in the face of COVID was a feature, not a bug.
“There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD,” reads a July 4 email from former Health and Human Services (HHS) science adviser Paul Alexander. “Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk … so we use them to develop herd … we want them infected.”
“We want them infected.”
Paul Alexander served under HHS assistant secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo at the time of these exchanges, and it was widely accepted that Alexander spoke for Caputo, who spoke for Trump. By October, Scott Atlas was on the scene as Trump’s newest science adviser, and immediately began peddling the herd immunity policy to the president. A quack document called the Great Barrington Report painted a veneer of respectability over a policy many have compared to eugenics.
“Alexander left his position at HHS in September,” reports Chris Walker for Truthout, “following reports that he and others in the department attempted to interfere with a CDC report on coronavirus morbidity. The alterations were meant to help fit Trump’s narratives on the pandemic, and sought to retroactively change reports that the president thought wrongly inflated the risks associated with the virus.”
By then, however, the damage was apparently done. Caputo, Alexander, Atlas and Trump rarely spoke openly of their support for herd immunity and its lethal consequences, but every so often it slipped out.
Trump himself babbled about “herd mentality” and COVID at a televised September town hall, an obvious verbal stumble over “herd immunity.” Only a week ago, Trump said, “I hear we’re close to 15 percent, I’m hearing that, and that’s terrific, that’s a very powerful vaccine in itself.” Calling anything about this pandemic “terrific” is itself abominable, his reference to “a very powerful vaccine in itself” is a clear reference to herd immunity.
All of this, every bit of death and suffering we have endured, appears to have been allowed to happen because it was the only policy capitalism would accept. Shutting down the country until the pandemic is contained could be accomplished if Mitch McConnell allowed legislation to support businesses and individuals as they ride it out; we have the money, and borrowing is free right now. We don’t do that, however, because it is ideologically unsound.
Even the possibility that this was all deliberate policy is reason enough to shut down any talk about “looking forward and not looking back.” If true, this represents one of the greatest crimes ever committed in this country. We cannot turn away from it. We need to know what has happened to us, what was done to us, and why? I suspect the answer is obvious, but I want to hear them say it.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-12-17--Loeffler Won’t Say If She Backs Challenge to Electoral College Certification

United States Sen. Kelly Loeffler ( R-Georgia ) refused to respond directly to questions from reporters regarding a proposed move planned by some Republicans in Congress to challenge the certification of the results of the Electoral College next month , which President-elect Joe Biden officially won earlier this week .
Loeffler is currently campaigning in a runoff election , set to take place on January 5 , against Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock .
A second runoff race for the other U.S. Senate seat in Georgia features Republican Sen. David Perdue squaring off against Democrat Jon Ossoff .
The outcomes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many Americans across the nation , as partisan control of the Senate rests on whether the Democratic candidates can win both runoffs or not .
If Warnock and Ossoff both win , then Democrats will control the Senate ; if one or both of the Republican incumbents win their respective runoff races , Republicans will retain control .
The proposal to challenge the presidential election results , led by Rep. Mo Brooks ( a Republican congressman from Georgia ’ s neighboring state of Alabama ) , seeks to alter the outcome of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump a second term in office .
Brooks and others justify the move by citing false and discredited claims of election fraud in last month ’ s presidential race .
Although Congress has the power to change electors ’ preferences while certifying the Electoral College vote , the plan has no chance of going anywhere — to be successful , it requires both houses separately to vote in support of the challenge when they convene for the certification on January 6 .
Even if Republicans were somehow able to muster the support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives would assuredly vote it down .
Loeffler , when asked by reporters what her views were on Brooks ’ s plan , refused to give a straight answer .
“ We ’ ve got a Senate race to run here in Georgia .
We ’ ve got to win — the future of the country is on the line , ” Loeffler said in her response .
Pressed to give an answer on when she might come to a position on the controversial idea , Loeffler again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was unfamiliar with the plan .
“ I haven ’ t looked at it , ” the senator said .
“ January 6 is a long way out , and there ’ s a lot to play out between now and then.
” While Loeffler ’ s comments may raise some eyebrows , Perdue is free , somewhat , from having to provide a similar answer , as his term in office expires on January 3 and will not be seated in the Senate ( should he win reelection ) until Georgia certifies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something that likely won ’ t happen until several days after the Electoral College certification takes place .
Both Republican senators , however , are currently facing a tough balancing act when it comes to expressing their views on Trump ’ s continued false claims of election fraud .
Agreeing with the thoroughly debunked idea that fraud took place may discourage voters from trusting the election process altogether , resulting in GOP-leaning residents of the state not turning out to vote in the runoffs next month .
On other hand , backing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would alienate Trump ’ s base of supporters , which could also depress voter turnout for the Republican candidates .
The latter fear seems to be more worrisome for both Loeffler and Perdue , as both signaled their support for a controversial lawsuit this month from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton , which sought to invalidate the certification of presidential election results in four states , including Georgia , to allow Republican-run legislatures to pick new electors for the Electoral College .
The lawsuit , which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same unsubstantiated claims of election fraud that the president and his allies have promulgated since he lost the race to Biden last month .
Polls on both runoff elections show a very tight race at the moment .
An Insider Advantage/Fox 5 Atlanta poll published on December 14 shows that Perdue is leading Ossoff by a slim margin of 1.2 percentage points ; Loeffler is ahead of Warnock by the same spread .
However , that poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percent , which means both races at the @ @ @ @ @

The plan to challenge the results of the Electoral College has zero chance of being successful.
United States Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia) refused to respond directly to questions from reporters regarding a proposed move planned by some Republicans in Congress to challenge the certification of the results of the Electoral College next month , which President-elect Joe Biden officially won earlier this week.
Loeffler is currently campaigning in a runoff election, set to take place on January 5, against Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock. A second runoff race for the other U.S. Senate seat in Georgia features Republican Sen. David Perdue squaring off against Democrat Jon Ossoff.
The outcomes of both races are on the minds of many Americans across the nation, as partisan control of the Senate rests on whether the Democratic candidates can win both runoffs or not. If Warnock and Ossoff both win, then Democrats will control the Senate; if one or both of the Republican incumbents win their respective runoff races, Republicans will retain control.
The proposal to challenge the presidential election results, led by Rep. Mo Brooks (a Republican congressman from Georgia’s neighboring state of Alabama), seeks to alter the outcome of the Electoral College in order to give President Donald Trump a second term in office. Brooks and others justify the move by citing false and discredited claims of election fraud in last month’s presidential race.
Although Congress has the power to change electors’ preferences while certifying the Electoral College vote, the plan has no chance of going anywhere — to be successful, it requires both houses separately to vote in support of the challenge when they convene for the certification on January 6. Even if Republicans were somehow able to muster the support of their own colleagues in the Senate, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives would assuredly vote it down.
Loeffler, when asked by reporters what her views were on Brooks’s plan, refused to give a straight answer.
“We’ve got a Senate race to run here in Georgia. We’ve got to win — the future of the country is on the line,” Loeffler said in her response.
Pressed to give an answer on when she might come to a position on the controversial idea, Loeffler again deferred a direct response, claiming she was unfamiliar with the plan.
“I haven’t looked at it,” the senator said. “January 6 is a long way out, and there’s a lot to play out between now and then.”
While Loeffler’s comments may raise some eyebrows, Perdue is free, somewhat, from having to provide a similar answer, as his term in office expires on January 3 and will not be seated in the Senate (should he win reelection) until Georgia certifies the results of the runoff races — something that likely won’t happen until several days after the Electoral College certification takes place.
Both Republican senators, however, are currently facing a tough balancing act when it comes to expressing their views on Trump’s continued false claims of election fraud. Agreeing with the thoroughly debunked idea that fraud took place may discourage voters from trusting the election process altogether, resulting in GOP-leaning residents of the state not turning out to vote in the runoffs next month. On other hand, backing the results of last month’s election would alienate Trump’s base of supporters, which could also depress voter turnout for the Republican candidates.
The latter fear seems to be more worrisome for both Loeffler and Perdue, as both signaled their support for a controversial lawsuit this month from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which sought to invalidate the certification of presidential election results in four states, including Georgia, to allow Republican-run legislatures to pick new electors for the Electoral College. The lawsuit, which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear earlier this month, was based on the same unsubstantiated claims of election fraud that the president and his allies have promulgated since he lost the race to Biden last month.
Polls on both runoff elections show a very tight race at the moment. An Insider Advantage/Fox 5 Atlanta poll published on December 14 shows that Perdue is leading Ossoff by a slim margin of 1.2 percentage points; Loeffler is ahead of Warnock by the same spread. However, that poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percent, which means both races at the moment are statistical ties.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.