newrepublic--2020-11-06--Grassroots Democrats Wanted to Protect the Vote. Then National Organizers Abandoned Them.

Late Wednesday afternoon , as Election Day stretched into Election Week , in cities and towns across the United States , grassroots Democrats took to the streets under a new banner : Protect the Results .
A boisterous crowd stretching five blocks marched down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan .
Hundreds marched in Boston .
In Sequim , Washington , a coastal town on the Olympic peninsula , dozens held American flags and signs reading “ Count Every Vote , ” singing “ This Land is Your Land.
” A hundred rallied in Knoxville , Tennessee .
More than 300 answered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a well-organized community group in southeastern Pennsylvania .
The rallies were peaceful , even lighthearted , as many participants expressed confidence in the ongoing process of vote counting and hope that their candidate , Joe Biden , was in a strong position to win .
But the rallies were also surprisingly small .
And many local organizers are upset at the national groups that launched Protect the Results , claiming they had pulled the rug out from them .
“ We had 2,000 people registered to attend our event and maybe just a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a leader of Indivisible Austin , told me .
In New York City , 7,000 people RSVPed , organizers told me , but only about 2,000 showed up .
What happened ?
What follows is a cautionary tale in an ongoing saga , one that will only become more important next year , as national organizations and grassroots Democratic organizers work to coordinate their engagement with a future Biden administration .
For while progressive organizations try to present a united front to the public , the truth inside the movement is much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time , as attention produces funding .
The internet also makes it much easier for entrepreneurial organizational initiatives that surf off of fast-breaking news .
But as the last few days show , converting a list of events on a map into a wave of successful local actions , in the midst of a pandemic , an intense election , and under great time pressure , is no easy trick .

Jonathan Smucker, one of the founders of Lancaster Stands Up and a veteran community organizer, was furious. “We’ve been organizing a broad base in Pennsylvania since the 2016 election. Today we’re mobilizing our community to rally for democracy and to count every vote. My patience for this kind of bullshit from national organizations that are not accountable to a base has run out,” he tweeted.
Of course, some of the other local PTR organizers may be breathing a sigh of relief that the whole effort to respond so rapidly to a Trump provocation kind of fizzled. For one thing, some national groups, notably the Movement for Black Lives and America Votes, quietly absented themselves from the PTR effort over concerns that its leaders weren’t taking the threat of violence from the right seriously enough. And in mid-October, Nelini Stamp, a longtime national organizer with the Working Families Party, took to her Facebook page to express her worries about the PTR plan. Noting that a lot of mistakes had been made in 2000 in how the left responded to that contested election, she said, “I am worried we are over correcting a bit,” adding, “If we act really quickly after 11/3 … we WILL play into the Republican and right-wing playbook, they want to see people take the streets immediately after the election so they can stop counting votes. They will use ‘insurrection’ or the many DOJs and election integrity commissions they have to say ‘we can’t count votes peacefully due to unrest’ we must just submit the votes as is.” Somewhat prophetically, she also noted, “We need to prepare for all scenarios and that includes winning y’all, we are so used to losing I think we’re just preparing for all the bad with contested and not anything for if we win out right.”
In the end, it looks like Protect the Results has avoided a mess of its own creation. As I write, it is throwing its efforts behind a parallel project that has also been in the works this fall, to bring the grassroots out on the Saturday after the election. Pulled together by the Frontline, a partnership between the Movement for Black Lives and the Working Families Party, the plan all along has been to hold large demonstrations on that day, which would either be focused on defending against a Trump power grab or celebrating the election returns. The name of the event now is Voters Decided. And it’s expected to be a party.


newrepublic--2020-11-06--Racial Tolerance Was on the Ballot—and Won

The defining story of the 2020 election is , of course , Joe Biden ’ s apparent victory over Donald Trump .
Though Democrats fell short of a once-in-a-generation landslide victory , they convinced a substantial majority of voters to reject an irredeemable racist .
But voters across America , from reliably blue states in the Northeast to ruby-red bastions in the South , also came out in favor of multiracial democracy in more subtle ways—even as they sometimes backed candidates with less tolerant views .
In Alabama , roughly two-thirds of voters supported Amendment 4 , which will rewrite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist and obsolete language .
As a product of the Jim Crow era , Alabama ’ s 1901 Constitution includes a number of provisions that no longer carry legal force but remain on the books .
Section 256 , for example , says that “ no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race.
” Section 102 forbids the state legislature from passing laws that “ authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a negro , or descendant of a negro.
” Alabama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole cloth , but the state will now “ recompile ” it without the bigoted provisions .
Next door in Mississippi , voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new state flag to replace the one discarded by state lawmakers earlier this year .
Mississippi ’ s previous state flag was the last in the Union to feature the Confederate battle emblem , a highly visible reminder of the state ’ s segregationist past .
The new flag , which was designed by a commission chosen by state leaders that included tribal leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state flower ) as well as a five-point star that symbolizes the state ’ s indigenous communities .
It sailed to victory with more than 70 percent of the vote .
( Had it lost , the state would ’ ve simply chosen a new design instead of returning to the old one . )

The defining story of the 2020 election is, of course, Joe Biden’s apparent victory over Donald Trump. Though Democrats fell short of a once-in-a-generation landslide victory, they convinced a substantial majority of voters to reject an irredeemable racist. But voters across America, from reliably blue states in the Northeast to ruby-red bastions in the South, also came out in favor of multiracial democracy in more subtle ways—even as they sometimes backed candidates with less tolerant views.
In Alabama, roughly two-thirds of voters supported Amendment 4, which will rewrite the state’s constitution to excise racist and obsolete language. As a product of the Jim Crow era, Alabama’s 1901 Constitution includes a number of provisions that no longer carry legal force but remain on the books. Section 256, for example, says that “no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race.” Section 102 forbids the state legislature from passing laws that “authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a negro, or descendant of a negro.” Alabama won’t rewrite the constitution from whole cloth, but the state will now “recompile” it without the bigoted provisions.


newrepublic--2020-11-06--The Power of the “Something Else” Vote

The Power of the “Something Else” Vote

For all the praise that CNN ’ s graphics department has been raking in for its Trump-correcting chyrons , it was another visual from election night that caught my eye .
Providing a breakdown of the Trump electorate by race , the outlet listed the voter groups as white , Black , Asian , Latino , and “ Something Else.
” Native people responded in kind by meme-ing the misnomer , printing it on their masks , suggesting it as a new nickname for the Washington NFL team , and reminding anyone who would listen that we really are “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association ( of which I am a member ) took the misstep more seriously , requesting that CNN apologize and meet with the association for a training session on how to make its newsroom ’ s staff makeup—not just its coverage—more inclusive of Native people .
The slipup is a worthwhile reminder for newsrooms that Indian Country is a richer well to draw from than the poverty-porn coverage it ’ s limited to by many national outlets .
But more pressingly , it ’ s an urgent case to note that the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be one of the most important voting blocs in the nation this election—a fact proven by the last-minute pushes by Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden to win the votes of Native communities in crucial swing states .

Conversely, Native voters also aided in providing Trump and other Republican candidates victories in North Carolina, a crucial swing state. There, the Lumbee Tribe, one of eight tribes in North Carolina, garnered attention for leaning toward Trump for the second straight election—though so did the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, as all five counties that fall within the Qualla Boundary easily went for both Trump and Republican Senator Thom Tillis. Although the state still has outstanding ballots to be counted, both Trump’s and Tillis’s leads appear to be sizable enough to secure the state for Republicans. New Mexico’s San Juan County, which includes part of the Navajo Nation, sided for Trump by 28 points.
Voters also made history this year by electing a record number of Indigenous candidates to Congress, with six Native candidates winning a spot in the House. This included all four incumbents—Democrats Deb Haaland of New Mexico and Sharice Davids of Kansas, and Oklahoma Republicans Markwayne Mullin and Tom Cole—along with two newcomers: New Mexico Republican and Trump backer Yvette Herrell and Hawaiian Democrat Kaiali’i Kahele. The increase in Native congressional representation is nice to see, though what the caucus will be able to agree upon, much less achieve, with such a stark ideological split is unclear.
As the election cycle slowly winds to a close, both the media and the rest of the country would do well to remember Indian Country exists and isn’t a monolith. Another way of putting it: Try something else.


newrepublic--2020-11-06--The Philadelphian Left Holds the Line

The Philadelphian Left Holds the Line

On Friday morning , after a full night spent counting and tabulating mail-in ballots , votes from Philadelphia may have delivered the final blow kicking President Trump out of the White House .
Thursday , Trump attempted preemptively to cast doubt on the result .
“ They ’ re trying to steal an election , they ’ re trying to rig an election , ” the deflated president told a White House briefing room , calling Detroit and Philadelphia “ two of the most corrupt political places.
” For the last week , Philadelphia has been a hub of nationwide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Count All the Votes .
Regular protests of hundreds of union members , community organizing groups , and socialists—including outside the Philadelphia Convention Center , where votes are still being tallied—have channeled the manic energy that ’ s flowed out of Tuesday ’ s election into traditional marches and marathon dance parties alike .
People in mailbox costumes dancing to Mary J. Blige , puppet displays , and protesting Elmos have presented themselves as a populist answer to a week of attempted coups from the White House and the wannabe brownshirt supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battleground states to chant either “ Stop the count !
” or “ Count the votes !
” depending on whether Trump is ahead .
Early this morning , local news in Philadelphia received reports of a Hummer that had driven up from Virginia in an alleged plot to attack the Convention Center .
Were it not for rolling demonstrations this week , it ’ s possible that scenes in Pennsylvania could have been far uglier—and the election results less certain .
The left-led demonstrations to protect both the election and a decidedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizing—much of it responding , in turn , to Republican policies suppressing Black voters .
Just weeks ago , racial justice and community groups came together to support protests against the police killing of Walter Wallace , led by Wallace ’ s family and community in West Philadelphia .
The demonstrations around the presidential election follow on the heels of recent electoral successes for left-wing elected officials , both in Philadelphia and across the state , involving massive canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts to elect underdog candidates .
A year ago , organizer Kendra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected to the city council , where she joined councilwoman Helen Gym , who has deep roots in Philly organizing spaces .
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner—elected in 2017—was familiar to the activists he defended when they were arrested during Occupy demonstrations .
Nikil Saval and Rick Krajewski were each elected to the state legislature , where they ’ ll join fellow democratic socialists Summer Lee , Elizabeth Fiedlner , and Sara Innamorato , who were all reelected to second terms on Tuesday .

Looking to ensure all those votes would be counted in the long lead-up to Election Day, local organizers and a statewide coalition, Pennsylvania Stands Up, have been in touch with a number of national election defense outfits comprised of the Working Families Party; the Sunrise Movement; the National Domestic Workers Alliance; and national unions, including SEIU as well as Indivisible, among many other groups that have been providing support to protests around the country. On Wednesday, one such outlet called Protect the Results—a massive coalition of 165 organizations—announced it would “not be activating the entire national mobilization network” for demonstrations that had been planned in advance but remained “ready to activate if necessary.”
Organizers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere decided not to heed the stand-down suggestion. “There was communication, but Pennsylvania groups are not taking direction from the national groups,” said Becca Rast, Bernie Sanders’s former national field director who helped to organize count-the-vote actions in her hometown of Lancaster. Other groups, including the Sunrise Movement and We the People, in Michigan, among others, moved ahead with protests, too. Many were eager not to repeat what had happened with the calamitous Florida recount in 2000, when Al Gore’s campaign discouraged protests while the so-called Brooks Brothers rioters and the national GOP moved aggressively to claim the disputed election.
This time around, “there’s just a lot more of a mixed message from the right, and they don’t have consistency in what they’re asking for, which undermines the whole thing,” Rast told me. “Progressives are clear: Count every vote, and we want to see it happen as quickly as possible.” Months of saber-rattling from Trump also led many local officials to expect a fight.


newrepublic--2020-11-06--Trump’s Divorce From Fox News Is Getting Ugly

Over the last four days , Fox News ’ s normal hierarchy has been inverted .
Ordinarily , its opinion side—anchored by Tucker Carlson , Sean Hannity , and Laura Ingraham—is the network ’ s beating heart , an engine powering large portions of right-wing media .
Narratives spouted by these figures are embraced everywhere on the right ; under Donald Trump ’ s presidency they have , at times , dictated government policy .
Fox News might be , in effect , state television under Trump , but it has taken an active , rather than a passive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be tabulated , its news division has had much of the power , changing the tenor of the network ’ s coverage .
Though still tinged with Fox ’ s dominant ideology , it has covered the election that is actually happening : a legitimate one that Joe Biden is winning .
Trump ’ s authoritarian attempts to cast doubt on the results have been batted down , albeit without the gusto of other networks .
Fox News has become a cathartic place for liberals : You can watch the president lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its inception , the tension between Fox ’ s news and opinion programming was never greater than it has been over the past four years .
But the 2020 election is pushing it to its breaking point .
Now the news side ’ s decision to call Arizona for Biden early has put it in direct conflict with the president and his allies and supporters—it went from Trump ’ s preferred network to his scapegoat in a matter of hours .
That conflict between Fox News and Trump points to a rockier than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the Republican Party .

That will undoubtedly be true, but the last several days have shown that the transition will hardly be seamless. Fox News has been a frequent target of Trump’s, in large part because of its news division, which he deems insufficiently loyal—it is, after all, not as rabidly partisan as programming like Fox & Friends or Tucker Carlson Tonight. Anything less than total devotion is not enough for the president. Chris Wallace’s abysmal performance as moderator in the first debate was inexplicably seen by the White House as proof of the news side’s bias—by ineptly trying to get the president to stop interrupting Biden, Wallace was shielding the Democrat. In the days leading up to the election, Trump whined that Fox News was airing too many negative ads about him and not doing enough to aid his reelection battle.
The decision to call Arizona for Biden late on election night has turned the network into Trump’s public enemy number one. After the call was made, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was deployed to beg Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch to reverse the decision. The network’s decision desk refused and has stuck by the call, though the margins in the state have tightened significantly. For Trump, it was proof that Fox News and Murdoch were against him. “Why do you think Rupert attacks me so often?” he reportedly asked Newsmax founder Chris Ruddy. “Rupert always tells me to my face that he loves me, but I guess he doesn’t.”
Fox News’s opinion-side programming has tried to clean up the mess—its hosts, including Carlson and Hannity, have questioned the decision to call Arizona so early. Both have devoted significant chunks of programming to baseless allegations of voter fraud. And not long after Trump’s sons called for more support from Republican elected officials on Thursday, they hosted GOP Senators Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham, all of whom cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election. Graham pushed on state legislatures to send pro-Trump electors in states that Biden is winning to the Electoral College; Hannity, meanwhile, has become obsessed with re-rerunning the Pennsylvania election. But Fox News has nevertheless become a punching bag on the right. Armed protesters massed outside Maricopa County’s vote-counting center chanted, “Fox News sucks!” on Wednesday evening.


newrepublic--2020-11-06--North Carolina Keeps Breaking My Heart

North Carolina Keeps Breaking My Heart

One day in late July , I watched as a family of six , just two docks over , rolled their elderly grandmother ’ s wheelchair along the uneven wood planks , out toward the edge of their pier .
At its end waited a massive structure—I ’ m not sure if you could call this creation a boat .
Floating atop of two gigantic metal tubes was what amounted to a backyard on water—a flat , square wooden base at least 15 feet per side , the edges enclosed by a white picket fence , the overhead protected from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the flooring complete with green turf .
There was a boat engine rigged up to the side to push them out into the middle of the lake , where I imagine they could do just about anything they wanted .
Truly , this home-brewed “ boat ” ruled .
As they lifted their grandma out onto this floating paradise , and the sun began to dip beneath the trees , they strung up a trio of flags .
Two of them were that familiar navy blue , the kind adorned with Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In between the pair of Trump beacons whipped the Confederate flag .
This wasn ’ t an aberration .
These exact same flags were on dozens of boats I saw pass by on High Rock this summer .
They were there when I drove around Lake Norman .
( Both lakes featured their own well-attended Trump parades . )
I saw these flags on trucks and cars and vans .
They flew from double-wides and three-story brick homes .
In truth , it didn ’ t take long before it was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eye most .
Same as how I had once stopped truly seeing Fame , the Trump signs faded into the background a little too easily for my comfort .
Following the 2016 election , I , like many others , was pissed—at the Democratic Party , both nationally and in the state , for failing to recognize how motivated Republican voters were to put him in the White House ; at my New York friends and co-workers for being gobsmacked at the fact that the United States was in fact still a colonialist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of all at myself , for not having done more in my immediate circle to overturn the crucial votes of the many family members who filled in that bubble next to Trump ’ s name .
Standing on the dock , watching a snake that got caught in my sinking net thrash around as I struggled to slice it free , it was hard not to feel similarly stuck .
In a recent interview with North Carolina historian and journalist Rob Christensen , we talked about how , in comparison to other states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a palpable sense of place and pride .
We spoke of it in a positive light , reasoning that this pride could be used to do something meaningful , like in 2016 , when voters , tired of being embarrassed on a national scale , replaced Republican Governor Pat McCrory with Roy Cooper .
But I also recognized that this same pride was much more regularly twisted in the service of more insidious causes .

At the time of writing, it is unclear whether the Republican Party can legitimately claim North Carolina as a full victory. There are still 157,000 outstanding ballots to be accounted for, which, given the Democratic advantage in mail-in ballots, could well help Biden and Cunningham make up their current margins, though it seems unlikely these ballots will put them over the top. Biden trails by 80,000 votes, while Cunningham is down by 97,000. Even with the outstanding ballots, those are long odds, with Republicans expected to take both races. That would mean the GOP, with the exception of the governorship, has run the table in what political experts insist is a swing state: The Republicans held their dual-chamber majority in the state legislature, ensuring another decade of looking to the courts to unwind the forthcoming racist gerrymandered electoral maps. (The one place these yet-to-be counted ballots will matter is in the race for state chief justice, the person tasked with ruling on the constitutionality of said maps.)
Regardless of who claims the presidential and senatorial elections, the Old North State made one thing certain: It heard the message to “VOTE!” in “the most important election of our lifetimes” because only massive turnout would rescue our country and our state, loud and clear. This call to arms was made over and over again by the Democratic powers that be. But these same messages were also coming from the Republicans, who have spent the last decade using their power to gerrymander the state’s electoral maps and fighting every effort to expand absentee and early voting, even going as far as trying to legally argue that ballots missing a signature or some other minor error should be entirely thrown out instead of easily amended by the voter—efforts that routinely targeted Black, Native, and Latinx voters.
You need only hold 2020’s returns alongside the numbers from 2016 to know that Trumpism, and whatever form it takes after the president has left the Oval Office, is quite clearly going to be alive and well in North Carolina for years to come: 400,000 more people in the state voted for Trump this election than in 2016. In my home county, Rowan, at least 7,000 more came out. Even in the counties where his advantage slipped between elections, like Union or Cabarrus, he still picked up at least 10,000 more votes than he did four years ago. This turnout trickled down to the Senate election, with Tillis scooping up 1.2 million more votes than he did in the 2014 midterms.


newrepublic--2020-11-06--Let’s Take a Moment to Check in With Some Extremely Rich People

The miserable presidential race is still underway , with stress-inducing counts slogging along in a handful of swing states ; the much-rumored congressional blue wave turned out only to be a sad drip .
This week , Trump supporters , occasionally armed , have attempted to interfere with vote counts in several cities .
( “ Stop the vote !
” a crowd very democratically screamed outside a convention center in Detroit where ballots were being tallied on Thursday . )
We are also , in case it even needs mentioning , still in the middle of an unprecedented public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed state response that kicked off a catastrophic recession to boot .
Things , as we have noted before , are bad .
But while everyone else waits on edge , the turmoil has conveniently meant more spoils for the rich .
The same stock market that skyrocketed during deadly coronavirus waves and a collapsing economy has again perked up in this moment of extreme national division .
“ It looks likely that we ’ ll see a split Congress , which , based on history , has been the preference of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CNBC , as though “ the stock market ” were a sentient thing that harbored finely wrought hopes and dreams .
“ Biden ’ s not going to be able to raise taxes—you get the Mitch McConnell handcuffs , ” one former hedge fund manager told The New York Times .
“ So it ’ s kind of the best of both worlds.
” In the absence of , say , any kind of meaningful health care reform , environmental protections , or new stimulus checks from a deadlocked Congress , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class has found a silver lining .
The passing of a ballot measure in California that allowed ride-share and delivery companies to classify their drivers as contractors also delivered a windfall for Uber ’ s top shareholders , including co-founder Garrett Camp , whose net worth rose by nearly $ 350 million in the wake of the decision .
In Illinois , Chicago hedge fund CEO and longtime Republican donor Ken Griffin , who poured $ 54 million into defeating a measure to raise taxes on the wealthy in the state , likewise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measure fail ) this week .
Not long ago , he had worried about a potential Democratic sweep in Congress : “ You ’ ll see some incredibly progressive economic proposals , ” he warned at a charity event .
“ I think that ’ s actually really negative for assets.
” Luckily for the assets , the sweep was averted ; the problem that remains concerns the 99 percent of Americans who would have stood to benefit from even the most modest of tax hikes on Griffin and the like , particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruinous economic downturn barely a decade after the last .

The miserable presidential race is still underway, with stress-inducing counts slogging along in a handful of swing states; the much-rumored congressional blue wave turned out only to be a sad drip. This week, Trump supporters, occasionally armed, have attempted to interfere with vote counts in several cities. (“Stop the vote!” a crowd very democratically screamed outside a convention center in Detroit where ballots were being tallied on Thursday.) We are also, in case it even needs mentioning, still in the middle of an unprecedented public health crisis, made worse by a failed state response that kicked off a catastrophic recession to boot. Things, as we have noted before, are bad.
But while everyone else waits on edge, the turmoil has conveniently meant more spoils for the rich. The same stock market that skyrocketed during deadly coronavirus waves and a collapsing economy has again perked up in this moment of extreme national division. “It looks likely that we’ll see a split Congress, which, based on history, has been the preference of the stock market,” one investor told CNBC, as though “the stock market” were a sentient thing that harbored finely wrought hopes and dreams. “Biden’s not going to be able to raise taxes—you get the Mitch McConnell handcuffs,” one former hedge fund manager told The New York Times. “So it’s kind of the best of both worlds.” In the absence of, say, any kind of meaningful health care reform, environmental protections, or new stimulus checks from a deadlocked Congress, it’s nice to know that the investor class has found a silver lining.


newrepublic--2020-11-07--Trump Is Still the President, and the Pandemic Is Getting Worse

Municipal governments can be very effective at pinpointing exactly where infections are taking place and taking swift action to prevent further spread .
“ By sharing what ’ s happening at the neighborhood level or at the zip-code level , it actually helps to get people on the same page and to motivate them to take action , whether it ’ s faith leaders , or elected officials , or the heads of community-based organizations , ” Chokshi said .
“ It helps to galvanize everyone to say , Look , something is happening in our communities , we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worse .
And if there ’ s one thing that we ’ ve learned about this virus , which is such a formidable foe , it ’ s that swift action is necessary.
” Local officials can also help communities and neighborhoods send messages about ways to protect yourself and others , from preventative measures to getting tested and treated .
States can also be powerful players in addressing the pandemic—in some cases , more effectively than the national government .
While the U.S. might not legally be able to mandate mask-wearing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , 33 states and the District of Columbia required people to wear masks in most public situations .
Other states have developed contract-tracing apps , including apps for visitors to check into every day with potential symptoms .
Some states instituted restrictions on travel from certain regions and testing regimes for those who had been in Covid-19 hot zones .
Still others have cut down on how many people can be in restaurants or stores at a time .
And at the height of spread , some states implemented stay-at-home orders .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to change tack .
Although officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Food and Drug Administration , Health and Human Services , and elsewhere have often come under sharp criticism for kowtowing to the Trump administration , they may soon be given freer rein to begin implementing more effective strategies .
And even if they continue keeping a low profile as the pandemic rages on , they will still begin the transition process of working with Biden ’ s team .
That can include shifting certain approaches to line up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as long as it doesn ’ t directly conflict with existing orders from the current administration .
“ These folks are professionals , ” Benjamin told me .
“ This is not a new process for them .
”

Municipal governments can be very effective at pinpointing exactly where infections are taking place and taking swift action to prevent further spread. “By sharing what’s happening at the neighborhood level or at the zip-code level, it actually helps to get people on the same page and to motivate them to take action, whether it’s faith leaders, or elected officials, or the heads of community-based organizations,” Chokshi said. “It helps to galvanize everyone to say, Look, something is happening in our communities, we need to take steps quickly before things get worse. And if there’s one thing that we’ve learned about this virus, which is such a formidable foe, it’s that swift action is necessary.” Local officials can also help communities and neighborhoods send messages about ways to protect yourself and others, from preventative measures to getting tested and treated.
States can also be powerful players in addressing the pandemic—in some cases, more effectively than the national government. While the U.S. might not legally be able to mandate mask-wearing, for instance, states can. This year, 33 states and the District of Columbia required people to wear masks in most public situations. Other states have developed contract-tracing apps, including apps for visitors to check into every day with potential symptoms. Some states instituted restrictions on travel from certain regions and testing regimes for those who had been in Covid-19 hot zones. Still others have cut down on how many people can be in restaurants or stores at a time. And at the height of spread, some states implemented stay-at-home orders.
U.S. agencies will also have the opportunity to change tack. Although officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Health and Human Services, and elsewhere have often come under sharp criticism for kowtowing to the Trump administration, they may soon be given freer rein to begin implementing more effective strategies. And even if they continue keeping a low profile as the pandemic rages on, they will still begin the transition process of working with Biden’s team. That can include shifting certain approaches to line up with the incoming administration’s plans, as long as it doesn’t directly conflict with existing orders from the current administration. “These folks are professionals,” Benjamin told me. “This is not a new process for them.”


newrepublic--2020-11-07--Trump Has Never Been More Dangerous Than He Is Now

Joe Biden is the president-elect of the United States .
But we are now in President Trump ’ s lame-duck period , a roughly two-and-a-half-month interregnum that the country must endure before Biden takes the oath of office to become the nation ’ s forty-sixth president .
Until then , Trump retains control of the executive branch .
His appointees remain in charge of federal departments and agencies ; his orders to civil servants and the military carry legal weight and force ; American diplomats around the world carry out foreign policy on his behalf .
In stable times , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Inauguration Day is relatively orderly .
Departing administrations wrap up their final policy goals as top officials ready themselves for life outside of Washington .
Incoming presidents rush to line up their Cabinet and top White House appointments , while hundreds of staffers prepare for a smooth assumption of power .
Federal law outlines how agencies are supposed to plan for such a transition months in advance ; that below-the-radar process reportedly has been ongoing , so far without significant hindrance .
This year , however , Trump ’ s self-interested approach to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaotic transition than Americans are used to experiencing .
Perhaps the greatest constraint on his behavior over the past four years was the knowledge that he would need to run for reelection this year .
Now that burden is lifted .
Trump is , in some ways , freer to act without fear of political consequences than at any other point in his tenure .
The consequences from that flexibility—or perhaps impunity—could be profound .

On foreign policy, Trump is even less encumbered by domestic constraints. His instincts have been largely deconstructive over the past four years: pulling the country out of international agreements like the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal, limiting U.S. participation in the World Health Organization, and eschewing traditional American allies while trying to forge ties with illiberal and authoritarian regimes. A lame-duck Trump may feel emboldened to do what he could not get away with while up for reelection.
Trump may reignite the U.S. trade wars with China and the European Union, claiming that he was carrying out his America First trade policies while also deepening the economic hole out of which a Biden administration would have to climb. The president could follow through on his threats to withdraw U.S. forces from Europe or even pull the country out of NATO entirely. And he could give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a parting political gift by sanctioning the formal annexation of large swaths of the West Bank, a move long forestalled by U.S. diplomatic opposition. Biden could try to reverse some of these moves after taking office, but the long-term damage for American credibility would already be done.
There is one area where Trump would actually be following in the footsteps of his predecessors: doling out controversial pardons in the waning days of a presidency. The practice arguably began with Andrew Johnson, who failed to obtain the Democratic nomination to run for another term in 1868. After Ulysses S. Grant won in November, Johnson used the pardon power to grant a mass amnesty for any former Confederates who hadn’t already been pardoned, including former Confederate President Jefferson Davis and former General Robert E. Lee. After years of clashes with Republicans in Congress and a heated impeachment battle, Johnson also declined to attend Grant’s inauguration. Trump has already used pardons to achieve personal and partisan goals throughout his term, and he may be inclined to ramp up that behavior as his presidency winds down.


newrepublic--2020-11-07--Donald Trump Lost the Election. He’s Losing His Party, Too.

Let ’ s be clear about what we are seeing .
President Trump is doing all that he can to prevent ballots against him from being counted in an election he has now lost .
He and his surrogates are encouraging his supporters , some of whom are armed , to disrupt the final stages of the electoral process .
Though his actual legal cases being brought in defense of his claims are weak , his surrogates are directly urging judges he has he appointed to back him anyway .
If it were another country , few would hesitate to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempted coup .
But spirits are a bit higher than one would expect given the situation as understood in the abstract : Some protesters have taken to the streets to defend the count , yes , but far more people have contented themselves with roasting the president on the internet and on television , rightfully confident that the coup will fail .
Why won ’ t it work ?
Part of the answer is that the president and his immediate political circle are comically lazy and inept .
By their own recognition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among themselves who might competently manage the administration ’ s lawsuits ; they simply don ’ t have it in them to pull off what would be one of the most extraordinary swindles in American history .
But a larger part of the answer is that the president ’ s party and its officeholders in state and local governments are uninterested in materially helping him .
Those who ’ ve spent the last four years breathlessly awaiting the moment the Republican Party would meaningfully retreat from Trump should sit up and pay attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here .
It ’ s not happening as visibly and dramatically as many imagined it might , or for the reasons many hoped it would .
But it is happening .
In the past few days , condemnations of Trump ’ s claims about voter fraud or defenses of the electoral process have come not only from Trump critics like Senators Ben Sasse , Susan Collins , and Mitt Romney , but figures who ’ ve generally been more defensive of the president like former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swing state governors Doug Ducey of Arizona and Mike Dewine of Ohio .
Senator Mitch McConnell , who ’ s on the cusp of returning to the chamber as majority leader in January , has also pushed back .
“ Claiming you ’ ve won the election , ” he told reporters on Wednesday , “ is different from finishing the counting.
” And in Pennsylvania , where President-elect Joe Biden ’ s lead is growing and conspiracy theories are flying , the state Senate ’ s Republican majority leader , Jake Corman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might circumvent the voters ’ wishes and award the state ’ s electors to Trump .

Let’s be clear about what we are seeing. President Trump is doing all that he can to prevent ballots against him from being counted in an election he has now lost. He and his surrogates are encouraging his supporters, some of whom are armed, to disrupt the final stages of the electoral process. Though his actual legal cases being brought in defense of his claims are weak, his surrogates are directly urging judges he has appointed to back him anyway. If it were another country, few would hesitate to call this what it is: an attempted coup. But spirits are a bit higher than one would expect given the situation as understood in the abstract: Some protesters have taken to the streets to defend the count, yes, but far more people have contented themselves with roasting the president on the internet and on television, rightfully confident that the coup will fail.
Why won’t it work? Part of the answer is that the president and his immediate political circle are comically lazy and inept. By their own recognition, they lack even a James Baker–like figure among themselves who might competently manage the administration’s lawsuits; they simply don’t have it in them to pull off what would be one of the most extraordinary swindles in American history. But a larger part of the answer is that the president’s party and its officeholders in state and local governments are uninterested in materially helping him. Those who’ve spent the last four years breathlessly awaiting the moment the Republican Party would meaningfully retreat from Trump should sit up and pay attention. This is it. It is here. It’s not happening as visibly and dramatically as many imagined it might or for the reasons many hoped it would. But it is happening.


newrepublic--2020-11-07--The Election Is Over. Here’s a Vision From the Left for the Next Four Years.

The thing I am most hoping people understand is that Biden winning the presidency doesn ’ t “ fix ” everything .
In fact , in some ways it ’ s going to make our work even harder .
Sure , there is going to be a Democrat in the White House , but what good is that going to do for those of us in the South , who will continue to do the work to unravel systemic racism and poverty in our communities mostly untouched by federal policies ?
Obama in the White House didn ’ t get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we now have the worst health outcomes in the country .
Finding a way to codify Roe isn ’ t going to help us when most of the pregnant people in this area who want an abortion can ’ t afford a clinic , anyway .
Just like no one came to campaign here when the race was on , no one is going to prioritize us when the new administration is settled .
And even worse , the big donors and national progressive groups are going to pack up and go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election is over , and Biden is in , everything is OK. What we need as a movement here in the South is a commitment to our region—one that involves investing in us and our work , not cycling in every few years from D.C. or New York when there might be a big election , or when a headline-grabbing bill that is going to harm our community so badly finally registers on a national scale .
We need more than a change in federal policies—we need a direct and large investment into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ground , led by and for Black people , brown people , poor people , disabled people , and immigrants .
We need the resources given to us directly so we can thrive , and the autonomy to make the changes we need as we see fit for ourselves .
We know how to break the chains placed on us by our regressive red-state governments—we need you to finally give us the tools to do it .
Bianey Garcia , organizer at Make the Road New York : I ’ m not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporting my tío Bernie Sanders .
Biden , I think he ’ s more pro-immigrant , pro-TGNC community , so I really preferred to have him instead of Trump .
Because Trump is a crazy asshole .

Abolition Versus the Empty Spectacle of Criminal Justice Reform
Mariame Kaba, organizer and educator, researcher in residence on “Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action,” Barnard Center for Research on Women’s Social Justice Institute:
The folks who already have been in the nonprofit industrial complex and criminal punishment reformer complex will technically have “audiences,” if not directly with Biden, [with] administration officials who will be back in power again. So people at the Department of Justice who were very much behind pushing consent decrees and things like that will likely be back again in office, maybe even in positions that are higher up than they were in the previous Democratic administration, and maybe with some more power.
I think you will have a scramble around Kamala Harris and others who will feel some sort of need to burnish their criminal punishment bona fides in some way, to make gestures toward some forms of reform.
Biden has already suggested that he is going to give more money to the cops. We’d be under a situation where there’s just going to be a slew of procedural reforms offered that will give more resources, more money, and more legitimacy to policing under the guise of reforming policing.
I think, in some ways, those of us who are doing more radical [things]—and by that, I mean, [who] care about getting at the root of the problem—it will be the same seduction of reform and the same liberals feeling their oats around that. So maybe we would have difficulty getting an audience with the more general Democrats because there will be a lot of sound and fury in the direction of not that much change, in the end: these kinds of surface-level interventions that will preserve the current status quo.
And I think there will be some worry on the part of the administration about antagonizing law enforcement, because law enforcement has taken such an antagonistic role against the Democrats and the Democratic Party, that they are going to feel the need pretty quickly to show themselves to be allies to law enforcement.


newrepublic--2020-11-07--The Tragedy of Joe Biden’s Triumph

The Tragedy of Joe Biden’s Triumph

An unshakable feature of the last four years has been this heavy , crushing incredulity that Donald Trump managed to become president .
A lot of things had to go right for him at once , and he was incapable of recreating that stroke of luck in 2020 .
But it might be even more remarkable that President-elect Joe Biden managed to do it as well .
After all , Trump was an extremely famous TV billionaire , and proved over and over that his core of support , about 40 percent of registered voters , would wade through fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sort of man that America rewards : born rich , a criminal and a fraud , vicious and cruel to most people in his life , willing to do anything to win , and completely oblivious to his own failures .
People like that do well here .
In hindsight , it feels inevitable that he became president .
Biden , meanwhile , ended his 2008 campaign after finishing fifth in Iowa , having earlier called the man who would be president “ clean and articulate.
” He flunked out of running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late as the first month of voting in this year ’ s primary , it seemed as if his campaign was dead ; it was only the intervention of the Democratic establishment , following his win in South Carolina , that catapulted him to victory .
He didn ’ t have a signature policy , or even much skill as a politician .
His campaign speeches were rambling , more likely to involve a story about his teenage leg hair or San Francisco ’ s gay bathhouses than an accurate description of how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health care or college .
In a debate , he answered a question about the legacy of slavery by rambling about record players and Venezuela .
Whatever his skills were , he is no one ’ s picture of a polished , charismatic , or energetic politician .
He ’ s certainly no Barack Obama .
How did Biden end up in a position to run for president in the first place , let alone winning the White House ( as several networks declared on Saturday ) ?
The more immediate answer is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

The first thing to note is that Donald Trump Jr. wishes he would get a 6:57 a.m. text from his dad telling him he loved him. It’s not clear exactly what these instances of patient fatherly affection for his screw-up son were supposed to demonstrate; perhaps that Biden loved his son so much that he must have helped him do corruption out of pure familial devotion. (One of the Daily Caller reporters on the story noted they had “found nothing on the drive indicating Joe Biden was cashing out from his son’s foreign business dealings,” which was supposed to be the Actual Problem here.) In fact, these outlets seem to have hit upon one of the few unimpeachable parts of Biden as a person: He loves his addict son, through all of his failures and wild exploits.
Political commentators have made much of Biden’s tragic life and mournful air. Fintan O’Toole dubbed him the country’s “designated mourner” in January; a year earlier, Michael Kruse declared grief to be Biden’s “superpower.” His dedication to Hunter is an inextricable part of this tragedy. Hunter is the son left behind after Beau Biden, the Iraq veteran and promising politician in his own right, died of brain cancer in 2015; as children, the two brothers survived the car accident that killed their mother and their little sister, who was 13 months old. It is impossible to talk about Joe’s relationship with Hunter without this context: the devastated father and his little boys who were left behind, one of whom would be gone too young, while the other would careen from failure to failure, marred by being a crack addict and the lesser son. Stories abound about Biden’s sincere desire to commune with those going through illness or death, from those he works with to random voters he meets on the campaign trail.
Naturally, Biden was not running to be America’s Mourner in Chief, and there’s no real evidence that his unique ability to translate sadness and loss played a part in his win. As much as Biden liked to talk about his mission to restore the soul of the nation, a deep understanding of grief isn’t the most qualifying characteristic of a good president. It’s equally impossible to think about Hunter’s addiction without thinking about how Biden’s career has impacted other addicts, other people’s sons and daughters. As Christian Lorentzen noted in August, the anti-drug crusade was pivotal to Biden’s earlier career; Biden “took part in the hysteria over drugs, and often tacked to the right” of Ronald Reagan on drug enforcement. Famously, he drafted the 1994 Crime Bill; in 1986, he wrote the legislation that gave us the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and was “the lead anti-drug guy among the Democrats.” Years later, Biden said he made a mistake. Funny who gets to make mistakes and who doesn’t.


America’s Unlikely Savior

Sisyphus finally got the boulder up the hill .
And Joe Biden—48 years after he was elected to the Senate @ @ @ @ @ launched his first race for the White House—is president-elect .
His belated triumph , which @ @ @ @ @ rapid succession called Pennsylvania for the Democrats , was achieved in true Biden fashion—after days @ @ @ @ @ .
But the election was more than a vindication of persistence or even a partial @ @ @ @ @ boodling , brain-dead regime of Donald J. Trump .
Playing against type , the logorrhea-prone @ @ @ @ @ , beginning with his stunning comeback in the South Carolina primary , after he finished @ @ @ @ @ and fifth in New Hampshire .
No candidate in the era of the primaries has @ @ @ @ @ as Biden did in South Carolina , thanks to overwhelming Black support that extended from @ @ @ @ @ women in small towns throughout the state .

When Biden tried again for the White House in 2007, the torrent of words was unquestionably his own, but the message was little more than “I am Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.” A few days before the Iowa caucuses, where Biden was to finish an embarrassing fifth, the candidate’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, asked me at a Des Moines restaurant, “Why doesn’t Joe get more attention from the media? He’s done so much in the Senate.” I was left trying to explain how hard it was for any normal senator to stand out in a presidential race dominated by superstar candidates such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Fate saved Biden for one final mission as the avatar of decency in the most important election since the Civil War.
Obama, of course, rescued Biden from the fate of so many ambitious, long-serving senators: dreaming of the might-have-beens from his failed presidential campaigns. Biden—whose appeal as a VP candidate was his foreign policy expertise rather than his electoral track record—was the odd-couple counterpart to Obama. Long-winded and emotional in contrast to Obama’s succinct detachment, Biden thrived in the White House, in part because of his commitment to the old-fashioned political virtue of unshakable loyalty.
Biden, who in popular culture became the aviator-sunglasses-wearing Uncle Joe of the twenty-first century, also recognized his limitations. The death of his 46-year-old son, Beau, from a brain tumor in 2015 prevented Biden from running in 2016 as a Happy Warrior. But even if the grief-stricken Biden had decided to enter the race, he would have been squeezed in the primaries between Hillary Clinton’s historic candidacy and Bernie Sanders’s dramatic challenge from the left.


newrepublic--2020-11-08--How Biden Can Beat Covid-19

How Biden Can Beat Covid-19

One of the top priorities is to establish a federal system for acquiring and distributing supplies .
In the absence of national leadership , states , cities , and counties were left to develop their own plans—and , frequently , to compete against each other for resources like tests and protective gear .
“ That resulted in everybody paying more for materials and products than they needed to , when we could have leveraged the buying power of the national government and the clout of the national government , ” Benjamin said .
A new administration could negotiate better prices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need these supplies the most—including places that might not be able to afford these resources on their own .
“ Then you use the power of government to identify what the choke points are and what the needs are , ” he said , which will likely include everything from swabs and reagents for testing to building up a contact-tracing workforce , to distributing ventilators and medications .
There are preexisting tools for helping the federal government do that , Ranney pointed out : Fully activating the Defense Production Act would increase domestic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment , and testing supplies .
Another priority , Ranney said , should be federal data collection .
A robust national database could build from existing work by organizations like GetUsPPE to distribute resources equitably .
But better data at the federal level would help in other ways , too .
“ It ’ s essential to empower the CDC to collect and share real-time , accurate data on every facet of this pandemic , ” Ranney said .
“ It ’ s absolutely ridiculous that our best sources of data remain private @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data “ would inform every part of future responses to both this pandemic and future ones—ranging from decisions about school reopening to decisions about who needs to be prioritized for PPE and testing supplies , to decisions about vaccine distribution.
” Biden ’ s pandemic plan , which was first released in March , says he would prioritize testing and contact tracing , making drive-through testing sites more common and accessible and investing in at-home and rapid tests .
He will also focus on producing enough PPE for those who need it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most vulnerable to the virus—from the elderly to marginalized communities .
And finally , it promises that a Biden administration will emphasize evidence-based guidelines that are clear and easy to follow , and would plan for the equitable rollout of potential treatments and vaccines .
What would clear , evidence-based guidelines look like ?
We probably won ’ t see a federal mask-wearing mandate , because the legality of such a move is unclear .
But Biden would encourage and support local and state mask mandates .
And while that might sound vague @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Benjamin .
“ They can put out the science to the general public , so the general public can see the benefits of mask-wearing .
We ’ ve not had a campaign to convince the American people that mask-wearing is right , ” Benjamin said .
“ The evidence is now very clear that wearing a mask is probably the single most effective thing that you can do until we get a vaccine—of all the layered protections that we have .
”

Biden has also pledged to restore support to the World Health Organization. Public health experts who have spoken with Biden’s team believe he may do so on the first day of his presidency. Returning to the organization would signal a greater willingness to address the international issues raised by the virus, in addition to domestic concerns.
One of the top priorities is to establish a federal system for acquiring and distributing supplies. In the absence of national leadership, states, cities, and counties were left to develop their own plans—and, frequently, to compete against each other for resources like tests and protective gear. “That resulted in everybody paying more for materials and products than they needed to, when we could have leveraged the buying power of the national government and the clout of the national government,” Benjamin said. A new administration could negotiate better prices and equitable distribution to the places that need these supplies the most—including places that might not be able to afford these resources on their own. “Then you use the power of government to identify what the choke points are and what the needs are,” he said, which will likely include everything from swabs and reagents for testing to building up a contact-tracing workforce, to distributing ventilators and medications. There are preexisting tools for helping the federal government do that, Ranney pointed out: Fully activating the Defense Production Act would increase domestic production of masks, other personal protective equipment, and testing supplies.
Another priority, Ranney said, should be federal data collection. A robust national database could build from existing work by organizations like GetUsPPE to distribute resources equitably. But better data at the federal level would help in other ways, too. “It’s essential to empower the CDC to collect and share real-time, accurate data on every facet of this pandemic,” Ranney said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that our best sources of data remain private or academic datasets.” Expanded, accessible data “would inform every part of future responses to both this pandemic and future ones—ranging from decisions about school reopening to decisions about who needs to be prioritized for PPE and testing supplies, to decisions about vaccine distribution.”


newrepublic--2020-11-08--A Week-Long Election, in Pictures

A Week-Long Election, in Pictures

Most of America spent this week at home watching the events of this drawn-out election play out on their screens @ @ @ @ @ the anger , the joy , and the relief of this week didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ doors .
Out on the streets , voters and ballot-counters and protesters of all stripes @ @ @ @ @ fret , and—for supporters of President-elect Joe Biden—ultimately celebrate .
Photojournalist Mark Peterson traveled to @ @ @ @ @ , and New York City to watch votes get counted , pro-democracy protesters rally in @ @ @ @ @ and Trump supporters cling to flagging hopes that this is not how his presidency ends @ @ @ @ @ , angry Trump supporters , exultant Biden fans , and a change in the national @ @ @ @ @ begins its dénouement .

Most of America spent this week at home watching the events of this drawn-out election play out on their screens. But the anxiety, the anger, the joy, and the relief of this week didn’t take place solely behind closed doors.
Out on the streets, voters and ballot-counters and protesters of all stripes turned out to fight, fret, and—for supporters of President-elect Joe Biden—ultimately celebrate.
Photojournalist Mark Peterson traveled to Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New York City to watch votes get counted, pro-democracy protesters rally in support of election officials, and Trump supporters cling to flagging hopes that this is not how his presidency ends. He saw impatient voters, angry Trump supporters, exultant Biden fans, and a change in the national mood as the Trump administration began its dénouement.
Shortly after Pennsylvania was called for the Democratic ticket, pushing Biden over the 270 Electoral College–vote line needed to claim the win, the president-elect issued a statement calling for unity and healing. “With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation,” he said. “There’s nothing we can’t do if we do it together.” Biden’s sentiments have a meaning beyond the moment. He will likely take office with the U.S. Senate still in the hands of Republicans—though a pair of runoff elections in Georgia, scheduled for January, provide some remote hope that the Senate may yet be claimed by the Democrats.
Even as President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President–elect Kamala Harris basked in their victory, it remained unclear whether a concession of the race from President Donald Trump would be forthcoming. Among his array of tweets on Saturday, many of which were flagged by Twitter for misinformation, came an insistent all-caps blurt, “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT.” Whatever quixotic schemes he and his allies cook up in the days to come, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
One of the larger rallies during the last days of Trump’s campaign took place on Halloween in Reading, Pennsylvania. The crowds of supporters were active and responsive, voices booming as the president worked his call-and-response routine. But the crowds were carrying most of the energy. “It was his second rally of the day,” Peterson said, “He already seemed worn out, with a few rallies to go.”


newrepublic--2020-11-09--In The Undoing, a Grisly Murder Rocks High Society Manhattan

Everybody loves to watch “ smug marrieds ” —to borrow Bridget Jones ’ s phrase—fall apart , and if they ’ re rich , then all the better .
That lust for schadenfreude is what sells tabloid stories about celebrity breakups , but it ’ s also been at the heart of some of the best-scripted screen psychodramas of the past decade .
In hit book adaptations like Gone Girl and Big Little Lies and crime series like Broadchurch and The Fall , a parade of contented spouses have been shattered by the revelation that their husband or wife was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but in fact a violent criminal .
Why are these stories of marital reversal so engaging ?
Part of it is our simple appetite for a fall from grace , but another part is the way other people ’ s misfortunes seem like vindications of our own , different choices : I would have known , we think to ourselves , safe in our confirmation bias , and nestle further into the couch .
That fatal assumption is both the subject and the title of Jean Hanff Korelitz ’ s 2014 novel You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miniseries starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant and airing under the title The Undoing .
The plots of the book and the show differ to the extent that one doesn ’ t spoil the other , but the premise remains the same .
Grace Reinhart ( Kidman ) is a happy relationship therapist living on the money-slicked Upper East Side of Manhattan with tween son Henry and pediatric oncologist husband Jonathan Sachs ( Hugh Grant ) .
She stalks the city clad in a revolving series of jewel-colored , expensive-looking coats , exuding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the outcome of her life .
Henry plays the violin .
Every apartment building she enters has multiple doormen .
Between scenes , shots of sunlight glinting off Manhattan architecture add to the sense of being granted access to a secret , rich-people New York , where everything is different .
In details like this , director Susanne Bier and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle ( Slumdog Millionaire ) turn what could have been a workaday whodunnit into a show that practically smells of Central Park East .

The Undoing is about love and willful blindness but also class. By the same logic that Austen’s marriage plots were always about money, because her heroines’ marital choices dictated their material futures, The Undoing is about how economic inequality in New York City flows through the prisms of gender and race. Kelley weaves class distinctions into the texture of the show, with details like Grace’s one-on-one pilates class and her studied over-friendliness to Elena, drawing boundaries along economic lines that thrum just below the level of your attention.
Grace is isolated and afraid—in the novel, she’s confused that the police don’t feel sorry for her—but, more importantly, her humiliation is total. She’s lost standing as a professional, since she’s a couples’ therapist, and her husband has made a fool of her in the eyes of prep-school society. In the original novel, Korelitz has Grace recall something said by a long-ago patient, who “had once described her thoughts on first meeting her future husband as: ‘Oh good. Now I can stop dating.’” It’s exactly the kind of illogical reasoning her own therapy practice preaches against, but when Grace met Jonathan in her twenties “that, too, had been a part of her own moment. Finis! she had thought at the time, though that small voice of practicality had nearly been drowned out by her instantaneous, accompanying hunger for him.”
These memories shatter Grace’s faith in her own instincts. Jonathan’s deception requires she reconfigure her understanding of herself, from a much-loved wife to an exploitable resource. And because she experiences that humiliation via the pointy end of class (Henry gets booted out of Reardon, for example, and the police persistently outrage Grace by talking to her like a common criminal), the narcissism of her one-percenter obliviousness mirrors the narcissism of her belief that her husband could never lie to her. And once we learn that the source of all this money is her father, played with Mephistophelian intensity by Donald Sutherland, the theme of unfairly inherited wealth builds through the show like an evil buzz, confusing the distinction between the good guys and the bad.


newrepublic--2020-11-09--How to De-Trumpify the Justice Department

A more comprehensive reform plan would need to be much more searching and much more ambitious .
Here are some ideas .
First , and most obviously , the choice of an attorney general is crucial .
A critical qualification for any nominee should be a demonstrated commitment to de-politicization and to reinforcing the importance of ethical comportment in lawyering throughout the department .
Obama ’ s former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is likely to be a leading contender because she demonstrated well-calibrated professional and ethical judgment in difficult circumstances both under Obama ( in connection with the Flynn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that she served Trump ( when she was fired after refusing to defend his Muslim ban ) .
As someone who devoted virtually her entire career to the department , starting as a line attorney in Georgia , she understands the internal workings of the institution as well as anybody .
But there are plenty of other well-qualified people .
Vanita Gupta used to head the Civil Rights Division—experience that is particularly valuable because the department needs to become far more active on anti-discrimination and voting rights work—and she was well-liked even by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a welcome choice given his prior work as a prosecutor , including on the landmark case concerning the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church .
Second , the attorney general should task a senior official—ideally someone who is currently not in the department—with overseeing a considered reform process and agenda .
The two should develop a detailed framework concerning the scope of that work and the process by which it will be conducted , and they might also want to take the unusual step of making some version of it available @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has some visibility into that process .
Third , incoming leadership would need to get a basic handle on what has happened and what is underway at the department .
The sort of conduct and conflict that makes its way into the news is a tiny sliver of what the department does .
New leadership should implement a “ pencils down ” order on any significant and non-urgent charging decisions—including indictments , declination decisions ( that is , official decisions not to bring charges ) , and resolutions of corporate investigations—until they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they are free of impropriety and inappropriate exercises of prosecutorial discretion .
They should undertake a searching review of all new policies and revisions to old policies during the Trump administration—including policies whose introduction and modification never became public—both at the department-wide level ( like the Sessions revision to drug charging policy ) as well as at the office- and unit-level ( like the curtailing of the work of the department ’ s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services , or the expansion of leniency in corporate criminal cases ) .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the official and non-official priorities of the department ’ s offices—like the pandemic-era hoarding task force or the department ’ s odd programmatic fixation on flailing and unimpressive white-collar initiatives .
A prompt review of all Trump-era opinions from the Office of Legal Counsel—both public and non-public—should be undertaken in order to determine which ones need to be withdrawn or replaced as guidance to the executive branch .
Fourth , we need a better understanding of what has gone on within the department ’ s Inspector General ’ s office and the Office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ directed to generate detailed reports on their handling of complaints during the Trump administration , with a particular emphasis on providing rationales for those cases in which the complaints were deemed meritless or alleged whistleblower retaliation .
In those cases in which the offices ’ conclusions were questionable on their face—like OPR ’ s response to Elias ’ s allegations—the work should be redone by new lawyers under new supervision from outside the office .
Such a review should be coupled with a thorough update on what has been done to date in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have yet to be undertaken , including those that have stalled for no identifiable reason , like the investigation into the FBI ’ s Clinton-related leaks prior to the 2016 election .
Fifth , the department needs to identify and reevaluate any significant investigative decisions—including , most important , decisions to decline or close cases—that had a potential impact on Trump , his family , his associates , or their companies .
Some—like the Public Integrity Section ’ s recommendation not to even open an investigation based on the summary of Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known .
Any decisions that went beyond the bounds of reasonable prosecutorial discretion should be reopened , and in those cases in which statutes of limitations may have lapsed , the department should consider taking the unusual step of making those historical decisions public .
Sixth , we need to better understand the role of people throughout the department—at every level—in the implementation of the family separation policy .
We must treat our approach to the family separation policy and the potential culpability of lawyers involved as the humanitarian disgrace that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department needs to strongly reinforce the affirmative legal obligations to speak up when lawyers in the department witness misconduct , including through the imposition of modest disciplinary measures for those who did not comply with those obligations Seventh , a review of senior career-level personnel decisions should be considered .
Any such undertaking would need to be taken with extreme care in order to avoid even the perception of partisan motivation , and any reasonable doubts about the propriety of a promotion should be resolved in favor of the position-holder .
But where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , legally appropriate options should be considered in order to ascertain the propriety of the decision under the merit-based system that is supposed to govern the federal civil service .
Finally , in those offices—like the U.S. Attorney ’ s Office in D.C.—where it appears that there have been material breakdowns in ethical comportment or competence , the department should consider appointing outsider lawyers—reputable department alumni who have not engaged in significant political activity—to conduct a broader investigation and to report on their findings to department leadership .
The level of attention that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and legal commentators—at least publicly—has been surprisingly modest .
But the future of the country ’ s federal law enforcement apparatus is now in Biden ’ s hands—together with the urgent mandate to restore Justice ’ s independence and professional standing after the past four years of politicized abuse and misplaced priorities .
It was remarkable to see just how easily the department could be brought low and how insidious the effects of its mismanagement could be , but the proper functioning of the department—and a broad confidence in the work that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well-being .

Fifth, the department needs to identify and reevaluate any significant investigative decisions—including, most important, decisions to decline or close cases—that had a potential impact on Trump, his family, his associates, or their companies. Some—like the Public Integrity Section’s recommendation not to even open an investigation based on the summary of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president—are already known. Any decisions that went beyond the bounds of reasonable prosecutorial discretion should be reopened, and in those cases in which statutes of limitations may have lapsed, the department should consider taking the unusual step of making those historical decisions public.
Sixth, we need to better understand the role of people throughout the department—at every level—in the implementation of the family separation policy. We must treat our approach to the family separation policy and the potential culpability of lawyers involved as the humanitarian disgrace that it was. At the same time, the department needs to strongly reinforce the affirmative legal obligations to speak up when lawyers in the department witness misconduct, including through the imposition of modest disciplinary measures for those who did not comply with those obligations.
Seventh, a review of senior career-level personnel decisions should be considered. Any such undertaking would need to be taken with extreme care in order to avoid even the perception of partisan motivation, and any reasonable doubts about the propriety of a promotion should be resolved in favor of the position-holder. But where the decisions were questionable on their face, legally appropriate options should be considered in order to ascertain the propriety of the decision under the merit-based system that is supposed to govern the federal civil service.
Finally, in those offices—like the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.—where it appears that there have been material breakdowns in ethical comportment or competence, the department should consider appointing outsider lawyers—reputable department alumni who have not engaged in significant political activity—to conduct a broader investigation and to report on their findings to department leadership.
The level of attention that these issues have received from political observers and legal commentators—at least publicly—has been surprisingly modest. But the future of the country’s federal law enforcement apparatus is now in Biden’s hands—together with the urgent mandate to restore Justice’s independence and professional standing after the past four years of politicized abuse and misplaced priorities. It was remarkable to see just how easily the department could be brought low and how insidious the effects of its mismanagement could be, but the proper functioning of the department—and a broad confidence in the work that it does—is vital to this country’s well-being.


newrepublic--2020-11-09--Alaska Offers Biden the Slimmest of Hopes for a Democratic Senate

In reality , though , the odds that Gross can make up his election-night deficit are slim .
More than 35,000 of the uncounted 134,000 ballots are from voters in heavily Republican districts .
Assuming he manages to break even in those conservative districts , Gross would have to carry the rest by a better than 3-to-1 margin to win the election .
That ’ s a mathematically possible outcome , but not one that looks to be politically possible .
Alaska is a conservative state .
The electorate is strongly pro-development—especially for the oil and gas industry , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state treasury that Alaskans have lived free of state sales or income taxes for more than 40 years .
Voters here are also fiercely pro-military , thankful for all the federal spending on bases and payroll in Alaska .
However , despite this big flow of cash from Washington , many are opposed to nearly any other sort of federal intervention .
Sullivan has his own bona fides as a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves and an assistant Secretary of State in the George W. Bush administration .
He was also head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the state ’ s attorney general—appointed by Palin .
His family manages a publicly traded $ 5.5 billion paint , coatings and sealants company in Ohio , and family and company executives have been big donors to his two Senate campaigns and to Sullivan-supportive PACs .

Voters here are also fiercely pro-military, thankful for all the federal spending on bases and payroll in Alaska. However, despite this big flow of cash from Washington, many are opposed to nearly any other sort of federal intervention.
Sullivan has his own bona fides as a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves and an assistant secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration. He was also head of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and was the state’s attorney general—appointed by Palin. His family manages a publicly traded $5.5 billion paint, coatings, and sealants company in Ohio, and family and company executives have been big donors to his two Senate campaigns and to Sullivan-supportive PACs.
Sullivan has generally backed President Donald Trump’s policies, in particular on resource development in Alaska, with some minor dissents. (His most high-profile departure from Trumpist orthodoxy came when he called on Trump to drop out of the race in October 2016, after a video showed the GOP nominee boasting in crude language about forcing himself sexually on women.)


newrepublic--2020-11-09--There’s a Lot We Don’t Know About the Promising Covid Vaccine

Pfizer and BioNTech , a German biotechnology company , announced Monday that their coronavirus vaccine may be 90 percent effective at preventing Covid-19 , according to early results .
Although experts cautioned that more detailed results need to be released , they see it as a very promising development both for this vaccine and for other vaccines under development .
It ’ s the first step in the monumentally complicated process of getting the population vaccinated—but only the first step .
Manufacturing and distributing the vaccine will be just as challenging .
The two companies said in a press release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trial have had confirmed cases of Covid-19 , but the vast majority of those confirmed cases happened among subjects receiving the placebo .
These results have not been featured in a peer-reviewed publication , which is not especially surprising , since the trial is ongoing and the independent monitoring board may not have even shared all of the results with the companies yet .
However , these scant details leave the vaccine-desperate public with a lot of unanswered questions .
For instance , how well does the vaccine prevent serious illness ?
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the disease , Covid-19 , but that means it may still be possible to be infected by the virus , SARS-CoV-2 .
These preliminary results focus on those who developed serious illness , but how many people in the trial have had asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic cases ?
And if 10 percent of the confirmed cases were among participants who received the vaccine , did it lessen the severity of their illness ?
Beyond the effectiveness of the vaccine itself , getting it to the people who need it is guaranteed to be @ @ @ @

It’s not just good news for Pfizer. Several of the vaccines in the late stages of development similarly rely on creating antibodies to defend against the coronavirus. “This is really good news for many other vaccine manufacturers that have designed vaccines to elicit this neutralizing antibody response,” Cox said.
While it’s true that the preliminary results seem to focus on preventing severe disease, instead of curtailing all infections, that’s true of most vaccines, Cox said. Being able to stop a virus entirely is called “sterilizing immunity,” which she compares to a wall the virus can’t get surmount in order to enter our bodies. That level of immunity “is a very high bar, and we don’t expect most of our effective vaccines to work that way,” Cox said. More commonly, a vaccine “basically ratchets down the severity of the disease, which is really, really helpful.” After all, Cox pointed out, the goal isn’t to keep everyone from getting mildly ill; the goal is to prevent severe illness and death.
Vaccines also don’t work the same way for everyone; they aren’t as effective among older people, for example. In the Pfizer and BioNTech trial, Rasmussen said, “we don’t know how many of those people were in vulnerable groups that would need the vaccine arguably more. Especially if the main function of the vaccine is to protect against severe disease, you want to make sure that that is going to work just as well in an 80-year-old, or a 70-year-old, or somebody with a preexisting medical condition, as it works in a perfectly healthy 25-year-old.” And while the vaccines may prevent severe infection, there’s still much we don’t know about the long-term effects of mild illness, she said.


newrepublic--2020-11-09--Trump’s New Self-Care Routine: Filing Sad Lawsuits

President Trump does not believe in the legitimacy of the electoral process unless he wins—and sometimes , not even then .
In 2016 , he complained after the Iowa caucuses that “ either a new election should take place or [ Texas Senator Ted ] Cruz results nullified ” because of alleged fraud on Cruz ’ s part .
After Hillary Clinton received roughly three million more votes than him , Trump even falsely claimed that he won the popular vote “ if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally , ” making him one of the few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to claim widespread fraud in an election that he won .
So it ’ s little surprise that Trump spent most of this year preemptively discrediting the election results , whether by making false accusations of voter fraud by Democrats or claiming that mail-in voting was inherently suspicious .
For weeks before Election Day , he telegraphed that he would challenge absentee ballots in court and threatened to get the Supreme Court to overturn a potential victory by Joe Biden .
It was a striking admission of his own weakness and unpopularity disguised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , the Trump campaign ’ s legal onslaught turned out to be sloppy and haphazard .
They and other Republicans have so far filed a series of weak and poorly supported lawsuits that seems performative rather than productive : intended more to placate the president and rile his base than to sway any court .
Trumpworld ’ s lawyers have yet to persuade any state or federal judges to halt vote counting or throw out absentee ballots ; there is also no apparent legal path for the Supreme Court to throw out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do so .
The Trump campaign and the Republican Party are instead pioneering something new : litigation as self-care .

When interrogated by federal judges, however, Trump’s lawyers are telling a different story. “Are your observers in the counting room?” Judge Paul Diamond asked a lawyer for the Trump campaign in a hearing last week. “There’s a non-zero number of people in the room,” the lawyer cagily replied. “I’m asking you as a member of the bar of this court: Are people representing the Donald J. Trump for President [campaign], representing the plaintiffs, in that room?” Diamond asked again. “Yes,” the lawyer admitted. “I’m sorry, then what’s your problem?” Diamond asked.
Other claims of widespread voter fraud in other states have also faltered. Conservative media figures claimed last week that Trump supporters were given Sharpies to fill out ballots, which made them unreadable by ballot-counting machines. But those claims were refuted not only by state and local election officials in Arizona but also by Mark Brnovich, the state’s attorney general and an elected Republican, who investigated the claims and found no basis for them. In Nevada, Trump-aligned figures released lists of thousands of people last week who purportedly voted in the election after moving out of the state. Local reporters quickly noted that it included dozens of names of military personnel who were stationed elsewhere in the country. Over the weekend, those same figures preposterously claimed that Biden-Harris vans had arrived at county election offices and unloaded thousands of false ballots to be counted.
Perhaps, then, it’s unsurprising that none of Trump’s post–Election Day lawsuits have drawn blood. This isn’t the first time that Trump has over-promised and under-delivered, but it’s striking that he and his inner circle didn’t have a more comprehensive plan for postelection court battles than they’ve come up with so far. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that some Trump advisers anonymously blame Jared Kushner for failing to orchestrate a legal strategy before election night, while others claimed that Kushner thought other people were in charge of it. In either event, it was a remarkable failure of planning to follow through on something that had been telegraphed for months.


Consider the Bootlicker

The Trump era is not yet over , and the Biden administration has not yet begun .
There are still another two months for horrible things to continue to happen and then another four years for , hopefully , slightly less horrible things to happen after that .
In that interim period , as the Biden transition team gets rolling and the Trump administration packs its boxes , there will be a group of people worth watching—the ones who stand in front of their desk as the lights flicker off , a forlorn look engraved on their face , their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ framed photo of themselves cheesing with Trump , a single tear splashing on the glass .
They will wonder what ’ s next and , for a brief moment , they won ’ t have an answer .
They will find somebody else , of course .
Another malicious force to hitch themselves to as a means to exploit and enrich themselves .
They always do .
These are the bootlickers .
The Designated Smoochers of the Presidential Tush At the end of the day , there are no winners here , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The people Trump never even asked to jump but who still asked him , How high , Mr. President ?
I ’ m talking Lindsey Graham , Ted Cruz , Chris Christie .
The big hitters .
These sellouts spent the lead-up to the 2016 election intoning about the dangers of a Trump presidency only to turn heel the moment they sensed the wind blowing the other way .
The people who looked at Trump ’ s relationship with Jared and said , “ Damn , I want that .
”

While Cruz is obviously the fasciest (er, flashiest) of the group—it’s difficult to beat his decision to line up in the Senate even after the president repeatedly landed crude insults against both him and Heidi Cruz—Graham, in particular, stands out. This was a man who was a mainstay on national news programs during the 2016 primaries, calling Trump a racist and xenophobe, claiming he did not stand for conservative values, and rebuking Trump for having supporters like David Duke. And yet, when he started looking ahead to the business of enacting conservative sicko fantasies in judicial appointments and tax-based class war, along with his 2020 Senate race (which he did win), he plopped himself deep down into Trump’s pockets. Then again, Christie stanned this man so hard that he landed in the intensive care unit for a week due to Covid-19. Any way you play it, this ultimately becomes a game of splitting hairs. That’s what happens when you’re talking about the best. Each member of this group gets to lay their head down at night knowing that no matter what the future holds, they are a true Bootlicker’s Bootlicker, an inspiration to all who hope to suckerfish their way to the top.
The “Sir, Sir! SIR!” Fake-Out Grandstanders
Now, while these folks aren’t quite in the god-tier of the aforementioned standouts, they have proven a useful bunch for both Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Republican Senators Ben Sasse and Susan Collins are the perfect encapsulation of this brand of politician. The pair spent the past four years performing their disgust for Trump in the media while openly spending their crucial Senate votes advancing both his legislative agenda and his stacking of the federal courts because—surprise—they actually want all the same things. They likely sneer at those sniveling at Trump’s feet like Graham and Cruz, thinking themselves more heroic or justified. They’re neither, of course: just delusional and more manipulative.


newrepublic--2020-11-09--The Democrats Will Suffer if They Abandon the Green New Deal

What if it barely matters what Democrats “ talk about ” or “ campaign on ” ?
What if this is less a problem of political messaging or positioning than of political education , information access , and ubiquitous propaganda ?
In other words , if the Democrats actively try to abandon “ identity issues , ” will anyone in this political environment actually stop associating them with “ identity issues ” ?
The same questions face people trying to find the right way to talk about the climate crisis .
Greens have spawned their own variant of the message-obsessed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions : Should we call it renewables or clean energy ?
Focus on solutions , or apocalypse ?
It ’ s hard to imagine any messaging at this point could make people believe a Democratic White House will improve their lives enough to be worth voting for , however well climate action and investing in wind and solar power might happen to poll .
The burden is on Biden ’ s White House to prove a Democratic Party pursuing emissions cuts can make people ’ s lives better , and it will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circumstances .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is likely to try to block anything that smells like climate policy , much less the more ambitious job creation agenda that Biden campaigned on .
Oil and gas companies continuing to go bankrupt and shed jobs by the thousands will put a Biden administration in a difficult bind : getting blamed for a decline of oil and gas jobs while unable to pass the kinds of broad-based spending packages that could help stop the bleeding .
That could spell disaster in 2022 , with backlash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down the Obama administration ’ s eight-year path of losing control over the House , Senate , and White House .
That ’ s not to say Biden will be totally bound by a hostile Senate .
But the gargantuan nature of the climate challenge—that is , upending the energetic basis of the global economy—means policies to address it can ’ t be sneaked in around the edges of politics through a few regulatory changes or executive orders .
Social democracy is a bare minimum for easing people through that enormous transition and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Whether or not the GOP resolves to give up the ghost of climate denial post-Trump , it doesn ’ t seem poised to support guaranteeing health care to laid-off oil and gas workers or fiscal support to communities whose tax bases stand to be devastated by an onslaught of bankruptcies .
Democrats , for their part , remain mostly ambivalent about enlisting the government too much to create jobs and provide for basic needs , preferring anodyne language about lowering prescription drug prices and defending the Affordable Care Act .
The Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deliver real things for people if it wants to avoid a blowout loss in 2022 and preserve hope for climate policy that ’ s remotely in touch with the scale of the problem .
Important as a creative and ambitious executive branch is at this point , it ’ ll ultimately take sustained Democratic majorities to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to zero .
Historically , Democrats have won those by improving people ’ s lives , as Franklin Delano Roosevelt did after the New Deal .
There ’ s no surefire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s worth trying , given that nothing else seems to be working .
They might even manage to save a few thousand lives in the process .

What if it barely matters what Democrats “talk about” or “campaign on”? What if this is less a problem of political messaging or positioning than of political education, information access, and ubiquitous propaganda? In other words, if the Democrats actively try to abandon “identity issues,” will anyone in this political environment actually stop associating them with “identity issues”?
The same questions face people trying to find the right way to talk about the climate crisis. Greens have spawned their own variant of the message-obsessed Beltway consultant class, drawn to abstract questions: Should we call it renewables or clean energy? Focus on solutions, or apocalypse? It’s hard to imagine any messaging at this point could make people believe a Democratic White House will improve their lives enough to be worth voting for, however well climate action and investing in wind and solar power might happen to poll. The burden is on Biden’s White House to prove a Democratic Party pursuing emissions cuts can make people’s lives better, and it will have to do so under less than ideal circumstances. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is likely to try to block anything that smells like climate policy, much less the more ambitious job creation agenda that Biden campaigned on. Oil and gas companies continuing to go bankrupt and shed jobs by the thousands will put a Biden administration in a difficult bind: getting blamed for a decline of oil and gas jobs while unable to pass the kinds of broad-based spending packages that could help stop the bleeding.
That could spell disaster in 2022, with backlash to energy job losses setting Democrats quickly down the Obama administration’s eight-year path of losing control over the House, Senate, and White House. That’s not to say Biden will be totally bound by a hostile Senate. But the gargantuan nature of the climate challenge—that is, upending the energetic basis of the global economy—means policies to address it can’t be sneaked in around the edges of politics through a few regulatory changes or executive orders. Social democracy is a bare minimum for easing people through that enormous transition and is anathema to both parties’ DNA. Whether or not the GOP resolves to give up the ghost of climate denial post-Trump, it doesn’t seem poised to support guaranteeing health care to laid-off oil and gas workers or fiscal support to communities whose tax bases stand to be devastated by an onslaught of bankruptcies. Democrats, for their part, remain mostly ambivalent about enlisting the government too much to create jobs and provide for basic needs, preferring anodyne language about lowering prescription drug prices and defending the Affordable Care Act.
The Democratic Party will have to figure out how to deliver real things for people if it wants to avoid a blowout loss in 2022 and preserve hope for climate policy that’s remotely in touch with the scale of the problem. Important as a creative and ambitious executive branch is at this point, it’ll ultimately take sustained Democratic majorities to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to zero. Historically, Democrats have won those by improving people’s lives, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt did after the New Deal. There’s no surefire way that will work this time around, but it’s worth trying, given that nothing else seems to be working. They might even manage to save a few thousand lives in the process.