thenation--2020-05-19--Covid-19 Is Destroying the Myth of American Exceptionalism

“ Over there , over there Send the word , send the word over there That the Yanks are coming , The Yanks are coming , The drums rum-tumming everywhere… ” Maybe not , since it was popular so long ago , but it was meant to inspire American troops saying goodbye to their country on their way to a Europe embroiled in World War I .
Written by George M. Cohan , the song paid homage to an American wartime urge to do good in the world , to take what was precious about this country and spread it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As Jon Meacham and country music star Tim McGraw reminded us , that song ’ s message couldn ’ t have been simpler : The good guys are coming .
A century later , that sentiment in Cohan ’ s lyrics had merged with a related but ultimately contrary message : the supposed determination of America ’ s leaders to keep at bay and away the dangers rife in so much of the rest of the world .
As President George W. Bush repeatedly assured Americans after the 9/11 attacks , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ over there ” —and so away from our shores .
“ We will fight them over there so we do not have to face them in the United States of America , ” he typically told American legionnaires back in 2007 .
More than a decade later , Republican Senator Lindsey Graham offered a reminder of the lingering persistence of such an “ over there ” mindset .
Defending President Trump ’ s decision to keep American forces in Iraq , Syria , and Afghanistan , he explained : “ I want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s backyard , not ours.
” Trump ’ s version of keeping danger “ over there ” manifested itself most notably in his attempts to keep the immigrant version of the dangerous Other over there .
Beginning with his “ big , fat , beautiful wall ” and his Muslim ban , such efforts , including most recently his April 22 proclamation of a 60-day suspension on immigration by those seeking green cards , have never ended .
One “ immigrant ” he could not keep out , however , was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( or lack of them ) —has played havoc with the over-there conceit .
When it comes to Covid-19 , undeterred by a military presence abroad or border walls , keeping the threat to this nation at bay is no longer a possibility .
Instead , an array of dangers , deprivations , and fears that have long beset the rest of the world—and from which the United States considered itself largely immune—have now entered our supposedly separate , well-guarded , very exceptional American world .
Like the giant “ murder hornets ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States in April , perils once reserved for places abroad are now squarely in our own backyard .
Like it or not , Over There is now Right Here .
The stage for bringing “ there ” to the homeland was aptly set when Trump declared the country at war with a disease .
Suddenly , America ’ s forever wars of the 21st century were no longer distant affairs .
“ War ” was here and now , and this time we weren ’ t the invaders , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Appropriately enough , in these last months , New York City , the epicenter of the pandemic in this country , has been described by many in terms normally reserved for a war zone : the bodies of the dead laid out in rows as after battlefield encounters ; tents like those seen at the outskirts of battle zones serving as makeshift hospitals in parks ; sirens screaming day and night as emergency vehicles transport severely ill casualties of the virus to exhausted and overworked medical teams .
And in the context of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military—along with various National Guard units—has been on hand to help build temporary hospitals and distribute food and supplies .
Inside this new war zone , the basic circumstances of life have begun to resemble those long considered forever distant .
For years now , we ’ ve been reading about casualty figures from places where Washington has pursued its “ over there ” war on terror .
As Brown University ’ s Costs of War Project has reported , since 9/11 more than 800,000 people have been killed in US wars in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borderlands alone .
Now , by far the largest numbers of deaths are no longer over there but right here in the United States , thanks to the invisible virus among us .
The world watches us as we lose Americans by the thousands on an almost daily basis .
Health systems worldwide , and particularly in Africa , have long been a focus of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) and other medical groups .
For decades , specialists have tried to ameliorate a lack of doctors , an absence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitals and greater access to health care on that continent .
That was over there .
No longer .
Life in the US Becomes Precarious Alongside images of war , the US health care system is now experiencing the kind of shortages and incapacity that had previously been associated with those in impoverished countries .
As a 2017 WHO report concluded , “ Half the world lacks access to essential health services.
” This past month , as Covid-19 patients overwhelmed New York City hospitals , conditions there began to resemble those in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like access to emergency rooms or to urgent care for people with the virus ( but also for those with other problems entirely ) became less certain .
As the numbers of Covid-19 patients soared , those experiencing other life-threatening symptoms began to be treated according to a new , far grimmer calculus .
At the same time , individuals in need of emergency care for other reasons came to fear going to emergency rooms and exposing themselves to the pandemic , sometimes dying at home instead .
In these months , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fell precipitously .
On March 31 , the Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee of New York City announced that adults in cardiac arrest were not to be transported to the hospital for additional attempts at revival if their hearts had not restarted after 20 minutes .
Many cancer surgeries have been delayed until further notice .
And it ’ s not just emergency care that ’ s under siege .
Doctors have become unavailable for non-urgent matters .
Messages like this one from a medical group tell it all : “ If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but otherwise stable at home , please limit your calls to your doctor ’ s office so we can manage the high volume of calls incoming from high-risk patients.
” While telehealth appointments with your general practitioner have become a way of life , they are no substitute for a yearly physical , let alone in-person attention to medical disorders and diseases .
Dentists are , of course , not performing regular services .
How many of us will have to forgo our yearly mammograms , our regular dental check-ups , our annual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of access to adequate health care is a measure of a country under wartime-like stress , the United States is no longer an exception .
Other normal expectations about American life are also breaking down in ways once associated with foreign lands .
As George Packer recently wrote in the The Atlantic , the federal government now looks more like a failed state than a vibrant democracy .
As he put it , the Trump administration ’ s reaction to the coronavirus crisis was more “ like Pakistan or Belarus—like a country with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders were too corrupt or stupid to head off mass suffering.
” In fact , the government ’ s response to the crisis has failed in a striking set of ways , ranging from the unpreparedness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) to the failure of diplomatic and domestic efforts to procure ventilators and protective masks or implement the distribution of stockpiles of medical equipment .
Meanwhile , the socioeconomic level of the country has plummeted as middle-class Americans lose their jobs and begin the long fall into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts of the economy have been shut down and more than 33 million people laid off , with 6 percent of the labor force filing for unemployment in the last two weeks of that month alone .
Official US unemployment recently hit 14.7 percent , a figure unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s .
Unemployment claims have surged catastrophically and are still climbing weekly .
For an increasing number of Americans , food insecurity has become a fact of life .
Empty shelves for some products are increasingly common in grocery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and price increases vary from cautious denials to measured concern , certain links in the usual food chain do seem to be breaking down .
As Shub Debgupta , an economist who focuses on supply-chain risks to food , has pointed out , supplies from other countries that the United States depends on are likely to dwindle in the coming months .
So , too , will farm labor , often made up of guest workers from across the southern border .
In the food industry and elsewhere , from grocery stores to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has deteriorated as the pandemic spreads , heading in directions previously associated with exploitative , impoverished , and corrupt countries .
The proximity of workers inside the country ’ s meat-processing plants has , according to the CDC , already led to the infection of an estimated 5,000 workers ( 1,000 in a single plant ) .
Meanwhile , as the homelessness rate grows , many shelters have closed and those that remain open , social distancing being impossible and sanitary conditions bleak , are now potential hotbeds of infection , or as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Homelessness is incompatible with health.
” And let ’ s not forget the nightmare of nursing homes , some of which have become literal graveyards for the aged and infirm .
Prisons and detention centers have similarly become incubators for the spread of the disease , as our incarceration system suffers the kinds of deaths that might once only have been possible in countries like Chile , El Salvador , Peru , or elsewhere in Latin America ( where notoriously overcrowded prisons have led to the rampant spread of Covid-19 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , now predict a 99 percent infection rate in its prison system and , despite the release of prisoners and immigration detainees across the country , unsanitary conditions and overcrowding still make prisons , as one expert remarked , “ a ticking time bomb.
” In these and other areas where deprivation is being enhanced as the coronavirus runs wild in America , the burden has fallen overwhelmingly on low-income groups , black people and Latinos in particular .
In doing so , it has heightened an already all-American reality .
Though billionaires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heightened health-risk factors are now suffering disproportionately from Covid-19 .
Black people , for instance , have so far made up 25 percent of the deaths in this country from the virus , nearly twice their numbers in the general population .
In New York alone , as the disease engulfed the city , black and Latino residents are estimated to have perished at twice the rate of whites .
In states like Michigan and Illinois , the disparities have been similarly pronounced , while unemployment rates among African Americans now overshadow that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breathtaking .
William Rodgers , former chief economist at the Department of Labor , has estimated that as early as March , the real unemployment rate for African Americans may already have climbed to 19 percent and has only increased since .
The world , in other words , is coming home .
In many ways , the current crisis has , of course , just exposed conditions that should have been attended to long ago .
Much that suddenly seems broken was already on the brink when the coronavirus appeared .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already existing trends .
As a December 2019 Century Foundation report on “ racism , inequality , and health care for African Americans ” concluded , “ The American health care system is beset with inequalities that have a disproportionate impact on people of color and other marginalized groups.
” In fact , in 2019 , the London-based Legatum Institute ’ s Prosperity Index had already ranked the American health care system 59th in the world for its standard of services .
As bad as Donald Trump and his administration have been , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t simply be blamed on them .
Covid-19 has brought home to the rest of us how over here over there really was .
And now , the pathetic White House leadership in this crisis has raised another possibility : autocracy .
The Trump administration ’ s failure to handle the crisis competently stems in part from the president ’ s perception that whatever he says , in autocratic fashion , goes—or , as he has often put it , “ I can do whatever I want.
” From his early assertion that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15 cases to one or disappear in the warmth of April to his fantasy numbers when it came to virus testing or obtaining crucial medical equipment to his recent advocacy of ingesting disinfectants as an antidote for Covid-19 , the leader of the United States has come to resemble a run-of-the-mill autocrat spreading disinformation in his own interests .
It ’ s one thing to point to the power-grabbing of Russian President Vladimir Putin , the underhanded machinations of the dictator of North Korea , or the ruthlessness of the crown prince of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another to have a power-hungry leader as our own head of state .
Once again , we are not immune .
There is here .
With Covid-19 , the very idea of American exceptionalism may have seen its last days .
The virus has put the realities of wealth inequality , health insecurity , and poor work conditions under a high-powered microscope .
Fading from sight are the days when this country ’ s engagement with the world could be touted as a triumph of leadership when it came to health , economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now , we are inside the community of nations in a grim new way—as fellow patients , grievers , and supplicants in search of food and shelter , in search , along with so much of humanity , of a more secure existence .
The world , in other words , has turned upside down .
Perhaps it ’ s sadly time to change those famed lyrics of George M. Cohan accordingly : “ Over here , over here Send the word , send the word over here.
” Whether from there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good guys arrive , the better .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy. This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.
Remember the song “Over There”?
“Over there, over there
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming,
The Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming everywhere…”
Maybe not, since it was popular so long ago, but it was meant to inspire American troops saying goodbye to their country on their way to a Europe embroiled in World War I. Written by George M. Cohan, the song paid homage to an American wartime urge to do good in the world, to take what was precious about this country and spread it to less fortunate, endangered peoples elsewhere. As Jon Meacham and country music star Tim McGraw reminded us, that song’s message couldn’t have been simpler: The good guys are coming.
A century later, that sentiment in Cohan’s lyrics had merged with a related but ultimately contrary message: the supposed determination of America’s leaders to keep at bay and away the dangers rife in so much of the rest of the world. As President George W. Bush repeatedly assured Americans after the 9/11 attacks, this country would keep the threat of terrorism “over there”—and so away from our shores. “We will fight them over there so we do not have to face them in the United States of America,” he typically told American legionnaires back in 2007.
More than a decade later, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham offered a reminder of the lingering persistence of such an “over there” mindset. Defending President Trump’s decision to keep American forces in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, he explained: “I want to fight the war in the enemy’s backyard, not ours.”
Trump’s version of keeping danger “over there” manifested itself most notably in his attempts to keep the immigrant version of the dangerous Other over there. Beginning with his “big, fat, beautiful wall” and his Muslim ban, such efforts, including most recently his April 22 proclamation of a 60-day suspension on immigration by those seeking green cards, have never ended. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
One “immigrant” he could not keep out, however, was the coronavirus, which—owing significantly to his acts (or lack of them)—has played havoc with the over-there conceit. When it comes to Covid-19, undeterred by a military presence abroad or border walls, keeping the threat to this nation at bay is no longer a possibility. Instead, an array of dangers, deprivations, and fears that have long beset the rest of the world—and from which the United States considered itself largely immune—have now entered our supposedly separate, well-guarded, very exceptional American world. Like the giant “murder hornets” from Asia detected for the first time in the United States in April, perils once reserved for places abroad are now squarely in our own backyard. Current Issue View our current issue
Like it or not, Over There is now Right Here.
America as a War Zone
The stage for bringing “there” to the homeland was aptly set when Trump declared the country at war with a disease. Suddenly, America’s forever wars of the 21st century were no longer distant affairs. “War” was here and now, and this time we weren’t the invaders, but the ones who had been invaded.
Appropriately enough, in these last months, New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic in this country, has been described by many in terms normally reserved for a war zone: the bodies of the dead laid out in rows as after battlefield encounters; tents like those seen at the outskirts of battle zones serving as makeshift hospitals in parks; sirens screaming day and night as emergency vehicles transport severely ill casualties of the virus to exhausted and overworked medical teams. And in the context of such a war at home, the military—along with various National Guard units—has been on hand to help build temporary hospitals and distribute food and supplies.
Inside this new war zone, the basic circumstances of life have begun to resemble those long considered forever distant. For years now, we’ve been reading about casualty figures from places where Washington has pursued its “over there” war on terror. As Brown University’s Costs of War Project has reported, since 9/11 more than 800,000 people have been killed in US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Pakistani borderlands alone.
Now, by far the largest numbers of deaths are no longer over there but right here in the United States, thanks to the invisible virus among us. The world watches us as we lose Americans by the thousands on an almost daily basis. Health systems worldwide, and particularly in Africa, have long been a focus of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other medical groups. For decades, specialists have tried to ameliorate a lack of doctors, an absence of medical equipment, a need for more hospitals and greater access to health care on that continent. That was over there. No longer.
Life in the US Becomes Precarious
Alongside images of war, the US health care system is now experiencing the kind of shortages and incapacity that had previously been associated with those in impoverished countries. As a 2017 WHO report concluded, “Half the world lacks access to essential health services.”
This past month, as Covid-19 patients overwhelmed New York City hospitals, conditions there began to resemble those in such lands. The most basic things like access to emergency rooms or to urgent care for people with the virus (but also for those with other problems entirely) became less certain. As the numbers of Covid-19 patients soared, those experiencing other life-threatening symptoms began to be treated according to a new, far grimmer calculus. At the same time, individuals in need of emergency care for other reasons came to fear going to emergency rooms and exposing themselves to the pandemic, sometimes dying at home instead.
In these months, for instance, the number of organ transplants fell precipitously. On March 31, the Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee of New York City announced that adults in cardiac arrest were not to be transported to the hospital for additional attempts at revival if their hearts had not restarted after 20 minutes. Many cancer surgeries have been delayed until further notice.
And it’s not just emergency care that’s under siege. Doctors have become unavailable for non-urgent matters. Messages like this one from a medical group tell it all: “If you are young, healthy, and sick but otherwise stable at home, please limit your calls to your doctor’s office so we can manage the high volume of calls incoming from high-risk patients.” While telehealth appointments with your general practitioner have become a way of life, they are no substitute for a yearly physical, let alone in-person attention to medical disorders and diseases. Dentists are, of course, not performing regular services. How many of us will have to forgo our yearly mammograms, our regular dental check-ups, our annual physicals during this pandemic?
If lack of access to adequate health care is a measure of a country under wartime-like stress, the United States is no longer an exception.
An American World of Deprivation
Other normal expectations about American life are also breaking down in ways once associated with foreign lands. As George Packer recently wrote in the The Atlantic, the federal government now looks more like a failed state than a vibrant democracy. As he put it, the Trump administration’s reaction to the coronavirus crisis was more “like Pakistan or Belarus—like a country with shoddy infrastructure and a dysfunctional government whose leaders were too corrupt or stupid to head off mass suffering.” In fact, the government’s response to the crisis has failed in a striking set of ways, ranging from the unpreparedness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the failure of diplomatic and domestic efforts to procure ventilators and protective masks or implement the distribution of stockpiles of medical equipment.
Meanwhile, the socioeconomic level of the country has plummeted as middle-class Americans lose their jobs and begin the long fall into another existence. Since March, significant parts of the economy have been shut down and more than 33 million people laid off, with 6 percent of the labor force filing for unemployment in the last two weeks of that month alone. Official US unemployment recently hit 14.7 percent, a figure unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Unemployment claims have surged catastrophically and are still climbing weekly.
For an increasing number of Americans, food insecurity has become a fact of life. Empty shelves for some products are increasingly common in grocery stores nationwide. While predictions of shortages and price increases vary from cautious denials to measured concern, certain links in the usual food chain do seem to be breaking down. As Shub Debgupta, an economist who focuses on supply-chain risks to food, has pointed out, supplies from other countries that the United States depends on are likely to dwindle in the coming months. So, too, will farm labor, often made up of guest workers from across the southern border.
In the food industry and elsewhere, from grocery stores to hospitals, the safety of working conditions has deteriorated as the pandemic spreads, heading in directions previously associated with exploitative, impoverished, and corrupt countries. The proximity of workers inside the country’s meat-processing plants has, according to the CDC, already led to the infection of an estimated 5,000 workers (1,000 in a single plant).
Meanwhile, as the homelessness rate grows, many shelters have closed and those that remain open, social distancing being impossible and sanitary conditions bleak, are now potential hotbeds of infection, or as Emma Grey Ellis put it in Wired, “Homelessness is incompatible with health.” And let’s not forget the nightmare of nursing homes, some of which have become literal graveyards for the aged and infirm.
Prisons and detention centers have similarly become incubators for the spread of the disease, as our incarceration system suffers the kinds of deaths that might once only have been possible in countries like Chile, El Salvador, Peru, or elsewhere in Latin America (where notoriously overcrowded prisons have led to the rampant spread of Covid-19). Authorities in Arizona, for instance, now predict a 99 percent infection rate in its prison system and, despite the release of prisoners and immigration detainees across the country, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding still make prisons, as one expert remarked, “a ticking time bomb.”
In these and other areas where deprivation is being enhanced as the coronavirus runs wild in America, the burden has fallen overwhelmingly on low-income groups, black people and Latinos in particular. In doing so, it has heightened an already all-American reality. Though billionaires continue to prosper, low-income groups with heightened health-risk factors are now suffering disproportionately from Covid-19.
Black people, for instance, have so far made up 25 percent of the deaths in this country from the virus, nearly twice their numbers in the general population. In New York alone, as the disease engulfed the city, black and Latino residents are estimated to have perished at twice the rate of whites. In states like Michigan and Illinois, the disparities have been similarly pronounced, while unemployment rates among African Americans now overshadow that of whites to a degree that is breathtaking. William Rodgers, former chief economist at the Department of Labor, has estimated that as early as March, the real unemployment rate for African Americans may already have climbed to 19 percent and has only increased since.
The world, in other words, is coming home.
Long-Simmering Realities
In many ways, the current crisis has, of course, just exposed conditions that should have been attended to long ago. Much that suddenly seems broken was already on the brink when the coronavirus appeared. If anything, the pandemic has simply accelerated already existing trends. As a December 2019 Century Foundation report on “racism, inequality, and health care for African Americans” concluded, “The American health care system is beset with inequalities that have a disproportionate impact on people of color and other marginalized groups.” In fact, in 2019, the London-based Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index had already ranked the American health care system 59th in the world for its standard of services.
As bad as Donald Trump and his administration have been, the growing American coronavirus disaster can’t simply be blamed on them. Covid-19 has brought home to the rest of us how over here over there really was. And now, the pathetic White House leadership in this crisis has raised another possibility: autocracy.
The Trump administration’s failure to handle the crisis competently stems in part from the president’s perception that whatever he says, in autocratic fashion, goes—or, as he has often put it, “I can do whatever I want.” From his early assertion that the virus was destined to go from 15 cases to one or disappear in the warmth of April to his fantasy numbers when it came to virus testing or obtaining crucial medical equipment to his recent advocacy of ingesting disinfectants as an antidote for Covid-19, the leader of the United States has come to resemble a run-of-the-mill autocrat spreading disinformation in his own interests. It’s one thing to point to the power-grabbing of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the underhanded machinations of the dictator of North Korea, or the ruthlessness of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. It’s quite another to have a power-hungry leader as our own head of state. Once again, we are not immune. There is here.
With Covid-19, the very idea of American exceptionalism may have seen its last days. The virus has put the realities of wealth inequality, health insecurity, and poor work conditions under a high-powered microscope. Fading from sight are the days when this country’s engagement with the world could be touted as a triumph of leadership when it came to health, economic sustenance, democratic governance, and stability. Now, we are inside the community of nations in a grim new way—as fellow patients, grievers, and supplicants in search of food and shelter, in search, along with so much of humanity, of a more secure existence.
The world, in other words, has turned upside down. Perhaps it’s sadly time to change those famed lyrics of George M. Cohan accordingly:
“Over here, over here
Send the word, send the word over here.”
Whether from there or from here, the sooner the good guys arrive, the better.


thenation--2020-05-19--Take Action Now: Fight for Immigrant Justice

Three Guatemalans deported from the United States last week tested positive for coronavirus upon arriving in their home country .
Earlier in the month , migrants deported by the US made up more than 15 percent of Guatemala ’ s coronavirus cases .
The brutal US immigration system threatens lives here and abroad , now more than ever .
It ’ s crucial that we fight for immigrants ’ rights to stay in this country and to stay healthy during the pandemic .
This week ’ s Take Action Now gives you three ways to support undocumented people , stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers rights .
Take Action Now gives you three meaningful actions you can take each week whatever your schedule .
You can sign up here to get these actions and more in your inbox every Tuesday .
Often working on the front lines and with no access to many public benefits , undocumented immigrants are some of the people hardest hit by the pandemic .
Sign up with Movimiento Cosecha to commit to stand with the undocumented community .
If you can , donate to the NationalUndocuFund to support undocumented people in need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and policies are proposing an array of surveillance methods that could help track the virus , making the need for protections for immigrants even more urgent .
Check out and share Just Futures Law ’ s “ Surveillance During COVID-19 ” advisory to learn how governments and companies are using the health crisis to expand surveillance .
Scroll down in Detention Watch Network ’ s # FreeThemAll toolkit to find a group fighting to protect immigrants in your community from detention and deportation and see how you can get involved .
Immigrants make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , putting them on the front lines of the pandemic .
Check out and share the National Employment Law Project ’ s resources on immigrant workers ’ rights during COVID-19 .
Link up with a mutual aid group and see how you can support immigrants in your community facing economic hardship .
If you can ’ t find one near you , start one yourself : Check out this toolkit from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and organizer Mariame Kaba for step-by-step instructions on how to build a mutual aid network while staying safe amid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great resource for how to safely distribute food .

Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every Tuesday.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every Tuesday.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every Tuesday.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every Tuesday.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue.
Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every Tuesday.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every Tuesday.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Three Guatemalans deported from the United States last week tested positive for coronavirus upon arriving in their home country. Earlier in the month, migrants deported by the US made up more than 15 percent of Guatemala’s coronavirus cases. The brutal US immigration system threatens lives here and abroad, now more than ever. It’s crucial that we fight for immigrants’ rights to stay in this country and to stay healthy during the pandemic.
This week’s Take Action Now gives you three ways to support undocumented people, stand up against deportations and fight for immigrant workers rights.
Take Action Now gives you three meaningful actions you can take each week whatever your schedule. You can sign up here to get these actions and more in your inbox every Tuesday.
NO TIME TO SPARE?
Often working on the front lines and with no access to many public benefits, undocumented immigrants are some of the people hardest hit by the pandemic. Sign up with Movimiento Cosecha to commit to stand with the undocumented community. If you can, donate to the NationalUndocuFund to support undocumented people in need.
GOT SOME TIME?
As states begin reopening, governments and policies are proposing an array of surveillance methods that could help track the virus, making the need for protections for immigrants even more urgent. Check out and share Just Futures Law’s “Surveillance During COVID-19” advisory to learn how governments and companies are using the health crisis to expand surveillance. Scroll down in Detention Watch Network’s #FreeThemAll toolkit to find a group fighting to protect immigrants in your community from detention and deportation and see how you can get involved.
READY TO DIG IN?
Immigrants make up a vast share of essential workers, putting them on the front lines of the pandemic. Check out and share the National Employment Law Project’s resources on immigrant workers’ rights during COVID-19. Link up with a mutual aid group and see how you can support immigrants in your community facing economic hardship. If you can’t find one near you, start one yourself: Check out this toolkit from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and organizer Mariame Kaba for step-by-step instructions on how to build a mutual aid network while staying safe amid the virus. Here’s another great resource for how to safely distribute food.


thenation--2020-05-19--It’s Trump’s Party Now—and Will Be Even After He’s Gone

EDITOR ’ S NOTE : The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service .
For that reason , this article , and all of our coronavirus coverage , is now free .
Please subscribe to support our writers and staff , and stay healthy .
Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel ’ s column at the WashingtonPost.com .
Read the full text of Katrina ’ s column here .
Discussing the risks of reopening his state last month on Fox News , Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declared , “ There are more important things than living.
” The comment was revealing .
President Trump ’ s manic , malicious , and mismanaged presidency constantly captures our attention , and he ’ s often treated as some kind of grotesque outlier .
But while Trump emits his own unique forms of venom , he is a reflection of , not a contrast to , today ’ s Republican Party .
On the central challenges facing the country , the Republican Party , like Trump , is unending in its cruelty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment since mid-March , state budgets are cratering as expenses caused by the pandemic soar and every form of revenue collapses .
When Trump initially indicated his willingness to provide aid to states and localities , Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell ( Ky. ) reined him in , dismissing the crisis as a “ blue state ” mismanagement problem .
Trump immediately flipped and started echoing the majority leader .
Read the full text of Katrina ’ s column here .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy. Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.
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Discussing the risks of reopening his state last month on Fox News, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) declared, “There are more important things than living.” The comment was revealing. President Trump’s manic, malicious, and mismanaged presidency constantly captures our attention, and he’s often treated as some kind of grotesque outlier. But while Trump emits his own unique forms of venom, he is a reflection of, not a contrast to, today’s Republican Party. On the central challenges facing the country, the Republican Party, like Trump, is unending in its cruelty.
With 34 million people filing for unemployment since mid-March, state budgets are cratering as expenses caused by the pandemic soar and every form of revenue collapses.
When Trump initially indicated his willingness to provide aid to states and localities, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) reined him in, dismissing the crisis as a “blue state” mismanagement problem. Trump immediately flipped and started echoing the majority leader.
Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.


thenation--2020-05-19--Barr Drops the Case Against Flynn

Barr Drops the Case Against Flynn

A pass for Flynn , Barr thought , might be quite nice , Despite the fact that Flynn pled guilty @ @ @ @ @ the law ’ s whatever serves his boss .
For that he sees no line @ @ @ @ @ .
So could it be that boss has learned to clone ?
In Barr he @ @ @ @ @ last , his own Roy Cohn .

This article appears in the June 1/8, 2020 issue.
A pass for Flynn, Barr thought, might be quite nice,
Despite the fact that Flynn pled guilty twice.
To Barr, the law’s whatever serves his boss.
For that he sees no line he wouldn’t cross.
So could it be that boss has learned to clone?
In Barr he’s found, at last, his own Roy Cohn.


thenation--2020-05-19--Letters From the June 1/8, 2020, Issue

Letters From the June 1/8, 2020, Issue

It was so sad to read “ “ The Extinction Crisis Comes Home ” ” by Jimmy Tobias [ May 4/11 ] .
I lived in San Francisco from 1967 to 1987 .
It was the most delightful city in the world .
What made it so was the incredible diversity of ideas , ethnicities , lifestyles , income levels , and the arts .
The Board of Supervisors was young , hip , and progressive .
It was horrific to read that Mayor London Breed has actively opposed healing the bay .
How does this happen to a city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , LGBT rights , the environment , progressive politics , and many other groundbreaking ideas ?
I think it has to do with money , who has it now , and how to keep it .
Ginny Butler spokane , wash .
Unspoken Rules I really enjoyed reading Elias Rodriques ’ s “ The Good of All ” [ May 4/11 ] , on Lorraine Hansberry ’ s radical imagination .
It prompted some very nostalgic memories of when my eighth-grade English teacher passionately taught us A Raisin in the Sun .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unspoken rules of teaching about black leaders from the period .
We received a sanitized image of these revolutionaries .
The unfiltered message of these fighters should be known , no matter how uncomfortable it makes anyone feel .
The Source of Our Disagreements Noam Chomsky ’ s letter in the May 4/11 issue obfuscates the source of our disagreements .
He discusses Israeli obstructionism , which , though real , has nothing to do with our dispute .
The facts are simple : For decades , he has peddled the bizarre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and continuing thereafter ) , the Arab world and the Palestine Liberation Organization suddenly accepted Israel ’ s existence and sought a peaceful , two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict .
He has specifically included Iraq ( then ruled by Saddam Hussein ) , Syria ( Hafez al-Assad ) , and Libya ( Moammar El-Gadhafi ) in this noble axis of peace .
More recently , Chomsky has added Iran and Hamas .
Thus the sole obstacle to peace , he has repeatedly argued , is Israel—including its peace camp .
To support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , never-passed United Nations resolution from 1976 .
But his description of the resolution is incorrect : In calling for the refugees ’ return , it negated two states .
More important , Chomsky has apparently never read the debate surrounding the resolution—which is key to discerning the actual political positions that underlie the rhetorical officialese of UN texts .
In this debate , the Arab states and the PLO reject the UN ’ s previous land-for-peace resolutions ( the only possible basis for two states ) , mock the concept of territorial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ furiously denounce the “ racist ” “ Zionist entity , ” and reaffirm their commitment to armed struggle .
To interpret this as a call for peace is astonishing .
As proof of his claims , Chomsky cites his own books .
I would suggest that interested readers go instead to the UN documents , available on the Web : the draft resolution and , especially , the resulting debate .
There are many good books on the labyrinthine relationships between the PLO , the Arab states , and Israel ; many are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consult Alain Gresh ’ s The PLO : The Struggle Within , Matti Steinberg ’ s In Search of Modern Palestinian Nationhood , and Yezid Sayigh ’ s authoritative , 900-page Armed Struggle and the Search for State : The Palestinian National Movement , 1949–1993 .
None of these works support or even mention Chomsky or his theories .
This correspondence began with Susie Linfield ’ s charge [ Letters , April 6 ] that I was lying about the 1976 Security Council resolution that called for a two-state settlement of the Israel-Palestine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the PLO , rejected by Israel on the grounds , as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stated , that Israel must “ vehemently oppose any tendency to establish a third state in the area between it and Jordan.
” In response , I referred to my discussions of these topics , all accurate .
Responding , Linfield evades the refutation of her charges , complaining that I cited my own books—those that she claimed had lied—and dismissing the resolution because it was “ never passed ” —that is , was vetoed by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claim : that “ in calling for the refugees ’ return , it negated two states.
” In fact , Israel “ vehemently ” rejected the resolution precisely because it affirmed two states .
In brief , Linfield ’ s proof that I was lying is that I review the historical and documentary record accurately , while she holds that Israel didn ’ t know why it must reject the resolution—for reasons that were always on the margins , as the record then and since demonstrates , because it was understood on all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Linfield flings around other charges , which , on examination , suffer the same fate as her prime example .
There is a serious issue in the background .
Israel ’ s fateful decision to prefer expansion to security—one of the many examples I reviewed—has caused enormous harm to Palestinians and Lebanese and also to its own standing in the world , which has radically declined—matters that should trouble those who care about the society and its people .
All deserve better than performances like this .
The caption for an illustration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Molly Crabapple [ May 18/25 ] identified three New Jersey phlebotomists in incorrect order .
Their names , from left to right , are Kegga , Marissa , and Courtney .

Our Readers, Noam Chomsky, Susie Linfield

This article appears in the June 1/8, 2020 issue.
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What’s the Matter With San Fran?
It was so sad to read “ “The Extinction Crisis Comes Home”” by Jimmy Tobias [May 4/11]. I lived in San Francisco from 1967 to 1987. It was the most delightful city in the world. What made it so was the incredible diversity of ideas, ethnicities, lifestyles, income levels, and the arts. The Board of Supervisors was young, hip, and progressive. It was horrific to read that Mayor London Breed has actively opposed healing the bay. How does this happen to a city that has championed recycling, gender equality, LGBT rights, the environment, progressive politics, and many other groundbreaking ideas? I think it has to do with money, who has it now, and how to keep it.
Ginny Butler
spokane, wash.
Unspoken Rules
I really enjoyed reading Elias Rodriques’s “The Good of All” [May 4/11], on Lorraine Hansberry’s radical imagination. It prompted some very nostalgic memories of when my eighth-grade English teacher passionately taught us A Raisin in the Sun.
This piece and those memories made me realize the unspoken rules of teaching about black leaders from the period. We received a sanitized image of these revolutionaries. The unfiltered message of these fighters should be known, no matter how uncomfortable it makes anyone feel.
Peyton Harris
greenville, s.c.
The Source of Our Disagreements
Noam Chomsky’s letter in the May 4/11 issue obfuscates the source of our disagreements. He discusses Israeli obstructionism, which, though real, has nothing to do with our dispute. The facts are simple: Current Issue View our current issue
For decades, he has peddled the bizarre theory that, beginning in 1976 (and continuing thereafter), the Arab world and the Palestine Liberation Organization suddenly accepted Israel’s existence and sought a peaceful, two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. He has specifically included Iraq (then ruled by Saddam Hussein), Syria (Hafez al-Assad), and Libya (Moammar El-Gadhafi) in this noble axis of peace. More recently, Chomsky has added Iran and Hamas. Thus the sole obstacle to peace, he has repeatedly argued, is Israel—including its peace camp. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
To support his claim, Chomsky cites an obscure, never-passed United Nations resolution from 1976. But his description of the resolution is incorrect: In calling for the refugees’ return, it negated two states. More important, Chomsky has apparently never read the debate surrounding the resolution—which is key to discerning the actual political positions that underlie the rhetorical officialese of UN texts. In this debate, the Arab states and the PLO reject the UN’s previous land-for-peace resolutions (the only possible basis for two states), mock the concept of territorial integrity and recognized borders, repeatedly and furiously denounce the “racist” “Zionist entity,” and reaffirm their commitment to armed struggle. To interpret this as a call for peace is astonishing.
As proof of his claims, Chomsky cites his own books. I would suggest that interested readers go instead to the UN documents, available on the Web: the draft resolution and, especially, the resulting debate.
There are many good books on the labyrinthine relationships between the PLO, the Arab states, and Israel; many are justifiably critical of Israel. Readers might consult Alain Gresh’s The PLO: The Struggle Within, Matti Steinberg’s In Search of Modern Palestinian Nationhood, and Yezid Sayigh’s authoritative, 900-page Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993. None of these works support or even mention Chomsky or his theories.
Susie Linfield
brooklyn
Chomsky Responds
This correspondence began with Susie Linfield’s charge [Letters, April 6] that I was lying about the 1976 Security Council resolution that called for a two-state settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict, supported by Egypt-Syria-Jordan and tacitly by the PLO, rejected by Israel on the grounds, as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stated, that Israel must “vehemently oppose any tendency to establish a third state in the area between it and Jordan.”
In response, I referred to my discussions of these topics, all accurate.
Responding, Linfield evades the refutation of her charges, complaining that I cited my own books—those that she claimed had lied—and dismissing the resolution because it was “never passed”—that is, was vetoed by the US. She now adds her primary claim: that “in calling for the refugees’ return, it negated two states.” In fact, Israel “vehemently” rejected the resolution precisely because it affirmed two states.
In brief, Linfield’s proof that I was lying is that I review the historical and documentary record accurately, while she holds that Israel didn’t know why it must reject the resolution—for reasons that were always on the margins, as the record then and since demonstrates, because it was understood on all sides how the issue could be finessed.
Linfield flings around other charges, which, on examination, suffer the same fate as her prime example.
There is a serious issue in the background. Israel’s fateful decision to prefer expansion to security—one of the many examples I reviewed—has caused enormous harm to Palestinians and Lebanese and also to its own standing in the world, which has radically declined—matters that should trouble those who care about the society and its people. All deserve better than performances like this.
Noam Chomsky
oro valley, ariz.
Correction
The caption for an illustration in “Faces of the Crisis” by Molly Crabapple [May 18/25] identified three New Jersey phlebotomists in incorrect order. Their names, from left to right, are Kegga, Marissa, and Courtney.


thenation--2020-05-19--This Vermonter Is Attracting Support From Top Bernie Backers

When supporters of Bernie Sanders rallied with the senator just a few days before the New Hampshire February primary in the college town of Keene , a young and enthusiastic crowd cheered for Sanders ’ s national cochair Nina Turner , whose ability to rouse audiences across the country made her a star on the campaign trail .
But Turner was cheering that night for another of the senator ’ s vocal surrogates , Vermont Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman .
“ I was just so impressed , ” she recalls .
“ He was so authentic .
He showed vision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that are necessary in today ’ s climate.
” Turner wasn ’ t the only one who was impressed with Zuckerman .
Today , she and the other three national cochairs of the 2020 Sanders campaign—Representative Ro Khanna ; Mayor Carmen Yulin-Cruz of San Juan , Puerto Rico ; and Ben Cohen , the veteran activist and cofounder of Ben and Jerry ’ s Ice Cream—are set to jointly endorse Zuckerman ’ s bid for governor of Vermont .
“ While Bernie ’ s campaign for president has ended , the political revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” says Khanna , who adds , “ David is not just on the front lines of the progressive wave coming to our nation ’ s government , he is leading the charge.
” The show of support for Zuckerman , a 48-year-old small farmer and former state legislator who has worked closely with Sanders since the 1990s , is one of the many ways in which prominent Sanders backers are continuing their activism now that the senator has suspended his campaign .
The grassroots People for Bernie Sanders movement is focusing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come and highlighting the new “ Once Again ” campaign ’ s message that while the senator from Vermont is no longer actively bidding for the party nomination , “ you should still vote for Bernie in upcoming primaries ” in order to elect Democratic National Convention delegates who will write a progressive platform and reform party rules .
The Our Revolution group that emerged from the senator ’ s 2016 campaign is highlighting policy fights , such as the struggle to save the Postal Service .
Former aides and strategists are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for fresh organizing strategies , forming new groups , and , in some cases , creating controversial political action committees .
A Progressive Democratic Party is Possible—and Biden Needs It to Win Many Sanders allies and supporters are bidding for office this year , and Zuckerman is among the most prominent of their number .
Elected as Vermont ’ s lieutenant governor in 2016 on the combined votes from the ballot lines of the state ’ s independent Progressive Party and the Democratic Party , and reelected in 2018 , Zuckerman is running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Rebecca Holcombe , who previously served as secretary of education in Republican Governor Phil Scott ’ s administration , and Bennington lawyer Pat Winburn for a chance to challenge an expected reelection bid by Scott .
The lieutenant governor will also seek the Progressive Party ballot line as a write-in candidate and , if he wins both nominations , he ’ ll appear on the November ballot as a Progressive/Democratic candidate .
That prospect appears to have Republicans rattled—perhaps because when they were both on the ballot on 2018 , Zuckerman won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scott .
The Republican Governor ’ s Association is already attacking Zuckerman , charging that he has an “ extreme and divisive agenda ” and that the lieutenant governor holds “ fringe views ” on vaccinations—citing a 2015 legislative debate in which he expressed support for allowing philosophical exemptions to vaccination mandates .
Holcombe has raised the same criticism .
Yet Zuckerman points out that he supports the state ’ s current vaccine law , which requires that all Vermont children be vaccinated before entering school , while allowing religious objections and medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vermont ’ s VTDigger reported , Zuckerman spoke about the importance of assuring that a coronavirus vaccine be “ universally accessible and free ” and said , “ I will trust the scientists when the vaccine comes out.
” Zuckerman says the RGA attacks confirm two things : that the Vermont race is drawing national attention , and that Republicans “ see me as a threat.
” Much like Sanders , whom Zuckerman refers to as an inspiration and a mentor , the lieutenant governor identifies as “ a progressive populist that speaks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and social justice.
” Sanders campaigned for Zuckerman when he ran for lieutenant governor , and Zuckerman returned the favor in February when he barnstormed through New Hampshire on the senator ’ s behalf .
While Sanders tends to hold off making endorsements until closer to election day , many of his Vermont backers have already aligned with the Zuckerman campaign .
Climate activist Bill McKibben was on board early , saying , “ As we face the very real climate crisis , David can figure out how to turn it into an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense , he will end our pause on policymaking and start coping with the financial and demographic pressures we actually face .
He will be a good steward for our nifty little state.
” Cohen , who started making Ben & Jerry ’ s Ice Cream in Burlington in the mid-1970s with his friend Jerry Greenfield , says , “ I have supported David over the years as he has worked for Vermont farmers , small businesses and families .
I have also gotten to know him personally as the incredibly kind , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Why are Cohen and his fellow national cochairs endorsing at this early stage in a gubernatorial race ?
“ In this global crisis moment that we find ourselves in , having a governor like David will not only be good for Vermont , ” Turner says , referencing the coronavirus pandemic and the mass unemployment crisis that has extended from it .
“ He is a progressive who can inspire activism and action across the country.
” Zuckerman , who has focused on climate issues for many years , has a record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lieutenant governor of taking bold stands on a host of environmental issues .
He ’ s also been outspoken in fights for marriage equality , legalization of marijuana , and GMO labeling .
“ Having been active in building progressive politics both inside and outside the Democratic Party , I ’ ve had an opportunity to see what happens when you have a progressive leader , especially a progressive governor , raising issues and generating policies in a particular state , ” says Zuckerman .
“ I understand that ’ s one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looking at this race.
” That ’ s how Khanna sees things , as well .
The Sanders campaign cochair argues that Zuckerman “ will not only continue fighting for our movement ’ s goals : economic justice , social justice , racial justice , and environmental justice .
He will help young activists around the country believe that they can also run and win with Bernie ’ s platform as he has done time and again .
”

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When supporters of Bernie Sanders rallied with the senator just a few days before the New Hampshire February primary in the college town of Keene, a young and enthusiastic crowd cheered for Sanders’s national cochair Nina Turner, whose ability to rouse audiences across the country made her a star on the campaign trail.
But Turner was cheering that night for another of the senator’s vocal surrogates, Vermont Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman. “I was just so impressed,” she recalls. “He was so authentic. He showed vision, compassion, and fight—all the attributes that are necessary in today’s climate.”
Turner wasn’t the only one who was impressed with Zuckerman. Today, she and the other three national cochairs of the 2020 Sanders campaign—Representative Ro Khanna; Mayor Carmen Yulin-Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Ben Cohen, the veteran activist and cofounder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream—are set to jointly endorse Zuckerman’s bid for governor of Vermont. “While Bernie’s campaign for president has ended, the political revolution continues with the many he has inspired,” says Khanna, who adds, “David is not just on the front lines of the progressive wave coming to our nation’s government, he is leading the charge.”
The show of support for Zuckerman, a 48-year-old small farmer and former state legislator who has worked closely with Sanders since the 1990s, is one of the many ways in which prominent Sanders backers are continuing their activism now that the senator has suspended his campaign. The grassroots People for Bernie Sanders movement is focusing attention on the many Democratic primaries yet to come and highlighting the new “Once Again” campaign’s message that while the senator from Vermont is no longer actively bidding for the party nomination, “you should still vote for Bernie in upcoming primaries” in order to elect Democratic National Convention delegates who will write a progressive platform and reform party rules. The Our Revolution group that emerged from the senator’s 2016 campaign is highlighting policy fights, such as the struggle to save the Postal Service. Former aides and strategists are making the case for Joe Biden and for fresh organizing strategies, forming new groups, and, in some cases, creating controversial political action committees. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Many Sanders allies and supporters are bidding for office this year, and Zuckerman is among the most prominent of their number. Elected as Vermont’s lieutenant governor in 2016 on the combined votes from the ballot lines of the state’s independent Progressive Party and the Democratic Party, and reelected in 2018, Zuckerman is running in this year’s Democratic primary against Rebecca Holcombe, who previously served as secretary of education in Republican Governor Phil Scott’s administration, and Bennington lawyer Pat Winburn for a chance to challenge an expected reelection bid by Scott.
The lieutenant governor will also seek the Progressive Party ballot line as a write-in candidate and, if he wins both nominations, he’ll appear on the November ballot as a Progressive/Democratic candidate.
That prospect appears to have Republicans rattled—perhaps because when they were both on the ballot on 2018, Zuckerman won 7,000 more votes than were cast for Scott. Current Issue View our current issue
The Republican Governor’s Association is already attacking Zuckerman, charging that he has an “extreme and divisive agenda” and that the lieutenant governor holds “fringe views” on vaccinations—citing a 2015 legislative debate in which he expressed support for allowing philosophical exemptions to vaccination mandates. Holcombe has raised the same criticism. Yet Zuckerman points out that he supports the state’s current vaccine law, which requires that all Vermont children be vaccinated before entering school, while allowing religious objections and medical exemptions. At a recent forum, Vermont’s VTDigger reported, Zuckerman spoke about the importance of assuring that a coronavirus vaccine be “universally accessible and free” and said, “I will trust the scientists when the vaccine comes out.”
Zuckerman says the RGA attacks confirm two things: that the Vermont race is drawing national attention, and that Republicans “see me as a threat.”
Much like Sanders, whom Zuckerman refers to as an inspiration and a mentor, the lieutenant governor identifies as “a progressive populist that speaks out about wealth concentration and about racial and social justice.”
Sanders campaigned for Zuckerman when he ran for lieutenant governor, and Zuckerman returned the favor in February when he barnstormed through New Hampshire on the senator’s behalf. While Sanders tends to hold off making endorsements until closer to election day, many of his Vermont backers have already aligned with the Zuckerman campaign. Climate activist Bill McKibben was on board early, saying, “As we face the very real climate crisis, David can figure out how to turn it into an economic opportunity. And in a larger sense, he will end our pause on policymaking and start coping with the financial and demographic pressures we actually face. He will be a good steward for our nifty little state.”
Cohen, who started making Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in Burlington in the mid-1970s with his friend Jerry Greenfield, says, “I have supported David over the years as he has worked for Vermont farmers, small businesses and families. I have also gotten to know him personally as the incredibly kind, thoughtful, and dedicated person he is.”
Why are Cohen and his fellow national cochairs endorsing at this early stage in a gubernatorial race? “In this global crisis moment that we find ourselves in, having a governor like David will not only be good for Vermont,” Turner says, referencing the coronavirus pandemic and the mass unemployment crisis that has extended from it. “He is a progressive who can inspire activism and action across the country.”
Zuckerman, who has focused on climate issues for many years, has a record as a legislator and more recently as lieutenant governor of taking bold stands on a host of environmental issues. He’s also been outspoken in fights for marriage equality, legalization of marijuana, and GMO labeling.
“Having been active in building progressive politics both inside and outside the Democratic Party, I’ve had an opportunity to see what happens when you have a progressive leader, especially a progressive governor, raising issues and generating policies in a particular state,” says Zuckerman. “I understand that’s one of the reasons people around the country are looking at this race.”
That’s how Khanna sees things, as well. The Sanders campaign cochair argues that Zuckerman “will not only continue fighting for our movement’s goals: economic justice, social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice. He will help young activists around the country believe that they can also run and win with Bernie’s platform as he has done time and again.”


thenation--2020-05-20--A Fairy-Tale Theory of Hillary Clinton

A Fairy-Tale Theory of Hillary Clinton

Let ’ s get it out of the way : There ’ s a lot of sex in Rodham , mostly in the novel ’ s first third , when Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton are twentysomethings deciding whether to get married or call it .
The sex scenes are both startling and pedestrian , frank and prim .
They ’ re titillating , like celebrity gossip , and excruciating , like walking in on your parents .
They ’ re entertaining , obviously , and even intentionally comic .
Bill plays “ When the Saints Go Marching In ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes her climax while she ’ s in the passenger ’ s seat on the road to Fayetteville , and she says , “ I don ’ t think I should do anything while you ’ re driving .
But when we ’ re home , I really , really want to make you feel as good as you make me feel.
” It ’ s the kind of soft-porn flatness that somehow bends all the way back into corn-fed innocence .
The narration is so stilted , so dorky , it inspires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nerd asked to prom by the jock .
In bed together , she thinks , “ with a kind of granular precision , of the unlikely sequence of events that had made our lives intersect.
” This all has to be said , because physical chemistry is key to Curtis Sittenfeld ’ s whole theory of Hillary Rodham and what made her fall for a cheating narcissist like Bill Clinton .
But their romance can ’ t be played only for laughs—it ’ s got to feel like a live wire , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the arc of Hillary ’ s political destiny , as imagined in Rodham , will lack tension .
And otherwise , it would be hard to forgive the real-life Hillary , to understand her as basically admirable were it not for her central sin : falling in love .
Instead , Sittenfeld ’ s Hillary takes the road not traveled—remaining Rodham , getting to live in the sunshine .
Her ex becomes Arkansas ’ s attorney general , then a twice-divorced tech billionaire running for president a couple of times without success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then one of six women elected to the Senate in 1992 .
As part of a cohort , she finds surer footing in solidarity , in bipartisan comradeship and the work of legislating .
Sittenfeld ensures that her new timeline has costs , namely the career of Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun , who loses her election to Hillary .
In this world , it takes until 2015 for a black woman to become senator , and as a result , Hillary wrecks her relationship with her mentor Gwen ( standing in for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This subplot , pitting white feminism against racial justice , feels dutiful , an acknowledgment that no political career could be stainless .
It ’ s hardly a spoiler to say that this Hillary eventually wins the White House .
Her ascent is narrated without grandeur : Often , she realizes that she wants to run for the next higher office because she ’ s seen something on television—the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings or a pop star declaring herself “ top-of-game alone.
” She claims , sunnily , that she ’ s driven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ directly take on the problems I had spent my adult life thinking about.
” Less flatteringly , she admits that being a senator makes her feel “ important , ” much like when she captained her school safety patrol or spoke at Wellesley ’ s commencement .
This characterization feels undermotivated , bloodless—as if anyone would believe that such aspirations are something a person can fall into accidentally , or by some providence , rather than by her own design .
This idea of political striving , parked at the intersection of Tracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endearing and conspicuously small-bore .
It refuses to admit anything that might be termed ideology .
But perhaps that ’ s to be expected .
More peculiarly , Rodham lacks drama .
In the age of the # Girlboss , when appetite and excess are lauded as feminist ends in themselves , is it possible to make women ’ s ambition seem not just benign but even inert ?
The novel ’ s final lines observe that women finally know they can be president “ because they ’ ve seen it happen.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever after .
Rodham ’ s implicit logic is easy to follow : If only the real-life Hillary hadn ’ t married Bill , then she never would have been complicit in his sexual predation or embroiled in his scandals .
If only she hadn ’ t become the first lady of Arkansas and then of the United States—if she had been , in short , less singular—she wouldn ’ t have drawn the hostility that warped her .
She would live uncramped by either reflexive caginess or arrogant exceptionalism .
She would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ casts Hillary Clinton as wholly a creature of context—as someone who reacted to her circumstances more than someone who actively shaped them .
After her mid-20s breakup , Sittenfeld ’ s Hillary never again allows herself a swooning romance .
But later in life , facing off against Bill ( among others ) in the 2016 Democratic primary , Hillary instead becomes half of an even odder political couple—with Donald Trump .
Despite her personal distaste for the real estate magnate and frequent right-wing radio guest , she forms a strategic alliance with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , making her seem less elitist and aloof and airing Bill ’ s dirty laundry on her behalf .
It ’ s a bizarre narrative turn : In a novel that ’ s ostensibly about the gravity of personal choices , as Sittenfeld told People in February , this plot point reveals a deep fatalism .
One way or another , it seems that Hillary ’ s fate is tied up with unsavory men .
The only real question is whether she can disentangle herself .
Sittenfeld ’ s fantasy stops short of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do with her power .
There ’ s just one narrow paragraph on the very last page listing her administration ’ s greatest hits .
These include reversing the Hyde amendment and overachieving in the Paris Agreement—wins that feel too sharply tailored , like a sleeve ending a quarter-inch short .
Instead , the book ’ s most feverish daydreaming occurs , Sorkin-style , in scenes of verbal combat .
Late in her Senate career , she tells off a radio shock jockey , finally ascending to her final form—what an admirer calls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afterward , at a televised debate , she dispatches the controversies surrounding her at a stunning clip , reversing the mistakes of our timeline .
In the 2016 general election , running against Jeb Bush , Hillary denounces the politics of her surrogate , Trump , as “ deplorable ” but spares his fan base .
She vanquishes the “ likability ” question ( “ If you want someone to enjoy a beer with , you can go to a bar with your friend ” ) .
She admits a precise degree of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shaved her legs for her in the back of a car , accuses her of sexual harassment .
( She apologizes for the woman ’ s discomfort while insisting that “ an interaction can involve close physical proximity and not be inappropriate.
” ) Naturally , Hillary delivers all of this in one volley , off the cuff , and by the end of her speech she feels like “ some haze had burned off , some distillation had occurred.
” This suggests that what we really long for , deep down , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face-to-face confrontation of sexism .
In some other , better world , honesty alone vanquishes the enemy .
Sittenfeld ’ s work has often been cannily attuned to what one of her characters calls “ small thoughts ” —the thousand petty ways that people get under each other ’ s skins .
In one short story , an MFA student baits his female classmate with the goad , “ Great literature has never been produced by a beautiful woman .
Name a book .
I ’ ll wait.
” For the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of various writers , he declares them untalented or unattractive , and the narrator goes home feeling haunted .
With deft economy , Sittenfeld demonstrates how easy it is to get stuck in even the dumbest traps : Their trick is to seem alluringly beatable .
At her best , she breaks down social dynamics with the apparent casualness and efficiency of a home cook spatchcocking a chicken .
And often , this has made her an excellent portraitist of everyday misogyny .
But blown up to the scale of professional politics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rodham , the characters walk around radiating divine simplicity .
They say things like “ You ’ re awfully opinionated for a girl , ” or “ Hillary , no man falls in love with a woman ’ s brain , ” or “ You ’ re more like a boy than a girl… .
The way you act and the way you talk.
” ( Only the last of these , amazingly , is uttered by a character who ’ s actually a child . )
Maybe this is Sittenfeld reminding us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t always complex—often , they ’ re obvious and stupid .
But then our heroine ’ s thinking is just as cartoonish .
Her ideas come out as ingenuous thought bubbles , in transparent puffs .
This Hillary is meant to be all the more lovable for being literal .
Sensing that a dinner meeting is not trending , as she ’ d hoped , dateward , she tells herself , “ Do not preemptively take no for an answer .
Do not decide your request has been rejected before it officially has.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is so flatfooted that it ’ s hard to accept it as an earnest attempt to evoke a real person ’ s consciousness .
Sometimes it feels like we ’ re supposed to read Rodham as an artifact from an alternative universe—as if it were a political memoir , ghostwritten by a well-paid comms staffer .
The one downside to being a senator ?
Fundraising— “ but again , I was Midwestern enough not only to accept the downside to any situation but even to experience it with relief.
” On her regime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , of course , also been disappointments and failures.
” And that ’ s it .
Bland , faultless equanimity constitutes the book ’ s dominant tone .
It demonstrates how weird and hard it is to conceive of a Hillary without secrets , like picturing a turtle living out of its shell .
And perversely enough , a Hillary who doesn ’ t trigger a million paranoid connections , real or confected—Whitewater and Vince Foster and Benghazi and extraterrestrials and the Clinton Foundation and the private server—is a Hillary whose choices are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not worth prying into .
As it turns out , if you believe that Hillary ’ s worst faults should be traced back to Bill , it becomes hard to see her as an agent with her own desires or political commitments .
In Rodham , Sittenfeld sets herself an impossibly contorted task : imagining a Hillary who doesn ’ t inspire imagination .
The resulting revisionism just ends up insulting everybody ’ s intelligence .
Ultimately , Rodham is most comprehensible as a fairy tale about a woman who knew what she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Early on , the heroine wonders to herself , “ What if I could lead a life that made me worthy of luck ?
What if getting what I wanted most could be a fuel for my own morality , and additive rather than unfairly advantageous ?
” And so she chooses a life of public service rather than romance .
Wanting only what is good and then getting it : That ’ s truly having it all .
More than “ I love you ” or even “ Yes , Madam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the heroine ’ s heart sing is when her ex says , “ Oh , Hillary , you were never the one who needed forgiveness .
”

Let’s get it out of the way: There’s a lot of sex in Rodham, mostly in the novel’s first third, when Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton are twentysomethings deciding whether to get married or call it. The sex scenes are both startling and pedestrian, frank and prim. They’re titillating, like celebrity gossip, and excruciating, like walking in on your parents. They’re entertaining, obviously, and even intentionally comic. Bill plays “When the Saints Go Marching In” on the sax, naked. He makes her climax while she’s in the passenger’s seat on the road to Fayetteville, and she says, “I don’t think I should do anything while you’re driving. But when we’re home, I really, really want to make you feel as good as you make me feel.” It’s the kind of soft-porn flatness that somehow bends all the way back into corn-fed innocence. The narration is so stilted, so dorky, it inspires fondness: Hillary the late bloomer, the nerd asked to prom by the jock. In bed together, she thinks, “with a kind of granular precision, of the unlikely sequence of events that had made our lives intersect.” Books in Review Rodham: A Novel By Curtis Sittenfeld Buy this book
This all has to be said, because physical chemistry is key to Curtis Sittenfeld’s whole theory of Hillary Rodham and what made her fall for a cheating narcissist like Bill Clinton. But their romance can’t be played only for laughs—it’s got to feel like a live wire, throwing off a dangerous spark. Otherwise, the arc of Hillary’s political destiny, as imagined in Rodham, will lack tension. And otherwise, it would be hard to forgive the real-life Hillary, to understand her as basically admirable were it not for her central sin: falling in love.
Instead, Sittenfeld’s Hillary takes the road not traveled—remaining Rodham, getting to live in the sunshine. Her ex becomes Arkansas’s attorney general, then a twice-divorced tech billionaire running for president a couple of times without success. She becomes a law professor, then one of six women elected to the Senate in 1992. As part of a cohort, she finds surer footing in solidarity, in bipartisan comradeship and the work of legislating. Sittenfeld ensures that her new timeline has costs, namely the career of Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun, who loses her election to Hillary. In this world, it takes until 2015 for a black woman to become senator, and as a result, Hillary wrecks her relationship with her mentor Gwen (standing in for the activist Marian Wright Edelman). This subplot, pitting white feminism against racial justice, feels dutiful, an acknowledgment that no political career could be stainless.
It’s hardly a spoiler to say that this Hillary eventually wins the White House. Her ascent is narrated without grandeur: Often, she realizes that she wants to run for the next higher office because she’s seen something on television—the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings or a pop star declaring herself “top-of-game alone.” She claims, sunnily, that she’s driven by “being able to tangibly and directly take on the problems I had spent my adult life thinking about.” Less flatteringly, she admits that being a senator makes her feel “important,” much like when she captained her school safety patrol or spoke at Wellesley’s commencement. This characterization feels undermotivated, bloodless—as if anyone would believe that such aspirations are something a person can fall into accidentally, or by some providence, rather than by her own design.
This idea of political striving, parked at the intersection of Tracy Flick and Leslie Knope, is possibly endearing and conspicuously small-bore. It refuses to admit anything that might be termed ideology. But perhaps that’s to be expected. More peculiarly, Rodham lacks drama. In the age of the #Girlboss, when appetite and excess are lauded as feminist ends in themselves, is it possible to make women’s ambition seem not just benign but even inert? The novel’s final lines observe that women finally know they can be president “because they’ve seen it happen.” It casts unremarkability as the ultimate—and unattainable—happily ever after.
Rodham’s implicit logic is easy to follow: If only the real-life Hillary hadn’t married Bill, then she never would have been complicit in his sexual predation or embroiled in his scandals. If only she hadn’t become the first lady of Arkansas and then of the United States—if she had been, in short, less singular—she wouldn’t have drawn the hostility that warped her. She would live uncramped by either reflexive caginess or arrogant exceptionalism. She would be easier to love. This theory casts Hillary Clinton as wholly a creature of context—as someone who reacted to her circumstances more than someone who actively shaped them.
After her mid-20s breakup, Sittenfeld’s Hillary never again allows herself a swooning romance. But later in life, facing off against Bill (among others) in the 2016 Democratic primary, Hillary instead becomes half of an even odder political couple—with Donald Trump. Despite her personal distaste for the real estate magnate and frequent right-wing radio guest, she forms a strategic alliance with him. Trump becomes her campaign surrogate, making her seem less elitist and aloof and airing Bill’s dirty laundry on her behalf. It’s a bizarre narrative turn: In a novel that’s ostensibly about the gravity of personal choices, as Sittenfeld told People in February, this plot point reveals a deep fatalism. One way or another, it seems that Hillary’s fate is tied up with unsavory men. The only real question is whether she can disentangle herself.
Sittenfeld’s fantasy stops short of really imagining what a President Rodham would do with her power. There’s just one narrow paragraph on the very last page listing her administration’s greatest hits. These include reversing the Hyde amendment and overachieving in the Paris Agreement—wins that feel too sharply tailored, like a sleeve ending a quarter-inch short. Instead, the book’s most feverish daydreaming occurs, Sorkin-style, in scenes of verbal combat. Late in her Senate career, she tells off a radio shock jockey, finally ascending to her final form—what an admirer calls “IDGAF Hillary.” About 70 pages afterward, at a televised debate, she dispatches the controversies surrounding her at a stunning clip, reversing the mistakes of our timeline. In the 2016 general election, running against Jeb Bush, Hillary denounces the politics of her surrogate, Trump, as “deplorable” but spares his fan base. She vanquishes the “likability” question (“If you want someone to enjoy a beer with, you can go to a bar with your friend”). She admits a precise degree of fault when an aide, who once shaved her legs for her in the back of a car, accuses her of sexual harassment. (She apologizes for the woman’s discomfort while insisting that “an interaction can involve close physical proximity and not be inappropriate.”) Naturally, Hillary delivers all of this in one volley, off the cuff, and by the end of her speech she feels like “some haze had burned off, some distillation had occurred.” This suggests that what we really long for, deep down, is nothing more than the direct, face-to-face confrontation of sexism. In some other, better world, honesty alone vanquishes the enemy. Related Article Mary Gaitskill’s Art of Loneliness Maggie Doherty
Sittenfeld’s work has often been cannily attuned to what one of her characters calls “small thoughts”—the thousand petty ways that people get under each other’s skins. In one short story, an MFA student baits his female classmate with the goad, “Great literature has never been produced by a beautiful woman. Name a book. I’ll wait.” For the rest of the party, she splutters the names of various writers, he declares them untalented or unattractive, and the narrator goes home feeling haunted. With deft economy, Sittenfeld demonstrates how easy it is to get stuck in even the dumbest traps: Their trick is to seem alluringly beatable. At her best, she breaks down social dynamics with the apparent casualness and efficiency of a home cook spatchcocking a chicken. And often, this has made her an excellent portraitist of everyday misogyny. But blown up to the scale of professional politics, her fine-grained observations lose resolution. In Rodham, the characters walk around radiating divine simplicity. They say things like “You’re awfully opinionated for a girl,” or “Hillary, no man falls in love with a woman’s brain,” or “You’re more like a boy than a girl…. The way you act and the way you talk.” (Only the last of these, amazingly, is uttered by a character who’s actually a child.) Maybe this is Sittenfeld reminding us that the operations of sexism aren’t always complex—often, they’re obvious and stupid. But then our heroine’s thinking is just as cartoonish. Her ideas come out as ingenuous thought bubbles, in transparent puffs.
This Hillary is meant to be all the more lovable for being literal. Sensing that a dinner meeting is not trending, as she’d hoped, dateward, she tells herself, “Do not preemptively take no for an answer. Do not decide your request has been rejected before it officially has.” Throughout, however, the narration is so flatfooted that it’s hard to accept it as an earnest attempt to evoke a real person’s consciousness. Sometimes it feels like we’re supposed to read Rodham as an artifact from an alternative universe—as if it were a political memoir, ghostwritten by a well-paid comms staffer. The one downside to being a senator? Fundraising—“but again, I was Midwestern enough not only to accept the downside to any situation but even to experience it with relief.” On her regime’s setbacks: “There have, of course, also been disappointments and failures.” And that’s it.
Bland, faultless equanimity constitutes the book’s dominant tone. It demonstrates how weird and hard it is to conceive of a Hillary without secrets, like picturing a turtle living out of its shell. And perversely enough, a Hillary who doesn’t trigger a million paranoid connections, real or confected—Whitewater and Vince Foster and Benghazi and extraterrestrials and the Clinton Foundation and the private server—is a Hillary whose choices are obvious, whose psychology is transparent and not worth prying into. As it turns out, if you believe that Hillary’s worst faults should be traced back to Bill, it becomes hard to see her as an agent with her own desires or political commitments. In Rodham, Sittenfeld sets herself an impossibly contorted task: imagining a Hillary who doesn’t inspire imagination. The resulting revisionism just ends up insulting everybody’s intelligence.
Ultimately, Rodham is most comprehensible as a fairy tale about a woman who knew what she wanted and then came to know better. Early on, the heroine wonders to herself, “What if I could lead a life that made me worthy of luck? What if getting what I wanted most could be a fuel for my own morality, and additive rather than unfairly advantageous?” And so she chooses a life of public service rather than romance. Wanting only what is good and then getting it: That’s truly having it all. More than “I love you” or even “Yes, Madam President,” the line that makes the heroine’s heart sing is when her ex says, “Oh, Hillary, you were never the one who needed forgiveness.”