thenation--2020-11-05--‘You Have to Listen to the Streets’: Rebel Diaz on Hip Hop and the Chilean Constitution

In 2006 the Chilean American brothers Rodrigo ( RodStarz ) and Gonzalo ( G1 ) Venegas formed Rebel Diaz , a hip-hop duo based in Chicago and the South Bronx .
With a distinctly Chilean flare , sampling elements from local and Indigenous folk music , Rebel Diaz ’ s hip hop marries class struggle with international solidarity .
Their lyrics lambaste capitalism and racism in the United States and imperialism and fascism in Latin America .
The duo ’ s songs have explained immigration rights for Spanish-speaking migrant populations during Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) raids and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ strike and Black Lives Matter .
Through their music , the brothers have called for Puerto Rican liberation , denounced New York City ’ s stop-and-frisk policies , and supported anti-fascist and anti-racist movements .
Their art and politics draw from the radical humanism of Chilean folk singer Víctor Jara , the left-wing Nueva Canción Chilena ( new Chilean song ) folk music movement , and their family ’ s status as political refugees who fled or were exiled from Augusto Pinochet ’ s regime in the 1970s .
I spoke with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass uprisings to form a new Constitution , the movement ’ s broader implications in Latin America , and how the year-long rebellion is shaping art in the region .
ack elaney : Chileans have overwhelmingly—78 percent of voters !
—demanded a new Constitution .
For decades following the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet , the people have been calling for a Constitution that places power outside the hands of the elite .
What does this win mean for working class and poor Chileans ?
odrigo enegas : It shows that the struggle in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demands for a life of dignity translates to a vote that opens up the doors to a new Constitution .
This is a beginning to open up a space where the people can have access to health care , education , pensions , and Indigenous rights .
It ’ s a victory for the working class .
onzalo enegas : The Pinochet Constitution had it so that poor , working-class people were disposable in favor of property and capital .
Discarding it is a first step toward a Constitution which centers people and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
JD : We saw reports of state violence following the uprising that kicked off in October 2019 .
Hundreds of demonstrators have been wounded , maimed , and blinded , while others have faced torture , sexual assault , and rape .
Thirty-six Chileans were murdered at the hands of state forces .
Your artistic inspirations stem from Víctor Jara who was similarly tortured and murdered under the Pinochet regime for his politically charged music .
How have artists like Jara and the Nueva Canción movement inspired the fight against state repression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When we were out there , the soundtrack in the streets was Víctor Jara .
On every corner , we heard his song “ El Derecho de Vivir en Paz , ” or “ The Right to Live in Peace.
” At the same time , we have artists that are inspired by the Nueva Canción .
Artists like Portavoz and Ana Tijoux were also the soundtracks to these struggles .
Groups like Inti-Illimani , who are members of Nueva Canción , performed at the peak of the uprisings in front of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ El Pueblo Unido ” [ The People United ] .
The culture of the Nueva Canción has been brought back to the forefront of Chile ’ s struggles through the uprisings .
There was a video that went viral of a musician hiding behind a shield on the front line .
On a saxophone he played Víctor Jara ’ s “ El Derecho de Vivir en Paz.
” It was inescapable to hear the music of the Nueva Canción in the streets .
JD : What role is music and art currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to form a new Constitution ?
Conversely , how is the movement shaping art and music ?
GV : Our big inspiration aside from the Nueva Canción and its legacy is the hip hop movement that emerged in Chile in the early 2000s .
It was an explicitly organized political hip hop movement .
You can see that movement in the 2006 Pingüinos rebellion of the young and school children that were protesting against the bus fare .
Some of those kids became leaders of the 2019 rebellion .
This generation that came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a testament to the power of culture in educating , agitating , and organizing .
RV : Not only the music but the art , the comedy , the wit brought to the protest .
People were showing up in different costumes that made a mockery and a joke of the political establishment .
They made it accessible to the majority of the people .
Graffiti was also something that was impressive .
In Santiago , the walls are telling you what ’ s going on the street .
It ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among the Chilean people was as important as the front lines .
GV : We have to mention the hit of November 2019 that wasn ’ t on a record label , “ Un Violador en Tu Camino ” [ “ A Rapist in Your Path ” ] .
The Chilean feminist women ’ s movement popularized street performances of that song .
It blew up in Chile , and thousands of women were performing it in Mexico , Europe , and across Latin America .
It speaks to the role of sexism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the neoliberal model , and how women can resist it .
JD : In the US , we hear a lot of talk about simply voting for change , which often yields a continuation of the status quo .
While Chileans voted for change , the struggle was accompanied by a mass movement fought in self-defense .
How did militancy play into the win for a new Constitution ?
RV : We wouldn ’ t be having a new Constitution if people didn ’ t resist in the streets .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t even be having this conversation right now if it wasn ’ t for young people deciding to take to the streets and to bravely resist militarized oppression from the state .
Here in the US , the parallel is that we wouldn ’ t be having conversations about defunding the police or Black Lives Matter if it wasn ’ t for the people in Minnesota , New York , Oakland , and Louisville also taking to the streets .
The difference is people in Chile never left the streets .
They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement showed its discontent with not only those that wrote the Constitution but those that passively upheld it .
It was discontent with the whole political class , left and right .
That ’ s going to translate over to this new process , where 78 percent of people voted for a constituent convention .
JD : What can the left learn from the movement in Chile ?
What made this win successful ?
RV : You have to listen to the streets .
Young people that are leading are also rejecting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we saw Ferguson and Baltimore get co-opted into voting for Hillary and now with Biden .
We saw people legitimately resisting police murder across this country turn into voting .
Biden ’ s first response to the murder of [ Walter Wallace Jr. ] was “ let ’ s keep the violence off the streets.
” We ’ re getting the same messages from the people that were supposed to channel the political street energy into voting for Democrats .
What people can learn from the struggle in Chile are the tactics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line , and how to resist a militarized occupation .
What the people in Chile have demonstrated is a political education class for the rest of the world .
GV : What we can learn from the movement in Chile , that forced the hands of the business class , is that the level of unity isn ’ t just left versus right but people versus capital .
We have to make these connections that it isn ’ t just Democrat versus Republicans or Black versus white , but in a manner that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ versus capital .
JD : What are the movement ’ s implications for Sebastián Piñera ’ s government ?
How Kendrick Lamar Became the Voice of a Generation N.K .
Jemisin Wrote a Sci-Fi Ode to New York City—Then It Became Reality Pop Music Has Always Been Queer RV : This uprising managed to ridicule Piñera to the point that if an election were held today , the votes wouldn ’ t be that different [ from the Constitutional referendum ] in getting him out of office .
If things got worse , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Piñera .
What saved him was the November 15 agreement .
Without conceding a vote for a new Constitution , Piñera would have been forced by the people to resign .
That concession bought Piñera time .
If it weren ’ t for the pandemic , those protests would have kept on rolling in full force .
The pandemic has shown the flaws of the Piñera government in which they have chosen profits over people .
The protests had Piñera on the ropes .
JD : Your family fled as political refugees during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria [ La MIR , or the Revolutionary Left Movement ] .
What does it mean specifically to your family and for those formerly associated with organizations like La MIR that Chileans have moved to rewrite the Pinochet-era Constitution ?
RV : For my parents and their generation it ’ s been super-inspiring to see the uprisings .
For them , for all that the Pinochet dictatorship did to their lives , seeing his Constitution voted out was symbolic death to the Pinochet era .
The fact that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Pinochet Constitution is very telling of the level of influence that the dictatorship had and still has on Chilean society .
To see young people , kids who are in their grandchildren ’ s generation , take to the streets , breathed an extra bit of life into my parents .
GV : One characteristic of La MIR is that they were critical supporters of [ Salvador ] Allende , they were not part of the Unidad Popular coalition .
For the elder Miristas , it ’ s inspiring to see that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rejects the entire political class .
The young people haven ’ t been duped .

In 2006 the Chilean American brothers Rodrigo (RodStarz) and Gonzalo (G1) Venegas formed Rebel Diaz, a hip-hop duo based in Chicago and the South Bronx. With a distinctly Chilean flare, sampling elements from local and Indigenous folk music, Rebel Diaz’s hip hop marries class struggle with international solidarity. Their lyrics lambaste capitalism and racism in the United States and imperialism and fascism in Latin America.
The duo’s songs have explained immigration rights for Spanish-speaking migrant populations during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and have expressed support for the Chicago teachers’ strike and Black Lives Matter. Through their music, the brothers have called for Puerto Rican liberation, denounced New York City’s stop-and-frisk policies, and supported anti-fascist and anti-racist movements.
Their art and politics draw from the radical humanism of Chilean folk singer Víctor Jara, the left-wing Nueva Canción Chilena (new Chilean song) folk music movement, and their family’s status as political refugees who fled or were exiled from Augusto Pinochet’s regime in the 1970s.
I spoke with Rebel Diaz and discussed Chile’s mass uprisings to form a new Constitution, the movement’s broader implications in Latin America, and how the year-long rebellion is shaping art in the region.
—Jack Delaney
J ack D elaney: Chileans have overwhelmingly—78 percent of voters!—demanded a new Constitution. For decades following the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, the people have been calling for a Constitution that places power outside the hands of the elite. What does this win mean for working class and poor Chileans?
R odrigo V enegas: It shows that the struggle in the streets was heard nationwide. Their demands for a life of dignity translates to a vote that opens up the doors to a new Constitution. This is a beginning to open up a space where the people can have access to health care, education, pensions, and Indigenous rights. It’s a victory for the working class. Current Issue View our current issue
G onzalo V enegas: The Pinochet Constitution had it so that poor, working-class people were disposable in favor of property and capital. Discarding it is a first step toward a Constitution which centers people and not corporate interests and the neoliberal model.
JD: We saw reports of state violence following the uprising that kicked off in October 2019. Hundreds of demonstrators have been wounded, maimed, and blinded, while others have faced torture, sexual assault, and rape. Thirty-six Chileans were murdered at the hands of state forces. Your artistic inspirations stem from Víctor Jara who was similarly tortured and murdered under the Pinochet regime for his politically charged music. How have artists like Jara and the Nueva Canción movement inspired the fight against state repression for a new Constitution? 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
RV: When we were out there, the soundtrack in the streets was Víctor Jara. On every corner, we heard his song “El Derecho de Vivir en Paz,” or “The Right to Live in Peace.” At the same time, we have artists that are inspired by the Nueva Canción. Artists like Portavoz and Ana Tijoux were also the soundtracks to these struggles. Groups like Inti-Illimani, who are members of Nueva Canción, performed at the peak of the uprisings in front of the people. They performed the anthem, “El Pueblo Unido” [The People United]. The culture of the Nueva Canción has been brought back to the forefront of Chile’s struggles through the uprisings.
There was a video that went viral of a musician hiding behind a shield on the front line. On a saxophone he played Víctor Jara’s “El Derecho de Vivir en Paz.” It was inescapable to hear the music of the Nueva Canción in the streets.
JD: What role is music and art currently playing fighting against neoliberalism and the movement to form a new Constitution? Conversely, how is the movement shaping art and music?
GV: Our big inspiration aside from the Nueva Canción and its legacy is the hip hop movement that emerged in Chile in the early 2000s. It was an explicitly organized political hip hop movement. You can see that movement in the 2006 Pingüinos rebellion of the young and school children that were protesting against the bus fare. Some of those kids became leaders of the 2019 rebellion. This generation that came up around the politicized hip hop is a testament to the power of culture in educating, agitating, and organizing.
RV: Not only the music but the art, the comedy, the wit brought to the protest. People were showing up in different costumes that made a mockery and a joke of the political establishment. They made it accessible to the majority of the people. Graffiti was also something that was impressive. In Santiago, the walls are telling you what’s going on the street. It’s the newspapers of the people. That creativity among the Chilean people was as important as the front lines.
GV: We have to mention the hit of November 2019 that wasn’t on a record label, “Un Violador en Tu Camino” [“A Rapist in Your Path”]. The Chilean feminist women’s movement popularized street performances of that song. It blew up in Chile, and thousands of women were performing it in Mexico, Europe, and across Latin America. It speaks to the role of sexism and misogyny as being integral to capitalism, the neoliberal model, and how women can resist it.
JD: In the US, we hear a lot of talk about simply voting for change, which often yields a continuation of the status quo. While Chileans voted for change, the struggle was accompanied by a mass movement fought in self-defense. How did militancy play into the win for a new Constitution?
RV: We wouldn’t be having a new Constitution if people didn’t resist in the streets. It’s that simple. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now if it wasn’t for young people deciding to take to the streets and to bravely resist militarized oppression from the state. Here in the US, the parallel is that we wouldn’t be having conversations about defunding the police or Black Lives Matter if it wasn’t for the people in Minnesota, New York, Oakland, and Louisville also taking to the streets.
The difference is people in Chile never left the streets. They’re probably protesting right now. The movement showed its discontent with not only those that wrote the Constitution but those that passively upheld it. It was discontent with the whole political class, left and right. That’s going to translate over to this new process, where 78 percent of people voted for a constituent convention.
JD: What can the left learn from the movement in Chile? What made this win successful?
RV: You have to listen to the streets. Young people that are leading are also rejecting the left and the right. Historically, we saw Ferguson and Baltimore get co-opted into voting for Hillary and now with Biden. We saw people legitimately resisting police murder across this country turn into voting. Biden’s first response to the murder of [Walter Wallace Jr.] was “let’s keep the violence off the streets.” We’re getting the same messages from the people that were supposed to channel the political street energy into voting for Democrats. What people can learn from the struggle in Chile are the tactics, like the front line and the second line, and how to resist a militarized occupation. What the people in Chile have demonstrated is a political education class for the rest of the world.
GV: What we can learn from the movement in Chile, that forced the hands of the business class, is that the level of unity isn’t just left versus right but people versus capital. We have to make these connections that it isn’t just Democrat versus Republicans or Black versus white, but in a manner that Chile represented, a struggle of people versus capital.
JD: What are the movement’s implications for Sebastián Piñera’s government? The Q&A How Kendrick Lamar Became the Voice of a Generation Ann-Derrick Gaillot N.K. Jemisin Wrote a Sci-Fi Ode to New York City—Then It Became Reality Jessica Suriano Pop Music Has Always Been Queer Tal Milovina
RV: This uprising managed to ridicule Piñera to the point that if an election were held today, the votes wouldn’t be that different [from the Constitutional referendum] in getting him out of office. If things got worse, capital would have been willing to sacrifice Piñera. What saved him was the November 15 agreement. Without conceding a vote for a new Constitution, Piñera would have been forced by the people to resign. That concession bought Piñera time. If it weren’t for the pandemic, those protests would have kept on rolling in full force. The pandemic has shown the flaws of the Piñera government in which they have chosen profits over people. The protests had Piñera on the ropes.
JD: Your family fled as political refugees during the dictatorship and was engaged in resistance with Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria [La MIR, or the Revolutionary Left Movement]. What does it mean specifically to your family and for those formerly associated with organizations like La MIR that Chileans have moved to rewrite the Pinochet-era Constitution?
RV: For my parents and their generation it’s been super-inspiring to see the uprisings. For them, for all that the Pinochet dictatorship did to their lives, seeing his Constitution voted out was symbolic death to the Pinochet era. The fact that it’s 2020 and we still have a Pinochet Constitution is very telling of the level of influence that the dictatorship had and still has on Chilean society. To see young people, kids who are in their grandchildren’s generation, take to the streets, breathed an extra bit of life into my parents.
GV: One characteristic of La MIR is that they were critical supporters of [Salvador] Allende, they were not part of the Unidad Popular coalition. For the elder Miristas, it’s inspiring to see that it’s being autonomously organized and rejects the entire political class. The young people haven’t been duped.


thenation--2020-11-06--Portland Reelected ‘Tear Gas Ted’—but Still Wants Police Reform

After months of nightly protests against police brutality and racism in Portland , Ore. , voters here overwhelmingly approved the creation of a new police oversight board with the power to discipline and fire officers .
But they decided not to fire Mayor Ted Wheeler , who serves as police commissioner and has been criticized for lax oversight of the Portland Police Bureau .
Portland police officers were repeatedly filmed assaulting protesters during demonstrations this summer , and their use of tear gas has been the subject of multiple lawsuits .
Wheeler beat opponent Sarah Iannarone , an activist and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign largely defined by her embrace of the protests , 46 to 40 percent .
Thirteen percent of voters selected write-in candidates , including Teressa Raiford , a longtime advocate for police reform .
In the months leading up to the election , almost everyone in the city seemed sick of Wheeler .
Two-thirds of residents disapproved of his performance , according to a poll taken in late August .
Protesters dubbed him “ Tear Gas Ted ” ; civil rights leaders called on him to resign ; business groups complained that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protest activity downtown .
Iannarone hitched her campaign to the protest movement , describing herself as an “ everyday anti-fascist ” and leaning into her status as a political outsider .
In contrast to Wheeler , a technocrat with a résumé packed with Ivy League degrees and government experience , Iannarone has never held elected office , worked inside government , or led an organization .
She had a slew of policy ideas and raised a significant amount of money through a new public campaign finance program , but she struggled to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whom said they doubted her ability to effectively manage the city .
Meanwhile , Wheeler snapped up endorsements from environmental groups and unions as well business and real estate interests .
Iannarone ’ s ability to capture the anti-Wheeler mood was also blunted by the unusual strength of write-in candidates ; though Wheeler won , the majority of Portland residents voted against him .
While Portland ’ s protest movement couldn ’ t oust Wheeler , the huge margin of victory for the police oversight board indicates that there ’ s still appetite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty , the City Council ’ s leading critic of the police bureau , said during a press conference Tuesday night that she was “ not surprised ” by the “ overwhelming support ” for the new board , which will replace an existing commission called the Independent Police Review , which investigates complaints against officers but does not have subpoena or disciplinary power .
“ Eighty percent sends a very strong message that the community is ready for a transformation when it comes to policing , ” Hardesty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come easily .
The Portland Police Association , the union representing officers , opposes the new oversight mechanism and has threatened to challenge it in court .
The union ’ s contract is up for negotiation in January , and Portland ’ s City Council will be more moderate then .
Though Wheeler supports the new board , he has resisted deeper reforms , and on Thursday , he and two other council members blocked an $ 18 million cut to the police budget proposed by Hardesty .
“ It is disappointing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this process .
So we ’ ll continue to talk about Black lives but we won ’ t actually do anything to make Black lives better , ” Hardesty said during the vote .
On Tuesday , Portland voters also ousted Commissioner Chloe Eudaly , an ally of Hardesty ’ s and an aggressive tenants ’ rights advocate .
She ’ ll be replaced by Mingus Mapps , a former political science professor and city employee whose position on policing reforms is still vague .
Mapps was backed by the Portland Police Association @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does not necessarily reflect agreement with the union ’ s positions .
Will Concerns About Domestic Violence Derail Sentencing Reform in Oklahoma ?
On Wednesday , after his victory , Wheeler predicted that a victory by Joe Biden in the presidential race would “ take some of the heat off ” Portland and dampen the protests .
It ’ s already true that protests have shrunk considerably from their peak this summer after George Floyd ’ s killing and after federal agents arrived and escalated the conflict between protesters and law enforcement .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with excessive force and discrimination go back decades , far predating President Trump and his fascination with Portland .
Meanwhile , advocates , lawyers , and officials like Hardesty are committed to continuing to push Wheeler on reform .
A few hours after Wheeler ’ s remarks , a few hundred protesters began to march through the city , lead by a banner reading , “ The vote is over , the fight goes on.
” They were met by a massive police force , which included the Oregon National Guard , Oregon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Office , and the Portland Police Bureau , acting under an emergency order from Governor Kate Brown .
Oregon voters did approve another major criminal-justice reform proposal , making the state the first in the country to decriminalize the personal possession of small amounts of all drugs , including cocaine , heroin , and methedrine .
While those drugs remain illegal in the state , being stopped with them will mean a $ 100 fine , less than many speeding tickets—or , in lieu of the fine , a free health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measure marks a major shift away from policing and incarceration as the primary response to addiction , and toward a public health approach , coupling decriminalization with addiction treatment .
It draws on marijuana tax revenue to pay for “ addiction and recovery centers , ” harm reduction measures like needle exchanges , and housing .
Oregon voters also approved a measure to legalize supervised use of psilocybin in therapeutic settings .
Another notable ballot measure passed in Multnomah County , which includes Portland , will make tuition-free preschool available to all 3- @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four hours of before and after-care to lower-income and some middle-income students .
Paid for with a tax on individuals earning more than $ 125,000 and couples making over $ 200,000 , the Preschool for All initiative also raises the minimum wage for preschool teachers to $ 18 an hour .
The measure reflects a large body of research on the benefits of public preschool , and it could become a model for other cities—particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic , which has made child care gaps both more apparent and @ @ @

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After months of nightly protests against police brutality and racism in Portland, Ore., voters here overwhelmingly approved the creation of a new police oversight board with the power to discipline and fire officers. But they decided not to fire Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner and has been criticized for lax oversight of the Portland Police Bureau. Portland police officers were repeatedly filmed assaulting protesters during demonstrations this summer, and their use of tear gas has been the subject of multiple lawsuits. Wheeler beat opponent Sarah Iannarone, an activist and urban policy wonk who ran an aggressive campaign largely defined by her embrace of the protests, 46 to 40 percent. Thirteen percent of voters selected write-in candidates, including Teressa Raiford, a longtime advocate for police reform.
In the months leading up to the election, almost everyone in the city seemed sick of Wheeler. Two-thirds of residents disapproved of his performance, according to a poll taken in late August. Protesters dubbed him “Tear Gas Ted”; civil rights leaders called on him to resign; business groups complained that he wasn’t doing enough to squash protest activity downtown. Iannarone hitched her campaign to the protest movement, describing herself as an “everyday anti-fascist” and leaning into her status as a political outsider. In contrast to Wheeler, a technocrat with a résumé packed with Ivy League degrees and government experience, Iannarone has never held elected office, worked inside government, or led an organization. She had a slew of policy ideas and raised a significant amount of money through a new public campaign finance program, but she struggled to get support from progressive allies, some of whom said they doubted her ability to effectively manage the city. Meanwhile, Wheeler snapped up endorsements from environmental groups and unions as well business and real estate interests. Iannarone’s ability to capture the anti-Wheeler mood was also blunted by the unusual strength of write-in candidates; though Wheeler won, the majority of Portland residents voted against him.
While Portland’s protest movement couldn’t oust Wheeler, the huge margin of victory for the police oversight board indicates that there’s still appetite in the city for accountability and reform. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, the City Council’s leading critic of the police bureau, said during a press conference Tuesday night that she was “not surprised” by the “overwhelming support” for the new board, which will replace an existing commission called the Independent Police Review, which investigates complaints against officers but does not have subpoena or disciplinary power. “Eighty percent sends a very strong message that the community is ready for a transformation when it comes to policing,” Hardesty continued.
That transformation won’t come easily. The Portland Police Association, the union representing officers, opposes the new oversight mechanism and has threatened to challenge it in court. The union’s contract is up for negotiation in January, and Portland’s City Council will be more moderate then. Though Wheeler supports the new board, he has resisted deeper reforms, and on Thursday, he and two other council members blocked an $18 million cut to the police budget proposed by Hardesty. “It is disappointing that the status quo will resassert itself in this process. So we’ll continue to talk about Black lives but we won’t actually do anything to make Black lives better,” Hardesty said during the vote. On Tuesday, Portland voters also ousted Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, an ally of Hardesty’s and an aggressive tenants’ rights advocate. She’ll be replaced by Mingus Mapps, a former political science professor and city employee whose position on policing reforms is still vague. Mapps was backed by the Portland Police Association, though he has said that endorsement does not necessarily reflect agreement with the union’s positions. 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 Zoë Carpenter The Past 2 Years Have Left Portland Reeling. What Kind of Recovery Comes Next? October 5, 2021 Sexual Assault in the Military Is Still Going Unchecked. Will Congress Finally Act? July 27, 2021 Extreme Heat in Portland Is an ‘Acute Disaster on Chronic Disaster’ June 30, 2021
On Wednesday, after his victory, Wheeler predicted that a victory by Joe Biden in the presidential race would “take some of the heat off” Portland and dampen the protests. It’s already true that protests have shrunk considerably from their peak this summer after George Floyd’s killing and after federal agents arrived and escalated the conflict between protesters and law enforcement. But the police bureau’s problems with excessive force and discrimination go back decades, far predating President Trump and his fascination with Portland. Meanwhile, advocates, lawyers, and officials like Hardesty are committed to continuing to push Wheeler on reform. A few hours after Wheeler’s remarks, a few hundred protesters began to march through the city, lead by a banner reading, “The vote is over, the fight goes on.” They were met by a massive police force, which included the Oregon National Guard, Oregon State Police, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, and the Portland Police Bureau, acting under an emergency order from Governor Kate Brown.
Oregon voters did approve another major criminal-justice reform proposal, making the state the first in the country to decriminalize the personal possession of small amounts of all drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and methedrine. While those drugs remain illegal in the state, being stopped with them will mean a $100 fine, less than many speeding tickets—or, in lieu of the fine, a free health screening for substance use disorders. The measure marks a major shift away from policing and incarceration as the primary response to addiction, and toward a public health approach, coupling decriminalization with addiction treatment. It draws on marijuana tax revenue to pay for “addiction and recovery centers,” harm reduction measures like needle exchanges, and housing. Oregon voters also approved a measure to legalize supervised use of psilocybin in therapeutic settings.
Another notable ballot measure passed in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, will make tuition-free preschool available to all 3- and 4-year olds, as well as four hours of before and after-care to lower-income and some middle-income students. Paid for with a tax on individuals earning more than $125,000 and couples making over $200,000, the Preschool for All initiative also raises the minimum wage for preschool teachers to $18 an hour. The measure reflects a large body of research on the benefits of public preschool, and it could become a model for other cities—particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has made child care gaps both more apparent and more acute.


thenation--2020-11-06--Our Fight Can’t Stop After This Election

In the chaos of this moment , it seems likely that Joe Biden will just squeeze into the presidency and that he ’ ll certainly win the popular vote , Donald Trump ’ s Mussolini-like behavior and election night false claim of victory notwithstanding .
Somehow , it all brings another moment in my life to mind .
Back in October 2016 , my friends and I frequently discussed the challenges progressives would face if the candidate we expected to win actually entered the Oval Office .
There were so many issues to worry about back then .
The Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US armed forces and believed in projecting American power through its military presence around the world .
Then there was that long record of promoting harsh sentencing laws and the disturbing talk about “ the kinds of kids that are called superpredators—no conscience , no empathy.
” In 2016 , the country was already riven by deep economic inequality .
While Hillary Clinton promised “ good-paying jobs ” for those struggling to stay housed and buy food , we didn ’ t believe it .
We ’ d heard the same promises so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal minimum wage was still stuck where it had been ever since 2009 , at $ 7.25 an hour .
Would a Clinton presidency really make a difference for working people ?
Not if we didn ’ t push her—and hard .
The candidate we were worried about was never Donald Trump but Hillary Clinton .
And the challenge we expected to confront was how to shove that quintessential centrist a few notches to the left .
We were strategizing on how we might organize to get a new administration to shift government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at home and around the world .
We wondered how people in this country might finally secure the “ peace dividend ” that had been promised to us in the period just after the Cold War , back when her husband Bill became president .
In those first ( and , as it turned out , only ) Clinton years , what we got instead was so-called welfare reform whose consequences are still being felt today , as layoffs drive millions into poverty .
We doubted Hillary Clinton ’ s commitment to addressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : mass incarceration and police violence , structural racism , economic inequality , and , most urgent of all ( though some of us were just beginning to realize it ) , the climate emergency .
In fact , nationwide , people like us were preparing to spend a day or two celebrating the election of the first woman president and then get down to work opposing many of her anticipated policies .
In the peace and justice movements , in organized labor , in community-based organizations , in the two-year-old Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roll .
And then the unthinkable happened .
The woman we might have loved to hate lost that election and the white-supremacist , woman-hating monster we would grow to detest entered the Oval Office .
For the last four years , progressives have been fighting largely to hold onto what we managed to gain during Barack Obama ’ s presidency : an imperfect health care plan that nonetheless insured millions of Americans for the first time ; a signature on the Paris climate accord and another on a six-nation agreement to prevent Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protections for public lands ; the opportunity for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—DACA—status to keep on working and studying in the United States .
For those same four years , we ’ ve been fighting to hold on to our battered capacity for outrage in the face of continual attacks on simple decency and human dignity .
There ’ s no need to recite here the catalogue of horrors Donald Trump and his spineless Republican lackeys visited on this country and the world .
Suffice it to say that we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Looking Glass , running as hard as we can just to stand still .
That fantasy world ’ s Red Queen observes to a panting Alice that she must come from : “ A slow sort of country !
Now , here , you see , it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place .
If you want to get somewhere else , you must run at least twice as fast as that !
” It wasn ’ t simply the need to run faster than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put that made Trump World so much like Looking-Glass Land .
It ’ s that , just as in Lewis Carroll ’ s fictional world , reality has been turned inside out in the United States .
As new Covid-19 infections reached an all-time high of more than 100,000 in a single day and the cumulative death toll surpassed 230,000 , the president in the mirror kept insisting that “ we ’ re rounding the corner ” ( and a surprising number of Americans seemed to believe him ) .
He neglected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a coronaviral bus is heading straight toward us , accelerating as it comes .
In a year when , as NPR reported , “ Nearly 1 in 4 households have experienced food insecurity , ” Trump just kept bragging about the stock market and reminding Americans of how well their 401 ( k ) s were doing—as if most people even had such retirement accounts in the first place .
Trump World , Biden Nation , or Something Better ?
After four years of running in place , November 2016 seems like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 2020 is a very different place , at once more devastated and more hopeful than at least we were a mere four years ago .
On the one hand , pandemic unemployment has hit women , especially women of color , much harder than men , driving millions out of the workforce , many permanently .
On the other , we ’ ve witnessed the birth of the # MeToo movement against sexual harassment and of the Time ’ s Up Legal Defense Fund , which has provided millions of dollars for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job .
In a few brief years , physical and psychological attacks on women have ceased to be an accepted norm in the workplace .
Harassment certainly continues every day , but the country ’ s collective view of it has shifted .
Black and Latino communities still face daily confrontations with police forces that act more like occupying armies than public servants .
The role of the police as enforcers of white supremacy hasn ’ t changed in most parts of the country .
Nonetheless , the efforts of the Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thousands of people who demonstrated this summer in cities nationwide have changed the conversation about the police in ways no one anticipated four years ago .
Suddenly , the mainstream media are talking about more than body cams and sensitivity training .
In June 2020 , The New York Times ran an op-ed titled , “ Yes , We Mean Literally Abolish the Police , ” by Miramne Kaba , an organizer working against the criminalization of people of color .
Such a thing was unthinkable four years ago .
In the Trumpian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a country that already topped the world by far in armed citizens .
And yet young people—often led by young women—have roused themselves to passionate and organized action to get guns off the streets of Trump Land .
After a gunman shot up Emma Gonzalez ’ s school in Parkland , Florida , she famously announced , “ We call BS ” on the claims of adults who insisted that changing the gun laws was unnecessary and impossible .
She led the March for Our Lives , which brought millions onto the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ inaction on gun violence .
While Donald Trump took the United States out of the Paris climate agreement , Greta Thunberg , the 17-year-old Swedish environmental activist , crossed the Atlantic in a carbon-neutral sailing vessel to address the United Nations , demanding of the adult world “ How dare you ” leave it to your children to save an increasingly warming planet : “ How dare you ?
” is a question I ask myself every time , as a teacher , I face a classroom of college students who , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the future and more determined to make it better than the present .
Public attention is a strange beast .
Communities of color have known for endless years that the police can kill them with impunity , and it ’ s not as if people haven ’ t been saying so for decades .
But when such incidents made it into the largely white mainstream media , they were routinely treated as isolated events—the actions of a few bad apples—and never as evidence of a systemic problem .
Suddenly , in May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hideous video of George Floyd ’ s eight-minute murder in Minneapolis , Minn. , systematic police violence against Blacks became a legitimate topic of mainstream discussion .
The young have been at the forefront of the response to Floyd ’ s murder and the demands for systemic change that have followed .
This June in my city of San Francisco , where police have killed at least five unarmed people of color in the last few years , high school students planned and led tens of thousands of protesters in a peaceful march @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election season has reached its drawn-out crescendo , there is so much work ahead of us .
With the pandemic spreading out of control , it ’ s time to begin demanding concerted federal action , even from this most malevolent president in history .
There ’ s no waiting for Inauguration Day , no matter who takes the oath of office on January 20 .
Many thousands more will die before then .
And isn ’ t it time to turn our attention to the millions who have lost their jobs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too , as emergency anti-eviction decrees expire ?
Isn ’ t it time for a genuine congressional response to hunger , not by shoring up emergency food distribution systems like food pantries , but by putting dollars in the hands of desperate Americans so they can buy their own food ?
Congress must also act on the housing emergency .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s “ Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of Covid-19 ” lasts only until December 31 , and it doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have a lease or written rental agreement .
It ’ s crucial , even with Donald Trump still in the White House as the year begins , that it be extended in both time and scope .
And now Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said that he won ’ t even entertain a new stimulus bill until January .
Another crucial subject that needs attention is pushing Congress to increase federal funding to state and local governments , which so often are major economic drivers for their regions .
The Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cities , leaving them to confront the pandemic on their own just as a deep recession drastically reduced tax revenues , but—in true looking-glass fashion—treated their genuine and desperate calls for help as mere Democratic Party campaign rhetoric .
“ In Short , There Is Still Much to Do ” My favorite scene in Gillo Pontecorvo ’ s classic 1966 film The Battle of Algiers takes place at night on a rooftop in the Arab quarter of that city .
Ali La Pointe , a passionate recruit to the cause of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is fighting to throw the French colonizers out of Algeria , is speaking with Ben M ’ Hidi , a high-ranking NLF official .
Ali is unhappy that the movement has called a general strike in order to demonstrate its power and reach to the United Nations .
He resents the seven-day restriction on the use of firearms .
“ Acts of violence don ’ t win wars , ” Ben M ’ Hidi tells Ali .
“ Finally , the people themselves must act.
” For the last four years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people of this country and indeed on the people of the entire world .
He ’ s attacked so many of us , from immigrant children at the US border to anyone who tries to breathe in the fire-choked states of California , Oregon , Washington , and , most recently , Colorado .
He ’ s allowed those 230,000 Americans to die in a pandemic that could have been controlled , and thrown millions into poverty , to mention just a few of his “ war ” crimes .
Finally , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ darkened rooftop in an eerie silence , Ben M ’ Hidi continues his conversation with La Pointe .
“ You know , Ali , ” he says .
“ It ’ s hard enough to start a revolution , even harder to sustain it , and hardest of all to win it.
” He pauses , then continues , “ But it ’ s only afterwards , once we ’ ve won , that the real difficulties begin .
In short , there is still much to do.
” It ’ s hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But it ’ s only once we ’ ve won , whether that ’ s now or four years from now , that the real work begins .
There is , indeed , still much to do .

EDITOR’S NOTE: 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.
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In the chaos of this moment, it seems likely that Joe Biden will just squeeze into the presidency and that he’ll certainly win the popular vote, Donald Trump’s Mussolini-like behavior and election night false claim of victory notwithstanding. Somehow, it all brings another moment in my life to mind.
Back in October 2016, my friends and I frequently discussed the challenges progressives would face if the candidate we expected to win actually entered the Oval Office. There were so many issues to worry about back then. The Democratic candidate was an enthusiastic booster of the US armed forces and believed in projecting American power through its military presence around the world. Then there was that long record of promoting harsh sentencing laws and the disturbing talk about “the kinds of kids that are called superpredators—no conscience, no empathy.”
In 2016, the country was already riven by deep economic inequality. While Hillary Clinton promised “good-paying jobs” for those struggling to stay housed and buy food, we didn’t believe it. We’d heard the same promises so many times before, and yet the federal minimum wage was still stuck where it had been ever since 2009, at $7.25 an hour. Would a Clinton presidency really make a difference for working people? Not if we didn’t push her—and hard.
The candidate we were worried about was never Donald Trump but Hillary Clinton. And the challenge we expected to confront was how to shove that quintessential centrist a few notches to the left. We were strategizing on how we might organize to get a new administration to shift government spending from foreign wars to human needs at home and around the world. We wondered how people in this country might finally secure the “peace dividend” that had been promised to us in the period just after the Cold War, back when her husband Bill became president. In those first (and, as it turned out, only) Clinton years, what we got instead was so-called welfare reform whose consequences are still being felt today, as layoffs drive millions into poverty.
We doubted Hillary Clinton’s commitment to addressing most of our other concerns as well: mass incarceration and police violence, structural racism, economic inequality, and, most urgent of all (though some of us were just beginning to realize it), the climate emergency. In fact, nationwide, people like us were preparing to spend a day or two celebrating the election of the first woman president and then get down to work opposing many of her anticipated policies. In the peace and justice movements, in organized labor, in community-based organizations, in the two-year-old Black Lives Matter movement, people were ready to roll. 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
And then the unthinkable happened. The woman we might have loved to hate lost that election and the white-supremacist, woman-hating monster we would grow to detest entered the Oval Office.
For the last four years, progressives have been fighting largely to hold onto what we managed to gain during Barack Obama’s presidency: an imperfect health care plan that nonetheless insured millions of Americans for the first time; a signature on the Paris climate accord and another on a six-nation agreement to prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons; expanded environmental protections for public lands; the opportunity for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—DACA—status to keep on working and studying in the United States. Current Issue View our current issue
For those same four years, we’ve been fighting to hold on to our battered capacity for outrage in the face of continual attacks on simple decency and human dignity. There’s no need to recite here the catalogue of horrors Donald Trump and his spineless Republican lackeys visited on this country and the world. Suffice it to say that we’ve been living like Alice in Through the Looking Glass, running as hard as we can just to stand still. That fantasy world’s Red Queen observes to a panting Alice that she must come from:“A slow sort of country! Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
It wasn’t simply the need to run faster than full speed just in order to stay put that made Trump World so much like Looking-Glass Land. It’s that, just as in Lewis Carroll’s fictional world, reality has been turned inside out in the United States. As new Covid-19 infections reached an all-time high of more than 100,000 in a single day and the cumulative death toll surpassed 230,000, the president in the mirror kept insisting that “we’re rounding the corner” (and a surprising number of Americans seemed to believe him). He neglected to mention that, around that very corner, a coronaviral bus is heading straight toward us, accelerating as it comes. In a year when, as NPR reported, “Nearly 1 in 4 households have experienced food insecurity,” Trump just kept bragging about the stock market and reminding Americans of how well their 401(k)s were doing—as if most people even had such retirement accounts in the first place.
Trump World, Biden Nation, or Something Better?
After four years of running in place, November 2016 seems like a lifetime ago. The United States of 2020 is a very different place, at once more devastated and more hopeful than at least we were a mere four years ago. On the one hand, pandemic unemployment has hit women, especially women of color, much harder than men, driving millions out of the workforce, many permanently. On the other, we’ve witnessed the birth of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which has provided millions of dollars for working-class women to fight harassment on the job. In a few brief years, physical and psychological attacks on women have ceased to be an accepted norm in the workplace. Harassment certainly continues every day, but the country’s collective view of it has shifted.
Black and Latino communities still face daily confrontations with police forces that act more like occupying armies than public servants. The role of the police as enforcers of white supremacy hasn’t changed in most parts of the country. Nonetheless, the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement and of the hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated this summer in cities nationwide have changed the conversation about the police in ways no one anticipated four years ago. Suddenly, the mainstream media are talking about more than body cams and sensitivity training. In June 2020, The New York Times ran an op-ed titled, “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police,” by Miramne Kaba, an organizer working against the criminalization of people of color. Such a thing was unthinkable four years ago.
In the Trumpian pandemic moment, gun purchases have soared in a country that already topped the world by far in armed citizens. And yet young people—often led by young women—have roused themselves to passionate and organized action to get guns off the streets of Trump Land. After a gunman shot up Emma Gonzalez’s school in Parkland, Florida, she famously announced, “We call BS” on the claims of adults who insisted that changing the gun laws was unnecessary and impossible. She led the March for Our Lives, which brought millions onto the streets in this country to denounce politicians’ inaction on gun violence.
While Donald Trump took the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish environmental activist, crossed the Atlantic in a carbon-neutral sailing vessel to address the United Nations, demanding of the adult world “How dare you” leave it to your children to save an increasingly warming planet:
You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!
“How dare you?” is a question I ask myself every time, as a teacher, I face a classroom of college students who, each semester, seem both more anxious about the future and more determined to make it better than the present.
Public attention is a strange beast. Communities of color have known for endless years that the police can kill them with impunity, and it’s not as if people haven’t been saying so for decades. But when such incidents made it into the largely white mainstream media, they were routinely treated as isolated events—the actions of a few bad apples—and never as evidence of a systemic problem. Suddenly, in May 2020, with the release of a hideous video of George Floyd’s eight-minute murder in Minneapolis, Minn., systematic police violence against Blacks became a legitimate topic of mainstream discussion.
The young have been at the forefront of the response to Floyd’s murder and the demands for systemic change that have followed. This June in my city of San Francisco, where police have killed at least five unarmed people of color in the last few years, high school students planned and led tens of thousands of protesters in a peaceful march against police violence.
Now that the election season has reached its drawn-out crescendo, there is so much work ahead of us. With the pandemic spreading out of control, it’s time to begin demanding concerted federal action, even from this most malevolent president in history. There’s no waiting for Inauguration Day, no matter who takes the oath of office on January 20. Many thousands more will die before then.
And isn’t it time to turn our attention to the millions who have lost their jobs and face the possibility of losing their housing, too, as emergency anti-eviction decrees expire? Isn’t it time for a genuine congressional response to hunger, not by shoring up emergency food distribution systems like food pantries, but by putting dollars in the hands of desperate Americans so they can buy their own food? Congress must also act on the housing emergency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of Covid-19” lasts only until December 31, and it doesn’t cover tenants who don’t have a lease or written rental agreement. It’s crucial, even with Donald Trump still in the White House as the year begins, that it be extended in both time and scope. And now Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said that he won’t even entertain a new stimulus bill until January.
Another crucial subject that needs attention is pushing Congress to increase federal funding to state and local governments, which so often are major economic drivers for their regions. The Trump administration and McConnell not only abandoned states and cities, leaving them to confront the pandemic on their own just as a deep recession drastically reduced tax revenues, but—in true looking-glass fashion—treated their genuine and desperate calls for help as mere Democratic Party campaign rhetoric.
“In Short, There Is Still Much to Do”
My favorite scene in Gillo Pontecorvo’s classic 1966 film The Battle of Algiers takes place at night on a rooftop in the Arab quarter of that city. Ali La Pointe, a passionate recruit to the cause of the National Liberation Front (NLF), which is fighting to throw the French colonizers out of Algeria, is speaking with Ben M’Hidi, a high-ranking NLF official. Ali is unhappy that the movement has called a general strike in order to demonstrate its power and reach to the United Nations. He resents the seven-day restriction on the use of firearms. “Acts of violence don’t win wars,” Ben M’Hidi tells Ali. “Finally, the people themselves must act.”
For the last four years, Donald Trump has made war on the people of this country and indeed on the people of the entire world. He’s attacked so many of us, from immigrant children at the US border to anyone who tries to breathe in the fire-choked states of California, Oregon, Washington, and, most recently, Colorado. He’s allowed those 230,000 Americans to die in a pandemic that could have been controlled, and thrown millions into poverty, to mention just a few of his “war” crimes. Finally, the people themselves must act.
On that darkened rooftop in an eerie silence, Ben M’Hidi continues his conversation with La Pointe. “You know, Ali,” he says. “It’s hard enough to start a revolution, even harder to sustain it, and hardest of all to win it.” He pauses, then continues, “But it’s only afterwards, once we’ve won, that the real difficulties begin. In short, there is still much to do.”
It’s hard enough to vote out a looking-glass president. But it’s only once we’ve won, whether that’s now or four years from now, that the real work begins. There is, indeed, still much to do.


thenation--2020-11-06--Black People Repudiated Trump Like He Was a Piece of Used Gum

Joe Biden is almost certainly going to be the next president of the United States .
The Biden-Harris ticket received the most votes of any ticket in American history , and he is expected to win the popular vote by somewhere between two to five points .
Biden is currently leading in enough states to give him 306 Electoral College votes , more than the 304 Donald Trump received in 2016 , which Trump called “ historic.
” Biden is likely to win , even if he ends up losing a state or two where he is currently leading .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ their states the resources to count ballots as they were received , this would have been evident since Tuesday night .
Still , this drawn-out nail-biter victory isn ’ t the one many of us had imagined .
Biden did not meet the predictions of preelection polls , whether because the polling industry is trash or because he “ underperformed.
” Moreover , Democrats appear to have been unable to take back control of the United States Senate , at least for the moment ( runoffs in Georgia could change the calculus ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the House .
All of this has given some people a case of the sads .
At least 68 million Americans voted for the racist , misogynist president , which is more people than voted for him last time , before they ’ d seen him bungle the response to the coronavirus , which has led to the deaths of 230,000 people .
Some people wanted more of a “ repudiation ” of Trump and Trumpism , and instead we got another razor-thin election in which a couple of hundred thousand votes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changed the results .
As Virginia Democrat Gerald Connolly lamented , “ The Trump coalition is more stubborn and resilient and capable than maybe we anticipated.… The country is even more polarized and divided.
” The thing is , while the Trump coalition is every bit as stubborn , racist , and vile as we ’ d feared , the idea that “ the country ” is “ deeply divided ” is ludicrous .
White people are divided .
White people can ’ t stand together to reject white supremacy .
Black people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d also launch him into the sun , if you ’ d let us—free of charge .
A happy quirk of Republicans ’ forcing some states to wait to count mail-in ballots is that it showed the impact of Black voters living in cities .
Trump was winning Wisconsin until Milwaukee reported .
He was winning Michigan until Detroit came in .
He was winning Pennsylvania until Philadelphia showed out .
And the last time Georgia had to withstand something as righteous as what Stacey Abrams has mobilized down there , William Tecumseh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won this election for the Democrats , and nonwhite voters across this country also rejected President Trump .
Trump did well with Cuban-Americans in Florida ( as Republicans usually do ) , and with some Latinx voters in South Texas .
But overall , he lost Latinx voters : He lost Puerto Rican Americans in Florida , and Mexican Americans in Arizona .
He lost with the AAPI community .
He lost the Muslim community .
He lost the Jewish community .
And he lost with the LGBTQ community .
That rejection should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the first president to lose a reelection bid since 1992 , and he lost it because a coalition of basically everybody other than white cis-hetero Christians overwhelmingly united and turned out against him .
We saved America .
You ’ re welcome .
I ’ m sorry more white people didn ’ t join our America ( and thankful for the ones who did ) by rejecting the bigotry , misogyny , and incompetence of Trump and the GOP , but I refuse to allow their ghoulishness to ruin my good time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kill this country , just as ideologies of racial superiority have killed every nation-state that hung onto them for too long .
But not today .
Thanks to the rest of us , white America has a few more years to get over itself .
Today , we have provided white people with additional time to look introspectively at their own communities , figure out how they ’ ve gone so horribly wrong , and come up with a plan and message to convince fellow whites to stop voting against their own interests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I ’ ve got an elegy to write .
It ’ s titled : Hillbilly , heal thyself .
But what we ’ re not going to do is ask people of color , Black people specifically , who have delivered this country from evil , to mollify or mitigate their demands for justice just because it might spook some of the white voters who have consistently embraced the very dystopia Trump championed .
I ’ ve heard some talking heads suggest that strident calls of racial justice in the face of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in swing districts .
Political guru James Carville said on MSNBC that the “ police stuff ” was “ unhelpful.
” When asked about Democratic “ underperformance , ” former senator Claire McCaskill said , “ Around cultural issues , the Republican Party , I think , very adroitly adopted cultural issues as part of their main theme .
Whether you ’ re talking guns or issues surrounding the right to abortion in this country or things like gay marriage and the right for transexuals and other people who we as a party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure that they ’ re treated fairly.
” She later apologized for using the term “ transexual.
” On a post-election conference call , Virginia Representative Abby Spanberger , who narrowly won reelection , called the House Democrats campaign a “ failure ” and lashed out at the party ’ s embrace of the protests inspired by the death of George Floyd .
Reports indicate the call basically turned into a centrist freak-out session in which vulnerable Democrats blamed Speaker Nancy Pelosi and “ the Squad ” for their problems or losses .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to either take all the seats , or go jump in a lake .
I ’ m sorry if pointing out the terrorism suffered by Black people at the hands of the police makes it harder for Democrats to win in Richmond , Va .
But Black people were not put on this earth to make life easier for Representative Spanberger .
She ’ s free to send whatever message to her district she thinks works best : In fact , we need candidates like Spanberger who can win in purple districts like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not dictate the national message of a party that would not exist without the blood , sweat , and bodies of Black people .
Moderate white Democrats need to understand , immediately , that they ’ re part of a party that is simply not competitive nationally or even in most statewide races without people of color .
Democratic candidates in states that don ’ t have a lot of people of color in them lose .
Democratic candidates that fail to connect with voters of color in states where those voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ message is based on changing the minds of Trump voters lose—unless Black people suck it up and save them anyway .
White Democrats have been rejected by the majority of white people in this country .
When given the choice between Trump ( or some know-nothing Trump-wannabe ) and a well-meaning white person with solid policies grounded in science and compassion , white people consistently and overwhelmingly choose the Trump-stan .
That ’ s got ta sting .
It frustrates white Democrats to be so harshly rejected by their skinfolk .
When and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s nothing for it now .
The way forward for the Democratic Party is through the vision and leadership of minority communities , most especially the Black women leaders among our ranks .
The quicker moderate white Democrats realize that , the more successful the party will be .
The quicker they realize Stacey Abrams is the future , the less time they ’ ll spend getting their lunch money stolen by Mitch McConnell .
Donald Trump was repudiated in this election .
White Democrats have to decide if they want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , or if they want to continue losing .
I hope they figure it out soon .
Black people have two senatorial runoffs to win in Georgia , if white moderates would just fall in line instead of getting in the way .

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Joe Biden is almost certainly going to be the next president of the United States. The Biden-Harris ticket received the most votes of any ticket in American history, and he is expected to win the popular vote by somewhere between two to five points. Biden is currently leading in enough states to give him 306 Electoral College votes, more than the 304 Donald Trump received in 2016, which Trump called “historic.” Biden is likely to win, even if he ends up losing a state or two where he is currently leading. And if state legislatures had simply given their states the resources to count ballots as they were received, this would have been evident since Tuesday night.
Still, this drawn-out nail-biter victory isn’t the one many of us had imagined. Biden did not meet the predictions of preelection polls, whether because the polling industry is trash or because he “underperformed.” Moreover, Democrats appear to have been unable to take back control of the United States Senate, at least for the moment (runoffs in Georgia could change the calculus), and Democrats lost a few seats in the House.
All of this has given some people a case of the sads. At least 68 million Americans voted for the racist, misogynist president, which is more people than voted for him last time, before they’d seen him bungle the response to the coronavirus, which has led to the deaths of 230,000 people. Some people wanted more of a “repudiation” of Trump and Trumpism, and instead we got another razor-thin election in which a couple of hundred thousand votes spread over a few states could have changed the results. As Virginia Democrat Gerald Connolly lamented, “The Trump coalition is more stubborn and resilient and capable than maybe we anticipated.… The country is even more polarized and divided.”
The thing is, while the Trump coalition is every bit as stubborn, racist, and vile as we’d feared, the idea that “the country” is “deeply divided” is ludicrous. White people are divided. White people can’t stand together to reject white supremacy. Black people repudiated Trump just fine. We’d also launch him into the sun, if you’d let us—free of charge. A happy quirk of Republicans’ forcing some states to wait to count mail-in ballots is that it showed the impact of Black voters living in cities. Trump was winning Wisconsin until Milwaukee reported. He was winning Michigan until Detroit came in. He was winning Pennsylvania until Philadelphia showed out. And the last time Georgia had to withstand something as righteous as what Stacey Abrams has mobilized down there, William Tecumseh Sherman was marching through.
Black people won this election for the Democrats, and nonwhite voters across this country also rejected President Trump. Trump did well with Cuban-Americans in Florida (as Republicans usually do), and with some Latinx voters in South Texas. But overall, he lost Latinx voters: He lost Puerto Rican Americans in Florida, and Mexican Americans in Arizona. He lost with the AAPI community. He lost the Muslim community. He lost the Jewish community. And he lost with the LGBTQ community. That rejection should be respected, and celebrated. Trump is the first president to lose a reelection bid since 1992, and he lost it because a coalition of basically everybody other than white cis-hetero Christians overwhelmingly united and turned out against him. We saved America. You’re welcome. 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
I’m sorry more white people didn’t join our America (and thankful for the ones who did) by rejecting the bigotry, misogyny, and incompetence of Trump and the GOP, but I refuse to allow their ghoulishness to ruin my good time. Commitment to white supremacy will eventually kill this country, just as ideologies of racial superiority have killed every nation-state that hung onto them for too long.
But not today. Thanks to the rest of us, white America has a few more years to get over itself. Today, we have provided white people with additional time to look introspectively at their own communities, figure out how they’ve gone so horribly wrong, and come up with a plan and message to convince fellow whites to stop voting against their own interests in the name of continued racial dominance. I’ve got an elegy to write. It’s titled: Hillbilly, heal thyself. Current Issue View our current issue
But what we’re not going to do is ask people of color, Black people specifically, who have delivered this country from evil, to mollify or mitigate their demands for justice just because it might spook some of the white voters who have consistently embraced the very dystopia Trump championed.
I’ve heard some talking heads suggest that strident calls of racial justice in the face of police brutality “hurt” white Democrats in swing districts. Political guru James Carville said on MSNBC that the “police stuff” was “unhelpful.” When asked about Democratic “underperformance,” former senator Claire McCaskill said, “Around cultural issues, the Republican Party, I think, very adroitly adopted cultural issues as part of their main theme. Whether you’re talking guns or issues surrounding the right to abortion in this country or things like gay marriage and the right for transexuals and other people who we as a party have tried to look after and make sure that they’re treated fairly.” She later apologized for using the term “transexual.”
On a post-election conference call, Virginia Representative Abby Spanberger, who narrowly won reelection, called the House Democrats campaign a “failure” and lashed out at the party’s embrace of the protests inspired by the death of George Floyd. Reports indicate the call basically turned into a centrist freak-out session in which vulnerable Democrats blamed Speaker Nancy Pelosi and “the Squad” for their problems or losses.
I would like to invite these Democrats to either take all the seats, or go jump in a lake. I’m sorry if pointing out the terrorism suffered by Black people at the hands of the police makes it harder for Democrats to win in Richmond, Va. But Black people were not put on this earth to make life easier for Representative Spanberger. She’s free to send whatever message to her district she thinks works best: In fact, we need candidates like Spanberger who can win in purple districts like the one she represents. But she cannot dictate the national message of a party that would not exist without the blood, sweat, and bodies of Black people.
Moderate white Democrats need to understand, immediately, that they’re part of a party that is simply not competitive nationally or even in most statewide races without people of color. Democratic candidates in states that don’t have a lot of people of color in them lose. Democratic candidates that fail to connect with voters of color in states where those voters are numerous lose. Democrats whose only message is based on changing the minds of Trump voters lose—unless Black people suck it up and save them anyway.
White Democrats have been rejected by the majority of white people in this country. When given the choice between Trump (or some know-nothing Trump-wannabe) and a well-meaning white person with solid policies grounded in science and compassion, white people consistently and overwhelmingly choose the Trump-stan. That’s gotta sting. It frustrates white Democrats to be so harshly rejected by their skinfolk. Election 2020 When and How Joe Biden Should Declare Victory John Nichols Trump’s Dangerous Endgame Jeet Heer
But there’s nothing for it now. The way forward for the Democratic Party is through the vision and leadership of minority communities, most especially the Black women leaders among our ranks. The quicker moderate white Democrats realize that, the more successful the party will be. The quicker they realize Stacey Abrams is the future, the less time they’ll spend getting their lunch money stolen by Mitch McConnell.
Donald Trump was repudiated in this election. White Democrats have to decide if they want to be on the team that did that, or if they want to continue losing.
I hope they figure it out soon. Black people have two senatorial runoffs to win in Georgia, if white moderates would just fall in line instead of getting in the way.


thenation--2020-11-06--Georgia Voters Can Put an End to Mitch McConnell’s Grim Reaping

Not so fast , Mitch McConnell .
The grim reaper from Kentucky can ’ t count his Senate majority just yet , thanks to a quirk of American democracy and a constitutional codicil that could see Georgia voters take his gavel away .
Unlike most states , Georgia allows for runoff elections when no candidate for the US Senate receives a majority of the votes in initial balloting .
The state had two Senate elections on November 3—a regular contest for the seat held by Republican incumbent David Perdue and a special election for the seat held by appointed Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pitting Loeffler against the inspired candidacy of the Rev .
Raphael Warnock is definitely headed to a runoff on January 5 , and it now appears the regular election for the Perdue seat will go the same direction .
If both seats flip , as is a real possibility in the suddenly competitive state of Georgia , McConnell ’ s numbers no longer add up .
At best , he ’ s got 50 of 100 seats—and this is where the Constitution comes in .
If the Senate is tied 50-50 , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the balance to one party or another .
And it now looks like the new vice president will be Democrat Kamala Harris , the California senator who with running mate Joe Biden is poised to prevail over the Republican ticket of Mike Pence and Donald Trump .
This is a richly deserved nightmare scenario for McConnell , the cynical political careerist who has given Americans so many nightmares for so many years .
McConnell has been the definitional figure in the governing of the United States for the better part of a decade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leader of the US Senate , he obstructed President Obama and empowered President Trump .
McConnell has packed the Supreme Court with right-wing judicial activists and blocked life-and-death aid in the midst of a pandemic .
He has stacked the deck in favor of his billionaire donors , Wall Street speculators , and the military-industrial complex .
Yet , when the results of the 2020 election were initially being tabulated , he looked to be positioned to continue as the ghoul of American politics—sapping the life out of the anticipated presidency of Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Declare Victory Biden Is Piling Up a Popular-Vote Mandate for Ending Trumpism Biden : ‘ It Ain ’ t Over Till Every Vote Is Counted , Every Ballot Is Counted ’ Despite their track record of thwarting economic , social , and racial justice , of denying climate change , and of squandering budgets on tax breaks for the rich and military adventurism , McConnell ’ s Republicans did well enough on Tuesday night .
While Biden appears to have prevailed with a promise to be less obnoxious than Trump , his soft-focus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coattails .
Democrats gained seats only in Arizona and Colorado , while they lost a seat in Alabama .
For the most part , vulnerable Republican incumbents survived .
By Wednesday , even as Democrats held out slim hope for good results from unsettled contests in North Carolina and Alaska , it looked as if McConnell and the Republicans would at least hang on with a 51-49 majority , and perhaps enjoy a 52-48 advantage .
That would have enabled the majority leader to dictate who a President Biden could appoint and what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Instead of sweeping to power with a mandate for change , Biden would begin as a lame duck looking to achieve incremental progress with executive orders and and modest appointments .
Then the voters of Georgia weighed in .
A historically conservative state that both parties had in recent decades written off—Republicans who were sure they would win it , Democrats who were sure they wouldn ’ t—saw a surge in voter turnout ( Thank you , Stacey Abrams . )
that required days of ballot counting .
The tabulations eventually moved Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where he might become the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state in 28 years .
They also resurrected the Senate candidacy of Jon Ossoff , who was thought to have fallen short on election night .
In the early count , it looked as if Perdue was over the 50 percent mark and headed for a second term .
But as Biden ’ s vote total ticked up , Perdue ’ s edge ticked away .
By Friday morning , Perdue had dropped to 49.8 percent , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for runoff in Georgia , ” and the Democrat ’ s campaign was declaring , “ We have all the momentum , we have all the energy , we ’ re on the right side of history .
Y ’ all ready to work ?
We ’ re just getting started.
” There are still hurdles for Ossoff .
Perdue ’ s all but certain to demand a recount , in hopes of clawing his way over the 50 percent threshold .
Democrats should fight to make sure the recount goes their way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to start campaigning for Ossoff and Warnock .
This is the time for Democrats who want to see a successful Biden presidency to go all in for a pair of Georgia candidates who can both win .
While some hope is being held out for an upset in Alaska ’ s slow-counting Senate race , the best bet is Georgia , where the party ’ s gaining the two Senate seats will give it control of the chamber .
The stakes are as high as they possibly could be , because , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notes , “ If Democrats win the two Senate races in Georgia , their odds of being able to pass the legislation in their platform [ go ] up dramatically.
” And McConnell ’ s odds for obstructing another Democratic president decline just as dramatically .
Ossoff and Warnock are different candidates who have run distinct campaigns .
But the likelihood is that they will rise or fall together in what could well be the most expensive Senate competition in American history .
Loeffler is reputedly “ the richest politician on Capitol Hill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than $ 20 million of her own money on an ugly campaign that has positioned her to the right of Trump .
Perdue is also a multimillionaire , and McConnell will steer every special-interest dollar he can find into these two races .
But Democrats have held their own in fundraising this year , and they have a powerful grassroots apparatus in place in Georgia .
A Working Families Party assessment of the November 3 numbers is spot on when it argues , “ The results we ’ re seeing across Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressives in the South.
” Can Georgia ’ s Jon Ossoff Finish the Job This November ?
Both Democratic candidates bring strengths to the competition .
Ossoff , who built name recognition and fundraising prowess with a high-profile 2017 congressional bid in suburban Atlanta , shredded Perdue in a late-October debate .
Warnock , the senior pastor of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church , the spiritual home of the Rev .
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , finished first in the initial vote thanks to an urban-rural coalition with a proven capacity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has already been campaigning for these two Democrats—dismissing the scandal-plagued Republican incumbents as “ Batman and Robin gone bad…the dynamic duo of doing wrong ” and reminding Georgians in an Atlanta appearance just before the November 3 election , “ You ’ ve got the chance to flip two Senate seats.
” Now that the map is clearer , Obama , Biden , Harris , and the Democrats should reframe that message to this : You ’ ve got the chance to flip the Senate , and prevent McConnell from obstructing another Democratic @ @

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Not so fast, Mitch McConnell. The grim reaper from Kentucky can’t count his Senate majority just yet, thanks to a quirk of American democracy and a constitutional codicil that could see Georgia voters take his gavel away.
Unlike most states, Georgia allows for runoff elections when no candidate for the US Senate receives a majority of the votes in initial balloting. The state had two Senate elections on November 3—a regular contest for the seat held by Republican incumbent David Perdue and a special election for the seat held by appointed Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. The special election pitting Loeffler against the inspired candidacy of the Rev. Raphael Warnock is definitely headed to a runoff on January 5, and it now appears the regular election for the Perdue seat will go the same direction.
If both seats flip, as is a real possibility in the suddenly competitive state of Georgia, McConnell’s numbers no longer add up. At best, he’s got 50 of 100 seats—and this is where the Constitution comes in. If the Senate is tied 50-50, the vice president has the authority to tip the balance to one party or another. And it now looks like the new vice president will be Democrat Kamala Harris, the California senator who with running mate Joe Biden is poised to prevail over the Republican ticket of Mike Pence and Donald Trump.
This is a richly deserved nightmare scenario for McConnell, the cynical political careerist who has given Americans so many nightmares for so many years.
McConnell has been the definitional figure in the governing of the United States for the better part of a decade. As the conniving and calculating majority leader of the US Senate, he obstructed President Obama and empowered President Trump. McConnell has packed the Supreme Court with right-wing judicial activists and blocked life-and-death aid in the midst of a pandemic. He has stacked the deck in favor of his billionaire donors, Wall Street speculators, and the military-industrial complex. Yet, when the results of the 2020 election were initially being tabulated, he looked to be positioned to continue as the ghoul of American politics—sapping the life out of the anticipated presidency of Biden. 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
Despite their track record of thwarting economic, social, and racial justice, of denying climate change, and of squandering budgets on tax breaks for the rich and military adventurism, McConnell’s Republicans did well enough on Tuesday night. While Biden appears to have prevailed with a promise to be less obnoxious than Trump, his soft-focus campaign offered little in the way of coattails. Democrats gained seats only in Arizona and Colorado, while they lost a seat in Alabama. For the most part, vulnerable Republican incumbents survived. By Wednesday, even as Democrats held out slim hope for good results from unsettled contests in North Carolina and Alaska, it looked as if McConnell and the Republicans would at least hang on with a 51-49 majority, and perhaps enjoy a 52-48 advantage. That would have enabled the majority leader to dictate who a President Biden could appoint and what policies a new administration might advance. Instead of sweeping to power with a mandate for change, Biden would begin as a lame duck looking to achieve incremental progress with executive orders and and modest appointments. 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
Then the voters of Georgia weighed in. A historically conservative state that both parties had in recent decades written off—Republicans who were sure they would win it, Democrats who were sure they wouldn’t—saw a surge in voter turnout (Thank you, Stacey Abrams.) that required days of ballot counting. The tabulations eventually moved Biden into a narrow lead, positioning him where he might become the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state in 28 years. They also resurrected the Senate candidacy of Jon Ossoff, who was thought to have fallen short on election night. In the early count, it looked as if Perdue was over the 50 percent mark and headed for a second term. But as Biden’s vote total ticked up, Perdue’s edge ticked away. By Friday morning, Perdue had dropped to 49.8 percent, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline announced “Ossoff, Perdue appear headed for runoff in Georgia,” and the Democrat’s campaign was declaring, “We have all the momentum, we have all the energy, we’re on the right side of history. Y’all ready to work? We’re just getting started.” Current Issue View our current issue
There are still hurdles for Ossoff. Perdue’s all but certain to demand a recount, in hopes of clawing his way over the 50 percent threshold.
Democrats should fight to make sure the recount goes their way. But they shouldn’t wait to start campaigning for Ossoff and Warnock. This is the time for Democrats who want to see a successful Biden presidency to go all in for a pair of Georgia candidates who can both win. While some hope is being held out for an upset in Alaska’s slow-counting Senate race, the best bet is Georgia, where the party’s gaining the two Senate seats will give it control of the chamber. The stakes are as high as they possibly could be, because, as Syracuse University political science professor Steven White notes, “If Democrats win the two Senate races in Georgia, their odds of being able to pass the legislation in their platform [go] up dramatically.” And McConnell’s odds for obstructing another Democratic president decline just as dramatically.
Ossoff and Warnock are different candidates who have run distinct campaigns. But the likelihood is that they will rise or fall together in what could well be the most expensive Senate competition in American history. Loeffler is reputedly “the richest politician on Capitol Hill” and she’s already spent more than $20 million of her own money on an ugly campaign that has positioned her to the right of Trump. Perdue is also a multimillionaire, and McConnell will steer every special-interest dollar he can find into these two races. But Democrats have held their own in fundraising this year, and they have a powerful grassroots apparatus in place in Georgia. A Working Families Party assessment of the November 3 numbers is spot on when it argues, “The results we’re seeing across Georgia prove that there is a path for progressives in the South.” Jon Ossoff Can Georgia’s Jon Ossoff Finish the Job This November? Joan Walsh
Both Democratic candidates bring strengths to the competition. Ossoff, who built name recognition and fundraising prowess with a high-profile 2017 congressional bid in suburban Atlanta, shredded Perdue in a late-October debate. Warnock, the senior pastor of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., finished first in the initial vote thanks to an urban-rural coalition with a proven capacity to mobilize voters.
Former President Barack Obama has already been campaigning for these two Democrats—dismissing the scandal-plagued Republican incumbents as “Batman and Robin gone bad…the dynamic duo of doing wrong” and reminding Georgians in an Atlanta appearance just before the November 3 election, “You’ve got the chance to flip two Senate seats.” Now that the map is clearer, Obama, Biden, Harris, and the Democrats should reframe that message to this: You’ve got the chance to flip the Senate, and prevent McConnell from obstructing another Democratic presidency.