thenation--2020-09-24--The Media Is Missing the Republicans’ Supreme Court Power Grab—Again

The argument against confirming Donald Trump ’ s nominee to the Supreme Court before the inauguration is a Republican argument .
They invented it , they enacted it , and they own it .
That ’ s because it was Republicans , not Democrats , who changed the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to eight for 10 months in 2016 , when a Democratic president was in the White House .
It was Republicans who argued that no Supreme Court nominee should even be considered by the Senate in an election year .
And it was Republicans who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clinton ’ s Supreme Court nominees in the event that she became president while Republicans retained control of the Senate .
The mainstream media , however , does not seem to understand that .
Its inability to cover the political fallout from the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a modicum of accuracy borders on bad faith .
Here ’ s New York Times pollster Nate Cohn Columbusing the idea that maybe Senate Republicans are just acting in their political self-interest .
Here ’ s a Politico headline saying “ McConnell fends off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writing “ Iceberg fends off Titanic.
” And while the media is doing a better job of juxtaposing Senator Lindsey Graham ’ s past statements—insisting that he would not confirm a justice in the last year of a presidential term—with his current stance , I ’ ve seen him called “ defiant ” when all he ’ s really saying is that he ’ s a liar whose word is worthless .
While Republicans debase themselves to explain why only Republicans get to be on the Supreme Court , Democrats are merely asking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they invented in 2016 to block Merrick Garland .
If Garland were on the Supreme Court now , Democrats would have no legitimate argument to block Trump ’ s appointment of Ginsburg ’ s replacement .
Hell , if Garland had received so much as a vote on the Senate floor , and been turned away by the Republican-controlled Senate , Democrats would have no legitimate argument to block Ginsburg ’ s replacement .
But Garland received no hearing .
He received no up-or-down vote on the Senate floor .
Republicans refused even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They did not so much withhold their advice or consent on Obama ’ s Supreme Court appointment as refuse even to consider performing that basic constitutional function , based on their unprecedented theory that no court appointments could be made in an election year .
Republicans , of course , have already violated this made-up “ no new judges in election years ” rule .
Thus far in 2020 , the Republican Senate has confirmed three circuit court judges and 26 district court judges .
I counted .
That ’ s 29 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year by the party that refused to allow a vote on the Garland appointment .
Maybe the media didn ’ t cover these 29 acts of hypocrisy as such because they weren ’ t Supreme Court appointments .
But now that Republicans plan to violate their own precedent on the high court , the least the media can do is report on this Republican hypocrisy accurately .
Either Republicans were lying in 2016 , or they ’ re lying now .
Mitch McConnell has the votes to push this through .
As of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have balked at the kind of brazen hypocrisy the Senate majority leader now demands of them .
Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski , respectively of Maine and Alaska , have indicated that they are unwilling to confirm a nominee before the election on November 3 .
That ’ s all well and good , but it ’ s not enough .
Other so-called moderates , including Senator Mitt Romney , have indicated that they will confirm Trump ’ s nominee .
Romney voted earlier this year to remove the president from office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get a Supreme Court pick after an election has already started .
Tells you something about how far Republicans are willing to go to control the courts .
These Republican moderates were never going to do the right thing .
Even the statements from Collins and Murkowski are worthless .
While the election happens on November 3 , the transfer of power ( should Joe Biden defeat Trump ) will not happen until January 20 , 2021 .
A new Congress does not assume power until noon on January 3 , per the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear if McConnell can move quickly enough to push through Trump ’ s nominee before the election , but he has already indicated that he ’ s willing to confirm the nominee after the election , regardless of the results .
We are looking at a scenario in which people who have already been voted out of office claim the right to appoint a Supreme Court justice who will wield power for 40 years or more .
The nation ’ s highest court is on the cusp of losing its last shred of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one justice , Neil Gorsuch , who was confirmed only after the application of McConnell ’ s election-year confirmation rule , and another justice confirmed only after Republicans ignored that rule , is facially illegitimate .
That ’ s really not a difficult argument to grasp .
“ Heads I win , tails you lose ” is not a legitimate way to run a constitutional government .
Should McConnell , having succeeded in the Garland gambit , end up replacing Ginsburg before the inauguration , then he will have proven twice that appointments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than an exercise in raw political power .
Since the Democrats don ’ t have enough votes to block Trump ’ s nominee , but can count on Republicans to operate in extreme bad faith , there is really only one thing left to do .
As I wrote yesterday , expanding the number of justices on the court is the proportional , constitutional response to Republican manipulation of the court .
If Republicans make the number of justices on the Supreme Court a mere function of which party happens to control the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims a victim , then Democrats can also change the number of justices when they have the opportunity to do so .
There Is Only One Way Out of This Crisis : Expand the Court If We Don ’ t Reform the Supreme Court , Nothing Else Will Matter Make no mistake : The opposite view , the argument against Democrats ’ adding justices should they win back control of the government , devolves into the logic that only Republicans get to decide how many justices are on the court .
Only Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shape the court when it suits them .
And that argument is simply untenable .
We do not have a legitimate third branch of government if only one party gets to choose its members .
I ’ m not sure why the media struggles to get this part of the story right , but I have a theory .
For people who see politics as part of some quirky little game , McConnell ’ s will to power is an interesting story .
For many in the media , the rights that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at this scheme are not rights that affect them personally .
A 6-3 Republican-controlled court won ’ t take away their health care .
It won ’ t make it harder for them to vote .
It won ’ t make it easier for cops to shoot them .
It won ’ t affect their rights to marry or adopt children .
And for men in the media , the Supreme Court does not presume to tell them what they can do with their own bodies .
For the rest of us , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need access to health care and need polling places to remain open and can ’ t fly off to Canada to get an abortion , McConnell ’ s power grab represents an existential threat to democratic self-government .
This isn ’ t a game .
This isn ’ t another episode in the ongoing reality show “ The American Experiment.
” This is our lives and rights and ability to be governed by laws we choose for ourselves .
If those fundamental rights are to rest on the raw power of the party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be it .
But that means—must mean—that when the other party controls the levers of power , it too will not flinch or miss its opportunities to use those powers .
If power is all you care about , power is all you ’ ll get .
That ’ s where we are , and I ’ d appreciate it if more in the media educated themselves on this context .
McConnell has already fired first .
The Democrats are allowed to defend themselves .

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The argument against confirming Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court before the inauguration is a Republican argument. They invented it, they enacted it, and they own it. That’s because it was Republicans, not Democrats, who changed the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to eight for 10 months in 2016, when a Democratic president was in the White House. It was Republicans who argued that no Supreme Court nominee should even be considered by the Senate in an election year. And it was Republicans who promised to block the confirmation of Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court nominees in the event that she became president while Republicans retained control of the Senate.
The mainstream media, however, does not seem to understand that. Its inability to cover the political fallout from the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a modicum of accuracy borders on bad faith. Here’s New York Times pollster Nate Cohn Columbusing the idea that maybe Senate Republicans are just acting in their political self-interest. Here’s a Politico headline saying “McConnell fends off accusations of hypocrisy”—which is like writing “Iceberg fends off Titanic.” And while the media is doing a better job of juxtaposing Senator Lindsey Graham’s past statements—insisting that he would not confirm a justice in the last year of a presidential term—with his current stance, I’ve seen him called “defiant” when all he’s really saying is that he’s a liar whose word is worthless.
While Republicans debase themselves to explain why only Republicans get to be on the Supreme Court, Democrats are merely asking Republicans to follow their own rules—the rules they invented in 2016 to block Merrick Garland. If Garland were on the Supreme Court now, Democrats would have no legitimate argument to block Trump’s appointment of Ginsburg’s replacement. Hell, if Garland had received so much as a vote on the Senate floor, and been turned away by the Republican-controlled Senate, Democrats would have no legitimate argument to block Ginsburg’s replacement.
But Garland received no hearing. He received no up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. Republicans refused even to meet with the man privately. They did not so much withhold their advice or consent on Obama’s Supreme Court appointment as refuse even to consider performing that basic constitutional function, based on their unprecedented theory that no court appointments could be made in an election year.
Republicans, of course, have already violated this made-up “no new judges in election years” rule. Thus far in 2020, the Republican Senate has confirmed three circuit court judges and 26 district court judges. I counted. That’s 29 people confirmed for lifetime appointments in an election year by the party that refused to allow a vote on the Garland appointment. 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 Current Issue View our current issue
Maybe the media didn’t cover these 29 acts of hypocrisy as such because they weren’t Supreme Court appointments. But now that Republicans plan to violate their own precedent on the high court, the least the media can do is report on this Republican hypocrisy accurately. Either Republicans were lying in 2016, or they’re lying now.
Mitch McConnell has the votes to push this through. As of this writing, only two Republican senators have balked at the kind of brazen hypocrisy the Senate majority leader now demands of them. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, respectively of Maine and Alaska, have indicated that they are unwilling to confirm a nominee before the election on November 3. That’s all well and good, but it’s not enough. Other so-called moderates, including Senator Mitt Romney, have indicated that they will confirm Trump’s nominee. Romney voted earlier this year to remove the president from office, but thinks this same president should get a Supreme Court pick after an election has already started. Tells you something about how far Republicans are willing to go to control the courts.
These Republican moderates were never going to do the right thing. Even the statements from Collins and Murkowski are worthless. While the election happens on November 3, the transfer of power (should Joe Biden defeat Trump) will not happen until January 20, 2021. A new Congress does not assume power until noon on January 3, per the Constitution. It’s still not clear if McConnell can move quickly enough to push through Trump’s nominee before the election, but he has already indicated that he’s willing to confirm the nominee after the election, regardless of the results. We are looking at a scenario in which people who have already been voted out of office claim the right to appoint a Supreme Court justice who will wield power for 40 years or more.
The nation’s highest court is on the cusp of losing its last shred of legitimacy. A Supreme Court that includes one justice, Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed only after the application of McConnell’s election-year confirmation rule, and another justice confirmed only after Republicans ignored that rule, is facially illegitimate. That’s really not a difficult argument to grasp. “Heads I win, tails you lose” is not a legitimate way to run a constitutional government. Should McConnell, having succeeded in the Garland gambit, end up replacing Ginsburg before the inauguration, then he will have proven twice that appointments to the federal judiciary are nothing more than an exercise in raw political power.
Since the Democrats don’t have enough votes to block Trump’s nominee, but can count on Republicans to operate in extreme bad faith, there is really only one thing left to do. As I wrote yesterday, expanding the number of justices on the court is the proportional, constitutional response to Republican manipulation of the court. If Republicans make the number of justices on the Supreme Court a mere function of which party happens to control the government when the random wheel of death claims a victim, then Democrats can also change the number of justices when they have the opportunity to do so. More from Mystal There Is Only One Way Out of This Crisis: Expand the Court Elie Mystal Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Dying Wish: DISSENT! Elie Mystal If We Don’t Reform the Supreme Court, Nothing Else Will Matter Elie Mystal
Make no mistake: The opposite view, the argument against Democrats’ adding justices should they win back control of the government, devolves into the logic that only Republicans get to decide how many justices are on the court. Only Republicans get to use raw political power to shape the court when it suits them.
And that argument is simply untenable. We do not have a legitimate third branch of government if only one party gets to choose its members.
I’m not sure why the media struggles to get this part of the story right, but I have a theory. For people who see politics as part of some quirky little game, McConnell’s will to power is an interesting story. For many in the media, the rights that are on the chopping block should McConnell succeed at this scheme are not rights that affect them personally. A 6-3 Republican-controlled court won’t take away their health care. It won’t make it harder for them to vote. It won’t make it easier for cops to shoot them. It won’t affect their rights to marry or adopt children. And for men in the media, the Supreme Court does not presume to tell them what they can do with their own bodies.
For the rest of us, the majority of this country, who need access to health care and need polling places to remain open and can’t fly off to Canada to get an abortion, McConnell’s power grab represents an existential threat to democratic self-government. This isn’t a game. This isn’t another episode in the ongoing reality show “The American Experiment.” This is our lives and rights and ability to be governed by laws we choose for ourselves.
If those fundamental rights are to rest on the raw power of the party that last won an election, so be it. But that means—must mean—that when the other party controls the levers of power, it too will not flinch or miss its opportunities to use those powers.
If power is all you care about, power is all you’ll get. That’s where we are, and I’d appreciate it if more in the media educated themselves on this context. McConnell has already fired first. The Democrats are allowed to defend themselves.


thenation--2020-09-25--Bernie Sanders Has Given Us a Tool Kit for Defending Against Trump’s Threat to Democracy

Bernie Sanders knows exactly what is at stake in the 2020 presidential race .
“ This is not just an election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden , ” the Vermont senator explained Thursday .
“ This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy—and democracy must win.
” That ’ s not a hyperbolic statement .
That ’ s stark realism , which acknowledges the reality Americans face at a point when President Trump refuses to say whether he will accept the pink slip that polls suggest voters may hand him in November .
Sanders , who was himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic presidential nomination , is not alone in expressing his concern .
Trump dramatically heightened the anxiety level of an already tense election season when he responded Wednesday to a question about the peaceful transition of power by saying , “ We ’ re going to have to see what happens.
” Then the president made things worse : “ We want to get rid of the ballots , and we ’ ll have a very peaceful—there won ’ t be a transfer , frankly .
There ’ ll be a continuation.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Racist Politics of Trump ’ s ‘ Cult-Like ’ Rallies Russ Feingold on Why We Need to Talk About Expanding the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg : ‘ My Most Fervent Wish Is That I Will Not Be Replaced Until a New President Is Installed ’ “ This statement from the president of the United States should trouble all of us , ” warned the American Civil Liberties Union .
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer declared , “ President Trump : You are not a dictator , and America will not permit you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pelosi urged the president to “ just try for a moment to honor your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States.
” Even Utah Senator Mitt Romney , the 2012 Republican presidential nominee , chimed in : “ Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power ; without that , there is Belarus .
Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.
” But it was actor and activist Mark Ruffalo who spoke for millions of Americans , when he asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan ?
The man has told us he won ’ t leave peacefully , he is stacking the court with Justices he knows will rule in his favor , and he is talking about tossing ballots .
What is the plan ?
” On Thursday , Sanders presented one in a vital speech delivered from George Washington University to people across the country .
The senator began by noting that Dan Coats , Trump ’ s former director of national intelligence , has called for establishing a nonpartisan commission to oversee the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is fairly conducted .
In a New York Times op-ed , Coats wrote , “ The most urgent task American leaders face is to ensure that the election ’ s results are accepted as legitimate .
Electoral legitimacy is the essential linchpin of our entire political culture .
We should see the challenge clearly in advance and take immediate action to respond.
” “ I couldn ’ t agree more .
I strongly second Director Coats ’ s call for this election commission , ” said Sanders , who last week joined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McConnell to hold hearings to examine election and post-election security issues .
Then , on the chance that McConnell might not do the right thing , Sanders outlined steps that he proposed “ we as a people do in the struggle to preserve American democracy ” : “ First , it is absolutely imperative that we have , by far , the largest voter turnout in American history and that people vote as early as possible .
As someone who is strongly supporting Joe Biden , let ’ s be clear : A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtually impossible for Trump to deny the results and is our best means for defending democracy .
“ Second , with the pandemic and a massive increase in mail-in voting , state legislatures must take immediate action now to allow mail-in votes to be counted before Election Day—as they come in .
In fact , 32 states allow for the counting or processing of absentee ballots—verifying signatures for example—before Election Day .
All states should do the same .
The faster all ballots are counted , the less window there is for chaos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the news media needs to prepare the American people to understand there is no longer a single election day and that it is very possible that we may not know the results on November 3rd .
“ Fourth , social media companies must finally get their act together and stop people from using their tools to spread disinformation and to threaten and harass election officials .
Fifth , in the Congress and in state legislatures hearings must be held as soon as possible to explain to the public how the Election Day process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handled .
As we count every vote , and prevent voter intimidation , everything possible must be done to prevent chaos , disinformation , and even violence.
” The Chaos and the Coup That ’ s not a comprehensive list .
The ACLU , the Brennan Center for Justice , Color of Change , and other groups are constantly offering informed counsel on how to conduct free and fair elections , and to count the votes cast in those elections .
Hopefully , Biden , vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the best proposals for pushing back against Trump .
But Sanders has begun the pushback by offering a plan that can be acted upon immediately .
And as any good planner does , he has made a call to action .
“ The American people , no matter what their political persuasion , must make it clear that American democracy will not be destroyed , ” said the senator .
“ Our country from its inception and through the sacrifices of millions has been a model to the world with regard to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the midst of the terrible Civil War , Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg stated that this government ‘ of the people , by the people , for the people shall not perish from the earth.
’ That was true then .
That is true today .
Regardless of what Donald Trump wants , the American people will preserve democracy in our country .
”

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Bernie Sanders knows exactly what is at stake in the 2020 presidential race.
“This is not just an election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” the Vermont senator explained Thursday. “This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy—and democracy must win.”
That’s not a hyperbolic statement. That’s stark realism, which acknowledges the reality Americans face at a point when President Trump refuses to say whether he will accept the pink slip that polls suggest voters may hand him in November.
Sanders, who was himself an aspirant for this year’s Democratic presidential nomination, is not alone in expressing his concern. Trump dramatically heightened the anxiety level of an already tense election season when he responded Wednesday to a question about the peaceful transition of power by saying, “We’re going to have to see what happens.” Then the president made things worse: “We want to get rid of the ballots, and we’ll have a very peaceful—there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.” 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
“This statement from the president of the United States should trouble all of us,” warned the American Civil Liberties Union. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer declared, “President Trump: You are not a dictator, and America will not permit you to be one.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the president to “just try for a moment to honor your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States.” Even Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, chimed in: “Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.”
But it was actor and activist Mark Ruffalo who spoke for millions of Americans, when he asked, “Okay…so what’s the plan? The man has told us he won’t leave peacefully, he is stacking the court with Justices he knows will rule in his favor, and he is talking about tossing ballots. What is the plan?” 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
On Thursday, Sanders presented one in a vital speech delivered from George Washington University to people across the country. The senator began by noting that Dan Coats, Trump’s former director of national intelligence, has called for establishing a nonpartisan commission to oversee the election, with an eye toward assuring that it is fairly conducted. In a New York Times op-ed, Coats wrote, “The most urgent task American leaders face is to ensure that the election’s results are accepted as legitimate. Electoral legitimacy is the essential linchpin of our entire political culture. We should see the challenge clearly in advance and take immediate action to respond.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I strongly second Director Coats’s call for this election commission,” said Sanders, who last week joined Schumer in urging Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to hold hearings to examine election and post-election security issues.
Then, on the chance that McConnell might not do the right thing, Sanders outlined steps that he proposed “we as a people do in the struggle to preserve American democracy”:
“First, it is absolutely imperative that we have, by far, the largest voter turnout in American history and that people vote as early as possible. As someone who is strongly supporting Joe Biden, let’s be clear: A landslide victory for Biden will make it virtually impossible for Trump to deny the results and is our best means for defending democracy.
“Second, with the pandemic and a massive increase in mail-in voting, state legislatures must take immediate action now to allow mail-in votes to be counted before Election Day—as they come in. In fact, 32 states allow for the counting or processing of absentee ballots—verifying signatures for example—before Election Day. All states should do the same. The faster all ballots are counted, the less window there is for chaos and conspiracy theories.
“Third, the news media needs to prepare the American people to understand there is no longer a single election day and that it is very possible that we may not know the results on November 3rd.
“Fourth, social media companies must finally get their act together and stop people from using their tools to spread disinformation and to threaten and harass election officials.
Fifth, in the Congress and in state legislatures hearings must be held as soon as possible to explain to the public how the Election Day process and the days that follow will be handled. As we count every vote, and prevent voter intimidation, everything possible must be done to prevent chaos, disinformation, and even violence.” The Chaos and the Coup Is Trump Planning a Coup d’État? Sasha Abramsky
That’s not a comprehensive list. The ACLU, the Brennan Center for Justice, Color of Change, and other groups are constantly offering informed counsel on how to conduct free and fair elections, and to count the votes cast in those elections. Hopefully, Biden, vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris, and other top Democrats will embrace and amplify all the best proposals for pushing back against Trump.
But Sanders has begun the pushback by offering a plan that can be acted upon immediately. And as any good planner does, he has made a call to action.
“The American people, no matter what their political persuasion, must make it clear that American democracy will not be destroyed,” said the senator. “Our country from its inception and through the sacrifices of millions has been a model to the world with regard to representative government. In 1863, in the midst of the terrible Civil War, Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg stated that this government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.’ That was true then. That is true today. Regardless of what Donald Trump wants, the American people will preserve democracy in our country.”


thenation--2020-09-25--In the Navajo Nation, Anarchism Has Indigenous Roots

About an hour west of the New Mexico–Arizona border , an expanse of highway , sky , and sagebrush-spotted terrain ends in sandstone cliffs .
The red-orange walls drop down into Canyon de Chelly , the only national park operated on land still owned by the Navajo Nation .
This summer , as the per capita rate of coronavirus cases in the Navajo Nation surpassed New York state ’ s , Kauy Bahe , 19 , found himself standing on the canyon ’ s edge as he delivered food to a Navajo elder and her family as part of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a beautiful spot , ” Bahe ( Navajo ) said , describing the woman ’ s cornfield and hogan ( a traditional Navajo home made of wood and packed soil ) outside Del Muerto , Ariz .
But “ she was telling us about the struggles for water , about how they don ’ t have running water there and how they have to drive 30 minutes ” to buy it .
Across the United States , activists have responded to the Covid-19 crisis with anarchist strategies , like mutual aid .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Navajo Nation—the K ’ é Infoshop is one such group , and has been supplying elders , families , and the immunocompromised with food and medical supplies .
But the Infoshop ’ s members , like Bahe , say their style of autonomous organizing has distinctly Navajo roots .
In September 2013 , Brandon Benallie ( Navajo/Hopi ) and Radmilla Cody ( Navajo ) had just moved to Flagstaff , Ariz. , only about 200 miles from the Navajo Nation , when heavy rains flooded towns and destroyed homes across the reservation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a cybersecurity expert who ’ d grown up watching his family organize against resource extraction , quickly planned a benefit concert and collected aid for those affected by the floods .
The next year , the Assayii Lake Fire forced dozens of Navajo families to evacuate their homes , and Benallie and Cody organized another concert .
Then , just months later , news broke that three teenagers had beaten and murdered two Navajo men in Albuquerque , N.M .
The incident reminded Cody and Benallie of the many stories they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the assault or murder of homeless Native Americans in white towns along the Navajo reservation .
After that series of events , Benallie and Cody knew that they wanted to fully commit to mutual aid work , and so they formed their own Infoshop , an anarchist community space .
They began by setting up a tent outside of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock , but as Indigenous organizing ramped up in 2016 ahead of the Standing Rock demonstrations , they decided they wanted a permanent space .
Just five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the K ’ é Infoshop opened its doors in April 2017 out of a vacant coffee shop .
Inside , Benallie , Cody , and other early collective members painted each wall to correspond with the sacred Navajo colors—black , white , turquoise , and yellow—and began stocking the space with books and zines .
Near the entrance , they hung a painting of a women ’ s turquoise-ring-clad hands wrapped around jail bars—a piece by a member who the group says was unjustly arrested in a police raid of the nearby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a homeless group .
In the back , they filled bookshelves with titles like Corn is Our Blood , Indigenous Men and Masculinities , and Red Power Rising .
And then , across the back wall , they put up red stenciled letters that spelled out , “ K ’ é does not discriminate.
” Anthropologists often describe k ’ é as the Navajo kinship system , but Benallie and Bahe told me it ’ s much more than that .
“ It ’ s our theory of everything , ” Benallie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ string theory .
It ’ s how we ’ re connected to everything—but specifically how that kinship is reciprocated and maintained.
” K ’ é “ is this huge overlapping philosophy that the whole universe is interconnected , ” Bahe explained .
“ But it ’ s also these relationships that we have with one another and with the elements that exist in the world , whether that be the weather or the water or the animals.
” Growing up , Benallie said he learned about organizing from family and community members protesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mining on Navajo land .
Benallie said his grandfather always told him , “ We are all given unique gifts and abilities , and we must do what we can to provide for others with our unique gifts and abilities.
” He added that at the time , “ we didn ’ t know it as mutual aid , that was just k ’ é.
” Although there ’ s a distinctly European language to describing contemporary anarchism , Benallie said he believes that the movement has long been influenced by Indigenous ideas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anarchist because we never had chiefs ; we didn ’ t have a hierarchy .
It was always horizontal , ” Benallie said .
“ Communism and anarchism derived ideology from Franciscan missionaries who came here in the 1500s and 1600s and studied Indigenous societies .
And you have Engels , Marx , and Bakunin reading the journals of these religious figures and how these religious figures describe Indigenous societies at that time.
” Benallie argues that Navajo kinship began to break down as the tribe tried to negotiate with the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Navajo Nation government was called the Navajo business council , ” he said .
“ It was formed primarily to facilitate the signing of oil and gas leases , and coal leases , in the 1920s.
” Once horizontal , Benallie said , Navajo society became patriarchal and hierarchical—and that structure facilitated the destruction of land and water for resource extraction .
That history explains why Diné anarchists like Benallie , Cody , and Bahe were leery of tribal and federal pandemic relief efforts—and wanted to organize their own .
As soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , K ’ é ’ s members had a conversation about how they could help .
Benallie said he was initially wary of doing mutual aid work—he was concerned about the health of collective members and their families—but youth members like Bahe spoke up and said they were willing to take the risk .
K ’ é turned to the food pantry it had stocked for weekly solidarity meals with unsheltered community members .
“ What takes us a year to give away was gone in two weeks , ” Benallie said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ its relief efforts in Navajo Nation , but by April and May , other mutual aid projects began to emerge .
The youth-led Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief project raised funds to place large orders with companies like Shamrock Farms and organized teams to distribute upwards of 10,000 pounds of food each week across the 27,000 square miles of the reservations .
Bahe and other Infoshop members joined the Navajo-Hopi relief team operating out of Fort Defiance , Ariz.—six miles north of Window Rock .
Bahe said the group mostly served nearby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself miles away , at sites like Canyon de Chelly .
As the Navajo government tried to control the spread of the outbreak , it instituted curfews and stay-at-home orders that likely saved lives , but made it more difficult for families to travel to one of the reservation ’ s 13 grocery stores .
Mutual aid groups acquired essential worker passes to distribute food after curfew , but Bahe said organizers still faced pushback from the government .
“ We were harassed on multiple occasions by Navajo police pulling us over and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ badges weren ’ t valid , ” Bahe said .
“ In one instance the police officer , she sent us home and we had a van full of food.
” Speaking about the impacts of the pandemic and rapid growth of mutual aid groups across the country , Benallie noted , “ Every time capitalism fails , we land on socialism , we land on anarchism , to take care of us.
” “ I hope it makes people question who is there for them .
Was it the $ 1,200 stimulus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Or was it the good people of the earth who were organizing resources and material needs to make sure that you don ’ t go to sleep hungry or that your children don ’ t go to sleep hungry ?
” he said .
“ Capitalism fosters this unhealthy , highly individualist view of oneself .
People began to forget their responsibilities to each other , to the land , and began to only worry about how much they can benefit from the imbalance from broken kinship.
” As organizers consider strategies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of government support , Benallie urges them to remember their relationships to one another and to the planet .
“ We can ’ t do this alone .
We need all of the good people of the earth to come together .
”

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About an hour west of the New Mexico–Arizona border, an expanse of highway, sky, and sagebrush-spotted terrain ends in sandstone cliffs. The red-orange walls drop down into Canyon de Chelly, the only national park operated on land still owned by the Navajo Nation. This summer, as the per capita rate of coronavirus cases in the Navajo Nation surpassed New York state’s, Kauy Bahe, 19, found himself standing on the canyon’s edge as he delivered food to a Navajo elder and her family as part of a mutual aid effort.
“It was a beautiful spot,” Bahe (Navajo) said, describing the woman’s cornfield and hogan (a traditional Navajo home made of wood and packed soil) outside Del Muerto, Ariz. But “she was telling us about the struggles for water, about how they don’t have running water there and how they have to drive 30 minutes” to buy it.
Across the United States, activists have responded to the Covid-19 crisis with anarchist strategies, like mutual aid. In Window Rock, Ariz.—the seat of the Navajo Nation—the K’é Infoshop is one such group, and has been supplying elders, families, and the immunocompromised with food and medical supplies. But the Infoshop’s members, like Bahe, say their style of autonomous organizing has distinctly Navajo roots.
In September 2013, Brandon Benallie (Navajo/Hopi) and Radmilla Cody (Navajo/Black) had just moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., only about 200 miles from the Navajo Nation, when heavy rains flooded towns and destroyed homes across the reservation. Cody, a musician, and Benallie, a cybersecurity expert who’d grown up watching his family organize against resource extraction, quickly planned a benefit concert and collected aid for those affected by the floods. The next year, the Assayii Lake Fire forced dozens of Navajo families to evacuate their homes, and Benallie and Cody organized another concert. Then, just months later, news broke that three teenagers had beaten and murdered two Navajo men in Albuquerque, N.M. The incident reminded Cody and Benallie of the many stories they’d heard growing up of Indian rolling, the assault or murder of homeless Native Americans in white towns along the Navajo reservation.
After that series of events, Benallie and Cody knew that they wanted to fully commit to mutual aid work, and so they formed their own Infoshop, an anarchist community space. They began by setting up a tent outside of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, but as Indigenous organizing ramped up in 2016 ahead of the Standing Rock demonstrations, they decided they wanted a permanent space. 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
Just five minutes from the Navajo Nation government complexes, the K’é Infoshop opened its doors in April 2017 out of a vacant coffee shop. Inside, Benallie, Cody, and other early collective members painted each wall to correspond with the sacred Navajo colors—black, white, turquoise, and yellow—and began stocking the space with books and zines. Near the entrance, they hung a painting of a women’s turquoise-ring-clad hands wrapped around jail bars—a piece by a member who the group says was unjustly arrested in a police raid of the nearby flea market while she shared her lunch with a homeless group. In the back, they filled bookshelves with titles like Corn is Our Blood, Indigenous Men and Masculinities, and Red Power Rising. And then, across the back wall, they put up red stenciled letters that spelled out, “K’é does not discriminate.”
Anthropologists often describe k’é as the Navajo kinship system, but Benallie and Bahe told me it’s much more than that. “It’s our theory of everything,” Benallie said. “It’s our string theory. It’s how we’re connected to everything—but specifically how that kinship is reciprocated and maintained.” Current Issue View our current issue
K’é “is this huge overlapping philosophy that the whole universe is interconnected,” Bahe explained. “But it’s also these relationships that we have with one another and with the elements that exist in the world, whether that be the weather or the water or the animals.”
Growing up, Benallie said he learned about organizing from family and community members protesting the Black Mesa coal mines and uranium mining on Navajo land. Benallie said his grandfather always told him, “We are all given unique gifts and abilities, and we must do what we can to provide for others with our unique gifts and abilities.”
He added that at the time, “we didn’t know it as mutual aid, that was just k’é.”
Although there’s a distinctly European language to describing contemporary anarchism, Benallie said he believes that the movement has long been influenced by Indigenous ideas.
“Being Diné could be considered anarchist because we never had chiefs; we didn’t have a hierarchy. It was always horizontal,” Benallie said. “Communism and anarchism derived ideology from Franciscan missionaries who came here in the 1500s and 1600s and studied Indigenous societies. And you have Engels, Marx, and Bakunin reading the journals of these religious figures and how these religious figures describe Indigenous societies at that time.”
Benallie argues that Navajo kinship began to break down as the tribe tried to negotiate with the United States government. “The first version of the Navajo Nation government was called the Navajo business council,” he said. “It was formed primarily to facilitate the signing of oil and gas leases, and coal leases, in the 1920s.”
Once horizontal, Benallie said, Navajo society became patriarchal and hierarchical—and that structure facilitated the destruction of land and water for resource extraction. That history explains why Diné anarchists like Benallie, Cody, and Bahe were leery of tribal and federal pandemic relief efforts—and wanted to organize their own.
As soon as the coronavirus hit the Navajo Nation, K’é’s members had a conversation about how they could help. Benallie said he was initially wary of doing mutual aid work—he was concerned about the health of collective members and their families—but youth members like Bahe spoke up and said they were willing to take the risk. K’é turned to the food pantry it had stocked for weekly solidarity meals with unsheltered community members. “What takes us a year to give away was gone in two weeks,” Benallie said.
At first the Infoshop was alone in its relief efforts in Navajo Nation, but by April and May, other mutual aid projects began to emerge. The youth-led Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief project raised funds to place large orders with companies like Shamrock Farms and organized teams to distribute upwards of 10,000 pounds of food each week across the 27,000 square miles of the reservations.
Bahe and other Infoshop members joined the Navajo-Hopi relief team operating out of Fort Defiance, Ariz.—six miles north of Window Rock. Bahe said the group mostly served nearby towns, but on occasion he found himself miles away, at sites like Canyon de Chelly.
As the Navajo government tried to control the spread of the outbreak, it instituted curfews and stay-at-home orders that likely saved lives, but made it more difficult for families to travel to one of the reservation’s 13 grocery stores. Mutual aid groups acquired essential worker passes to distribute food after curfew, but Bahe said organizers still faced pushback from the government.
“We were harassed on multiple occasions by Navajo police pulling us over and telling us that our letters and our badges weren’t valid,” Bahe said. “In one instance the police officer, she sent us home and we had a van full of food.”
Speaking about the impacts of the pandemic and rapid growth of mutual aid groups across the country, Benallie noted, “Every time capitalism fails, we land on socialism, we land on anarchism, to take care of us.”
“I hope it makes people question who is there for them. Was it the $1,200 stimulus check or six months of unemployment? Or was it the good people of the earth who were organizing resources and material needs to make sure that you don’t go to sleep hungry or that your children don’t go to sleep hungry?” he said. “Capitalism fosters this unhealthy, highly individualist view of oneself. People began to forget their responsibilities to each other, to the land, and began to only worry about how much they can benefit from the imbalance from broken kinship.”
As organizers consider strategies to care for their communities in the absence of government support, Benallie urges them to remember their relationships to one another and to the planet. “We can’t do this alone. We need all of the good people of the earth to come together.”


thenation--2020-09-25--The Children of Incarcerated People Vote, Too

This story is published as part of StudentNation ’ s “ Vision 2020 : Election Stories From the Next Generation , ” reports from young journalists that center the concerns of diverse young voters .
In this project , working with Dr. Sherri Williams , we recruited young journalists from different backgrounds to develop story ideas and reporting about their peers ’ concerns ahead of the most important election of our lives .
We ’ ll continue publishing two stories each week over the course of September .
When Quintez Brown was very young , his father was sentenced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college student studying political science at the University of Louisville , said that the insight he gained from his father ’ s experience of incarceration has influenced every political stance he takes .
“ I feel like a lot of people tend to dehumanize these populations , ” he said .
“ I see him as a human being , as a person who deserves a second chance .
He ’ s saying , ‘ This isn ’ t fair ; the system is messed up .
Someone should do something about it.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ m the only person really hearing him.
” According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics , 52 percent of state inmates and 63 percent of federal inmates are parents to dependent minors .
An estimated 1.7 million children are in the care of incarcerated men and women , about 2.3 percent of the United States population under 18 .
This story was produced for Student Nation , a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words .
For more Student Nation , check out our archive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campus activism story ?
Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at samantha @ thenation.com .
The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation .
Incarcerated people and their relatives live the realities of a fraying criminal justice system .
For them , a presidential candidate who prioritizes criminal justice reform is crucial .
But they don ’ t see such a candidate emerging during the 2020 election .
As November draws near , voters must choose between two candidates with contentious records on criminal justice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Step Act into law , which prioritizes reentry efforts and incorporates a new release-consideration system that takes into account “ personal growth ” of inmates when considering early releases in nonviolent offenders .
Despite the act ’ s bipartisan success , Trump ’ s past comments give criminal justice reformers like Brown pause .
In a 2017 speech to a law enforcement group , Trump said that when dealing with gang members it ’ s OK not to protect their heads when putting them into a cop car .
“ Please don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Trump spent $ 85,000 in 1989 for full-page national newspaper ads calling for the death penalty for the “ Central Park Five , ” five Black and Latino teens accused of raping and beating a white woman .
Thirteen years later , they were exonerated by DNA evidence .
Nevertheless , even 10 years after their innocence was proven by modern science , Trump refused to admit he had been wrong .
And during his time in office , Trump has helped prop up the private prison industry , with Attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward by the Obama administration that sought to phase out the use of private contractors to run federal prisons , and his administration suing the state of California over its private prison ban .
But Joe Biden has a record that also causes voters interested in criminal justice reform to worry .
Biden was a key player in the implementation of the War on Drugs in the 1980s and ’ 90s .
The then–Senator of Delaware authored four notable laws that led to the present racial disparities in mass incarceration : the 1986 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentences for the use of crack cocaine , which was more commonly used among the Black community than powder cocaine .
Young voters like Brown , who is 19 and will be voting for the first time in November , are paying close attention to the candidates ’ histories regarding criminal justice and how they plan to move forward to reform the country ’ s bloated prison system .
They ’ re looking for a presidential candidate with plans to take on mass incarceration , cash bail , and the death penalty—and both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this regard .
“ The message we ’ re getting right now is , ‘ Settle for me or get Trump.
’ That ’ s the message that the DNC is giving to us , ” Brown said .
Though Biden has altered his stance recently , touting a platform that includes criminal justice reform policies aimed at slowing mass incarceration , reducing prison funding , and targeting at-risk groups for assistance , including girls , many criminal justice reform activists say this doesn ’ t go far enough .
Even before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pool of presidential candidates hadn ’ t offered much hope for young voters prioritizing criminal justice , said Tyrone Parker , director of the Washington-based juvenile justice nonprofit Alliance of Concerned Men .
Parker , 72 , has spent his life working in criminal justice reform .
“ I had a legitimate concern when it came to picking a candidate , ” he said .
“ We have so many men and women that are locked up .
We lead the world in incarceration .
Those men and women should have had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those people navigate their way back into society .
Or that even addressed mass incarceration at the magnitude it is.
” This reticence , says Carrie Cole , a 23-year-old recent graduate of the University of Louisville ’ s Kent School of Social Work and part of Louisville ’ s Bail Project , is in part due to the tough position many candidates find themselves in : Presidential hopefuls try to tread a fine line between espousing progressive views and maintaining a tough-on-crime position , Cole said .
“ Maybe naively I hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ But I don ’ t think candidates are specifically saying , ‘ This is an issue .
This is what we should do to solve it.
’ Because so many people and voters still opt for a ‘ hard on crime ’ mentality.
” But people affected by mass incarceration , not just the incarcerated people themselves , have firsthand experience with how tough-on-crime policies work .
The United States incarcerates people at a rate five to 10 times higher than other industrialized countries .
Over the past 40 years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent , with numbers released by the Department of Justice in 2017 showing that one of every seven incarcerated people is serving a life sentence .
“ As a son of someone who was formerly incarcerated , it matters especially to me , ” Brown said .
“ When I ’ m talking about formerly incarcerated people , I ’ m talking about my dad.
” Of the 12 Democratic candidates who made it to October of 2019 , Senator Cory Booker was the most vocal on his policy plans for criminal justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reverse Mass Incarceration Act , created to allocate $ 2 billion to prisons to cut their populations .
He also championed a marijuana legalization bill that , if implemented , would drastically reduce the number of people who enter the criminal justice system : 43 percent of all drug arrests are for marijuana possession , with black people nearly four times more likely to be arrested than white people .
When Booker dropped out of the race , Parker felt that was a signal that other voters didn ’ t prioritize criminal justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cole , Parker says the lack of candidates ’ interest on the issue seems to be intentional .
“ In a world where all people were held equal , there would be comprehensive approaches from every direction aimed at addressing the injustices of incarceration , ” Parker said .
“ It ’ s not what we see , though , because people are still fearful of this population .
It ’ s not politically savvy to support [ those incarcerated ] .
” Not only that , many formerly incarcerated people are frequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote—31 states disenfranchise , or otherwise bar people with criminal records from voting .
Despite a wave of initiatives against mass incarceration , Republicans and Democrats alike still support heavy punitive action against violent crime .
According to a 2016 Vox poll , although many voters supported ending mass incarceration by halting and shortening sentences for nonviolent crimes , 60 percent of all voters opposed releasing or cutting sentences of those who were convicted of violent crimes—even if they showed signs of rehabilitation .
But that mindset could change , Brown said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of early releases this year .
Injustices seemingly baked into the system can be quickly changed when politicians feel it is important , he said : It took only weeks for state-level politicians to alter their stances on nonviolent offenders .
“ I feel like this election cycle showed that the Democratic Party wasn ’ t really for people and voters who really need policy on their side—people like incarcerated people , like poor working-class people , ” said Brown .
Jackie Lantsman , a 22-year-old intern for the Center for Budget and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive policy for criminal justice reform , said that it ’ s time young people ’ s concerns get more attention from politicians .
“ I don ’ t think who politicians pander to when they ’ re trying to garner votes is very representative .
Statistically , they claim that older folks are more prone to vote , they ’ re more reliable , and that is why they focus on them .
That is a myth , ” Lantsman said .
“ I think if you really confront gerrymandering and places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then there are absolutely ways to engage them.
” Voters like Brown and Cole are also optimistic , anticipating a more compassionate outlook for those affected by the criminal justice system .
Reform is on the horizon , they say , thanks to the increased knowledge of young voters exposed to online movements like Black Lives Matter .
For now , Brown , Cole , and Lantsman hope for a future that prioritizes criminal justice reform as an issue—one that impacts all citizens .
“ Now I think more people are realizing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and immoral , ” Brown said .
“ We have that knowledge of those ideologies ’ being political games .
”

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Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Fridays. The best of the week.
Thank you for signing up for The Nation’s weekly newsletter.
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Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
This story is published as part of StudentNation’s “Vision 2020: Election Stories From the Next Generation,” reports from young journalists that center the concerns of diverse young voters. In this project, working with Dr. Sherri Williams, we recruited young journalists from different backgrounds to develop story ideas and reporting about their peers’ concerns ahead of the most important election of our lives. We’ll continue publishing two stories each week over the course of September.
When Quintez Brown was very young, his father was sentenced to prison.
Brown, now a first-generation college student studying political science at the University of Louisville, said that the insight he gained from his father’s experience of incarceration has influenced every political stance he takes. “I feel like a lot of people tend to dehumanize these populations,” he said. “I see him as a human being, as a person who deserves a second chance. He’s saying, ‘This isn’t fair; the system is messed up. Someone should do something about it.’ But guess what? I’m the only person really hearing him.”
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 52 percent of state inmates and 63 percent of federal inmates are parents to dependent minors. An estimated 1.7 million children are in the care of incarcerated men and women, about 2.3 percent of the United States population under 18. This story was produced for Student Nation, a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words. For more Student Nation, check out our archive. Are you a student with a campus activism story? Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at [email protected]. The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation.
Incarcerated people and their relatives live the realities of a fraying criminal justice system. For them, a presidential candidate who prioritizes criminal justice reform is crucial. But they don’t see such a candidate emerging during the 2020 election. As November draws near, voters must choose between two candidates with contentious records on criminal justice.
In 2018, Trump signed the First Step Act into law, which prioritizes reentry efforts and incorporates a new release-consideration system that takes into account “personal growth” of inmates when considering early releases in nonviolent offenders. Despite the act’s bipartisan success, Trump’s past comments give criminal justice reformers like Brown pause. In a 2017 speech to a law enforcement group, Trump said that when dealing with gang members it’s OK not to protect their heads when putting them into a cop car. “Please don’t be too nice,” he said.
Trump spent $85,000 in 1989 for full-page national newspaper ads calling for the death penalty for the “Central Park Five,” five Black and Latino teens accused of raping and beating a white woman. Thirteen years later, they were exonerated by DNA evidence. Nevertheless, even 10 years after their innocence was proven by modern science, Trump refused to admit he had been wrong. Current Issue View our current issue
Moreover, during his time in office, Trump has helped prop up the private prison industry, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoking an initiative put forward by the Obama administration that sought to phase out the use of private contractors to run federal prisons, and his administration suing the state of California over its private prison ban. 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
But Joe Biden has a record that also causes voters interested in criminal justice reform to worry. Biden was a key player in the implementation of the War on Drugs in the 1980s and ’90s. The then–Senator of Delaware authored four notable laws that led to the present racial disparities in mass incarceration including the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which created harsher sentences for the use of crack cocaine, which was much less expensive than the real thing.
Young voters like Brown, who is 19 and will be voting for the first time in November, are paying close attention to the candidates’ histories regarding criminal justice and how they plan to reform the country’s bloated prison system. They’re looking for a presidential candidate with plans to take on mass incarceration, cash bail, and the death penalty—and both candidates, they say, are lackluster in this regard. “The message we’re getting right now is, ‘Settle for me or get Trump.’ That’s the message that the DNC is giving us,” Brown said.
Though Biden has altered his stance recently, touting a platform that includes criminal justice reform policies aimed at slowing mass incarceration, reducing prison funding, and targeting at-risk groups for assistance, including girls, many criminal justice reform activists say this doesn’t go far enough.
Even before Biden’s nomination, the Democratic pool of presidential candidates hadn’t offered much hope for young voters prioritizing criminal justice, said Tyrone Parker, director of the Washington-based juvenile justice nonprofit Alliance of Concerned Men. Parker, 72, has spent his life working in criminal justice reform.
“I had a legitimate concern when it came to picking a candidate,” he said. “We have so many men and women that are locked up. We lead the world in incarceration. Those men and women should have had a platform that included a plan to help those people navigate their way back into society. Or that even addressed mass incarceration at the magnitude it is.”
This reticence, says Carrie Cole, a 23-year-old recent graduate of the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work and part of Louisville’s Bail Project, is in part due to the tough position many candidates find themselves in: Presidential hopefuls tread a fine line between espousing progressive views and maintaining a tough-on-crime position, Cole said. “Maybe naively I hope that politicians care,” she said. “But I don’t think candidates are specifically saying, ‘This is an issue. This is what we should do to solve it.’ Because so many people and voters still opt for a ‘hard on crime’ mentality.”
But people affected by mass incarceration, not just the incarcerated people themselves, have firsthand experience with how tough-on-crime policies work. The United States incarcerates people at a rate five to 10 times higher than other industrialized countries. Over the past 40 years, the prison population has increased by 500 percent, with numbers released by the Department of Justice in 2017 showing that one of every seven incarcerated people is serving a life sentence. “As a son of someone who was formerly incarcerated, it matters especially to me,” Brown said. “When I’m talking about formerly incarcerated people, I’m talking about my dad.”
Of the 12 Democratic candidates who made it to October of 2019, Senator Cory Booker was the most vocal on his policy plans for criminal justice reform. Booker cowrote bills like the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act, created to allocate $2 billion to prisons to cut their populations. He also championed a marijuana legalization bill that, if implemented, would drastically reduce the number of people who enter the criminal justice system: 43 percent of all drug arrests are for marijuana possession, with black people nearly four times more likely to be arrested than white people.
When Booker dropped out of the race, Parker felt that was a signal that other voters didn’t prioritize criminal justice policy when considering a candidate. Like Cole, Parker says the lack of candidates’ interest on the issue seems to be intentional. “In a world where all people were held equal, there would be comprehensive approaches from every direction aimed at addressing the injustices of incarceration,” Parker said. “It’s not what we see, though, because people are still fearful of this population. It’s not politically savvy to support [those incarcerated].”
Not only that, many formerly incarcerated people are frequently overlooked by politicians because they are unable to vote—31 states disenfranchise, or otherwise bar people with criminal records from voting.
Despite a wave of initiatives against mass incarceration, Republicans and Democrats alike still support heavy punitive action against violent crime. According to a 2016 Vox poll, although many voters supported ending mass incarceration by halting and shortening sentences for nonviolent crimes, 60 percent of all voters opposed releasing or cutting sentences of those who were convicted of violent crimes—even if they showed signs of rehabilitation.
But that mindset could change, Brown said, noting that Covid-19 prompted a wave of early releases this year. Injustices seemingly baked into the system can be quickly changed when politicians feel it is important, he said: It took only weeks for state-level politicians to alter their stances on nonviolent offenders.
“I feel like this election cycle showed that the Democratic Party wasn’t really for people and voters who really need policy on their side—people like incarcerated people, like poor working-class people,” said Brown.
Jackie Lantsman, a 22-year-old intern for the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit that writes progressive policy for criminal justice reform, said that it’s time young people’s concerns get more attention from politicians. “I don’t think who politicians pander to when they’re trying to garner votes is very representative. Statistically, they claim that older folks are more prone to vote, they’re more reliable, and that is why they focus on them. That is a myth,” Lantsman said. “I think if you really confront gerrymandering and places where young people learn and socialize, then there are absolutely ways to engage them.”
Voters like Brown and Cole are also optimistic, anticipating a more compassionate outlook for those affected by the criminal justice system. Reform is on the horizon, they say, thanks to the increased knowledge of young voters exposed to online movements like Black Lives Matter. For now, Brown, Cole, and Lantsman hope for a future that prioritizes criminal justice reform as an issue—one that impacts all citizens.
“Now I think more people are realizing that ‘tough on crime’ was racial and immoral,” Brown said. “We have that knowledge of those ideologies’ being political games.”


thenation--2020-09-25--Kentucky’s Climate Is Suffering. Can the State Slip the Industry Ties That Prevent Change?

This story is part of Covering Climate Now , a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story .
This article originally appeared in The Guardian .
April 15 .
That ’ s the traditional frost-free date in Schochoh , the small community in south-central Kentucky where Sam Halcomb and his family own and operate Walnut Grove Farms .
Before then , the soft red winter wheat that Halcomb grows , which finds its way into McDonald ’ s biscuits and grocery store pancake mixes , is flowering and especially vulnerable to cold .
The frost-free date is an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If you make it past that date , you ’ re likely to have a healthy harvest .
This year , a freeze came on exactly April 15 , with early morning temperatures dropping into the mid-20s Fahrenheit .
“ We were all smacking our heads , saying , ‘ Ah , we almost made it ’ , ” Halcomb said .
Then , on May 9 , another freeze hit .
Two late freezes in one season was “ completely unheard of , ” said Halcomb , a sixth-generation farmer .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t remember ever having a freeze that late.
” A typical wheat yield at Walnut Grove is 85 bushels per acre ; this year , it was closer to 60 .
Halcomb ’ s losses totaled about $ 200,000 .
Kentucky ’ s climate is changing quickly .
The Bluegrass State is the ninth most threatened by long-term climate change impacts , according to a recent study by SafeHome.org , based on data from Climate Central .
That puts it ahead of even California , where wildfires recently have wreaked havoc @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drought , wildfires , and flooding all threaten Kentucky .
There ’ s a growing environmental movement in the state , and more leaders than ever are speaking the language of sustainability .
Coal industry ties run deep , however , and for many , talk of change is anathema .
The state legislature has mostly avoided the climate issue .
And US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell , by far the state ’ s best-known politician , has been a dedicated opponent of climate action in Washington .
These Races Will Shape @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Progress The Media ’ s Climate Coverage Is Improving , but Time Is Very Short Vote as if the Climate and the Future of Humanity Depend on It—Because They Do More in this series Kentucky is a microcosm of the nation ’ s climate dilemma : The effects of the climate crisis are clear here , but legacy interests and the forces of change are in a deadlock .
“ There ’ s a lag between where we need to be and where we ’ re at right now , ” said Lane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee , a nonprofit environmental policy group .
“ And there really isn ’ t a lot of time.
” McConnell has accepted more than $ 3 million from the coal , oil , and gas industries over the course of his career .
Critics say he ’ s returned the favor with handouts—tax breaks and regulatory cuts—to keep the dying industry afloat .
In 2017 , McConnell joined the Trump administration in urging America ’ s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord .
In 2019 , he engineered what he admitted was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kill the Green New Deal .
As a campaigner , McConnell has framed efforts to rein in the coal industry as the meddling of a distant federal government out of touch with Kentuckians ’ way of life .
That ’ s not to say coal has been good to Kentuckians , of late .
The coal industry employed some 38,000 Kentuckians when McConnell took office in 1985 ; that number is below 4,000 today .
Workers in the mountainous eastern part of the state have found themselves laid off and uncompensated for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has led to one of the worst black lung epidemics on record .
Eastern Kentucky counties are among the poorest in the nation , with poverty rates around 40 percent .
The water in some of those counties is either undrinkable or unaffordable .
Meanwhile , McConnell sits on the Senate agriculture committee but has seemed indifferent to how climate change threatens Kentucky ’ s sizable agricultural sector .
Three of the five wettest years on record in the state have been in the past decade , and this summer saw the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 1895 .
Plentiful rain can boost crops , but rain now comes to many parts of Kentucky in unhelpful torrents .
In both the eastern mountains and urban areas , excessive rain has contributed to severe and frequent flooding .
In Louisville this year , rain has turned neighborhoods into swamps and devastated businesses .
The climate crisis is not the explicit nor the sole cause of all this rain .
But the precipitation uptick is “ very much consistent ” with scientific projections for how climate change will play out in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s state climatologist , said .
Many in the state remain unconvinced .
According to a study this month by Yale and George Mason universities , Kentucky is one of only four states in the country where a majority of adults do not believe global warming is caused by humans .
Similar apathy reigns in the state legislature , where Republicans hold a lock on both houses .
The chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy committee , Jim Gooch , for example , told Louisville ’ s WFPL radio station @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains unsettled .
Other legislators seem still beholden to the coal industry , reform advocates say , and to utility companies .
Boldman , of the Kentucky Conservation Committee , warned that Kentucky could soon become less attractive to outside companies—who increasingly are making their own climate commitments to consumers—that might otherwise eye the state for investment .
“ It can turn companies off if they see a state still hanging on to legacy energy , ” Boldman said .
“ Companies now are looking for renewables , and we ’ re playing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost the state ’ s Democratic primary for the US Senate to Amy McGrath , championed environmental justice and the Green New Deal .
Booker , who is Black and hails from impoverished West Louisville , rejected stereotypical divisions between urban and rural voters .
Kentuckians everywhere , he said , had suffered badly from environmental neglect , and he promised a just economic transition for parts of the state historically reliant on coal .
“ From the hood to the holler , ” went one Booker slogan .
Booker ’ s campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that an unabashed climate advocate came as close as he did to facing off against McConnell this November could signal that Kentucky is ready to get serious on climate .
McGrath trails McConnell in the polls—but not by so much , state politicos say , that she should be counted out .
A retired Marine fighter pilot , McGrath calls climate change “ intricately tied to our national security , ” a position that syncs with the US Defense Department .
Another early line of attack by McGrath focused on the health crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left our coal miners behind years ago , ” she charged in one ad .
Booker , for his part , has thrown his support behind McGrath .
Local races also suggest that environmental politics may be shifting in Kentucky .
Sarah Lynn Cunningham , chair of the Kentucky chapter of the Sierra Club ’ s climate change task force , was intrigued this spring to see a Republican candidate for state Senate in a competitive district near Louisville seek the group ’ s endorsement .
The candidate was knowledgeable , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his fellow Republicans lagged on the environment .
“ I ’ ve never had a Republican say they would like to compete for our endorsement , ” Cunningham said .
“ That was a first.
” ( In the end , the Sierra Club endorsed the Democrat , who won , flipping a seat held by Republicans since 1995 . )
Stephen Voss , an expert in elections and voter behavior at the University of Kentucky , doubts climate will prove central in this fall ’ s outcome .
Based on his assessment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , however , he suggested that McGrath could profit by framing climate as a matter of community health , economic durability , and jobs .
“ We ’ ve had nibbles at this approach , ” he said .
“ But no one has successfully done it yet.
” In a statement to The Guardian , McGrath did raise jobs and public health as areas where McConnell ’ s climate record has damaged Kentucky .
McConnell , she said , is “ failing us on climate , because he is beholden to special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs , we could get ahead of the curve and be an innovation leader.
” “ Our government ’ s first job is to keep Americans safe , ” McGrath added .
“ And to do that , we need to prepare for climate change.
” The McConnell campaign did not respond to requests for comment .
Perhaps the biggest harbinger of change in Kentucky is the youth vote , with even young conservatives in the state worried about the climate crisis .
The question , Voss said , is whether young people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Fernanda Scharfenberger , an 18-year-old climate activist at Centre College in Danville , is optimistic on that front .
Two years ago , when Scharfenberger was a junior in high school in Louisville , a boy from a nearby school died after he was swept into a storm pipe during a heavy rain .
The death hit her social group like a shock wave .
Scharfenberger went home that day and Googled “ climate.
” “ As you can imagine , ” she said , “ it got pretty overwhelming pretty quickly.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ That December , Scharfenberger traveled with young people from across the country to Washington to lobby for a Green New Deal .
All 50 states were represented , but Kentucky ’ s delegation , with 75 young activists present , was the largest .
Back home , Scharfenberger cofounded a Louisville hub for the Sunrise Movement , which has made headlines by taking McConnell to task for his ties to the fossil fuel industry and mocking approach to the Green New Deal .
Sunrise hubs later formed in Lexington , Bowling Green , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappointed when McGrath bested Booker in the primary ; they preferred Booker ’ s emphasis on local climate effects and his full-throated endorsement of a Green New Deal .
Still , they relish the chance to unseat McConnell .
In June , Sunrise members from across the state led a dawn protest outside McConnell ’ s home in Louisville demanding justice for Breonna Taylor , who was killed there by police in March .
The ongoing Black Lives Matter protests , Scharfenberg said , have kept young activists engaged in community organizing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental and social justice issues in the state .
This November will mark the first time Scharfenberger and many of her fellow activists are entitled to vote .
“ I feel a large commitment and responsibility , ” she said .
“ The people we put in office can so drastically impact people ’ s chances at survival .
And we ’ ve had enough of the bare minimum .
”

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This article originally appeared in The Guardian.
April 15. That’s the traditional frost-free date in Schochoh, the small community in south-central Kentucky where Sam Halcomb and his family own and operate Walnut Grove Farms. Before then, the soft red winter wheat that Halcomb grows, which finds its way into McDonald’s biscuits and grocery store pancake mixes, is flowering and especially vulnerable to cold. The frost-free date is an estimate, based on years of experience. If you make it past that date, you’re likely to have a healthy harvest.
This year, a freeze came on exactly April 15, with early morning temperatures dropping into the mid-20s Fahrenheit. “We were all smacking our heads, saying, ‘Ah, we almost made it’,” Halcomb said. Then, on May 9, another freeze hit.
Two late freezes in one season was “completely unheard of,” said Halcomb, a sixth-generation farmer. “In my whole life, I don’t remember ever having a freeze that late.” A typical wheat yield at Walnut Grove is 85 bushels per acre; this year, it was closer to 60. Halcomb’s losses totaled about $200,000.
Kentucky’s climate is changing quickly. The Bluegrass State is the ninth most threatened by long-term climate change impacts, according to a recent study by SafeHome.org, based on data from Climate Central. That puts it ahead of even California, where wildfires recently have wreaked havoc. Erratic weather, exceptional heat, drought, wildfires, and flooding all threaten Kentucky.
There’s a growing environmental movement in the state, and more leaders than ever are speaking the language of sustainability. Coal industry ties run deep, however, and for many, talk of change is anathema. The state legislature has mostly avoided the climate issue. And US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, by far the state’s best-known politician, has been a dedicated opponent of climate action in Washington. Covering Climate Now How to Stop the Spread of Climate Disinformation Erika Seiber and Michael Khoo A Soundtrack for the Climate Emergency Mark Hertsgaard Can Gen Z Save the Midterms for Democrats? Mark Hertsgaard
Kentucky is a microcosm of the nation’s climate dilemma: The effects of the climate crisis are clear here, but legacy interests and the forces of change are in a deadlock. “There’s a lag between where we need to be and where we’re at right now,” said Lane Boldman, who directs the Kentucky Conservation Committee, a nonprofit environmental policy group. “And there really isn’t a lot of time.”
McConnell has accepted more than $3 million from the coal, oil, and gas industries over the course of his career. Critics say he’s returned the favor with handouts—tax breaks and regulatory cuts—to keep the dying industry afloat. In 2017, McConnell joined the Trump administration in urging America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. In 2019, he engineered what he admitted was “a show vote” intended to kill the Green New Deal. As a campaigner, McConnell has framed efforts to rein in the coal industry as the meddling of a distant federal government out of touch with Kentuckians’ way of life. 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
That’s not to say coal has been good to Kentuckians, of late. The coal industry employed some 38,000 Kentuckians when McConnell took office in 1985; that number is below 4,000 today. Workers in the mountainous eastern part of the state have found themselves laid off and uncompensated for their work by coal bosses. And deregulation has led to one of the worst black lung epidemics on record. Eastern Kentucky counties are among the poorest in the nation, with poverty rates around 40 percent. The water in some of those counties is either undrinkable or unaffordable.
Meanwhile, McConnell sits on the Senate agriculture committee but has seemed indifferent to how climate change threatens Kentucky’s sizable agricultural sector.
Three of the five wettest years on record in the state have been in the past decade, and this summer saw the most rain of any two-month period going back to 1895. Plentiful rain can boost crops, but rain now comes to many parts of Kentucky in unhelpful torrents. In both the eastern mountains and urban areas, excessive rain has contributed to severe and frequent flooding. In Louisville this year, rain has turned neighborhoods into swamps and devastated businesses.
The climate crisis is not the explicit nor the sole cause of all this rain. But the precipitation uptick is “very much consistent” with scientific projections for how climate change will play out in the state, Stuart Foster, Kentucky’s state climatologist, said.
Many in the state remain unconvinced. According to a study this month by Yale and George Mason universities, Kentucky is one of only four states in the country where a majority of adults do not believe global warming is caused by humans.
Similar apathy reigns in the state legislature, where Republicans hold a lock on both houses. The chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy committee, Jim Gooch, for example, told Louisville’s WFPL radio station recently that the science on climate change remains unsettled. Other legislators seem still beholden to the coal industry, reform advocates say, and to utility companies.
Boldman, of the Kentucky Conservation Committee, warned that Kentucky could soon become less attractive to outside companies—who increasingly are making their own climate commitments to consumers—that might otherwise eye the state for investment. “It can turn companies off if they see a state still hanging on to legacy energy,” Boldman said. “Companies now are looking for renewables, and we’re playing catch-up.”
Charles Booker, who narrowly lost the state’s Democratic primary for the US Senate to Amy McGrath, championed environmental justice and the Green New Deal. Booker, who is Black and hails from impoverished West Louisville, rejected stereotypical divisions between urban and rural voters. Kentuckians everywhere, he said, had suffered badly from environmental neglect, and he promised a just economic transition for parts of the state historically reliant on coal. “From the hood to the holler,” went one Booker slogan. Current Issue View our current issue
Booker’s campaign captured national attention; and the fact that an unabashed climate advocate came as close as he did to facing off against McConnell this November could signal that Kentucky is ready to get serious on climate.
McGrath trails McConnell in the polls—but not by so much, state politicos say, that she should be counted out. A retired Marine fighter pilot, McGrath calls climate change “intricately tied to our national security,” a position that syncs with the US Defense Department. Another early line of attack by McGrath focused on the health crisis in eastern Kentucky; “Mitch McConnell left our coal miners behind years ago,” she charged in one ad. Booker, for his part, has thrown his support behind McGrath.
Local races also suggest that environmental politics may be shifting in Kentucky. Sarah Lynn Cunningham, chair of the Kentucky chapter of the Sierra Club’s climate change task force, was intrigued this spring to see a Republican candidate for state Senate in a competitive district near Louisville seek the group’s endorsement. The candidate was knowledgeable, she said, and expressed concern that many of his fellow Republicans lagged on the environment. “I’ve never had a Republican say they would like to compete for our endorsement,” Cunningham said. “That was a first.” (In the end, the Sierra Club endorsed the Democrat, who won, flipping a seat held by Republicans since 1995.)
Stephen Voss, an expert in elections and voter behavior at the University of Kentucky, doubts climate will prove central in this fall’s outcome. Based on his assessment of how environmental issues resonate in Kentucky, however, he suggested that McGrath could profit by framing climate as a matter of community health, economic durability, and jobs. “We’ve had nibbles at this approach,” he said. “But no one has successfully done it yet.”
In a statement to The Guardian, McGrath did raise jobs and public health as areas where McConnell’s climate record has damaged Kentucky. McConnell, she said, is “failing us on climate, because he is beholden to special interests. If you want to bring jobs, we could get ahead of the curve and be an innovation leader.”
“Our government’s first job is to keep Americans safe,” McGrath added. “And to do that, we need to prepare for climate change.”
The McConnell campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Perhaps the biggest harbinger of change in Kentucky is the youth vote, with even young conservatives in the state worried about the climate crisis. The question, Voss said, is whether young people will show up to vote this fall.
Fernanda Scharfenberger, an 18-year-old climate activist at Centre College in Danville, is optimistic on that front. Two years ago, when Scharfenberger was a junior in high school in Louisville, a boy from a nearby school died after he was swept into a storm pipe during a heavy rain. The death hit her social group like a shock wave. Scharfenberger went home that day and Googled “climate.” “As you can imagine,” she said, “it got pretty overwhelming pretty quickly.” She felt called to action.
Fernanda Scharfenberger, 18, at Centre College in Kentucky. (Andrew McCormick)
That December, Scharfenberger traveled with young people from across the country to Washington to lobby for a Green New Deal. All 50 states were represented, but Kentucky’s delegation, with 75 young activists present, was the largest.
Back home, Scharfenberger cofounded a Louisville hub for the Sunrise Movement, which has made headlines by taking McConnell to task for his ties to the fossil fuel industry and mocking approach to the Green New Deal. Sunrise hubs later formed in Lexington, Bowling Green, and far-western Murray.
Young activists were disappointed when McGrath bested Booker in the primary; they preferred Booker’s emphasis on local climate effects and his full-throated endorsement of a Green New Deal. Still, they relish the chance to unseat McConnell.
In June, Sunrise members from across the state led a dawn protest outside McConnell’s home in Louisville demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, who was killed there by police in March. The ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, Scharfenberg said, have kept young activists engaged in community organizing and electoral work, highlighting the intersection of environmental and social justice issues in the state.
This November will mark the first time Scharfenberger and many of her fellow activists are entitled to vote. “I feel a large commitment and responsibility,” she said. “The people we put in office can so drastically impact people’s chances at survival. And we’ve had enough of the bare minimum.”