thenation--2020-10-30--For DeVos, the Pandemic Is Another Opportunity for Profit

Every day , another state offers its best guess for what the safest path to schooling will be for the coming year .
Between anxious kids eager to see their friends , parents torn between work obligations and fear for their children ’ s health , and teachers caught in the middle of it all , nobody is winning .
Even worse , Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos , along with the president of the United States , has made it crystal clear that funding will depend upon schools reopening in person , regardless of health and safety concerns shared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and teachers are being forced to decide between education or health , while those in charge continue to serve only themselves .
While the focus should be on how to keep students , teachers , and staff safe—while still providing some form of quality public education—DeVos is using the pandemic as an opportunity to support private and charter schools , despite their not being a feasible option for many .
In May , she announced that education funding in the federal CARES Act , intended to support low-income public and private schools during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by how many low-income students attended the school but rather by its total number of students , a move that would reroute funds meant for kids in need .
And while the department ’ s interpretation of the CARES Act was met with lawsuits in California and Washington , and finally ruled unconstitutional in September by a federal judge , the attempted funding setup set the tone for how the department would handle reopenings : with only the wealthy in mind .
DeVos is using the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 to push a narrow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared with the likes of political mega-donor Charles Koch .
We know that charter schools are failing children , particularly those who are already most at risk of education inequity : those living in poverty , as well as Black and Latinx students .
A recent report from the Network for Public Education looked at the results of taxpayer-funded grants from the US Department of Education ’ s Charter Schools Program from 2006 to 2014 .
It found 1,779 grantee schools that either never opened or have since shut down—a failure rate of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over half a billion dollars .
The same at-risk groups that have been failed by charter schools have also been disproportionately affected by the pandemic .
Black people are two times more likely to contract the virus and , in 32 states , are dying at rates higher than their proportion of the population .
Latinx rates of contracting the disease are four times higher than their proportion of the population in eight states .
Meanwhile , instead of meeting with health experts to figure out how to safely reopen schools , DeVos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meetings with members of the Koch-backed Federalist Society , a conservative organization that aligns with her education privatization goals .
Forget for a moment that their decision to meet virtually gives away their knowledge of the virus ’ s danger while they push for in-person schooling .
Look at who DeVos is catering to .
She didn ’ t meet with the teachers , students , and families who will be most affected by school reopenings .
She ’ s continuing to prioritize the interests of the wealthy elite—those who will never have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ families or keeping their children safely at home .
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 samantha @ thenation.com .
The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation .
For me and my family , the coronavirus isn ’ t just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a week in late March , I came down with Covid-19 , along with my wife and our four children .
My wife and I both lost our sense of taste and smell , and high fevers and coughs were the norms in our household for a while .
Even after the virus itself seemed to have passed through the entire family , we had to deal with our 2-year-old ’ s contracting post-Covid-19 pneumonia .
We spent a full day monitoring their breathing because if they continued to struggle for air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our nearby children ’ s hospital .
Thankfully , rest and strong antibiotics helped , and allowed us to treat them at home .
Our ability to care for our children is a result of class privilege , which allows my wife and I to work from home and access a measure of healthcare .
There are enormous cross-sections of our society that do not have access to these privileges as a result of systemic barriers .
This virus took over weeks of our lives and continues to show up in unexpected ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even more clear that reopening schools the way we currently are will devastate families across the country .
We know that Covid-19 spreads easily in big groups , and we ’ ve seen what happens when states open up and allow “ business as usual ” to take place .
Just look at Florida or Arizona , where positive cases and deaths skyrocketed after easing restrictions .
Knowing all of this , are we willing to risk our children ’ s lives ?
And should we be asking teachers and staff to risk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prevent the spread with all sorts of safety measures in place , the risks are too great .
In fact , a school that recently reopened—to the applause of Vice President Mike Pence and DeVos—has instructed students to quarantine after only a couple of weeks of class because one of them tested positive for Covid-19 .
The same thing is happening again and again to schools across the country .
New York City started the year off with many schools opening their doors to students and teachers .
Yet , only a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 124 schools have gone fully remote because they are located in Covid-19 hot spots .
And this trend isn ’ t isolated to just NYC .
Despite having in-person education at the start of the year , schools in Maryland , Alabama , New Jersey , West Virginia , and more are reverting to digital classrooms , while many schools all over the nation are having to close down for days to weeks at a time after Covid-19 outbreaks .
While DeVos fails to address the real needs of families and teachers when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are taking matters into their own hands .
My social media feed is filled with parents posting about hiring tutors to provide their children with personalized , in-home education and asking questions about homeschool curriculums .
The working poor are then left with schools that become even further defunded and understaffed as families who can afford “ microschool ” alternatives pull their students out of public school .
This is not unlike the way charter schools already drain public schools of the necessary funding needed to provide equitable education and attract top staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already all too familiar with , for example .
Not only that , charter schools are beholden only to their bottom line—and much like the hasty school reopenings , it ’ s to the detriment of the public good .
In 2017 , I learned this painful lesson .
Our children were enrolled in a public Montessori charter school .
The parents and caregivers were called into a board meeting where we were informed that the nature-based Montessori school would transition over the fall holiday break into a college-prep STEM school .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t afford the transition and new expectations would not be allowed to return .
Three of my children were effectively unable to return to school .
Their disabilities and our socioeconomic status meant that a college-prep STEM school disenfranchised their access to education .
My wife and I became instant work-at-home homeschooling parents .
In one of the more politically divisive moments of my lifetime , DeVos ’ s failures to address the real needs of families and teachers appears to be creating a larger divide between the haves and have-nots .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At a time when those who can afford safety are grabbing it at the expense of others , the wealthy elite are the real winners .

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
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.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. 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.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
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?
Every day, another state offers its best guess for what the safest path to schooling will be for the coming year. Between anxious kids eager to see their friends, parents torn between work obligations and fear for their children’s health, and teachers caught in the middle of it all, nobody is winning. Even worse, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, along with the president of the United States, has made it crystal clear that funding will depend upon schools reopening in person, regardless of health and safety concerns shared by experts. Parents, students, and teachers are being forced to decide between education or health, while those in charge continue to serve only themselves.
While the focus should be on how to keep students, teachers, and staff safe—while still providing some form of quality public education—DeVos is using the pandemic as an opportunity to support private and charter schools, despite their not being a feasible option for many. In May, she announced that education funding in the federal CARES Act, intended to support low-income public and private schools during the pandemic, would be distributed not by how many low-income students attended the school but rather by its total number of students, a move that would reroute funds meant for kids in need. And while the department’s interpretation of the CARES Act was met with lawsuits in California and Washington, and finally ruled unconstitutional in September by a federal judge, the attempted funding setup set the tone for how the department would handle reopenings: with only the wealthy in mind.
DeVos is using the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 to push a narrow privatization agenda that her family has long shared with the likes of political mega-donor Charles Koch. We know that charter schools are failing children, particularly those who are already most at risk of education inequity: those living in poverty, as well as Black and Latinx students. A recent report from the Network for Public Education looked at the results of taxpayer-funded grants from the US Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program from 2006 to 2014. It found 1,779 grantee schools that either never opened or have since shut down—a failure rate of 37 percent, at a waste of over half a billion dollars.
The same at-risk groups that have been failed by charter schools have also been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Black people are two times more likely to contract the virus and, in 32 states, are dying at rates higher than their proportion of the population. Latinx rates of contracting the disease are four times higher than their proportion of the population in eight states. Meanwhile, instead of meeting with health experts to figure out how to safely reopen schools, DeVos is using her time to hold virtual meetings with members of the Koch-backed Federalist Society, a conservative organization that aligns with her education privatization goals. Forget for a moment that their decision to meet virtually gives away their knowledge of the virus’s danger while they push for in-person schooling. Look at who DeVos is catering to. She didn’t meet with the teachers, students, and families who will be most affected by school reopenings. She’s continuing to prioritize the interests of the wealthy elite—those who will never have to choose between working to feed their families or keeping their children safely at home. 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 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.
For me and my family, the coronavirus isn’t just an abstract possibility. Over the course of a week in late March, I came down with Covid-19, along with my wife and our four children. My wife and I both lost our sense of taste and smell, and high fevers and coughs were the norms in our household for a while. Even after the virus itself seemed to have passed through the entire family, we had to deal with our 2-year-old’s contracting post-Covid-19 pneumonia. We spent a full day monitoring their breathing because if they continued to struggle for air, we were told to head to our nearby children’s hospital. Thankfully, rest and strong antibiotics helped, and allowed us to treat them at home. Our ability to care for our children is a result of class privilege, which allows my wife and I to work from home and access a measure of healthcare. There are enormous cross-sections of our society that do not have access to these privileges as a result of systemic barriers.
This virus took over weeks of our lives and continues to show up in unexpected ways, and the experience only made it even more clear that reopening schools the way we currently are will devastate families across the country. We know that Covid-19 spreads easily in big groups, and we’ve seen what happens when states open up and allow “business as usual” to take place. Just look at Florida or Arizona, where positive cases and deaths skyrocketed after easing restrictions. Knowing all of this, are we willing to risk our children’s lives? And should we be asking teachers and staff to risk theirs?
As much as we hope to prevent the spread with all sorts of safety measures in place, the risks are too great. In fact, a school that recently reopened—to the applause of Vice President Mike Pence and DeVos—has instructed students to quarantine after only a couple of weeks of class because one of them tested positive for Covid-19. The same thing is happening again and again to schools across the country. Current Issue View our current issue
New York City started the year off with many schools opening their doors to students and teachers. Yet, only a month after the school year started, 124 schools have gone fully remote because they are located in Covid-19 hot spots. And this trend isn’t isolated to just NYC. Despite having in-person education at the start of the year, schools in Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, West Virginia, and more are reverting to digital classrooms, while many schools all over the nation are having to close down for days to weeks at a time after Covid-19 outbreaks.
While DeVos fails to address the real needs of families and teachers when it comes to school, some parents are taking matters into their own hands. My social media feed is filled with parents posting about hiring tutors to provide their children with personalized, in-home education and asking questions about homeschool curriculums. The working poor are then left with schools that become even further defunded and understaffed as families who can afford “microschool” alternatives pull their students out of public school.
This is not unlike the way charter schools already drain public schools of the necessary funding needed to provide equitable education and attract top staff, something the state of Arizona is already all too familiar with, for example. Not only that, charter schools are beholden only to their bottom line—and much like the hasty school reopenings, it’s to the detriment of the public good. In 2017, I learned this painful lesson. Our children were enrolled in a public Montessori charter school. The parents and caregivers were called into a board meeting where we were informed that the nature-based Montessori school would transition over the fall holiday break into a college-prep STEM school. As a result, those who couldn’t afford the transition and new expectations would not be allowed to return. Three of my children were effectively unable to return to school. Their disabilities and our socioeconomic status meant that a college-prep STEM school disenfranchised their access to education. My wife and I became instant work-at-home homeschooling parents.
In one of the more politically divisive moments of my lifetime, DeVos’s failures to address the real needs of families and teachers appears to be creating a larger divide between the haves and have-nots. But it’s more than that: At a time when those who can afford safety are grabbing it at the expense of others, the wealthy elite are the real winners.


thenation--2020-10-30--How to Rebut Trump’s Tsunami of Lies

How to Rebut Trump’s Tsunami of Lies

I am writing this column on Wednesday afternoon ; by the time you read it , it will be Friday , four days before Election Day .
As of now , more than 75 million people have already voted ; by the time you read this , almost certainly that number will be well north of 80 million .
By next Tuesday , before the polls even open on Election Day , it ’ s possible that something like 100 million Americans will have already cast their ballots .
That ’ s the Signal in the home stretch leading up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the most trying of circumstances is an extraordinary affirmation of the power and worth of democracy .
People are voting by the tens of millions during a moment when simply standing in line at the post office or an early-voting site carries a degree of risk to one ’ s health .
And they are voting during a moment when the president of the United States and his congressional enablers are doing everything in their power to foster cynicism and disengagement , undermine confidence in democratic structures , and degrade the independence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they become agitprop extensions of the Trump administration .
Witness the utterly shameful GOP stampede to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice this past Monday , in the middle of the election .
Witness the reports this week that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’ s scientists will now come under the thumb of political commissars and will be expected to modify their findings on climate change to reflect Trumpian priorities—in other words , they will be pushed to suppress their own scientific findings to pave the way for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CO emissions .
If Trump somehow gets reelected , the silencing and censoring of NOAA and EPA scientific voices will continue to wreak havoc on domestic and global environmental priorities ; if he doesn ’ t get reelected , this latest regulatory and personnel change is just one more ticking time bomb the Trumpians will have left for their successors to defuse .
Trump Sinks to New Depths of Deceit and Depravity Witness the reports last week that—in keeping with Trump ’ s efforts to brand large , Democratic-controlled cities as “ anarchist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be withheld—the federal government is likely to refuse to release funds to New York City , Seattle , and Portland for programs intended to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 , for HIV testing , and for health screenings of newborn babies .
What sort of people think this kind of political payback , in which people ’ s lives are at stake , is ever acceptable , let alone in the middle of the worst public health crisis in a century ?
The obvious answer is , mobsters .
Witness Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large Covid-spreading rallies , that he will deny requests for federal assistance from Democratic governors in key swing states if they don ’ t play nice with him during the election .
Again , mobster politics .
Witness the ghastly spectacle of Trump , in Michigan this past Tuesday , riling up his supporters by mocking the serious charges against a gang of militiamen accused of plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer .
“ Maybe it was a problem , maybe it wasn ’ t , ” he said of the plot , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her up !
” Again : gangster politics .
But this is actually also something else ; it is jackboot politics , the presidential seal of approval—or at least a nod and a wink—to armed thugs seeking to overturn the will of the people by eliminating a governor whose policies they do not like .
Trump is frenetically hopping from one swing state to the next , emitting a fusillade of misinformation and lies at every rally .
In one recent Wisconsin event , he issued 131 lies or misleading statements in 90 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by The New York Times .
That ’ s an impressive record , on par with the whiz kids who solve Rubik ’ s Cube at competitions in a matter of seconds .
But while those kids practice hours per day to perfect their skill , Trump ’ s malignant high-speed lying seems almost instinctual , feral .
In Wisconsin , he uttered roughly three fully articulated lies every two minutes .
Astoundingly , that seems to be par for the course .
By July of this year , Trump had told more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ January 2017 .
In the past three months , that number has surely gone up by many additional thousands .
That ’ s not just Noise or fodder for a pub trivia quiz ; rather , it ’ s the bricks and mortar of Trump ’ s democracy-destroying political edifice .
Over the next days , America has the opportunity to reject all of Trump ’ s bile , his cruelty , his odious lies and the propaganda apparatus that facilitates their telling .
We must seize this opportunity , and seize it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another chance to reject this man and everything he stands for .

I am writing this column on Wednesday afternoon; by the time you read it, it will be Friday, four days before Election Day. As of now, more than 75 million people have already voted; by the time you read this, almost certainly that number will be well north of 80 million. By next Tuesday, before the polls even open on Election Day, it’s possible that something like 100 million Americans will have already cast their ballots.
That’s the Signal in the home stretch leading up to November 3. This massive turnout under the most trying of circumstances is an extraordinary affirmation of the power and worth of democracy. People are voting by the tens of millions during a moment when simply standing in line at the post office or an early-voting site carries a degree of risk to one’s health. And they are voting during a moment when the president of the United States and his congressional enablers are doing everything in their power to foster cynicism and disengagement, undermine confidence in democratic structures, and degrade the independence of government agencies to the point that they become agitprop extensions of the Trump administration.
Witness the utterly shameful GOP stampede to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice this past Monday, in the middle of the election.
Witness the reports this week that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s scientists will now come under the thumb of political commissars and will be expected to modify their findings on climate change to reflect Trumpian priorities—in other words, they will be pushed to suppress their own scientific findings to pave the way for further rollbacks of restrictions on pollution and CO 2 emissions. If Trump somehow gets reelected, the silencing and censoring of NOAA and EPA scientific voices will continue to wreak havoc on domestic and global environmental priorities; if he doesn’t get reelected, this latest regulatory and personnel change is just one more ticking time bomb the Trumpians will have left for their successors to defuse. More Signal:Noise Trump Attempts One More Preelection Power Grab Sasha Abramsky Trump Sinks to New Depths of Deceit and Depravity Sasha Abramsky
Witness the reports last week that—in keeping with Trump’s efforts to brand large, Democratic-controlled cities as “anarchist jurisdictions” from which federal dollars can be withheld—the federal government is likely to refuse to release funds to New York City, Seattle, and Portland for programs intended to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, for HIV testing, and for health screenings of newborn babies. What sort of people think this kind of political payback, in which people’s lives are at stake, is ever acceptable, let alone in the middle of the worst public health crisis in a century? The obvious answer is, mobsters. 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
Witness Trump’s hardly veiled threats, issued at his large Covid-spreading rallies, that he will deny requests for federal assistance from Democratic governors in key swing states if they don’t play nice with him during the election. Again, mobster politics.
Witness the ghastly spectacle of Trump, in Michigan this past Tuesday, riling up his supporters by mocking the serious charges against a gang of militiamen accused of plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasn’t,” he said of the plot, while his supporters repeatedly screamed “Lock her up!” Again: gangster politics. But this is actually also something else; it is jackboot politics, the presidential seal of approval—or at least a nod and a wink—to armed thugs seeking to overturn the will of the people by eliminating a governor whose policies they do not like. Current Issue View our current issue
Trump is frenetically hopping from one swing state to the next, emitting a fusillade of misinformation and lies at every rally. In one recent Wisconsin event, he issued 131 lies or misleading statements in 90 minutes, according to a tally kept by The New York Times. That’s an impressive record, on par with the whiz kids who solve Rubik’s Cube at competitions in a matter of seconds. But while those kids practice hours per day to perfect their skill, Trump’s malignant high-speed lying seems almost instinctual, feral. In Wisconsin, he uttered roughly three fully articulated lies every two minutes. Astoundingly, that seems to be par for the course. By July of this year, Trump had told more than 20,000 lies since taking office in January 2017. In the past three months, that number has surely gone up by many additional thousands.
That’s not just Noise or fodder for a pub trivia quiz; rather, it’s the bricks and mortar of Trump’s democracy-destroying political edifice.
Over the next days, America has the opportunity to reject all of Trump’s bile, his cruelty, his odious lies and the propaganda apparatus that facilitates their telling. We must seize this opportunity, and seize it decisively, for we will not get another chance to reject this man and everything he stands for.


thenation--2020-10-30--How to Stop a Coup

How to Stop a Coup

In March we stockpiled toilet paper and Pop-Tarts , because we didn ’ t know how else to prepare for a public health crisis .
Now , we ’ re equally confused about how to ready ourselves for a political crisis .
So last week , freaked out by Donald Trump ’ s statements suggesting that he doesn ’ t plan to leave office after the election , I logged in , with hundreds of other Americans , to a training on a matter that ’ s been on the minds of many progressives : How to stop a coup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil rights activist George Lakey , was part of a project called Choose Democracy , inspired by Trump ’ s comments and by an alarming analysis from Georgetown law professor Rosa Brooks for the Transition Integrity Project , which argued that there are good reasons to fear an attempted coup .
Brooks , in cooperation with dozens of government officials , gamed out various scenarios and found that mass streets protests could be a decisive factor in whether Trump leaves office .
Brooks seemed to show that demonstrating public commitment to a democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials to fight for a transition .
The purpose of the training is to convince participants that nonviolent resistance can stop a coup .
Before I attended , I spoke with Choose Democracy organizer Joshua Kahn Russell , who told me that the history of coups shows that “ people power frequently works.
” Drawing on Lakey and other activists ’ experiences , as well as international relations scholar Stephen Zunes ’ s work on the subject , Choose Democracy points to successful nonviolent resistance to coups in Germany , Thailand , Burma @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1920 , for instance , protests in Germany prompted government workers to go on strike , making it impossible for the illegitimate government to operate .
Hundreds of thousands in the streets during a coup in the Soviet Union in 1991 convinced soldiers to desert their posts , and the attempted putsch collapsed in three days .
Choose Democracy ’ s anti-coup trainings attract anywhere from 500 to 2,000 participants every night , and as of this writing more than 37,000 people have signed Choose Democracy ’ s pledge , which commits signatories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ results until every vote is counted , and resisting nonviolently in the case of an illegal power grab .
Lakey ’ s training addresses this last promise .
On the call I attended on October 21 , there were people from the places and organizations one expects to find at a meeting presided over by a bearded pacifist in a cardigan .
Groups included Palo Alto Friends and hometowns included hippie outposts like Ashland , Ore. , and Sebastopol , Calif .
But there were also people from less predictable progressive groups , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice ) , Detroit DSA , and the National Union of Healthcare Workers , and less expected locales , like Dundee , Mich. ; Lowell , Mass .
; Denton , Tex .
; Duluth , Minn. ; Ripon , Wis. ; and Sylvania , Ohio , among others .
Though there were no breakout sessions , people eagerly connected with neighboring would-be coup stoppers in the chat , a process that continued in a Facebook group formed for alumni of the training .
Dictators , of course , can not be unseated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democracy ’ s trainers argue that a coup must be stopped by the mainstream of society .
Defeating it requires mass participation in the streets—not just the leftists who always show up—and winning over the institutional pillars of society : politicians , businesspeople , the military , and others .
“ There is a narrative that will play out in our divided media ecosystems about legitimacy and illegitimacy , ” Russell said .
Popular support , he emphasized , helps the anti-coup forces “ demonstrate legitimacy.
” For the Choosing Democracy organizers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battle to control the narrative .
According to their logic , nonviolence is effective when your enemies have done something illegitimate—like refusing to leave office after losing an election—because it is the best way to convince mainstream society that your side can help return the country to relative calm .
( Brooks ’ s report found that Trump ’ s street supporters would try to turn peaceful protests violent in order to cement the right-wing associations of Democrats with “ mob rule.
” ) Russell explained , “ Our strategy is built around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a contest for legitimacy , and in order to hold onto basic core democratic values , we will need to maintain that high ground.
” The two-hour “ training ” is less about how to do civil disobedience or nonviolence than about persuading us that it can work .
Along with Lakey , the meeting was cohosted by Diana González , a beatific Vermont legislator with gray hair and perfect skin ( even on Zoom ) .
Perhaps the most joyful person I ’ ve encountered virtually or otherwise , Gonzalez gave the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coup was the most delightful way she could imagine spending a Wednesday night .
“ Wonderful !
” she kept exclaiming , as the almost equally cheerful Lakey worked through his slides .
I signed the pledge and am glad I did .
But the happy peace talk worried me .
“ I ’ m afraid people will die , ” I told Russell in our interview , asking if it ’ s wise to commit to nonviolence when facing off with armed Nazis and Trump-sympathizing cops .
Participants in the training asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chat .
Many were especially worried that people of color would be targets of racist violence in these protests .
Choose Democracy ’ s organizers were ready with answers .
We should de-escalate conflicts with right-wing counterprotesters , and Choose Democracy offers separate workshops on how to do this .
The Proud Boys will be spoiling for a fight , Lakey emphasized , and we should not give them what they want .
We should not hold rallies in obvious places where the far right plans to gather .
Protest instead in politicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nazis and Covid-19 ! )
by protesting in car caravans .
Bring religious leaders , whose moral capital might discourage troublemakers .
Lakey also advises that if you see violence brewing , leave ; he referenced a Bruce Lee quote that became a central tactic of the Hong Kong protests : “ Be like water , move.
” At the same time Choose Democracy often gives the disturbing impression that demonstrators are potential cannon fodder in a media war .
While offering ways to prevent far right violence , Lakey and his people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the optics of Nazis attacking peaceful protesters favor the peaceful , helping Trump to alienate the center and the people with institutional power .
This logic doesn ’ t make me want to send the link to my mom .
But is it tactically sound ?
Not everyone thinks so .
“ I had to turn it off , ” said Spencer Sunshine of Lakey ’ s Zoom training .
A scholar and activist who has spent the last 15 years studying the far right , Sunshine is the author of 40 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Community Activists .
While Sunshine agrees with Choose Democracy that mass nonviolent action is “ probably a good way to go in case of a coup , ” he said he worries that a dogmatic adherence to the tactic could backfire .
If it results in fascists ’ killing defenseless pacificists , he said , it could end up scaring all but the most hardcore street fighters from showing up .
When Sunshine tuned into the Choose Democracy call , he said , Lakey told a story about civil rights icon Andrew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by taking a few comrades and going out to a Ku Klux Klan gathering in the woods—where they talked with the white supremacists face-to-face in pairs .
( The night I attended , Lakey omitted that anecdote , but it is a favorite of his . )
“ He ’ s putting people in danger by telling this story !
” Sunshine told me .
“ That is not a suggested tactic at all.
” Sunshine agrees with Choose Democracy that the center will side with the winner , but doubts that such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way to win .
In 40 Ways , Sunshine observes that at times protesters need to engage in self-defense against the far right , and does not rule out carrying a gun , if you know how to use it and are protesting in a state where this is legal .
Whatever happens on November 3 , we will need a sustained movement to oppose the far right .
“ It ’ s wonderful for the American public to affirm that it won ’ t stand for a coup , ” said Marcie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the late Gene Sharp , who was Lakey ’ s mentor and a revered theorist of tactical nonviolence .
But she thinks that the legitimate power that Trump and the far right have attained is the bigger problem .
“ So while it ’ s good insurance to consider what to do in the event of a ‘ coup , ’ ” she said , “ I hope we are spending at least as much time considering and training for the multigenerational project required to turn back the almost entirely legal six-decades-long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been living.
” These tactics of mass nonviolent protest might help make sure Trump leaves office , Smith said , but because they ’ re unable to challenge capital or build working-class power , they can ’ t beat Trumpism or rectify the diseased society that produced it .
Russell appreciates Smith ’ s critique and likens coup preparedness to treating a heart attack : You need to go to the hospital before you treat the underlying causes .
“ Certain measures need to be taken so I don ’ t die , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t die , we should talk about how I need to lay off these burgers.
” Then again , Choose Democracy isn ’ t the only group organizing to fight Trump ’ s dirty post-election tricks .
It ’ s joined by many grassroots organizations , including the Movement for Black Lives , the Working Families Party , and a coalition called Protect the Results , who are also working on voter turnout and against vote suppression .
Some labor leaders and unions , including Sara Nelson of the Association of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Council , and the Seattle Educators , are even talking about a general strike in case of a Trump coup .
Choose Democracy ’ s approach might win over the military or the elites—but in the long run , this growing , diverse mobilization could do something just as urgent : build a more robust left , one that could help our democracy avoid future near-death experiences .

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
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.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. 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.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
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?
In March we stockpiled toilet paper and Pop-Tarts, because we didn’t know how else to prepare for a public health crisis. Now, we’re equally confused about how to ready ourselves for a political crisis. So last week, freaked out by Donald Trump’s statements suggesting that he doesn’t plan to leave office after the election, I logged in, with hundreds of other Americans, to a training on a matter that’s been on the minds of many progressives: How to stop a coup.
The training, led by veteran civil rights activist George Lakey, was part of a project called Choose Democracy, inspired by Trump’s comments and by an alarming analysis from Georgetown law professor Rosa Brooks for the Transition Integrity Project, which argued that there are good reasons to fear an attempted coup. Brooks, in cooperation with dozens of government officials, gamed out various scenarios and found that mass streets protests could be a decisive factor in whether Trump leaves office. Brooks seemed to show that demonstrating public commitment to a democratic outcome could harden the resolve of Democratic officials to fight for a transition.
The purpose of the training is to convince participants that nonviolent resistance can stop a coup. Before I attended, I spoke with Choose Democracy organizer Joshua Kahn Russell, who told me that the history of coups shows that “people power frequently works.” Drawing on Lakey and other activists’ experiences, as well as international relations scholar Stephen Zunes’s work on the subject, Choose Democracy points to successful nonviolent resistance to coups in Germany, Thailand, Burma, Argentina, and elsewhere. In 1920, for instance, protests in Germany prompted government workers to go on strike, making it impossible for the illegitimate government to operate. Hundreds of thousands in the streets during a coup in the Soviet Union in 1991 convinced soldiers to desert their posts, and the attempted putsch collapsed in three days.
Choose Democracy’s anti-coup trainings attract anywhere from 500 to 2,000 participants every night, and as of this writing more than 37,000 people have signed Choose Democracy’s pledge, which commits signatories to voting, refusing to accept the results until every vote is counted, and resisting nonviolently in the case of an illegal power grab. Lakey’s training addresses this last promise.
On the call I attended on October 21, there were people from the places and organizations one expects to find at a meeting presided over by a bearded pacifist in a cardigan. Groups included Palo Alto Friends and hometowns included hippie outposts like Ashland, Ore., and Sebastopol, Calif. But there were also people from less predictable progressive groups, like SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), Detroit DSA, and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, and less expected locales, like Dundee, Mich.; Lowell, Mass.; Denton, Tex.; Duluth, Minn.; Ripon, Wis.; and Sylvania, Ohio, among others. Though there were no breakout sessions, people eagerly connected with neighboring would-be coup stoppers in the chat, a process that continued in a Facebook group formed for alumni of the training. 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
Dictators, of course, cannot be unseated by Sebastopol alone. Indeed, Choose Democracy’s trainers argue that a coup must be stopped by the mainstream of society. Defeating it requires mass participation in the streets—not just the leftists who always show up—and winning over the institutional pillars of society: politicians, businesspeople, the military, and others. “There is a narrative that will play out in our divided media ecosystems about legitimacy and illegitimacy,” Russell said. Popular support, he emphasized, helps the anti-coup forces “demonstrate legitimacy.”
For the Choose Democracy organizers, nonviolence is a crucial weapon in the battle to control the narrative. According to their logic, nonviolence is effective when your enemies have done something illegitimate—like refusing to leave office after losing an election—because it is the best way to convince mainstream society that your side can help return the country to relative calm. (Brooks’s report found that Trump’s street supporters would try to turn peaceful protests violent in order to cement the right-wing associations of Democrats with “mob rule.”) Russell explained, “Our strategy is built around the understanding that we will be in a contest for legitimacy, and in order to hold onto basic core democratic values, we will need to maintain that high ground.” Current Issue View our current issue
The two-hour “training” is less about how to do civil disobedience or nonviolence than about persuading us that it can work. Along with Lakey, the meeting was cohosted by Diana González, a beatific Vermont legislator with gray hair and perfect skin (even on Zoom). Perhaps the most joyful person I’ve encountered virtually or otherwise, Gonzalez gave the sincere impression that preparing for a right-wing coup was the most delightful way she could imagine spending a Wednesday night. “Wonderful!” she kept exclaiming, as the almost equally cheerful Lakey worked through his slides.
I signed the pledge and am glad I did. But the happy peace talk worried me. “I’m afraid people will die,” I told Russell in our interview, asking if it’s wise to commit to nonviolence when facing off with armed Nazis and Trump-sympathizing cops. Participants in the training asked many versions of this question in the chat. Many were especially worried that people of color would be targets of racist violence in these protests. Choose Democracy’s organizers were ready with answers. We should de-escalate conflicts with right-wing counterprotesters, and Choose Democracy offers separate workshops on how to do this. The Proud Boys will be spoiling for a fight, Lakey emphasized, and we should not give them what they want. We should not hold rallies in obvious places where the far right plans to gather. Protest instead in politicians’ offices. Protect ourselves (from Nazis and Covid-19!) by protesting in car caravans. Bring religious leaders, whose moral capital might discourage troublemakers. Lakey also advises that if you see violence brewing, leave; he referenced a Bruce Lee quote that became a central tactic of the Hong Kong protests: “Be like water, move.”
At the same time Choose Democracy often gives the disturbing impression that demonstrators are potential cannon fodder in a media war. While offering ways to prevent far right violence, Lakey and his people sometimes seem to welcome it, arguing that the optics of Nazis attacking peaceful protesters favor the peaceful, helping Trump to alienate the center and the people with institutional power. Related Article Is Trump Planning a Coup d’État? Sasha Abramsky
This logic doesn’t make me want to send the link to my mom. But is it tactically sound?
Not everyone thinks so.
“I had to turn it off,” said Spencer Sunshine of Lakey’s Zoom training. A scholar and activist who has spent the last 15 years studying the far right, Sunshine is the author of 40 Ways to Fight Fascists: Street-Legal Tactics for Community Activists. While Sunshine agrees with Choose Democracy that mass nonviolent action is “probably a good way to go in case of a coup,” he said he worries that a dogmatic adherence to the tactic could backfire. If it results in fascists’ killing defenseless pacificists, he said, it could end up scaring all but the most hardcore street fighters from showing up. When Sunshine tuned into the Choose Democracy call, he said, Lakey told a story about civil rights icon Andrew Young diffusing racist violence in the South by taking a few comrades and going out to a Ku Klux Klan gathering in the woods—where they talked with the white supremacists face-to-face in pairs. (The night I attended, Lakey omitted that anecdote, but it is a favorite of his.) “He’s putting people in danger by telling this story!” Sunshine told me. “That is not a suggested tactic at all.” Sunshine agrees with Choose Democracy that the center will side with the winner, but doubts that such an extreme commitment to nonviolence is the way to win. In 40 Ways, Sunshine observes that at times protesters need to engage in self-defense against the far right, and does not rule out carrying a gun, if you know how to use it and are protesting in a state where this is legal.
Whatever happens on November 3, we will need a sustained movement to oppose the far right. “It’s wonderful for the American public to affirm that it won’t stand for a coup,” said Marcie Smith, author of an exhaustive study of the late Gene Sharp, who was Lakey’s mentor and a revered theorist of tactical nonviolence. But she thinks that the legitimate power that Trump and the far right have attained is the bigger problem. “So while it’s good insurance to consider what to do in the event of a ‘coup,’” she said, “I hope we are spending at least as much time considering and training for the multigenerational project required to turn back the almost entirely legal six-decades-long global ruling-class incursion under which we have been living.”
These tactics of mass nonviolent protest might help make sure Trump leaves office, Smith said, but because they’re unable to challenge capital or build working-class power, they can’t beat Trumpism or rectify the diseased society that produced it. Russell appreciates Smith’s critique and likens coup preparedness to treating a heart attack: You need to go to the hospital before you treat the underlying causes. “Certain measures need to be taken so I don’t die,” he said. “After I don’t die, we should talk about how I need to lay off these burgers.”
Then again, Choose Democracy isn’t the only group organizing to fight Trump’s dirty post-election tricks. It’s joined by many grassroots organizations, including the Movement for Black Lives, the Working Families Party, and a coalition called Protect the Results, who are also working on voter turnout and against vote suppression. Some labor leaders and unions, including Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants–CWA, the Rochester Central Labor Council, and the Seattle Educators, are even talking about a general strike in case of a Trump coup. Choose Democracy’s approach might win over the military or the elites—but in the long run, this growing, diverse mobilization could do something just as urgent: build a more robust left, one that could help our democracy avoid future near-death experiences.


thenation--2020-10-30--Could Colombian Politicians Help Trump Win Florida?

Around a week before Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016 , Álvaro Uribe Vélez , Colombia ’ s conservative ex-president , joined Marco Rubio and three Republican members of Congress at a campaign event in Doral , Fla .
Hundreds packed into Mondongo ’ s , a local Colombian restaurant , where Uribe spoke for over three hours , spending most of the time slamming a peace agreement between the Colombian government and a Marxist guerrilla group known as the FARC .
Colombian voters had recently voted down the deal in a national referendum after Uribe led a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that had propelled him to conservative rock stardom overnight .
At Mondongo ’ s that day , he argued that the agreement would open the doors for the country to become “ castrochavista , ” a fearmongering term he had popularized invoking Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez .
It threatened to turn the country into a “ second Venezuela.
” In the years since his Doral visit , Uribe ’ s style of red-baiting has slowly permeated Florida ’ s political scene , where Republicans have increasingly employed it to woo voters from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Colombian communities .
In the months before the 2018 midterm elections , Democratic strategist Evelyn Perez-Vedia , who lives in Westonzuela—a nickname for the city of Weston , home to a large Venezuelan and Colombian population—remembers seeing WhatsApp messages calling Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum a socialist .
Later that year , both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis , Gillum ’ s opponent , warned the state ’ s 600,000 Cuban-American and 75,000 Venezuelan voters that Gillum would turn Florida into “ another Venezuela.
” Uribe had used the same talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro .
It was highly effective : Petro lost the presidential race , and DeSantis was elected governor by less than 40,000 votes .
In recent days , similar smears and misinformation campaigns have intensified to sway voters ahead of the November presidential election , but what is remarkable now is that they are being propelled and amplified by Colombian politicians .
Led by Álvaro Uribe and members of his right-wing political party , the Centro Democrático , serving Colombian officials have shared pro-Trump posts and videos .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorse Donald Trump ahead of the election , as Senator María Fernanda Cabal did recently over Facebook Live .
Representatives Juan David Vélez , who represents Colombians abroad and is a dual US-Colombian citizen living in Miami , has even weighed in on local races , endorsing Republican congressional candidate Maria Elvira Salazar and hosting a virtual event in which Uribe told Salazar he “ would like to see you in the United States Congress.
” Vélez told me he planned to vote for Trump on Election Day .
Earlier this month , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ PUPPET of CASTRO-CHAVISTAS like Crazy Bernie , AOC and Castro-lover Karen Bass.
” The Trump campaign ’ s official Latino social media accounts , Equipo Trump and Latinos for Trump , have frequently invoked castrochavismo to attack Biden , while also spreading and amplifying misinformation .
They have claimed that Latin American socialists are promoting Biden , have suggested coordination between Democrats and socialists in Latin America , and have argued that Democrats are ignoring attacks on Latino men .
It ’ s unclear whether this barrage of support has been developed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Colombian government officials .
Earlier this month , WLRN , a radio station in Miami , reported that Juan Manuel Santos , the Colombian president who brokered the peace deal Uribe vehemently opposed , learned that a high-level official in the current administration of Uribe ’ s handpicked successor , President Ivan Duque , had reached out to help Trump ’ s campaign .
However , there is no public evidence linking anyone in the Colombian administration with the Trump campaign .
There is no reliable polling available on how Colombian Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the community is heavily conservative .
During Colombia ’ s 2018 presidential elections , US-based Colombians voted overwhelmingly—by over 70 percent—for Duque .
The election , writes WOLA ’ s Adam Isacson , “ will be a major test of whether [ Uribe ’ s ] cold-war throwback strategy…can be exported to other contexts.
” Latinx voters from Cuba , Venezuela , and Nicaragua—many of whom fled authoritarian leftist governments—are also susceptible to red-baiting and misinformation campaigns over WhatsApp and YouTube .
Any association with socialism could scare off potential voters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the referendum in Colombia have been translated to Republicans , who have had no problem applying them in South Florida , ” says Juan Pablo Salas , a Colombian American political analyst in Sarasota .
“ There ’ s an intrinsic relation between Uribe , the Venezuelan right , Nicaraguan conservatives , and the right in Miami.
” Political analysts and pollsters have frequently warned of the potential for conservative Latinx voters to help Trump carry Florida , but it ’ s unclear how decisive the bloc will be .
Colombian Americans alone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where Hillary Clinton lost by 110,000 votes in 2016 .
Recent polls suggest that Biden is up by over two points in the state , even as his campaign has been losing ground with Latinx voters nationally—polling somewhere between 52 and 58 percent .
( Clinton won 62 percent of the Hispanic vote four years ago . )
If Biden ’ s margins tighten in Florida , that dip in Latinx support could hand the state to Trump , or embolden him to cast doubt over the election results even if he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be peeling off some support by disinformation and red-baiting , underlying its attempts to court Latinx is a basic understanding of the policies and rhetoric that motivate certain voters .
The Trump administration ’ s foreign policy moves in Latin America—reversing Obama ’ s rapprochement with Cuba , imposing sanctions against both Cuba and Venezuela , backing Juan Guaido as Venezuela ’ s de facto leader , and floating the possibility of a military coup against Nicolas Maduro—have cemented support among conservatives .
Domestically , Biden has leaned into immigration to court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to undo the cruel legacy of Trump ’ s family separation policy have been well-received , but his ties to similarly brutal deportation policies under the Obama administration have cost him some support .
On the issue of foreign policy , Obama-era diplomacy in Latin America involved tacit support for coups in Honduras and Brazil , and militarizing both Central American police and Mexico ’ s southern border .
While Trump has embraced support from right-wing leaders abroad , Biden has rejected connections to leftists .
Earlier this month , Biden wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daily newspaper , El Tiempo , reiterating his support for the peace process while distancing himself from prominent leftists , such as Gustavo Petro .
Biden ’ s moderate foreign policy positions are part of the reason Colombia ’ s conservative politicians are backing Trump .
The US election can indirectly affect the standing of the Centro Democrático in their home country .
Other world leaders seem to have come to similar conclusions : Trump has recently received endorsements from politicians who benefited from waves of right-wing populism similar to the one that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rodrigo Duterte and Jair Bolsonaro .
If he wins , Trump ’ s reelection could be taken as a sign that right-wing politics will have a continued home in the Americas , says Salas , the political analyst .
A Biden victory would signal the opposite .
“ This will have hemispheric consequences .
”

Around a week before Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombia’s conservative ex-president, joined Marco Rubio and three Republican members of Congress at a campaign event in Doral, Fla. Hundreds packed into Mondongo’s, a local Colombian restaurant, where Uribe spoke for over three hours, spending most of the time slamming a peace agreement between the Colombian government and a Marxist guerrilla group known as the FARC. Colombian voters had recently voted down the deal in a national referendum after Uribe led a disinformation campaign against it, a result that had propelled him to conservative rock stardom overnight. At Mondongo’s that day, he argued that the agreement would open the doors for the country to become “castrochavista,” a fearmongering term he had popularized invoking Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. It threatened to turn the country into a “second Venezuela.”
In the years since his Doral visit, Uribe’s style of red-baiting has slowly permeated Florida’s political scene, where Republicans have increasingly employed it to woo voters from the state’s Cuban, Venezuelan, and Colombian communities. In the months before the 2018 midterm elections, Democratic strategist Evelyn Perez-Vedia, who lives in Westonzuela—a nickname for the city of Weston, home to a large Venezuelan and Colombian population—remembers seeing WhatsApp messages calling Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum a socialist. Later that year, both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, Gillum’s opponent, warned the state’s 600,000 Cuban-American and 75,000 Venezuelan voters that Gillum would turn Florida into “another Venezuela.” Uribe had used the same talking point earlier that year to attack leftist Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro. It was highly effective: Petro lost the presidential race, and DeSantis was elected governor by less than 40,000 votes.
In recent days, similar smears and misinformation campaigns have intensified to sway voters ahead of the November presidential election, but what is remarkable now is that they are being propelled and amplified by Colombian politicians. Led by Álvaro Uribe and members of his right-wing political party, the Centro Democrático, serving Colombian officials have shared pro-Trump posts and videos. Some have even gone so far as to endorse Donald Trump ahead of the election, as Senator María Fernanda Cabal did recently over Facebook Live. Representative Juan David Vélez, who represents Colombians abroad and is a dual US-Colombian citizen living in Miami, has even weighed in on local races, endorsing Republican congressional candidate Maria Elvira Salazar and hosting a virtual event in which Uribe told Salazar he “would like to see you in the United States Congress.” Vélez told me he planned to vote for Trump on Election Day.
Earlier this month, Trump himself tweeted that Biden was a “PUPPET of CASTRO-CHAVISTAS like Crazy Bernie, AOC and Castro-lover Karen Bass.” The Trump campaign’s official Latino social media accounts, Equipo Trump and Latinos for Trump, have frequently invoked castrochavismo to attack Biden, while also spreading and amplifying misinformation. They have claimed that Latin American socialists are promoting Biden, have suggested coordination between Democrats and socialists in Latin America, and have argued that Democrats are ignoring attacks on Latino men. 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
It’s unclear whether this barrage of support has been developed by Republicans this election cycle in coordination with Colombian government officials. Earlier this month, WLRN, a radio station in Miami, reported that Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian president who brokered the peace deal Uribe vehemently opposed, learned that a high-level official in the current administration of Uribe’s handpicked successor, President Ivan Duque, had reached out to help Trump’s campaign. However, there is no public evidence linking anyone in the Colombian administration with the Trump campaign.
There is no reliable polling available on how Colombian Americans may vote, but there is evidence that the community is heavily conservative. During Colombia’s 2018 presidential elections, US-based Colombians voted overwhelmingly—by over 70 percent—for Duque. The election, writes WOLA’s Adam Isacson, “will be a major test of whether [Uribe’s] cold-war throwback strategy…can be exported to other contexts.”
Latinx voters from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua—many of whom fled authoritarian leftist governments—are also susceptible to red-baiting and misinformation campaigns over WhatsApp and YouTube. Any association with socialism could scare off potential voters. “The lessons that Uribismo learned from the referendum in Colombia have been translated to Republicans, who have had no problem applying them in South Florida,” says Juan Pablo Salas, a Colombian American political analyst in Sarasota. “There’s an intrinsic relation between Uribe, the Venezuelan right, Nicaraguan conservatives, and the right in Miami.”
Political analysts and pollsters have frequently warned of the potential for conservative Latinx voters to help Trump carry Florida, but it’s unclear how decisive the bloc will be. Colombian Americans alone make up 190,000 eligible voters in Florida, where Hillary Clinton lost by 110,000 votes in 2016. Recent polls suggest that Biden is up by over two points in the state, even as his campaign has been losing ground with Latinx voters nationally—polling somewhere between 52 and 58 percent. (Clinton won 62 percent of the Hispanic vote four years ago.) If Biden’s margins tighten in Florida, that dip in Latinx support could hand the state to Trump, or embolden him to cast doubt over the election results even if he loses.
While Trump’s campaign may be peeling off some support by disinformation and red-baiting, underlying its attempts to court Latinx is a basic understanding of the policies and rhetoric that motivate certain voters. The Trump administration’s foreign policy moves in Latin America—reversing Obama’s rapprochement with Cuba, imposing sanctions against both Cuba and Venezuela, backing Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s de facto leader, and floating the possibility of a military coup against Nicolás Maduro—have cemented support among conservatives.
Domestically, Biden has leaned into immigration to court Latinxs. His promises to restore DACA and to undo the cruel legacy of Trump’s family separation policy have been well-received, but his ties to similarly brutal deportation policies under the Obama administration have cost him some support. On the issue of foreign policy, Obama-era diplomacy in Latin America involved tacit support for coups in Honduras and Brazil, and militarizing both Central American police and Mexico’s southern border. While Trump has embraced support from right-wing leaders abroad, Biden has rejected connections to leftists. Earlier this month, Biden wrote an op-ed in Colombia’s largest daily newspaper, El Tiempo, reiterating his support for the peace process while distancing himself from prominent leftists, such as Gustavo Petro.
Biden’s moderate foreign policy positions are part of the reason Colombia’s conservative politicians are backing Trump. The US election can indirectly affect the standing of the Centro Democrático in their home country. Other world leaders seem to have come to similar conclusions: Trump has recently received endorsements from politicians who benefited from waves of right-wing populism similar to the one that brought him to power, such as Rodrigo Duterte and Jair Bolsonaro. If he wins, Trump’s reelection could be taken as a sign that right-wing politics will have a continued home in the Americas, says Salas, the political analyst. A Biden victory would signal the opposite. “This will have hemispheric consequences.”


thenation--2020-10-30--Will Concerns About Domestic Violence Derail Sentencing Reform in Oklahoma?

Better policing , tougher laws , longer sentences : For decades , that has been the dominant approach to domestic violence in the United States , as advocates sought to make the state treat “ private ” violence as the urgent threat that it is .
But as the costs of police power and mass incarceration have become clear , criminal justice reformers have been working in the opposite direction , seeking to reduce harsh sentencing .
Sometimes these efforts collide , when domestic violence is used as a justification for opposing reforms to the criminal legal system .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oklahoma .
In recent years , criminal justice reformers have been trying to change the state ’ s identity as “ the world ’ s prison capital , ” as the Prison Policy Initiative dubbed it in a 2018 report .
As of 2016 Oklahoma had the highest per capita incarceration rate in the United States , with 1,079 people in jails , prisons , immigration detention , and juvenile facilities per every 100,000 residents .
Thanks to organizing by a trans-partisan coalition , the state recently reduced some sentences and streamlined the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has fallen .
Still , drug offenders spend 78 percent more time behind bars in Oklahoma than the national average ; people convicted of violent crimes spend 21 percent more time locked up .
Now voters are considering a constitutional amendment known as State Question 805 , which would prohibit sentence enhancements for nonviolent crimes .
Currently , someone convicted of a nonviolent crime like drug possession or burglary can have their prison sentence extended beyond the maximum punishment if they have prior convictions on their record .
This happens frequently : Nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have had their sentences enhanced .
Enhancements make it possible for prosecutors to seek , and for judges to hand out , 20- and 30-year sentences , even life , for nonviolent crimes .
Prosecutors also use the threat of enhancements to secure plea deals .
According to an independent analysis of the amendment , it would reduce the prison population by roughly 8.5 percent by 2030 and save the state up to $ 186 million over the next 10 years—money that supporters say could be redirected towards prevention and rehabilitation .
Domestic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate over the measure , with opponents calling the amendment “ a tragedy for victims of domestic violence.
” Until May of this year , several domestic violence crimes in Oklahoma were classified as “ nonviolent ” offenses .
Because SQ 805 uses crime classifications from January 1 , 2020 , its passage would mean some domestic violence convictions would not be eligible for sentence enhancements .
This , opponents say , endangers victims and “ gives serial abusers a pass to continue their abusive behavior by not holding them accountable for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” as one assistant district attorney wrote in a recent op-ed .
SQ 805 is opposed most aggressively by prosecutors and their lobbying organization , the District Attorneys Council .
As Politico reported in April , the group funds itself partly through fees collected from criminal defendants .
The Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault also opposes the reform .
Another organization , Oklahomans United Against 805 , is led by the cofounder of a Family Justice Center in Oklahoma City .
( Family Justice Centers offer a variety of services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usually have close relationships with law enforcement . )
But other anti-violence advocates and domestic abuse survivors in Oklahoma—as well as across the United States—have become skeptical about the value of extended prison time as the primary solution to domestic violence , and some are supporting SQ 805 .
One reason is the fact that sentence enhancements can result in abuse victims ’ spending more time in prison themselves .
Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other state , and according to a 2014 study , two-thirds of the women in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a partner in the year before they were incarcerated .
“ I feel very strongly that there is a lot of fearmongering and misinformation and flat-out lies being told to Oklahomans ” by opponents of the amendment , said Sonya Pyles , an abuse survivor who got caught in a cycle of enhanced sentences and served several years in prison on drug-related charges .
“ I did not receive any rehabilitation , any drug treatment , and certainly not any therapy or anything that would have helped address the underlying issues that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Pyles said .
At one point she faced up to 20 years in prison for nonviolent crimes because of enhancements .
But she was able to enter a diversion program , and now works as a program coordinator for Tulsa Lawyers for Children and has been active in the “ Yes on 805 ” campaign .
“ I have been brutally beaten .
I have been shot at .
I ’ ve been through it , and I wholeheartedly support [ SQ 805 ] , because I believe the millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be better spent on providing resources for victims of crimes , [ and ] for people who commit the crime of domestic violence , ” Pyles said .
Advocates have also pointed out that there ’ s little evidence indicating longer prison sentences make people less likely to abuse their partners in the future .
Instead , incarceration can aggravate conditions associated with intimate partner violence , including unemployment and trauma .
“ Even if prosecution rates were higher , incarceration wouldn ’ t and hasn ’ t solved the problem of domestic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a social worker who works with a domestic violence organization in Tulsa .
“ There are no domestic violence abuse programs in Oklahoma prisons .
Prison puts a pause on the act of domestic violence , but it doesn ’ t end the cycle of domestic violence .
This means that once they are released , many come out angrier and more violent , not less.
” Jacqueline Blocker , the engagement director for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform , a coalition that has been leading decarceration efforts in the state along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she decided to talk publicly for the first time about her own experience of intimate partner violence specifically because of the way opponents of SQ 805 were wielding the issue .
“ It sickens me that anyone would exploit the trauma of surviving an abusive relationship to promote their own political agenda , ” Blocker wrote in February , in response to an op-ed from a district attorney raising concerns about SQ 805 ’ s impact in abuse cases .
“ This attempt to appeal to domestic abuse victims is click-bait writing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There is abundant and overwhelming research that shows our state ’ s use of extreme sentences don ’ t make our communities safer.
” Blocker told me that she sees SQ 805 as an opportunity to reallocate resources to preventing or interrupting abuse before it escalates to the level of criminal prosecution .
“ I think the state needs to be better invested on the front end , rather than on the back end , because the damage has already been done at that point , ” she said .
Opponents of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ create a culture where committing crime is acceptable.
” That ’ s obvious hyperbole : People convicted of crimes related to domestic violence in Oklahoma would still go to prison if the measure passes .
The state already treats “ domestic abuse with a prior pattern of physical abuse ” and domestic assault with a dangerous weapon as felonies punishable by up to 10 years ; that won ’ t change .
And the legislature could increase maximum sentences anytime .
But beyond the factual squabbles , the debate in Oklahoma reflects deeper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I reported recently , many domestic violence advocates have been reckoning with the way their reliance on police and prisons has alienated or harmed some survivors , while helping others .
This is genuinely delicate terrain for many organizations that are dependent on funding allocated by politicians who , particularly in conservative areas , may not look kindly on alternative approaches .
Some organizations have lost partnerships and financial support for merely expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement .
As SQ 805 illustrates , other advocates and survivors think the legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to abuse , not less .
“ In Oklahoma , we don ’ t hold offenders accountable already , ” Candida Manion , executive director of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and a critic of 805 , told Oklahoma Watch .
So far , most criminal justice reform efforts at the state and federal level have depended , politically , on dividing violent and nonviolent crimes .
But it ’ s not possible to significantly cut incarceration rates without including in reforms people who ’ ve committed violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that distinction isn ’ t always neatly drawn .
Many opponents of SQ 805 say they ’ re committed to the goal of reducing hyper-incarceration , yet there remains a fundamental disconnect between that mission and an anti-violence strategy based on lengthening criminal penalties .
There are some examples of anti-violence groups bridging the gap : In 2014 , for instance , the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women opposed an amendment to federal reform legislation called the Smarter Sentencing Act that would have imposed new mandatory minimums @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Oklahoma , whether voters see the goal of reducing incarceration and the effort to protect domestic abuse victims as contradictory or reconcilable remains to be seen .

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
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.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. 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.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
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?
Better policing, tougher laws, longer sentences: For decades, that has been the dominant approach to domestic violence in the United States, as advocates sought to make the state treat “private” violence as the urgent threat that it is. But as the costs of police power and mass incarceration have become clear, criminal justice reformers have been working in the opposite direction, seeking to reduce harsh sentencing. Sometimes these efforts collide, when domestic violence is used as a justification for opposing reforms to the criminal legal system.
That’s what is happening now in Oklahoma. In recent years, criminal justice reformers have been trying to change the state’s identity as “the world’s prison capital,” as the Prison Policy Initiative dubbed it in a 2018 report. As of 2016 Oklahoma had the highest per capita incarceration rate in the United States, with 1,079 people in jails, prisons, immigration detention, and juvenile facilities per every 100,000 residents. Thanks to organizing by a trans-partisan coalition, the state recently reduced some sentences and streamlined the parole process, and the prison population has fallen. Still, drug offenders spend 78 percent more time behind bars in Oklahoma than the national average; people convicted of violent crimes spend 21 percent more time locked up.
Now voters are considering a constitutional amendment known as State Question 805, which would prohibit sentence enhancements for nonviolent crimes. Currently, someone convicted of a nonviolent crime like drug possession or burglary can have their prison sentence extended beyond the maximum punishment if they have prior convictions on their record. This happens frequently: Nearly 80 percent of Oklahomans with prior convictions have had their sentences enhanced. Enhancements make it possible for prosecutors to seek, and for judges to hand out, 20- and 30-year sentences, even life, for nonviolent crimes. Prosecutors also use the threat of enhancements to secure plea deals. According to an independent analysis of the amendment, it would reduce the prison population by roughly 8.5 percent by 2030 and save the state up to $186 million over the next 10 years—money that supporters say could be redirected towards prevention and rehabilitation.
Domestic abuse has become a flashpoint in the debate over the measure, with opponents calling the amendment “a tragedy for victims of domestic violence.” Until May of this year, several domestic violence crimes in Oklahoma were classified as “nonviolent” offenses. Because SQ 805 uses crime classifications from January 1, 2020, its passage would mean some domestic violence convictions would not be eligible for sentence enhancements. This, opponents say, endangers victims and “gives serial abusers a pass to continue their abusive behavior by not holding them accountable for their repetitive and often increasingly violent behavior,” as one assistant district attorney wrote in a recent op-ed. 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 Related Article A Reckoning Inside the Domestic-Violence Movement Zoë Carpenter
SQ 805 is opposed most aggressively by prosecutors and their lobbying organization, the District Attorneys Council. As Politico reported in April, the group funds itself partly through fees collected from criminal defendants. The Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault also opposes the reform. Another organization, Oklahomans United Against 805, is led by the cofounder of a Family Justice Center in Oklahoma City. (Family Justice Centers offer a variety of services to victims of domestic violence, and usually have close relationships with law enforcement.)
But other anti-violence advocates and domestic abuse survivors in Oklahoma—as well as across the United States—have become skeptical about the value of extended prison time as the primary solution to domestic violence, and some are supporting SQ 805. One reason is the fact that sentence enhancements can result in abuse victims’ spending more time in prison themselves. Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other state, and according to a 2014 study, two-thirds of the women in the state’s prisons were abused by a partner in the year before they were incarcerated.
“I feel very strongly that there is a lot of fearmongering and misinformation and flat-out lies being told to Oklahomans” by opponents of the amendment, said Sonya Pyles, an abuse survivor who got caught in a cycle of enhanced sentences and served several years in prison on drug-related charges. “I did not receive any rehabilitation, any drug treatment, and certainly not any therapy or anything that would have helped address the underlying issues that led me down the pathway to addiction,” Pyles said. At one point she faced up to 20 years in prison for nonviolent crimes because of enhancements. But she was able to enter a diversion program, and now works as a program coordinator for Tulsa Lawyers for Children and has been active in the “Yes on 805” campaign. “I have been brutally beaten. I have been shot at. I’ve been through it, and I wholeheartedly support [SQ 805], because I believe the millions of dollars taxpayers are spending to incarcerate Oklahomans…could be better spent on providing resources for victims of crimes, [and] for people who commit the crime of domestic violence,” Pyles said. Current Issue View our current issue
Advocates have also pointed out that there’s little evidence indicating longer prison sentences make people less likely to abuse their partners in the future. Instead, incarceration can aggravate conditions associated with intimate partner violence, including unemployment and trauma. “Even if prosecution rates were higher, incarceration wouldn’t and hasn’t solved the problem of domestic violence,” wrote Molly Bryant, a social worker who works with a domestic violence organization in Tulsa. “There are no domestic violence abuse programs in Oklahoma prisons. Prison puts a pause on the act of domestic violence, but it doesn’t end the cycle of domestic violence. This means that once they are released, many come out angrier and more violent, not less.”
Jacqueline Blocker, the engagement director for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, a coalition that has been leading decarceration efforts in the state along with the ACLU and other groups, said she decided to talk publicly for the first time about her own experience of intimate partner violence specifically because of the way opponents of SQ 805 were wielding the issue. “It sickens me that anyone would exploit the trauma of surviving an abusive relationship to promote their own political agenda,” Blocker wrote in February, in response to an op-ed from a district attorney raising concerns about SQ 805’s impact in abuse cases. “This attempt to appeal to domestic abuse victims is click-bait writing to scare Oklahomans who support criminal justice reform. There is abundant and overwhelming research that shows our state’s use of extreme sentences don’t make our communities safer.” Blocker told me that she sees SQ 805 as an opportunity to reallocate resources to preventing or interrupting abuse before it escalates to the level of criminal prosecution. “I think the state needs to be better invested on the front end, rather than on the back end, because the damage has already been done at that point,” she said.
Opponents of SQ 805 warn that it will “create a culture where committing crime is acceptable.” That’s obvious hyperbole: People convicted of crimes related to domestic violence in Oklahoma would still go to prison if the measure passes. The state already treats “domestic abuse with a prior pattern of physical abuse” and domestic assault with a dangerous weapon as felonies punishable by up to 10 years; that won’t change. And the legislature could increase maximum sentences anytime.
But beyond the factual squabbles, the debate in Oklahoma reflects deeper schisms within the anti-violence community. As I reported recently, many domestic violence advocates have been reckoning with the way their reliance on police and prisons has alienated or harmed some survivors, while helping others. This is genuinely delicate terrain for many organizations that are dependent on funding allocated by politicians who, particularly in conservative areas, may not look kindly on alternative approaches. Some organizations have lost partnerships and financial support for merely expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement. As SQ 805 illustrates, other advocates and survivors think the legal system should be more aggressive in its response to abuse, not less. “In Oklahoma, we don’t hold offenders accountable already,” Candida Manion, executive director of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and a critic of 805, told Oklahoma Watch.
So far, most criminal justice reform efforts at the state and federal level have depended, politically, on dividing violent and nonviolent crimes. But it’s not possible to significantly cut incarceration rates without including in reforms people who’ve committed violence. And as SQ 805 illustrates, that distinction isn’t always neatly drawn. Many opponents of SQ 805 say they’re committed to the goal of reducing hyper-incarceration, yet there remains a fundamental disconnect between that mission and an anti-violence strategy based on lengthening criminal penalties. There are some examples of anti-violence groups bridging the gap: In 2014, for instance, the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women opposed an amendment to federal reform legislation called the Smarter Sentencing Act that would have imposed new mandatory minimums for domestic violence and sex crimes. In Oklahoma, whether voters see the goal of reducing incarceration and the effort to protect domestic abuse victims as contradictory or reconcilable remains to be seen.