motherjones--2020-02-01--YouTube Creators Cash In on Coronavirus Fears

Little-known YouTube accounts are trying to capitalize off fears about the coronavirus to gain viral clout—and for some , it ’ s paying off .
Video creators are cranking out content that , in many cases , spreads alarm , unsubstantiated claims , scams , and sometimes outright disinformation .
And a lot of them are trying to make money off of it .
While YouTube seems to have adjusted its algorithms to prioritize content from authoritative sources and stifle the reach and virality of videos from other creators , a handful of them are still seeping through the cracks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other social media sites .
One popular series on the virus is produced by a personal finance guru with a history of pushing economic theories about peak oil and other resource crunches , but who has recently rebranded as a pandemic expert as news coverage of the virus has exploded .
“ I ’ m here with a really important message about the coronavirus , ” Chris Martenson , one of the founders of the financial website Peak Prosperity , says at the beginning of a video entitled “ Coronavirus Is Worse Than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Explains.
” “ Unfortunately if you ’ ve been reading the news you ’ ve either been under-informed or misinformed about what this virus really is .
It ’ s a very serious thing , ” he continues .
“ To get more updates , please come by [ my website ] .
We have a place for subscribers who want to go a little deeper and get some good advice about what they can do.
” While the website offers some articles on the coronavirus , it also highlights something called “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a section for paid subscribers .
While Martenson calls himself a scientist in the video ’ s titles , his claim to the label is , according to him , based on a 1994 PhD from Duke ’ s Department of Pathology where he specialized in toxicology .
While he published scientific research in the ’ 90s , for at least the last decade Martenson has focused on predicting stagflation and other large shifts in financial markets .
“ He ’ s not a practicing physician , he ’ s just a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s taken an interest in this virus , ” said Dr. Angela Hewlett , an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America , who clarified that she didn ’ t see anything in Martenson ’ s videos that gave her cause for concern .
Adam Taggart , a co-founder of Peak Prosperity , initially explained the company ’ s mission to Mother Jones as “ scientists making sense of the world.
” When pressed on his scientific credentials , Taggart noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studied pre-med as an undergraduate , and instead pointed to his colleague ’ s background .
“ If Chris is asked what he is he would say , ‘ I ’ m a researcher who was trained as a scientist.
’ He ’ s not trying to portray himself as someone who works in a lab , ” Taggart said , explaining that Martenson and Peak Prosperity have previously deviated from financial topics to make sense of global issues , pointing to work on Fukushima , Monsanto ’ s Roundup pesticide , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he started making coronavirus videos a few days ago , Martenson ’ s videos nearly exclusively focused on finance .
His second video on the outbreak— “ Coronavirus Is Worse Than You ’ ve Been Told : Scientist Explains ” —accrued over 700,000 views , a massive spike from his usual view counts , which hovered in the thousands and low tens of thousands .
Hewlett noted that while his titles could lean towards alarmism , the content of his videos , keyed to spiking interest , appeared to be reasonable .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what ’ s in the videos .
But he doesn ’ t seem to spread misinformation .
People are just hungry for information in general .
He ’ s just trying to assimilate media reports , ” Hewlett said .
In the four days since that video ’ s release , Martenson has uploaded six other coronavirus videos that , together , have amassed over a million views .
A social media analytics website , Social Blade , shows a spike in new subscribers—in a radical jump from his normal rate , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Martenson isn ’ t the only person producing YouTube videos on the virus as interest explodes .
Other accounts reviewed by Mother Jones have shown similar attempts to pivot to videos about the coronavirus , with mixed results .
Some , however , have taken off .
A YouTube channel called the Atlantis Report has started to churn out conspiracy-mongering coronavirus videos with titles like “ Is Coronavirus part of the Bio warfare being waged against China using Drones ?
!
” and “ The Wuhan Coronavirus , A Bio-Weapon stolen from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” The channel ’ s three videos on the coronavirus , which have collectively racked up hundreds of thousands of views , are even odder than their titles .
One video offers a mishmash of conspiracies about the virus that , beyond being baseless , are contradictory .
It presents a theory that the virus was engineered by bankers and elements of the anti-Trump deep state , but also that it would benefit Trump ’ s reelection bid , providing him a biological excuse for any economic collapse that may come before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus will kill off the elderly , reducing Social Security expenditures—even though older voters are a critical component of Trump ’ s base .
The Atlantis Report videos seem to be narrated by a computer generated voice , and make small but consistent grammatical errors that a native English speaker would be unlikely to make , all overlayed on sometimes unrelated stock footage .
The videos ’ description section provides links to a donation page on an a blog associated with the channel called “ Financial Armageddon ” and to an Amazon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made the link a referral fee for any purchases then made .
Other small-time creators , with moderate followings , appear to be trying to ride the same wave that has boosted Martenson and the Atlantis Report—with less success .
One , Sarah Westall , who runs advertisements for fat burning supplements in her videos about right-leaning conspiracies like QAnon to her 108,000 subscribers , released several conspiracy videos about the coronavirus that have have failed to significantly outstrip her normal fare .
Westall , not unlike Alex Jones , runs her own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefit .
Another , Christopher Greene , who runs a website called “ Bitcoin Rich , ” has been posting alarmist , conspiracy videos about the virus—including “ WATCH THIS !
!
!
IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE !
!
” —that have been watched hundreds of thousands of times .
In the descriptions of his videos , he also advertises $ 250 tickets to cloud currency seminars .
Though such videos may not have not gone massively viral on YouTube , they sometimes show how , even with algorithms meant to stem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can still leak out of the platform to other social media groups .
According to CrowdTangle ’ s monitoring tools , such videos are being eagerly shared on conspiracy communities on Facebook and YouTube .
For example , one of Greene ’ s top-performing Coronavirus videos reached an audience of almost 200,000 on Twitter , and was shared and liked thousands of times on Facebook .
Because CrowdTangle ’ s tools don ’ t capture shares on private Facebook groups , it ’ s almost certain that the reach was larger .
Hewlett @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she understands the public ’ s massive concern and interest , but doesn ’ t think that ’ s an excuse for grifters and other YouTube creators to chase clicks at the risk of spreading panic or false information .
“ Yes , we ’ re all alarmed about this , ” she said .
“ Everyone in the medical community is alarmed , but we have to temper that with facts and information .
”

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Little-known YouTube accounts are trying to capitalize off fears about the coronavirus to gain viral clout—and for some, it’s paying off.
Video creators are cranking out content that, in many cases, spreads alarm, unsubstantiated claims, scams, and sometimes outright disinformation. And a lot of them are trying to make money off of it.
“He’s not trying to portray himself as someone who works in a lab.”
While YouTube seems to have adjusted its algorithms to prioritize content from authoritative sources and stifle the reach and virality of videos from other creators, a handful of them are still seeping through the cracks and spreading widely on the platform or other social media sites.
One popular series on the virus is produced by a personal finance guru with a history of pushing economic theories about peak oil and other resource crunches, but who has recently rebranded as a pandemic expert as news coverage of the virus has exploded.
“I’m here with a really important message about the coronavirus,” Chris Martenson, one of the founders of the financial website Peak Prosperity, says at the beginning of a video entitled “Coronavirus Is Worse Than You’ve Been Told: Scientist Explains.”
“Unfortunately if you’ve been reading the news you’ve either been under-informed or misinformed about what this virus really is. It’s a very serious thing,” he continues. “To get more updates, please come by [my website]. We have a place for subscribers who want to go a little deeper and get some good advice about what they can do.”
While the website offers some articles on the coronavirus, it also highlights something called “Our Recommended Pandemic Preparations”—only available in a section for paid subscribers.
While Martenson calls himself a scientist in the video’s titles, his claim to the label is, according to him, based on a 1994 PhD from Duke’s Department of Pathology where he specialized in toxicology. While he published scientific research in the ’90s, for at least the last decade Martenson has focused on predicting stagflation and other large shifts in financial markets.
“He’s not a practicing physician, he’s just a guy with a science background who’s taken an interest in this virus,” said Dr. Angela Hewlett, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, who clarified that she didn’t see anything in Martenson’s videos that gave her cause for concern.
Adam Taggart, a co-founder of Peak Prosperity, initially explained the company’s mission to Mother Jones as “scientists making sense of the world.” When pressed on his scientific credentials, Taggart noted that he had an MBA but had studied pre-med as an undergraduate, and instead pointed to his colleague’s background.
“If Chris is asked what he is he would say, ‘I’m a researcher who was trained as a scientist.’ He’s not trying to portray himself as someone who works in a lab,” Taggart said, explaining that Martenson and Peak Prosperity have previously deviated from financial topics to make sense of global issues, pointing to work on Fukushima, Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide, and “diet and nutrition issues.”
“People are just hungry for information.”
Until he started making coronavirus videos a few days ago, Martenson’s videos nearly exclusively focused on finance. His second video on the outbreak—“Coronavirus Is Worse Than You’ve Been Told: Scientist Explains”—accrued over 700,000 views, a massive spike from his usual view counts, which hovered in the thousands and low tens of thousands.
Hewlett noted that while his titles could lean towards alarmism, the content of his videos, keyed to spiking interest, appeared to be reasonable. “The titles aren’t indicative of what’s in the videos. But he doesn’t seem to spread misinformation. People are just hungry for information in general. He’s just trying to assimilate media reports,” Hewlett said.
In the four days since that video’s release, Martenson has uploaded six other coronavirus videos that, together, have amassed over a million views. A social media analytics website, Social Blade, shows a spike in new subscribers—in a radical jump from his normal rate, he earned over 12,000 in the past week.
Martenson isn’t the only person producing YouTube videos on the virus as interest explodes. Other accounts reviewed by Mother Jones have shown similar attempts to pivot to videos about the coronavirus, with mixed results. Some, however, have taken off.
A YouTube channel called the Atlantis Report has started to churn out conspiracy-mongering coronavirus videos with titles like “Is Coronavirus part of the Bio warfare being waged against China using Drones?!” and “The Wuhan Coronavirus, A Bio-Weapon stolen from Canada And Intentionally Released in China!?”
The channel’s three videos on the coronavirus, which have collectively racked up hundreds of thousands of views, are even odder than their titles. One video offers a mishmash of conspiracies about the virus that, beyond being baseless, are contradictory. It presents a theory that the virus was engineered by bankers and elements of the anti-Trump deep state, but also that it would benefit Trump’s reelection bid, providing him a biological excuse for any economic collapse that may come before Election Day. It also speculates that the virus will kill off the elderly, reducing Social Security expenditures—even though older voters are a critical component of Trump’s base.
The Atlantis Report videos seem to be narrated by a computer generated voice, and make small but consistent grammatical errors that a native English speaker would be unlikely to make, all overlayed on sometimes unrelated stock footage.
The videos’ description section provides links to a donation page on an a blog associated with the channel called “Financial Armageddon” and to an Amazon affiliate program that gives the person who made the link a referral fee for any purchases then made.
Other small-time creators, with moderate followings, appear to be trying to ride the same wave that has boosted Martenson and the Atlantis Report—with less success. One, Sarah Westall, who runs advertisements for fat burning supplements in her videos about right-leaning conspiracies like QAnon to her 108,000 subscribers, released several conspiracy videos about the coronavirus that have have failed to significantly outstrip her normal fare. Westall, not unlike Alex Jones, runs her own supplement store with products offering unclear medical benefit. Another, Christopher Greene, who runs a website called “Bitcoin Rich,” has been posting alarmist, conspiracy videos about the virus—including “WATCH THIS!!! IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!!”—that have been watched hundreds of thousands of times. In the descriptions of his videos, he also advertises $250 tickets to cloud currency seminars.
Though such videos may not have not gone massively viral on YouTube, they sometimes show how, even with algorithms meant to stem their spread, misinformation and dubious information can still leak out of the platform to other social media groups. According to CrowdTangle’s monitoring tools, such videos are being eagerly shared on conspiracy communities on Facebook and YouTube. For example, one of Greene’s top-performing Coronavirus videos reached an audience of almost 200,000 on Twitter, and was shared and liked thousands of times on Facebook. Because CrowdTangle’s tools don’t capture shares on private Facebook groups, it’s almost certain that the reach was larger.
Hewlett, the infectious disease expert, said she understands the public’s massive concern and interest, but doesn’t think that’s an excuse for grifters and other YouTube creators to chase clicks at the risk of spreading panic or false information.
“Yes, we’re all alarmed about this,” she said. “Everyone in the medical community is alarmed, but we have to temper that with facts and information.”


motherjones--2020-02-01--It’s the Home Stretch in Iowa. But Where Are All the Candidates?

Bernie Sanders ’ town hall in Creston , Iowa , on Friday afternoon had most of the trappings of the hectic homestretch of a presidential campaign .
At a community college auditorium an hour southwest of Des Moines , volunteers handed out cards with information about caucus sites , and a local field organizer gave a hard-sell about picking up weekend canvassing shifts .
There was the campaign bus , the security guards , and ample space in the back for TV cameras .
On my way into town , I passed a pair of young Sanders supporters trudging through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under their arms .
There was only one thing missing : the candidate himself .
Instead , about three dozen attendees heard from a physician who ’ s struggling with student loan debt ; the senator ’ s wife , Jane ; and filmmaker Michael Moore , who—in a line that Sanders will probably not choose to steal—told supporters that former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s closing pitch about electability was like a bad a dating profile .
“ Wow , that ’ s how low the bar is now ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ta be is safe ?
If you were single and you went on Match.com and you were reading the profile and the guy said , ‘ Go out with me , I ’ m safe , ’ you ’ d be like , ‘ Wow , I don ’ t think so !
’ ” Impeachment might be the biggest story in the news this week .
But by keeping candidates off the trail , it ’ s also wreaking havoc on what is likely to be the biggest story in the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the top five candidates in Iowa ( Sanders , Elizabeth Warren , and Amy Klobuchar ) been stuck in Washington for the Senate impeachment trial , they ’ re also all but muzzled while they ’ re there—trapped in the Senate chamber without cell phones , left to communicate only through questions read in the dulcet voice of Chief Justice John Roberts .
The result is that Biden and Pete Buttigieg ( okay , and Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer ) have largely had the state to themselves .
The senators ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programming with surrogates , spouses , dance parties , ice cream , tele-town halls , and even a chance to meet one very good dog .
How do you fill the gap ?
In Sanders ’ case , he ’ s drawn from a mix of congressional endorsers and high-profile lefty activists .
Reps. Ilhan Omar ( D-Minn. ) , Rashida Tlaib ( D-Mich. ) , and Pramila Jayapal ( D-Wash. ) were all in town this week for organizing events , along with Moore and the writer Naomi Klein .
Meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just by their first names—barnstormed the state hosting ice cream socials for Sanders supporters .
The stop in Creston , one of seven Jane Sanders would be making in three days , was smaller than what Bernie Sanders typically draws , and there was none of the rock-concert atmosphere that sometimes accompanies him .
( There would be a literal rock concert on Friday night featuring Bon Iver , however , if that was your thing . )
Moore is long-winded and prone to long asides ( one was about a peewee team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cachet , he ’ s no substitute for the man whose name is on the bus ; it ’ s a bit like having J.R. Smith take the game-winning shot when you also have LeBron James .
But there was also a positive tradeoff ; the intimate setting afforded a chance for a different kind of politicking .
That personal touch can still make a difference at a time when candidates are vying not just to be voters ’ first choice , but to be their second , due to the way caucuses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to clear 15 percent in the first round of voting , their supporters are released and have to pick a new candidate to support .
Dyan Huffman , a retiree from Creston who was there with her husband ( currently undecided ) , told me she was planning to caucus for Klobuchar on Monday , but after hearing from Moore and Jane Sanders , she ’ d decided to switch over to Sanders should the Minnesota senator fail to hit the 15-percent viability threshold .
“ He was wonderful , ” she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Jane ’ s discussion of health care .
Warren , who has struggled in the polls in Iowa after rising to the top of the field in the fall , might be particularly hard hit by the impeachment schedule as she tries to make up ground .
On Friday , a group of congressional endorsers , including Reps. Ayanna Pressley ( D-Mass . )
, Deb Haaland ( D-N.M. ) and Katie Porter ( D-Calif. ) , descended on the state for organizing events , culminating in a big rally in Des @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bar across the street to await Warren ’ s arrival in the city later that night .
Perhaps a bigger sell , the candidate ’ s dog , Bailey , made a whirlwind three-stop swing at campaign offices in Waterloo , Waverly , and Fort Dodge .
There are evidently worse surrogates to have ; at the Des Moines rally , Warren ’ s husband , Bruce Mann , told the audience that just that afternoon , Bailey had persuaded a voter .
When I caught former presidential candidate and Warren endorser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Tuesday , his third stop of the day , a few dozen voters—mostly Warren supporters—were waiting for him at a tea shop with rows of prayer flags hanging from the ceiling .
Cohen and Greenfield were already underway a few blocks down the street .
“ They ’ ve got Ben and Jerry serving ice cream down the street , ” Mo Ellis , a Warren fan , told me .
“ I told my friends , grab your ice creams and then come meet Julian !
” Castro ’ s visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fairfield , who was sitting by the front door .
She had spoken with the former San Antonio mayor four years ago when he came to pitch voters on behalf of Hillary Clinton , and , though she was leaning toward supporting Warren , she wanted to hear directly from him as to why she should commit to Warren .
Castro did his best to make the sell .
“ One thing you need to be is able to forge those relationships , ” he said .
“ Hey , I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a staffer invited attendees to get in line .
Castro would be taking selfies with anyone who wanted one .
Warren might have missed it ; but some traditions must be observed regardless .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
Bernie Sanders’ town hall in Creston, Iowa, on Friday afternoon had most of the trappings of the hectic homestretch of a presidential campaign. At a community college auditorium an hour southwest of Des Moines, volunteers handed out cards with information about caucus sites, and a local field organizer gave a hard-sell about picking up weekend canvassing shifts. There was the campaign bus, the security guards, and ample space in the back for TV cameras. On my way into town, I passed a pair of young Sanders supporters trudging through the slushy sidewalks with campaign literature tucked under their arms.
There was only one thing missing: the candidate himself.
Instead, about three dozen attendees heard from a physician who’s struggling with student loan debt; the senator’s wife, Jane; and filmmaker Michael Moore, who—in a line that Sanders will probably not choose to steal—told supporters that former Vice President Joe Biden’s closing pitch about electability was like a bad a dating profile. “Wow, that’s how low the bar is now?” Moore said. “All you gotta be is safe? If you were single and you went on Match.com and you were reading the profile and the guy said, ‘Go out with me, I’m safe,’ you’d be like, ‘Wow, I don’t think so!’”
Impeachment might be the biggest story in the news this week. But by keeping candidates off the trail, it’s also wreaking havoc on what is likely to be the biggest story in the news next week. Not only have three of the top five candidates in Iowa (Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar) been stuck in Washington for the Senate impeachment trial, they’re also all but muzzled while they’re there—trapped in the Senate chamber without cell phones, left to communicate only through questions read in the dulcet voice of Chief Justice John Roberts. The result is that Biden and Pete Buttigieg (okay, and Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer) have largely had the state to themselves. The senators’ campaigns have scrambled to fill their crunch-time programming with surrogates, spouses, dance parties, ice cream, tele-town halls, and even a chance to meet one very good dog.
How do you fill the gap? In Sanders’ case, he’s drawn from a mix of congressional endorsers and high-profile lefty activists. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) were all in town this week for organizing events, along with Moore and the writer Naomi Klein. Meanwhile, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield—usually just known just by their first names—barnstormed the state hosting ice cream socials for Sanders supporters.
The stop in Creston, one of seven Jane Sanders would be making in three days, was smaller than what Bernie Sanders typically draws, and there was none of the rock-concert atmosphere that sometimes accompanies him. (There would be a literal rock concert on Friday night featuring Bon Iver, however, if that was your thing.) Moore is long-winded and prone to long asides (one was about a peewee team) and though he has a certain cachet, he’s no substitute for the man whose name is on the bus; it’s a bit like having J.R. Smith take the game-winning shot when you also have LeBron James.
But there was also a positive tradeoff; the intimate setting afforded a chance for a different kind of politicking. That personal touch can still make a difference at a time when candidates are vying not just to be voters’ first choice, but to be their second, due to the way caucuses are organized. If a candidate fails to clear 15 percent in the first round of voting, their supporters are released and have to pick a new candidate to support.
Dyan Huffman, a retiree from Creston who was there with her husband (currently undecided), told me she was planning to caucus for Klobuchar on Monday, but after hearing from Moore and Jane Sanders, she’d decided to switch over to Sanders should the Minnesota senator fail to hit the 15-percent viability threshold. “He was wonderful,” she said of Moore, and she was impressed by Jane’s discussion of health care.
Warren, who has struggled in the polls in Iowa after rising to the top of the field in the fall, might be particularly hard hit by the impeachment schedule as she tries to make up ground. On Friday, a group of congressional endorsers, including Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.), descended on the state for organizing events, culminating in a big rally in Des Moines. Afterwards, supporters decamped to a bar across the street to await Warren’s arrival in the city later that night. Perhaps a bigger sell, the candidate’s dog, Bailey, made a whirlwind three-stop swing at campaign offices in Waterloo, Waverly, and Fort Dodge. There are evidently worse surrogates to have; at the Des Moines rally, Warren’s husband, Bruce Mann, told the audience that just that afternoon, Bailey had persuaded a voter.
When I caught former presidential candidate and Warren endorser Julian Castro in Fairfield, Iowa, on Tuesday, his third stop of the day, a few dozen voters—mostly Warren supporters—were waiting for him at a tea shop with rows of prayer flags hanging from the ceiling. Cohen and Greenfield were already underway a few blocks down the street.
“They’ve got Ben and Jerry serving ice cream down the street,” Mo Ellis, a Warren fan, told me. “I told my friends, grab your ice creams and then come meet Julian!”
Castro’s visit was particularly significant for Danella Lubar of Fairfield, who was sitting by the front door. She had spoken with the former San Antonio mayor four years ago when he came to pitch voters on behalf of Hillary Clinton, and, though she was leaning toward supporting Warren, she wanted to hear directly from him as to why she should commit to Warren. Castro did his best to make the sell.
“One thing you need to be is able to forge those relationships,” he said. “Hey, I’m here!”
When it was over, a staffer invited attendees to get in line. Castro would be taking selfies with anyone who wanted one. Warren might have missed it; but some traditions must be observed regardless.


motherjones--2020-01-31--First Muslims, Now Africans: Trump Picks a New Scapegoat for His Latest Travel Ban

Three years and one impeachment after his first travel ban , President Donald Trump is issuing another .
On Friday , the Trump administration announced it will block immigrants from six additional countries .
This time , rather than Muslims , most of his targets are Africans .
The new proclamation , which Trump was scheduled to sign this afternoon , will affect Burma , Eritrea , Kyrgyzstan , Nigeria , Sudan , and Tanzania .
A Department of Homeland Security official , who spoke on the condition of anonymity , said Friday that the nations were selected based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about their citizens and uphold US security standards .
After calling for a Muslim ban while he ran for president , Trump singled out seven Muslim-majority nations in his initial travel ban .
Now Trump is blocking mostly African countries , after repeatedly pursuing policies that would disproportionately hurt black immigrants .
With the Senate preparing to acquit Trump without calling witnesses , the White House is returning to the unsupported attacks on immigrants that it hopes will propel the president ’ s reelection campaign .
In theory , the plan is about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not demographics .
Yet the new ban will only block people coming to the United States on the immigrant visas that provide a path to citizenship and will still allow people from these countries to come on tourist and business visas .
In the 2018 fiscal year , the State Department issued about 12,400 immigrant visas to people covered by the new proclamation , which will take effect next month .
“ Trump is doubling down on his signature anti-Muslim policy , ” Omar Jadwat , the director of the Immigrants ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Union , said in a statement , “ and using the ban as a way to put even more of his prejudices into practice by excluding more communities of color.
” Data from the libertarian Cato Institute shows that nobody from the four African nations included in the expanded travel ban killed anyone in the United States in an act of terrorism between 1975 and 2016 , the time period the organization studied .
( As the Atlantic has reported , two people from Kyrgyzstan were the only ones from the new travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In including Nigeria , Trump is going after one of America ’ s largest sources of immigration from Africa .
There were 375,000 Nigerian immigrants in the United States in 2018 , significantly more than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa .
Nigerians received 13,952 green cards in the 2018 fiscal year , more than any other African nation .
With the blessing of the Supreme Court ’ s five conservative justices , the Trump administration will soon begin denying green cards to poor and working-class immigrants deemed likely to use modest amounts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most likely to impact immigrants from Africa , the Caribbean , and Latin America .
Trump has also tried to end the Diversity Visa lottery , which provides green cards to immigrants from countries whose citizens are underrepresented in the United States .
Africans are the biggest beneficiaries of the program .
The president has defended these moves by arguing that he wants more high-skilled immigrants .
Nigerians are among America ’ s best-educated immigrants .
In 2017 , 61 percent held a bachelor ’ s degree or higher , nearly twice the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the foreign-born population as a whole .
Fifty-four percent worked in the arts , business , management , and sciences , compared to 39 percent of the native-born .
Trump ’ s views about Nigerians , however , appear to be shaped by gut-level racism , not data .
At an Oval Office meeting in 2017 , Trump reviewed a list provided by Stephen Miller , the senior White House policy adviser with a long record of trying to bring white nationalism into the American mainstream .
It showed how many people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States on visas .
Nigeria caught Trump ’ s eye .
Once Nigerians saw the United States , Trump told his national security team , they ’ d never “ go back to their huts ” in Africa .
Less than three years later , they find themselves facing a travel ban .

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Three years and one impeachment after his first travel ban, President Donald Trump is issuing another. On Friday, the Trump administration announced it will block immigrants from six additional countries. This time, rather than Muslims, most of his targets are Africans.
The new proclamation, which Trump was scheduled to sign this afternoon, will affect Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. A Department of Homeland Security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Friday that the nations were selected based on deficiencies in their ability to share information about their citizens and uphold US security standards.
After calling for a Muslim ban while he ran for president, Trump singled out seven Muslim-majority nations in his initial travel ban. Now Trump is blocking mostly African countries, after repeatedly pursuing policies that would disproportionately hurt black immigrants. With the Senate preparing to acquit Trump without calling witnesses, the White House is returning to the unsupported attacks on immigrants that it hopes will propel the president’s reelection campaign.
In theory, the plan is about protecting the United States from security threats, not demographics. Yet the new ban will only block people coming to the United States on the immigrant visas that provide a path to citizenship and will still allow people from these countries to come on tourist and business visas. In the 2018 fiscal year, the State Department issued about 12,400 immigrant visas to people covered by the new proclamation, which will take effect next month.
“Trump is doubling down on his signature anti-Muslim policy,” Omar Jadwat, the director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement, “and using the ban as a way to put even more of his prejudices into practice by excluding more communities of color.”
Data from the libertarian Cato Institute shows that nobody from the four African nations included in the expanded travel ban killed anyone in the United States in an act of terrorism between 1975 and 2016, the time period the organization studied. (As the Atlantic has reported, two people from Kyrgyzstan were the only ones from the new travel ban countries charged with terrorism.)
In including Nigeria, Trump is going after one of America’s largest sources of immigration from Africa. There were 375,000 Nigerian immigrants in the United States in 2018, significantly more than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigerians received 13,952 green cards in the 2018 fiscal year, more than any other African nation.
With the blessing of the Supreme Court’s five conservative justices, the Trump administration will soon begin denying green cards to poor and working-class immigrants deemed likely to use modest amounts of government assistance. The policy is most likely to impact immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Trump has also tried to end the Diversity Visa lottery, which provides green cards to immigrants from countries whose citizens are underrepresented in the United States. Africans are the biggest beneficiaries of the program.
The president has defended these moves by arguing that he wants more high-skilled immigrants. Nigerians are among America’s best-educated immigrants. In 2017, 61 percent held a bachelor’s degree or higher, nearly twice the rate for the US native-born population and for the foreign-born population as a whole. Fifty-four percent worked in the arts, business, management, and sciences, compared to 39 percent of the native-born.
Trump’s views about Nigerians, however, appear to be shaped by gut-level racism, not data. At an Oval Office meeting in 2017, Trump reviewed a list provided by Stephen Miller, the senior White House policy adviser with a long record of trying to bring white nationalism into the American mainstream. It showed how many people from different countries had come to the United States on visas.
Nigeria caught Trump’s eye. Once Nigerians saw the United States, Trump told his national security team, they’d never “go back to their huts” in Africa. Less than three years later, they find themselves facing a travel ban.


motherjones--2020-02-03--Russian Media Outlets are Blaming the Coronavirus on the United States

When the coronavirus broke out of China to grab global attention , internet trolls and grifters began peddling a conspiracy about how the virus was actually created as a bioweapon .
Now , Russian propaganda outlets associated with the Kremlin have taken that already warped conspiracy theory and bent it to their own ends .
Eto Buziashvili , an analyst at the Atlantic Foundation ’ s Digital Forensic Research Lab , published a report on Thursday documenting how such sites have pushed different versions of conspiracies alleging that the coronavirus is a U.S.-creation , and potentially a bioweapon designed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the narrative , published by Topcor.ru , suggested that the ongoing trade war with China has cost the U.S. billions of dollars , and the latter would benefit from the virus undermining the former ’ s economy .
An alternate version of the narrative , disseminated by [ katyusha.org ] , states that the Chinese military is claiming the virus was artificially produced in U.S. laboratories with the goal of breaking China from within .
The fringe outlet suggested that the outbreak is essentially a U.S. bioweaponry reconnaissance operation with the goal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defenses .
Additional outlets referred to statements by pro-Kremlin military expert Igor Nikulin on TV Zvezda , who claimed that the appearance of the virus looked like sabotage .
According to Nikulin , the United States actively researches lethal disease vectors to test them within a population while simultaneously developing cures for them .
Similar narratives have begun to appear on more mainstream pro-Kremlin outlets , including Pravda TV and Izvestia .
There is precedent for similar propaganda wars in the wake of outbreaks .
In her report , Buziashvili details “ Operation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soviet Union in the later years of the Cold War .
[ T ] he campaign began in 1983 when a little-known Indian newspaper—later exposed to be financed by the Soviet leadership—published an anonymous letter with the headline , “ AIDS May Invade India : Mystery Disease Caused by U.S.
Experiments.
” The column pushed a conspiracy theory that the virus causing AIDS was developed in an underground U.S. biological weapons lab .
Over several years , the false narrative was picked up by other media , before eventually making its way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News .
In 1992 , Russia ’ s Foreign Intelligence Service admitted that Operation Infektion had been backed by the KGB .
Pro-Kremlin websites are just one example of the kinds of outlets trying to capitalize on coronavirus fears .
Some YouTube creators have been doing their best to get views and hawk money-making products and services on the backs of coronavirus fears ; high-profile right-wing conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones are doing the same .
Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube have tried to step up their efforts to curb misinformation linked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conspiracies continue to seep through .

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.
When the coronavirus broke out of China to grab global attention, internet trolls and grifters began peddling a conspiracy about how the virus was actually created as a bioweapon.
Now, Russian propaganda outlets associated with the Kremlin have taken that already warped conspiracy theory and bent it to their own ends. Eto Buziashvili, an analyst at the Atlantic Foundation’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, published a report on Thursday documenting how such sites have pushed different versions of conspiracies alleging that the coronavirus is a U.S.-creation, and potentially a bioweapon designed to target China.
The economic version of the narrative, published by Topcor.ru, suggested that the ongoing trade war with China has cost the U.S. billions of dollars, and the latter would benefit from the virus undermining the former’s economy. An alternate version of the narrative, disseminated by [katyusha.org], states that the Chinese military is claiming the virus was artificially produced in U.S. laboratories with the goal of breaking China from within. The fringe outlet suggested that the outbreak is essentially a U.S. bioweaponry reconnaissance operation with the goal of testing the capabilities of Chinese biological weapons defenses. Additional outlets referred to statements by pro-Kremlin military expert Igor Nikulin on TV Zvezda, who claimed that the appearance of the virus looked like sabotage. According to Nikulin, the United States actively researches lethal disease vectors to test them within a population while simultaneously developing cures for them. Similar narratives have begun to appear on more mainstream pro-Kremlin outlets, including Pravda TV and Izvestia.
There is precedent for similar propaganda wars in the wake of outbreaks. In her report, Buziashvili details “Operation Infektion,” campaign launched by the Soviet Union in the later years of the Cold War.
[T]he campaign began in 1983 when a little-known Indian newspaper—later exposed to be financed by the Soviet leadership—published an anonymous letter with the headline, “AIDS May Invade India: Mystery Disease Caused by U.S. Experiments.” The column pushed a conspiracy theory that the virus causing AIDS was developed in an underground U.S. biological weapons lab. Over several years, the false narrative was picked up by other media, before eventually making its way to the United States, including CBS Evening News. In 1992, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service admitted that Operation Infektion had been backed by the KGB.
Pro-Kremlin websites are just one example of the kinds of outlets trying to capitalize on coronavirus fears. Some YouTube creators have been doing their best to get views and hawk money-making products and services on the backs of coronavirus fears; high-profile right-wing conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones are doing the same. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have tried to step up their efforts to curb misinformation linked to the virus, but hoaxes and conspiracies continue to seep through.


motherjones--2020-02-03--In Iowa’s Final Stretch, the Candidates Agree on One Message

Here ’ s an incomplete list of things that came up in the first 25 minutes of Joe Biden ’ s remarks in Cedar Rapids on Saturday , on the penultimate day of campaigning before the Iowa caucuses : Santa Claus ; NBA legend Nate “ Tiny ” Archibald ; the future presidency of 29-year-old Rep. Abby Finkenauer ( D-Iowa ) ; firefighters ; John F. Kennedy ’ s definition of moral courage ; Biden ’ s “ overwhelming support in the African American community ” ; the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville ; Angela Merkel ; “ flag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Declaration of Independence ; “ ridiculous tweets ” ; the Iran nuclear deal ; “ John and I ” ( meaning Kerry ) ; “ Barack and I ” ( meaning…you know ) ; Joni Ernst ; George Washington ( “ turning over in his grave ” ) ; the “ soul ” of the country ; the “ backbone ” of the country ; the “ character ” of the country ; David Brooks .
And here ’ s what Biden didn ’ t raise in that time : any specific issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidency next January .
Oh , there were boasts about policies he ’ d advanced in the past and complaints about policies pushed by Trump .
( The chemical weapons treaty , the Affordable Care Act , and the assault weapons ban are in the former camp ; “ children in cages , ” cowing to Russia , and “ the wall ” are in the latter . )
Biden , to an unusual degree , is running less on what he wants to do as president than on the idea that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But across the board , in a campaign that ’ s been dominated for long stretches by differences over policy , questions of “ how do you pay for it ?
, ” and big plans , the message Biden and his rivals have sounded in the final days of Iowa was decidedly different .
Undecided voter after undecided voter told me they were looking for a candidate who could beat Trump .
In the Iowa home stretch , the contenders were happy to explain they were that candidate .
Pete Buttigieg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( and much of his time before that ) touring Obama-Trump counties in Iowa and arguing that only someone from the “ heartland ” can win back voters there .
( Never mind that Hillary Clinton grew up in the Midwest and Trump did not . )
Some policy questions came up—one voter even stood up to thank him for his Douglass Plan , designed to combat systemic racism—but mostly , Buttigieg seemed to want to remind voters as much as possible of Barack Obama ( who , you ’ ll remember , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rally Saturday morning for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar at a brewpub in Bettendorf , supporters like Tom Burns wore green T-shirts that spelled out her electoral success : “ Turned 42 Trump Counties Blue in 2018 ” ; “ Wins Big in the Midwest.
” Policy was an afterthought for Klobuchar , too , unless you count a proposal to rebuild the Great Lakes blue wall “ and make Donald Trump pay for it.
” Eventually , she got into a few ideas : more funding for long-term care , lower prescription drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accord .
But the focus was on the kinds of voters she ’ d win over if she were the nominee— ” independents and moderate Republicans ” who just want the country to get back to normal .
As she put it to much applause , recycling a line she ’ d used at one of the debates : “ The difference between a plan and a pipe dream is you can get a plan done.
” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , to a large degree , stuck to her old script .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday , the audience seemingly half-filled with Illinois voters from across the Mississippi River , she walked through the same stump speech she has deployed for years , a series of personal and professional stories on the need for “ big structural change ” and a sketch of what those changes should be .
She got into the weeds on how her ( much-discussed ) health care proposal would actually work and offered a quick primer on her plans for disability rights and reversing population drain in farm country ( it starts with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk of universal pre-K and “ housing for every family in America.
” This is how Warren talked when she was surging in the polls last fall , and it ’ s how she ’ s still going even as she ’ s dropped to fourth .
Warren is still betting that voters want to vote for plans .
But her surrogates spent the week pushing a line that more directly responded to the concerns of many of the Iowans I spoke with , who liked what they heard from her but considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to moderates in November .
At a rally on Friday evening in Des Moines , held without the candidate herself because of the ongoing Senate impeachment trial , Rep. Katie Porter ( D-Calif. ) vouched for Warren by describing her own success in a historically Republican Orange County district .
“ I know a thing or two about swing districts , ” she said .
If a Warrenite ( literally , the senator ’ s former research assistant ) could win a seat that had been Republican since the 1930s , she argued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Warren got more reinforcement from Rep. Deb Haaland ( D-N.M. ) , who told the audience that as a former state party chair , “ I know what it means to see a winning candidate and I know what a winning candidate is.
” Former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary Julián Castro cast Warren as a unifying figure capable of bringing together a fractured party— ” the best candidate to win.
” At the event in Davenport , Warren spoke in front of signs that said “ unite the party.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the unity candidate , and some of his surrogates seem more than happy to stir things up .
But his closing message too is responsive to the demands of the electorate right now .
In a three-stop swing on Sunday at campaign offices east of Des Moines—part of a concerted effort to bring out volunteers for the final stretch—Sanders talked up Medicare for All , climate action , free college , and criminal justice reform .
Of course he did .
Sanders can hardly get in a restaurant order without making a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days , he does a lot more listening . )
But his closing message was also about electability .
It ’ s just a term he defines very differently from Biden and Klobuchar .
In his version , the candidate who can win will do so more by peeling off voters who feel screwed over by the present system than by making himself or herself safe to moderates .
( While Sanders was stuck in Washington on Friday , surrogate Michael Moore analogized the campaign to online dating—no one was going to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ described themselves as simply “ safe.
” ) Outside the Sanders campaign office in Newton , Iowa , was a little storefront display made by volunteers that , when I describe it , sounds like the kind of dream you have on Robitussin .
Out of cardboard , someone had constructed an anthropomorphic corn stalk .
It was wearing a winter hat with ear flaps .
The corn…man had big bushy eyebrows , which seemed to imply that it was also supposed to be Bernie Sanders .
A sticker on the front said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another on the side offered context .
Winning in November is “ the most important thing for many Democratic primary voters , ” it read , advising voters to look up the head-to-head poll results at RealClearPolitics if they don ’ t believe the hype : “ Stick this on your car and spread the word.
” If Sanders is going to win here on Monday , it won ’ t be just because of “ the highest turnout in the history of Iowa caucuses ” ( his prediction ) or a policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters the kind of change they wanted .
It ’ ll be because enough Iowans heard that message and believed it .

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Here’s an incomplete list of things that came up in the first 25 minutes of Joe Biden’s remarks in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, on the penultimate day of campaigning before the Iowa caucuses: Santa Claus; NBA legend Nate “Tiny” Archibald; the future presidency of 29-year-old Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa); firefighters; John F. Kennedy’s definition of moral courage; Biden’s “overwhelming support in the African American community”; the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville; Angela Merkel; “flag officers at the Pentagon”; the Declaration of Independence; “ridiculous tweets”; the Iran nuclear deal; “John and I” (meaning Kerry); “Barack and I” (meaning…you know); Joni Ernst; George Washington (“turning over in his grave”); the “soul” of the country; the “backbone” of the country; the “character” of the country; David Brooks.
And here’s what Biden didn’t raise in that time: any specific issues he would promote should he assume the presidency next January. Oh, there were boasts about policies he’d advanced in the past and complaints about policies pushed by Trump. (The chemical weapons treaty, the Affordable Care Act, and the assault weapons ban are in the former camp; “children in cages,” cowing to Russia, and “the wall” are in the latter.)
Biden, to an unusual degree, is running less on what he wants to do as president than on the idea that he, alone, can beat the president. But across the board, in a campaign that’s been dominated for long stretches by differences over policy, questions of “how do you pay for it?,” and big plans, the message Biden and his rivals have sounded in the final days of Iowa was decidedly different. Undecided voter after undecided voter told me they were looking for a candidate who could beat Trump. In the Iowa home stretch, the contenders were happy to explain they were that candidate.
Pete Buttigieg spent the final week of the campaign (and much of his time before that) touring Obama-Trump counties in Iowa and arguing that only someone from the “heartland” can win back voters there. (Never mind that Hillary Clinton grew up in the Midwest and Trump did not.) Some policy questions came up—one voter even stood up to thank him for his Douglass Plan, designed to combat systemic racism—but mostly, Buttigieg seemed to want to remind voters as much as possible of Barack Obama (who, you’ll remember, won Iowa twice).
At a rally Saturday morning for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar at a brewpub in Bettendorf, supporters like Tom Burns wore green T-shirts that spelled out her electoral success: “Turned 42 Trump Counties Blue in 2018”; “Wins Big in the Midwest.”
Klobuchar shirts are like websites pic.twitter.com/JVwqPqxBOx — Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy) February 1, 2020
Policy was an afterthought for Klobuchar, too, unless you count a proposal to rebuild the Great Lakes blue wall “and make Donald Trump pay for it.” Eventually, she got into a few ideas: more funding for long-term care, lower prescription drug prices, and rejoining the Paris climate accord. But the focus was on the kinds of voters she’d win over if she were the nominee—”independents and moderate Republicans” who just want the country to get back to normal. As she put it to much applause, recycling a line she’d used at one of the debates: “The difference between a plan and a pipe dream is you can get a plan done.”
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, to a large degree, stuck to her old script. At a town hall in Davenport on Saturday, the audience seemingly half-filled with Illinois voters from across the Mississippi River, she walked through the same stump speech she has deployed for years, a series of personal and professional stories on the need for “big structural change” and a sketch of what those changes should be. She got into the weeds on how her (much-discussed) health care proposal would actually work and offered a quick primer on her plans for disability rights and reversing population drain in farm country (it starts with funding rural hospitals). There was talk of universal pre-K and “housing for every family in America.” This is how Warren talked when she was surging in the polls last fall, and it’s how she’s still going even as she’s dropped to fourth.
Warren is still betting that voters want to vote for plans. But her surrogates spent the week pushing a line that more directly responded to the concerns of many of the Iowans I spoke with, who liked what they heard from her but considered her a bit too far-left to appeal to moderates in November.
At a rally on Friday evening in Des Moines, held without the candidate herself because of the ongoing Senate impeachment trial, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) vouched for Warren by describing her own success in a historically Republican Orange County district. “I know a thing or two about swing districts,” she said. If a Warrenite (literally, the senator’s former research assistant) could win a seat that had been Republican since the 1930s, she argued, that should settle the electability question.
Warren got more reinforcement from Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), who told the audience that as a former state party chair, “I know what it means to see a winning candidate and I know what a winning candidate is.” Former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary Julián Castro cast Warren as a unifying figure capable of bringing together a fractured party—”the best candidate to win.” At the event in Davenport, Warren spoke in front of signs that said “unite the party.”
Sanders is different. He’s not the unity candidate, and some of his surrogates seem more than happy to stir things up. But his closing message too is responsive to the demands of the electorate right now. In a three-stop swing on Sunday at campaign offices east of Des Moines—part of a concerted effort to bring out volunteers for the final stretch—Sanders talked up Medicare for All, climate action, free college, and criminal justice reform. Of course he did. Sanders can hardly get in a restaurant order without making a pitch for single-payer. (Though these days, he does a lot more listening.)
But his closing message was also about electability. It’s just a term he defines very differently from Biden and Klobuchar. In his version, the candidate who can win will do so more by peeling off voters who feel screwed over by the present system than by making himself or herself safe to moderates. (While Sanders was stuck in Washington on Friday, surrogate Michael Moore analogized the campaign to online dating—no one was going to go on a date with the person who described themselves as simply “safe.”)
Outside the Sanders campaign office in Newton, Iowa, was a little storefront display made by volunteers that, when I describe it, sounds like the kind of dream you have on Robitussin. Out of cardboard, someone had constructed an anthropomorphic corn stalk. It was wearing a winter hat with ear flaps. The corn…man had big bushy eyebrows, which seemed to imply that it was also supposed to be Bernie Sanders.
A sticker on the front said “Bernie Beats Trump,” and another on the side offered context. Winning in November is “the most important thing for many Democratic primary voters,” it read, advising voters to look up the head-to-head poll results at RealClearPolitics if they don’t believe the hype:
“Stick this on your car and spread the word.”
This is definitely something pic.twitter.com/sGUJRayNfh — Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy) February 2, 2020
If Sanders is going to win here on Monday, it won’t be just because of “the highest turnout in the history of Iowa caucuses” (his prediction) or a policy framework that gave a whole set of voters the kind of change they wanted. It’ll be because enough Iowans heard that message and believed it.


motherjones--2020-02-03--How Pete Buttigieg Found Support in Iowa’s Formerly Anti-LGBTQ Communities

Pete Buttigieg doesn ’ t often remind people that he ’ s running a historic presidential campaign .
The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend , Indiana , has emphasized an easy-to-like persona : a nice-guy Midwesterner with middle-of-the-road policies and a bit of Obama-style hope-and-change rhetoric .
As he campaigns across Iowa ahead of Monday ’ s caucuses , he doesn ’ t make much of the fact that he ’ s the first openly gay candidate with a serious chance of being the nominee of a major political party .
That Mayor Pete ’ s sexuality isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 2020 race is a remarkable testament to how much LGBTQ rights have progressed over the past decade .
And it ’ s even more striking in Iowa , where Buttigieg has centered his campaign on winning smaller , rural counties , places that just a decade ago were the epicenter of anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the state .
In April 2009 , six years before same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide , the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in favor of it .
The case , Varnum v. Brien , made Iowa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enclaves to legalize gay marriage .
Only Massachusetts and Connecticut had marriage equality at that time .
( California had briefly legalized gay marriage thanks to a court ruling , before voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2008 banning it . )
While it might have seemed out of step for Iowa to be at the forefront of the issue , as I wrote for the American Prospect in 2011 : “ The state also has a history of extending civil rights earlier than the federal government .
In 1839 , the Iowa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizenship to a slave when he entered the territory from Illinois .
Iowa had desegregated its schools by 1868 ; a year later , it became the first state to admit women to the bar.
” Beyond checking off another state for activists , Iowa represented something different from the previous victories , a test case for how marriage equality might be accepted in the more rural parts of the country .
It didn ’ t go well at first .
In Iowa , state Supreme Court judges are subject to judicial “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on whether a judge should keep their seat on the bench .
Prior to Varnum , these had been staid elections .
Judges didn ’ t run any sort of political campaigns to keep their jobs , and in the five decades the system had been in place only four judges , each accused of malfeasance at work , had lost a vote .
But three months before Election Day 2010 , Bob Vander Plaats , a leading figure of the state ’ s evangelical right , launched a campaign on the steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say no to three of the Supreme Court judges up for retention that year thanks to their vote on Varnum .
Vander Plaats ’ efforts were boosted by a string of right-wing national groups—the American Family Association , the National Organization for Marriage , and the Family Research Council—with nearly $ 1 million spent to fund TV ads and a bus tour for the sort of race that typically had zero dollars in campaign cash .
Each of the three Varnum judges lost .
Buttigieg doesn ’ t ignore Varnum , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at his events dwelling on the trailblazing aspect of his campaign .
At a Thursday morning rally in Decorah , a small town in the upper northeast corner of the state , he didn ’ t make any reference to his sexuality until the last minute of his prepared remarks .
When I saw him at his next event 60 miles south in Independence , he excised that aspect as intro instead using it as his closing note at the end of the Q & A portion .
In both instances , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fashion : “ Iowa has this beautiful capacity for showing what can be done for people who aren ’ t quite sure , ” he said in Decorah .
“ I was a volunteer—first time I ever came through Iowa , first time I set foot in this state , they sent me to Creston as a volunteer on the Obama campaign in 2008 .
And I was here in Iowa when this state changed what the country and world thought was possible in American presidential politics .
And then , about a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here to see it , but I was watching from where I lived , when this state gave me permission to believe that someone like me could be wearing this wedding ring that I ’ ve got on right now.
” If you ’ d asked political analysts five years ago if an openly gay candidate could capture a swell of support in Iowa , that wouldn ’ t have been unimaginable .
But they likely would have assumed that said candidate had gained momentum through anchoring support in the state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to same-sex couples before Varnum came around .
But if Buttigieg ends up winning Iowa , it ’ ll be thanks to places like Decorah and Independence .
While Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have worked to rev up voters in the state ’ s cities and suburbs , Mayor Pete ’ s closing push has been all about the rural eastern part of the state , places that flipped from Obama to Trump .
That ’ s the case for both Winneshiek County—home of Decorah—which went for Obama by 23 percent in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 , and Buchanan County—home of Independence—which was +18 percent for Obama in ’ 08 before Trump won by 15 points .
Buttigieg ’ s campaign boasts that the large audiences he is turning out draw from some of the the same crowd who voted for Trump four years ago .
“ I am meeting so many of what I like to call future-former-Republicans , who are determined to replace this president , ” Buttigieg said in Decorah .
“ And they are more than welcome to this movement that we built.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the areas where we lost the worst on marriage , ” says Troy Price , chair of the Iowa Democratic Party , who I first met back in 2011 when he was in charge of One Iowa , the state LGBTQ rights group that had helped spearhead the lawsuit that legalized marriage .
“ It ’ s the suburban areas , it ’ s the rural areas , that ’ s where he ’ s doing really well.
” Back in 2012 , after a month of crisscrossing the state to track the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around after the caucuses to try to answer a question : In the three years since Varnum , how had legal same-sex marriage changed perceptions in small-town Iowa ?
Whether same-sex marriage could garner mainstream support at the time was still an open dispute .
Barack Obama had so far stayed silent on the issue , and no state had legalized marriage through a popular vote ( though both of those facts would change by the end of that year ) .
I traveled to Clayton County , which went heavily against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out by double-digit margins .
The county seat , Elkader , with a population of just over 1,200 people , draws tourist traffic during the spring and summer .
There is little change in gradient to most of Iowa ’ s landscape except for the northeastern corner Elkader occupies , one of the few spots in this part of the Midwest that the ice age glaciers supposedly bypassed .
Elkader is particularly scenic , lying in the base of a valley surrounded by Iowa ’ s best approximation of mountains .
If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Elkader would be just a little east of the exact midpoint .
In Elkader , I met two men in their 80s who had moved to the town before the court decision , but married shortly after Varnum .
They told me they hadn ’ t encountered much backlash , and continued on with their lives , still volunteering at the small local museum with no trouble .
“ You can do the same thing in a big city , but that ’ s because in a big city you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me .
“ Well , nobody is anonymous here , and that ’ s what makes it very gratifying .
That you are known.
” The small stretch of downtown was anchored by an Algerian restaurant run by a young gay couple , one of whom , Brian Bruening , now runs the county Democrats .
When I stopped by a Saturday evening mass at the local Catholic church , the woman who served as the cantor was married to another woman .
“ We don ’ t all have the same faith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same way , ” the church ’ s 77-year-old priest told me after the service , explaining why his congregation should make a concerted effort to reach out with an open heart to those who might have different views .
“ The hearts and minds of people started changing so quickly on it , once they started seeing couples getting married , ” Price says .
“ That was always the plan when they started down this path of the lawsuit in ’ 05 , if we can get it in Iowa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not just an east coast or west coast thing.
” To be sure , not all was rosy .
Some parents were still wary to let their children around gay and lesbian couples .
The pastor at the evangelical church on the outskirts of town was far less welcoming .
“ If you want a church that will proclaim that homosexuality is ok , and that same-sex marriage is ok , if you look long enough , you ’ ll find one , ” he told me back then .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of God as it ’ s written.
” But even he acknowledged that it wasn ’ t so clear cut .
“ It ’ s one of those subjects where everyone wants to be accepting of everyone , but we can ’ t compromise God ’ s truth for that.
” But it was clear that those interactions might slowly melt away the hate as time went by .
“ Being at One Iowa in 2010 and 2011 , ” Price says today , “ not only were there people still hesitant because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there were people bitter that it was ‘ our fault ’ for pushing that lawsuit and putting us in this position , that we would have won all this stuff if it hadn ’ t been for Varnum .
By 2015 , when the US Supreme Court ruling came out , [ the politics of marriage equality had become ] a positive out there .
You could feel it , you could see that out there .
It just moved really quickly after 2010 , it just moved really fast.
” Buttigieg swung @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most important , best thing in my life , my marriage , only exists by the grace of a single vote on the US Supreme Court , ” he said in his remarks .
“ And by the way , thank you Iowa for what you did to bring about marriage equality in the United States.
” He ’ s earned the support of Bruening , who said in his endorsement , “ I ’ m with Pete because I see a better future in him—a better America and a better world.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biggest crowd of any of the Democrats and that perhaps about a third of the attendees were people who have voted Republican .
“ That he ’ s married to a man , ” Bruening says , “ is so not an issue.
” Buttigieg ’ s hesitancy to make too much of his place as a first in presidential politics hasn ’ t exactly engendered good will from some activists in the LGBTQ community .
Last week , Iowan Lyz Lenz wrote a piece for Gen headlined “ What Pete Buttigieg Doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iowa , ” in which she explained how , while marriage might be a more settled issue , there are still plenty of equality fights in the state , and the local community wasn ’ t fully behind Mayor Pete .
But the fact that Buttigieg ’ s allyship is quieter , that his marriage to Chasten Buttigieg would be a boringly bland political marriage were it not for their respective genders , might be what helps normalize his relationship for these rural communities .
“ The fact that he ’ s palatable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ is why he ’ s popular in Iowa.
” “ If you step into some of the smaller towns , the more rural towns , you can hear the slurs used as a casual form of language , but the young people today are much more open to letting people live their lives however they want , ” Dan Callahan , the chair of the Independence County Democrats , who had introduced Buttigieg , told me after his event in Buchanan county last week , as George Michael ’ s “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to usher out the crowd .
“ There ’ s a lot of these older people here today .
They ’ re the same way .
‘ What you do doesn ’ t affect me , so I ’ ll let you do it , if you let me do what I want.
’ That ’ s a lot of what Iowa is all about.
” As much as rigid gender norms loosened nationally in the 2010s , people across the LGBTQ spectrum still face plenty of discrimination , and things haven ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights as they have on marriage equality .
Just last week , a group of nine Republicans in the state legislature , including the representative for Clayton County , introduced a bill that would have stripped trans protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act , but the Republican in charge of the relevant committee quickly killed the provision .
“ It ’ s one of those issues , ” Price says , “ that has moved so quickly and become such a non-issue for most people ’ s minds that when the Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get immediate pushback.
” Should Iowa send Mayor Pete forward as its top choice against Trump , it doesn ’ t mean the state is absolved of any lingering homophobia , just as Barack Obama ’ s win here in the 2008 caucuses didn ’ t mean racism was solved in the Hawkeye state .
But the fact that Pete is even a competitive candidate , and that the main reason he has a chance is thanks to the small towns that just a decade ago would have been highly judgmental to someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story—one of the few political bright spots of the Trump era .
“ There ’ s a lot of people here who are probably still uncomfortable , ” Callahan told me .
“ But it doesn ’ t mean they ’ re going to treat you different , or do anything differently .
And they ’ re certainly not going to vote to support those kinds of actions .
”

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Pete Buttigieg doesn’t often remind people that he’s running a historic presidential campaign. The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has emphasized an easy-to-like persona: a nice-guy Midwesterner with middle-of-the-road policies and a bit of Obama-style hope-and-change rhetoric. As he campaigns across Iowa ahead of Monday’s caucuses, he doesn’t make much of the fact that he’s the first openly gay candidate with a serious chance of being the nominee of a major political party.
That Mayor Pete’s sexuality isn’t a primary point of conversation in the 2020 race is a remarkable testament to how much LGBTQ rights have progressed over the past decade. And it’s even more striking in Iowa, where Buttigieg has centered his campaign on winning smaller, rural counties, places that just a decade ago were the epicenter of anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the state.
In April 2009, six years before same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in favor of it. The case, Varnum v. Brien, made Iowa the first state outside the liberal coastal enclaves to legalize gay marriage. Only Massachusetts and Connecticut had marriage equality at that time. (California had briefly legalized gay marriage thanks to a court ruling, before voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2008 banning it.) While it might have seemed out of step for Iowa to be at the forefront of the issue, as I wrote for the American Prospect in 2011: “The state also has a history of extending civil rights earlier than the federal government. In 1839, the Iowa Supreme Court’s first opinion granted citizenship to a slave when he entered the territory from Illinois. Iowa had desegregated its schools by 1868; a year later, it became the first state to admit women to the bar.”
Beyond checking off another state for activists, Iowa represented something different from the previous victories, a test case for how marriage equality might be accepted in the more rural parts of the country.
It didn’t go well at first. In Iowa, state Supreme Court judges are subject to judicial “retention” elections, a yes-or-no vote on whether a judge should keep their seat on the bench. Prior to Varnum, these had been staid elections. Judges didn’t run any sort of political campaigns to keep their jobs, and in the five decades the system had been in place only four judges, each accused of malfeasance at work, had lost a vote. But three months before Election Day 2010, Bob Vander Plaats, a leading figure of the state’s evangelical right, launched a campaign on the steps of the state capitol, pushing voters to say no to three of the Supreme Court judges up for retention that year thanks to their vote on Varnum. Vander Plaats’ efforts were boosted by a string of right-wing national groups—the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Family Research Council—with nearly $1 million spent to fund TV ads and a bus tour for the sort of race that typically had zero dollars in campaign cash. Each of the three Varnum judges lost.
“He’s getting support in the areas where we lost the worst on marriage.”
Buttigieg doesn’t ignore Varnum, but he doesn’t spend much time at his events dwelling on the trailblazing aspect of his campaign. At a Thursday morning rally in Decorah, a small town in the upper northeast corner of the state, he didn’t make any reference to his sexuality until the last minute of his prepared remarks. When I saw him at his next event 60 miles south in Independence, he excised that aspect as intro instead using it as his closing note at the end of the Q&A portion.
In both instances, he spun out that detail in the same fashion: “Iowa has this beautiful capacity for showing what can be done for people who aren’t quite sure,” he said in Decorah. “I was a volunteer—first time I ever came through Iowa, first time I set foot in this state, they sent me to Creston as a volunteer on the Obama campaign in 2008. And I was here in Iowa when this state changed what the country and world thought was possible in American presidential politics. And then, about a decade ago, I wasn’t here to see it, but I was watching from where I lived, when this state gave me permission to believe that someone like me could be wearing this wedding ring that I’ve got on right now.”
If you’d asked political analysts five years ago if an openly gay candidate could capture a swell of support in Iowa, that wouldn’t have been unimaginable. But they likely would have assumed that said candidate had gained momentum through anchoring support in the state’s cities, the places already more friendly to same-sex couples before Varnum came around.
But if Buttigieg ends up winning Iowa, it’ll be thanks to places like Decorah and Independence. While Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have worked to rev up voters in the state’s cities and suburbs, Mayor Pete’s closing push has been all about the rural eastern part of the state, places that flipped from Obama to Trump. That’s the case for both Winneshiek County—home of Decorah—which went for Obama by 23 percent in 2008 but which Trump won narrowly in 2016, and Buchanan County—home of Independence—which was +18 percent for Obama in ’08 before Trump won by 15 points. Buttigieg’s campaign boasts that the large audiences he is turning out draw from some of the the same crowd who voted for Trump four years ago. “I am meeting so many of what I like to call future-former-Republicans, who are determined to replace this president,” Buttigieg said in Decorah. “And they are more than welcome to this movement that we built.”
“He’s getting support in the areas where we lost the worst on marriage,” says Troy Price, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, who I first met back in 2011 when he was in charge of One Iowa, the state LGBTQ rights group that had helped spearhead the lawsuit that legalized marriage. “It’s the suburban areas, it’s the rural areas, that’s where he’s doing really well.”
Back in 2012, after a month of crisscrossing the state to track the Republicans challenging Barack Obama, I stuck around after the caucuses to try to answer a question: In the three years since Varnum, how had legal same-sex marriage changed perceptions in small-town Iowa? Whether same-sex marriage could garner mainstream support at the time was still an open dispute. Barack Obama had so far stayed silent on the issue, and no state had legalized marriage through a popular vote (though both of those facts would change by the end of that year).
I traveled to Clayton County, which went heavily against the three judges in 2010, voting them out by double-digit margins. The county seat, Elkader, with a population of just over 1,200 people, draws tourist traffic during the spring and summer. There is little change in gradient to most of Iowa’s landscape except for the northeastern corner Elkader occupies, one of the few spots in this part of the Midwest that the ice age glaciers supposedly bypassed. Elkader is particularly scenic, lying in the base of a valley surrounded by Iowa’s best approximation of mountains. If you drew a line between Decorah and Independence, Elkader would be just a little east of the exact midpoint.
In Elkader, I met two men in their 80s who had moved to the town before the court decision, but married shortly after Varnum. They told me they hadn’t encountered much backlash, and continued on with their lives, still volunteering at the small local museum with no trouble. “You can do the same thing in a big city, but that’s because in a big city you’re anonymous,” one of them told me. “Well, nobody is anonymous here, and that’s what makes it very gratifying. That you are known.” The small stretch of downtown was anchored by an Algerian restaurant run by a young gay couple, one of whom, Brian Bruening, now runs the county Democrats. When I stopped by a Saturday evening mass at the local Catholic church, the woman who served as the cantor was married to another woman. “We don’t all have the same faith and we don’t all walk the same way,” the church’s 77-year-old priest told me after the service, explaining why his congregation should make a concerted effort to reach out with an open heart to those who might have different views.
“The hearts and minds of people started changing so quickly on it, once they started seeing couples getting married,” Price says. “That was always the plan when they started down this path of the lawsuit in ’05, if we can get it in Iowa it will spread everywhere, because it’s not just an east coast or west coast thing.”
To be sure, not all was rosy. Some parents were still wary to let their children around gay and lesbian couples. The pastor at the evangelical church on the outskirts of town was far less welcoming. “If you want a church that will proclaim that homosexuality is ok, and that same-sex marriage is ok, if you look long enough, you’ll find one,” he told me back then. “They won’t follow the word of God as it’s written.” But even he acknowledged that it wasn’t so clear cut. “It’s one of those subjects where everyone wants to be accepting of everyone, but we can’t compromise God’s truth for that.”
But it was clear that those interactions might slowly melt away the hate as time went by. “Being at One Iowa in 2010 and 2011,” Price says today, “not only were there people still hesitant because of what happened with the judges, there were people bitter that it was ‘our fault’ for pushing that lawsuit and putting us in this position, that we would have won all this stuff if it hadn’t been for Varnum. By 2015, when the US Supreme Court ruling came out, [the politics of marriage equality had become] a positive out there. You could feel it, you could see that out there. It just moved really quickly after 2010, it just moved really fast.”
Buttigieg swung by Elkader last September. “The most important, best thing in my life, my marriage, only exists by the grace of a single vote on the US Supreme Court,” he said in his remarks. “And by the way, thank you Iowa for what you did to bring about marriage equality in the United States.” He’s earned the support of Bruening, who said in his endorsement, “I’m with Pete because I see a better future in him—a better America and a better world.” Bruening told me that Buttigieg drew the biggest crowd of any of the Democrats and that perhaps about a third of the attendees were people who have voted Republican. “That he’s married to a man,” Bruening says, “is so not an issue.”
Buttigieg’s hesitancy to make too much of his place as a first in presidential politics hasn’t exactly engendered good will from some activists in the LGBTQ community. Last week, Iowan Lyz Lenz wrote a piece for Gen headlined “What Pete Buttigieg Doesn’t Understand About LGBTQ Life in Iowa,” in which she explained how, while marriage might be a more settled issue, there are still plenty of equality fights in the state, and the local community wasn’t fully behind Mayor Pete.
But the fact that Buttigieg’s allyship is quieter, that his marriage to Chasten Buttigieg would be a boringly bland political marriage were it not for their respective genders, might be what helps normalize his relationship for these rural communities. “The fact that he’s palatable to middle America,” Bruening says, “is why he’s popular in Iowa.”
“If you step into some of the smaller towns, the more rural towns, you can hear the slurs used as a casual form of language, but the young people today are much more open to letting people live their lives however they want,” Dan Callahan, the chair of the Independence County Democrats, who had introduced Buttigieg, told me after his event in Buchanan county last week, as George Michael’s “Freedom” played over the loud speakers to usher out the crowd. “There’s a lot of these older people here today. They’re the same way. ‘What you do doesn’t affect me, so I’ll let you do it, if you let me do what I want.’ That’s a lot of what Iowa is all about.”
As much as rigid gender norms loosened nationally in the 2010s, people across the LGBTQ spectrum still face plenty of discrimination, and things haven’t progressed nearly as far on trans rights as they have on marriage equality. Just last week, a group of nine Republicans in the state legislature, including the representative for Clayton County, introduced a bill that would have stripped trans protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, but the Republican in charge of the relevant committee quickly killed the provision. “It’s one of those issues,” Price says, “that has moved so quickly and become such a non-issue for most people’s minds that when the Republicans do start talking about it, they get immediate pushback.” Should Iowa send Mayor Pete forward as its top choice against Trump, it doesn’t mean the state is absolved of any lingering homophobia, just as Barack Obama’s win here in the 2008 caucuses didn’t mean racism was solved in the Hawkeye state.
But the fact that Pete is even a competitive candidate, and that the main reason he has a chance is thanks to the small towns that just a decade ago would have been highly judgmental to someone like him, is a quiet success story—one of the few political bright spots of the Trump era.
“There’s a lot of people here who are probably still uncomfortable,” Callahan told me. “But it doesn’t mean they’re going to treat you different, or do anything differently. And they’re certainly not going to vote to support those kinds of actions.”


motherjones--2020-02-04--Caucus Reporting Errors Send Democrats Back to the Paper Trail

The Iowa Democratic Party caucus results remained unknown early into Tuesday morning , with state party officials blaming “ inconsistencies ” in reporting .
Meanwhile precinct-based volunteers responsible for administering the contest slammed the party ’ s caucus-result reporting app and complained of problems they had calling numbers in for tabulation .
A state party spokesperson said the party found “ inconsistencies ” in numbers they were receiving from precincts and were now using “ photos of results and a paper trail ” to determine valid results .
The statement defended the party ’ s software and its security , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting issue , the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion .
The underlying paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.
” The explanation didn ’ t mollify Joe Biden ’ s campaign .
In a letter sent to the Iowa Democratic Party ’ s executive leadership , the former vice president ’ s campaign said it was clear both the app and the party ’ s backup phone reporting system “ failed ” statewide .
“ We believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relevant information regarding the methods of quality control you are employing , and an opportunity to respond , before any official results are released , ” Dana Remus , the campaign ’ s general counsel , wrote in a letter .
The app was supposed to “ make it easier and faster to report results from some 1,700 caucus cites , ” the Wall Street Journal reported in January .
Troy Price , the state party ’ s chair , told the paper that he was “ confident in the security systems we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caucus organizers said they were looking forward to using it .
Shawn Sebastian , a precinct secretary from Ames , told Mother Jones late Monday night that several volunteers who were involved in running caucuses in his area had told him the weekend before the caucus “ that the app was not working and I was generally given the advice to call in the results.
” He added that “ multiple people had tried downloading it and it didn ’ t work.
” In television interviews , Sebastian said he ’ d tried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party and was left on hold for more than two hours .
Alex Halderman , one of the country ’ s foremost election security experts , said that Iowa ’ s experience should be instructive to those who claim—against election security experts ’ repeated warnings—that elections can be reliably and safely conducted online .
“ The takeaway is that it ’ s a big embarrassment when a reporting system like this falls over , but we least we ’ ll know the result eventually , ” Halderman told Mother Jones late Monday night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting online , or by phone , and had similar issues ?
We might never know the result , or have to scrap the whole contest and start over.
” “ Complex computer systems are difficult to get right , especially when they have to be secure and they have to work at scale on one particular day , ” he said .
“ What ’ s happening in Iowa is exactly why Internet voting is far from ready for prime time .
”

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The Iowa Democratic Party caucus results remained unknown early into Tuesday morning, with state party officials blaming “inconsistencies” in reporting. Meanwhile precinct-based volunteers responsible for administering the contest slammed the party’s caucus-result reporting app and complained of problems they had calling numbers in for tabulation.
“It’s a big embarrassment.”
A state party spokesperson said the party found “inconsistencies” in numbers they were receiving from precincts and were now using “photos of results and a paper trail” to determine valid results. The statement defended the party’s software and its security, adding that it was “simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion. The underlying paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.”
The explanation didn’t mollify Joe Biden’s campaign. In a letter sent to the Iowa Democratic Party’s executive leadership, the former vice president’s campaign said it was clear both the app and the party’s backup phone reporting system “failed” statewide.
“We believe that the campaigns deserve full explanations and relevant information regarding the methods of quality control you are employing, and an opportunity to respond, before any official results are released,” Dana Remus, the campaign’s general counsel, wrote in a letter.
The app was supposed to “make it easier and faster to report results from some 1,700 caucus cites,” the Wall Street Journal reported in January. Troy Price, the state party’s chair, told the paper that he was “confident in the security systems we have in place,” and several caucus organizers said they were looking forward to using it.
Shawn Sebastian, a precinct secretary from Ames, told Mother Jones late Monday night that several volunteers who were involved in running caucuses in his area had told him the weekend before the caucus “that the app was not working and I was generally given the advice to call in the results.” He added that “multiple people had tried downloading it and it didn’t work.”
In television interviews, Sebastian said he’d tried to call results in to the state party and was left on hold for more than two hours.
Alex Halderman, one of the country’s foremost election security experts, said that Iowa’s experience should be instructive to those who claim—against election security experts’ repeated warnings—that elections can be reliably and safely conducted online.
“The takeaway is that it’s a big embarrassment when a reporting system like this falls over, but we least we’ll know the result eventually,” Halderman told Mother Jones late Monday night. “Imagine if instead they were voting online, or by phone, and had similar issues? We might never know the result, or have to scrap the whole contest and start over.”
“Complex computer systems are difficult to get right, especially when they have to be secure and they have to work at scale on one particular day,” he said. “What’s happening in Iowa is exactly why Internet voting is far from ready for prime time.”
Listen to Mother Jones’ Ari Berman and Tim Murphy discuss the fallout from the Iowa voting debacle on this week’s special early edition of the Mother Jones Podcast:


motherjones--2020-02-04--Julián Castro Declares Iowa a “Complete Mess”

As the clock crept toward midnight in Iowa with no official results from the caucuses yet released , Elizabeth Warren ’ s campaign sent her most high-profile surrogate , Julián Castro—2020 presidential contender himself—to talk to reporters gathered at her event .
Castro , Obama ’ s former secretary of housing and urban development , took the opportunity to hammer home one of his own campaign ’ s final messages : The Iowa caucuses are bad , and the state doesn ’ t deserve its vaunted place in American politics .
“ Tonight it has become clear that this Iowa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a complete failure , ” Castro said .
“ The fact is that we still don ’ t have reliable final results.
” Late last year , Castro criticized Iowa ’ s position at the beginning of the Democrats ’ nomination process as giving too much weight to white voters who live in a state that is not reflective of the country ’ s diversity .
And on Monday , the unfolding questions about the results gave him extra ammunition .
“ The people of Iowa are wonderful people , they take their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a large crowd of reporters gathered around , pushing his twin brother , Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro off to the side .
“ But what everyone saw plain as day in front of their TV screen , and what we ’ re still seeing right now in the lack of results and the errors that have happened , is that this simply is not the way we should do this .
It was a complete mess , it was not reliable in the way that we need this to be reliable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process for electing the most important public servant in our country in the world.
” Despite the lack of results from the state party , Castro said that the Warren campaign ’ s internal numbers were good enough to allow her to claim partial victory , saying it looked like Warren , Sen. Bernie Sanders , and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg would all finish in a similar position .
If true , that would leave former Vice President Joe Biden somewhere behind in fourth , a point Castro didn ’ t shy from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that the bottom fell out for Joe Biden tonight , ” he said .
“ He completely underperformed expectations , his support in Iowa seems to have been very soft .
Over the last week , everyone was hearing that it ’ s Biden and Bernie , Biden and Bernie , well at least from what we ’ re gathering he had a very weak showing tonight .
”

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As the clock crept toward midnight in Iowa with no official results from the caucuses yet released, Elizabeth Warren’s campaign sent her most high-profile surrogate, Julián Castro—a 2020 presidential contender himself—to talk to reporters gathered at her event. Castro, Obama’s former secretary of housing and urban development, took the opportunity to hammer home one of his own campaign’s final messages: The Iowa caucuses are bad, and the state doesn’t deserve its vaunted place in American politics.
“It was not reliable in the way that we need this to be reliable.”
“Tonight it has become clear that this Iowa caucus has been a total mess, a complete failure,” Castro said. “The fact is that we still don’t have reliable final results.”
Late last year, Castro criticized Iowa’s position at the beginning of the Democrats’ nomination process as giving too much weight to white voters who live in a state that is not reflective of the country’s diversity. And on Monday, the unfolding questions about the results gave him extra ammunition. “The people of Iowa are wonderful people, they take their role seriously,” he said, as a large crowd of reporters gathered around, pushing his twin brother, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro off to the side. “But what everyone saw plain as day in front of their TV screen, and what we’re still seeing right now in the lack of results and the errors that have happened, is that this simply is not the way we should do this. It was a complete mess, it was not reliable in the way that we need this to be reliable, where we’re starting off the process for electing the most important public servant in our country in the world.”
Despite the lack of results from the state party, Castro said that the Warren campaign’s internal numbers were good enough to allow her to claim partial victory, saying it looked like Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg would all finish in a similar position. If true, that would leave former Vice President Joe Biden somewhere behind in fourth, a point Castro didn’t shy from making. “What’s clear is that the bottom fell out for Joe Biden tonight,” he said. “He completely underperformed expectations, his support in Iowa seems to have been very soft. Over the last week, everyone was hearing that it’s Biden and Bernie, Biden and Bernie, well at least from what we’re gathering he had a very weak showing tonight.”
Listen to Mother Jones’ Ari Berman and Tim Murphy discuss the fallout from the Iowa voting debacle on this week’s special early edition of the Mother Jones Podcast: