democracynow--2020-08-25--Trump Is No Aberration: Veteran GOP Strategist Stuart Stevens Says Racism Is Party's "Original Sin"

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org .
We ’ re breaking with convention .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
As the Republican National Convention kicked off Monday , the Republican Party announced it would not adopt a new platform , and instead pledged its support to President Donald Trump .
At the same time , a group of veteran Republican operatives who want to defeat Trump launched a $ 4 million advertising blitz this week that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOODMAN : That ad called “ Mourning in America , ” spelled M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G .
The anti-Trump ads will run on TV and online throughout this week ’ s convention coverage and are paid for by The Lincoln Project , a super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money .
On Monday , former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele announced he ’ s joining the group .
This comes as longtime White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said she plans to leave her job at the end of this month , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , George Conway , who co-founded The Lincoln Project , is also leaving The Lincoln Project .
The couple ’ s 15-year-old daughter , Claudia Conway , had said she ’ s seeking emancipation from her parents , and tweeted she ’ s “ devastated ” her mother is speaking at the Republican National Convention .
Conway replied , talking about stepping back from her job as a top senior adviser and counsel to the president , from now on , “ less drama , more mama.
” Meanwhile , the pro-Biden super @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ad campaign Monday that features Trump ’ s former lawyer , Michael Cohen .
For more , we ’ re joined by someone who is a senior adviser to The Lincoln Project and much more .
Stuart Stevens is a longtime Republican political consultant who worked as a strategist for five Republican presidential campaigns , including Bob Dole , George W. Bush and Mitt Romney , as well as senators , congressmen and governors .
Politico calls him “ one of the most successful political operatives of his generation.
” Stevens did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2016 .
His new book is out this month ; it ’ s titled It Was All a Lie : How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump .
In it , he compares his lifelong political party to the Mafia , the segregationist movement , and even to the Nazis .
Stuart Stevens , welcome to Democracy Now !
Thank you for joining us from your home in Stowe , Vermont .
You have said that race and racism is at the core of the Republican project .
Can you talk about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just Donald Trump ?
I mean , many even in The Lincoln Project say their party left them , but you are saying that the original sin of the Republican Party — racism — is at its core ; it ’ s not just Donald Trump .
Please explain .
STUART STEVENS : First , great to be here .
It really goes back — and in this book , I wanted to trace this — to the post-World War II history of the modern Republican Party .
1956 , Dwight Eisenhower got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote .
That fell off a cliff with Barry Goldwater in 1964 .
He got 7 % .
He opposed the Civil Rights Act .
Now , you could have made a case at the time that African Americans would drift back to the Republican Party in some substantial numbers because of cultural conservatism , faith , entrepreneurship , patriotism .
But that never happened .
So , since 1964 , the Republican Party has failed to attract African Americans in any numbers over 10 % in most races .
And what does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that you get very good at one thing and not very good at the other .
Now , I was part of the party that worked for George Bush — both George Bushes , actually .
But I went down in April of ’ 99 to work for Governor Bush .
And we saw that the party needed to change , tried to form a new formulation of conservatism that the governor called “ compassionate conservatism.
” Our feeling was — at least my feeling was , and I think others agreed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inevitable , that the side of the party that we represented would emerge as dominant .
I think , looking at Donald Trump , I have to admit I was wrong .
I think that we were the recessive gene , not the dominant gene , and that the party now has become very comfortable with a white grievance .
And I think you saw that on full display last night .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Well , Stuart Stevens , following up on that , in your book , you have a chapter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eight — “ The Empire ’ s Last Stand.
” JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And you say in there , the Trump obsession with immigrants from Mexico and Central America is motivated by his own racism , but it also reflects the knowledge that every new nonwhite voter in America is a threat to the existence of the Republican Party .
Could you elaborate on that ?
STUART STEVENS : Well , that ’ s just a fact , if you look at the construct of the Republican Party now .
The great danger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if it doesn ’ t change , is going to go away as a major political party , those Americans 15 years and under , the majority are nonwhite .
Now , odds are good they ’ re going to turn 18 and still be nonwhite .
And that really is a death sentence for the Republican Party as it ’ s currently constructed .
You know , it ’ s fascinating to look here — since '64 , we have n't been able to get African Americans .
We made a concerted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get more Hispanics , and it was very important to him .
Got up to about 43 % , 42 % in 2004 , and then it ’ s fallen back to 27 % or so .
But it ’ s not just Hispanics and African Americans .
If you look at Asian Americans , Asian Americans used to support Republicans at like 70 % , and now they oppose Republicans at like 70 % .
So , why is that ?
It ’ s not like Republicans were out attacking Asian Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when Donald Trump started attacking Chinese as if he had like a list of people to go down : “ I forgot to attack the Chinese.
” But they got the joke , I think , that if you weren ’ t white , you really weren ’ t welcome in the Republican Party .
And that ’ s really a death signal for a party .
That ’ s what happened to the party in California .
California was the beating heart of the Republican Party .
It was the electoral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now the Republican Party is in third place — not second place , third place .
And I think the history of things happening in California and then rolling across the country is pretty good .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : I ’ m wondering also if you could talk about the foreign policy implications here .
Nikki Haley spoke — JUAN GONZÁLEZ : — last night .
She was supposed to , as a former U.N. ambassador , be able to put the picture of what the Trump administration has done foreign policy-wise .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this convention and the language and the rhetoric and the apocalyptic vision that the Republican Party is espousing , what does it do to the standing of the United States in the world and among other political leaders ?
STUART STEVENS : Well , you know , what I found just extraordinary about last night and Nikki Haley was , here , last week , we have Republican Senate committee , under Marco Rubio of Florida , puts out a report that says that the Russians were definitely involved in our elections and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And there was no mention of it .
This is the most serious attack on our electoral system by a hostile foreign power in the history of the United States , and we know they ’ re doing it again .
And the Republicans aren ’ t even talking about it , even when their own party says that it ’ s happening .
I find that incredibly anti-American and anti-patriotic .
And it ’ s an utter disgrace .
The Republican Party that I signed up for , one of the great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When Ronald Reagan said , “ Tear down this wall , Mr. Gorbachev , ” that was powerful .
And words had meaning .
And the United States did help end the Cold War , and we did help bring a lot of people more into freedom .
And now we ’ re on the side of dictators .
It ’ s extraordinary .
I never would have thought it possible .
AMY GOODMAN : Stuart Stevens , you mentioned Ronald Reagan .
He launched his campaign in Philadelphia , Mississippi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This is the place where the three civil rights activists , Schwerner , Chaney and Goodman , were murdered back in the early ’ 60s .
And so , I want to go back even further than that , to you getting activated in Republican strategic consulting work , to this very interesting story .
You had been what ?
An intern for Thad Cochran .
He was running for — he ran for Senate .
AMY GOODMAN : He had been congressmember .
You have the period in 1963 — you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , but Medgar Evers was gunned down in his driveway in Mississippi .
You grew up in Jackson , Mississippi .
And you end up working for a congressmember who you realized the congressmember , the Republican congressmember , who was trying to be a congressmember , was white , the Democrat was white , and there was a Black independent .
Talk about what you did and what you understood well at the time , and how that linked into Medgar Evers ’ murder , particularly his brother Charles Evers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you know , it ’ s a fascinating story .
When I grew up in Mississippi , there really weren ’ t Republicans , and the Democrats were led by two segregationist senators , John Stennis and Big Jim Eastland .
There was one moderate , positive , young lawyer who ran for Congress as a Republican , Thad Cochran .
And he represented an alternative to that segregationist view .
He was the first Republican elected to Congress since Reconstruction .
He then ran in — and I was a page in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school .
In ’ 78 , he then ran for Senate .
And I worked for the guy who had been his chief of staff , who was running for his old congressional seat .
So , as you say , my guy was white , the Republican .
The Democratic candidate was white .
But there was also an African American independent .
And this was really the first race I had ever done .
I ’ d been involved in a volunteer level before .
But it became quickly apparent , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 90 % , at least , of those African Americans were either going to vote for the Democrat or they were going to vote for the African American independent .
And it was in our best interest that they vote for the African American independent , so that the votes wouldn ’ t go to the Democratic candidate .
I mean , it was simple math .
So , I made a spot — I thought it was very clever at the time — which was like a League of Women Voters voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here are the three candidates , and named them , you saw them .
You saw that one was African American .
Didn ’ t say anything negative about the African American candidate ; to the contrary , I said he could be the first African American elected since Reconstruction .
But the intent of it was to inform African American voters that there was an African American alternative .
Now , at the end of the day , my guy won with 51 % , so maybe he would have won without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me that — how much our politics is played in the key of race .
And that hasn ’ t changed .
And I think what we ’ re seeing now — AMY GOODMAN : Being repeated with Kanye West meeting secretly with Jared Kushner in Colorado — AMY GOODMAN : — as the Republicans try to get Kanye West on presidential ballots across the country ?
STUART STEVENS : It ’ s the same strategy .
And by the way , that ’ s illegal for Jared Kushner to have done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ functional FEC , they would be all over Jared Kushner .
And that ought to be investigated .
What we ’ re seeing now , and saw last night , is a comfortableness with the Republican Party , a Trump party , with white grievance .
I mean , there were two people who spoke at the convention last night that the only reason that they were at the convention is because they waved guns at Black people .
That ’ s their sole qualification .
And this idea that you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming into the suburbs to get you white people is one of the oldest tropes of racist politics in the last 50 , 70 years .
I think it ’ s misplayed .
I don ’ t think that ’ s how the suburbs are .
I don ’ t think that most women in the suburbs like to be referred to as “ suburban housewives , ” as Donald Trump refers to them .
And I take , like , my home state of Mississippi .
I ’ m a seventh-generation Mississippian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flag , which was basically the Confederate battle flag .
It was a powerful moment for a lot of us .
And that same week , Donald Trump was defending the Confederate flag , so much so he got on the wrong side of a culture war with NASCAR , with bringing down the — banning Confederate flags from events .
So , I think that just indicates — the vision that they laid out last night at this convention , I think it ’ s wrong on a lot of levels , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politically .
You know , you take your average teenager in Mississippi .
Their cultural models are more Black rap stars than Robert E. Lee .
They don ’ t want to go back to this .
And I don ’ t think any of these suburban voters like to think of themselves as being afraid of Black people or afraid of those who are different from them .
It ’ s a very 1978 kind of Queens divisive view of the world that Donald Trump has .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : But your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ logical — that Trump is the logical extension of where the Republican Party is going , not that he was this hostile takeover that — with an outlier who somehow managed to gain control .
But what about those mainstream Republicans — you mentioned George Bush , the Bush family — and those Republicans that have still been largely silent throughout this process as the Trump presidency has unfolded ?
STUART STEVENS : Look , I think that George Bush believed very passionately in the idea of compassionate conservatism .
I know he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him , this was education .
And if you go back and you look at his first major piece of legislation as president , it was signing No Child Left Behind , a bill he signed with Ted Kennedy over his right shoulder .
I mean , today that would be presented like at a war crimes tribunal of the Republican Party .
That vision of what the party could have become , I think , ended on 9/11 , when Bush became a wartime president .
So , there ’ s just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the party .
So , if you go back to when the first President Bush was president , David Duke became the Republican nominee down — for the Senate , down in Louisiana .
President Bush actively worked to beat the Republican , who was David Duke .
They established a committee of Republicans to beat David Duke .
And that was the right thing to do .
And the party has just lost that sense of right and wrong , as being led by Donald Trump .
And one of the lessons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much leaders matter .
I think the party could have been led in a different direction .
It reminds me of the 1930s .
There was a huge fascist element in America .
Why didn ’ t America become fascist like so many countries in Europe ?
Probably because Roosevelt was president , and Lindbergh wasn ’ t .
And we wouldn ’ t have been the same country .
And the same with the civil rights movement .
Why was it nonviolent ?
Probably because Martin Luther King was leading it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who had a different vision .
So , leaders have consequences .
I mean , we ’ re taught that in school , and I think we ’ re kind of getting a living lesson of it now .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to ask you , before we break , about the significance of Jerry Falwell , who has reportedly resigned , though that was going back and forth , clearly trying to work this out with Liberty University , as president of the evangelical Christian school in Virginia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his personal life — put on leave earlier this month after he posted a photo on Instagram in which he ’ s posing with an arm around a young woman , holding a drink , with his pants unzipped .
And then , this week , a young man , Giancarlo Granda , a former hotel pool attendant who then became a business partner , said he had an affair with Falwell ’ s wife Becki , and he said that Falwell would look on as they had sex .
Jerry Falwell is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shocked many in 2016 when he endorsed President Trump over — I think at the time Ted Cruz — AMY GOODMAN : — was expecting to get that endorsement .
Can you talk about the significance of Falwell and his throwing his support to Trump ?
STUART STEVENS : Well , look , I think one of the truths that ’ s been revealed here is just the hollowness of much of the evangelical movement , by its leadership .
I think that there ’ s what ?
Thirty-seven million or so evangelicals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American and Hispanic .
So , I don ’ t think we can talk about all evangelicals .
It was evangelicals who largely defeated Roy Moore in Alabama .
It was Black evangelicals .
But there ’ s been this corruption at the top of the white evangelical movement , that ’ s gone on for a very long time — I mean , Jimmy Swaggart , these conmen .
And that ’ s what Falwell is .
I could care less about Falwell ’ s personal life .
And I actually think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s just the hypocrisy of it .
And it ’ s — how do you sustain this , when you support Donald Trump ?
I mean , a guy who ’ s been married three times , has five kids by different — who talks in public about having sex with his daughter .
It ’ s just — he says that he ’ s never asked God for forgiveness because he ’ s never done anything to be forgiven for .
AMY GOODMAN : Stuart Stevens , you say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who will be president of the United States ?
STUART STEVENS : I think so .
And the numbers would indicate that , which I think is very hopeful .
You know , Donald Trump won with 46.1 % .
We shouldn ’ t lose sight of this .
Mitt Romney lost with 47.2 % .
African American turnout went down for the first time in 20 years in 2016 , for a lot of reasons , including very active voter suppression .
If African American and nonwhite turnout can just get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before and where it was headed , there ’ s really no path to victory for Donald Trump .
I think the Biden campaign , which I think is running a very , very good campaign , I think they understand this .
I think Senator Harris will help .
And it ’ s really , to me , this race is — if I was going to focus on one thing , I would focus on the percentage of the total turnout that will be nonwhite .
I think if we knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know who ’ s going to win this race .
AMY GOODMAN : Stuart Stevens , we want to thank you for being with us , veteran Republican political consultant .
His new book , just out , It Was All a Lie : How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump .
When we come back , we speak with a formerly incarcerated firefighter about the climate-fueled wildfires engulfing California .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We’re breaking with convention. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
As the Republican National Convention kicked off Monday, the Republican Party announced it would not adopt a new platform, and instead pledged its support to President Donald Trump. At the same time, a group of veteran Republican operatives who want to defeat Trump launched a $4 million advertising blitz this week that targets voters in swing states.
THE LINCOLN PROJECT AD: There’s mourning in America. Today, more than 175,000 Americans have died from a deadly virus Donald Trump ignored, praising China’s response instead of heeding the warnings, then blaming them to cover his own failures. With the economy in shambles, more than 30 million Americans are out of work — the worst economy in decades. This afternoon, millions of Americans will apply for unemployment. And with their savings run out, many are giving up hope. Millions worry that a loved one won’t survive COVID-19. There’s mourning in America. And under the leadership of Donald Trump, our country is weaker and sicker and poorer. And now Americans are asking, “If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?”
The Lincoln Project is responsible for the content of this advertising.
AMY GOODMAN: That ad called “Mourning in America,” spelled M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G. The anti-Trump ads will run on TV and online throughout this week’s convention coverage and are paid for by The Lincoln Project, a super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. On Monday, former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele announced he’s joining the group.
This comes as longtime White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said she plans to leave her job at the end of this month, citing her family. And her husband, George Conway, who co-founded The Lincoln Project, is also leaving The Lincoln Project. The couple’s 15-year-old daughter, Claudia Conway, had said she’s seeking emancipation from her parents, and tweeted she’s “devastated” her mother is speaking at the Republican National Convention. Conway replied, talking about stepping back from her job as a top senior adviser and counsel to the president, from now on, “less drama, more mama.”
Meanwhile, the pro-Biden super PAC, American Bridge, launched an ad campaign Monday that features Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
For more, we’re joined by someone who is a senior adviser to The Lincoln Project and much more. Stuart Stevens is a longtime Republican political consultant who worked as a strategist for five Republican presidential campaigns, including Bob Dole, George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, as well as senators, congressmen and governors. Politico calls him “one of the most successful political operatives of his generation.” Stevens did not support Donald Trump as the Republican candidate in 2016. His new book is out this month; it’s titled It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump. In it, he compares his lifelong political party to the Mafia, the segregationist movement, and even to the Nazis.
Stuart Stevens, welcome to Democracy Now! Thank you for joining us from your home in Stowe, Vermont. You have said that race and racism is at the core of the Republican project. Can you talk about why you feel it’s not just Donald Trump? I mean, many even in The Lincoln Project say their party left them, but you are saying that the original sin of the Republican Party — racism — is at its core; it’s not just Donald Trump. Please explain.
STUART STEVENS: First, great to be here.
It really goes back — and in this book, I wanted to trace this — to the post-World War II history of the modern Republican Party. 1956, Dwight Eisenhower got almost 40% of the African American vote. That fell off a cliff with Barry Goldwater in 1964. He got 7%. He opposed the Civil Rights Act. Now, you could have made a case at the time that African Americans would drift back to the Republican Party in some substantial numbers because of cultural conservatism, faith, entrepreneurship, patriotism. But that never happened. So, since 1964, the Republican Party has failed to attract African Americans in any numbers over 10% in most races. And what does that mean? It means, really, that you get very good at one thing and not very good at the other.
Now, I was part of the party that worked for George Bush — both George Bushes, actually. But I went down in April of ’99 to work for Governor Bush. And we saw that the party needed to change, tried to form a new formulation of conservatism that the governor called “compassionate conservatism.” Our feeling was — at least my feeling was, and I think others agreed with me, that we were almost inevitable, that the side of the party that we represented would emerge as dominant. I think, looking at Donald Trump, I have to admit I was wrong. I think that we were the recessive gene, not the dominant gene, and that the party now has become very comfortable with a white grievance. And I think you saw that on full display last night.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Stuart Stevens, following up on that, in your book, you have a chapter — I think it’s chapter eight — “The Empire’s Last Stand.”
STUART STEVENS: Right.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you say in there, the Trump obsession with immigrants from Mexico and Central America is motivated by his own racism, but it also reflects the knowledge that every new nonwhite voter in America is a threat to the existence of the Republican Party. Could you elaborate on that?
STUART STEVENS: Well, that’s just a fact, if you look at the construct of the Republican Party now. The great danger and the reason the Republican Party, if it doesn’t change, is going to go away as a major political party, those Americans 15 years and under, the majority are nonwhite. Now, odds are good they’re going to turn 18 and still be nonwhite. And that really is a death sentence for the Republican Party as it’s currently constructed.
You know, it’s fascinating to look here — since '64, we haven't been able to get African Americans. We made a concerted attempt, President Bush did, to get more Hispanics, and it was very important to him. Got up to about 43%, 42% in 2004, and then it’s fallen back to 27% or so. But it’s not just Hispanics and African Americans. If you look at Asian Americans, Asian Americans used to support Republicans at like 70%, and now they oppose Republicans at like 70%. So, why is that? It’s not like Republicans were out attacking Asian Americans, or at least not until recently, when Donald Trump started attacking Chinese as if he had like a list of people to go down: “I forgot to attack the Chinese.” But they got the joke, I think, that if you weren’t white, you really weren’t welcome in the Republican Party.
And that’s really a death signal for a party. That’s what happened to the party in California. California was the beating heart of the Republican Party. It was the electoral citadel not that long ago. And now the Republican Party is in third place — not second place, third place. And I think the history of things happening in California and then rolling across the country is pretty good.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I’m wondering also if you could talk about the foreign policy implications here. Nikki Haley spoke —
STUART STEVENS: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: — last night. She was supposed to, as a former U.N. ambassador, be able to put the picture of what the Trump administration has done foreign policy-wise. As the rest of the world watches this convention and the language and the rhetoric and the apocalyptic vision that the Republican Party is espousing, what does it do to the standing of the United States in the world and among other political leaders?
STUART STEVENS: Well, you know, what I found just extraordinary about last night and Nikki Haley was, here, last week, we have Republican Senate committee, under Marco Rubio of Florida, puts out a report that says that the Russians were definitely involved in our elections and definitely trying to help Donald Trump. And there was no mention of it. This is the most serious attack on our electoral system by a hostile foreign power in the history of the United States, and we know they’re doing it again. And the Republicans aren’t even talking about it, even when their own party says that it’s happening. I find that incredibly anti-American and anti-patriotic. And it’s an utter disgrace.
The Republican Party that I signed up for, one of the great appeals was that it stood for freedom. When Ronald Reagan said, “Tear down this wall, Mr. Gorbachev,” that was powerful. And words had meaning. And the United States did help end the Cold War, and we did help bring a lot of people more into freedom. And now we’re on the side of dictators. It’s extraordinary. I never would have thought it possible.
AMY GOODMAN: Stuart Stevens, you mentioned Ronald Reagan. He launched his campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, which many felt was a clear signal. This is the place where the three civil rights activists, Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, were murdered back in the early ’60s. And so, I want to go back even further than that, to you getting activated in Republican strategic consulting work, to this very interesting story. You had been what? An intern for Thad Cochran. He was running for — he ran for Senate.
STUART STEVENS: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: He had been congressmember. You have the period in 1963 — you were just a little kid at the time, but Medgar Evers was gunned down in his driveway in Mississippi. You grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. And you end up working for a congressmember who you realized the congressmember, the Republican congressmember, who was trying to be a congressmember, was white, the Democrat was white, and there was a Black independent. Talk about what you did and what you understood well at the time, and how that linked into Medgar Evers’ murder, particularly his brother Charles Evers.
STUART STEVENS: Sure. Well, you know, it’s a fascinating story. When I grew up in Mississippi, there really weren’t Republicans, and the Democrats were led by two segregationist senators, John Stennis and Big Jim Eastland. There was one moderate, positive, young lawyer who ran for Congress as a Republican, Thad Cochran. And he represented an alternative to that segregationist view. He was the first Republican elected to Congress since Reconstruction. He then ran in — and I was a page in his office when I was in high school. In ’78, he then ran for Senate. And I worked for the guy who had been his chief of staff, who was running for his old congressional seat.
So, as you say, my guy was white, the Republican. The Democratic candidate was white. But there was also an African American independent. And this was really the first race I had ever done. I’d been involved in a volunteer level before. But it became quickly apparent, just by looking at numbers, that 90%, at least, of those African Americans were either going to vote for the Democrat or they were going to vote for the African American independent. And it was in our best interest that they vote for the African American independent, so that the votes wouldn’t go to the Democratic candidate. I mean, it was simple math.
So, I made a spot — I thought it was very clever at the time — which was like a League of Women Voters voter information spot. It just said, here are the three candidates, and named them, you saw them. You saw that one was African American. Didn’t say anything negative about the African American candidate; to the contrary, I said he could be the first African American elected since Reconstruction. But the intent of it was to inform African American voters that there was an African American alternative.
Now, at the end of the day, my guy won with 51%, so maybe he would have won without, but it was a stark lesson to me that — how much our politics is played in the key of race. And that hasn’t changed. And I think what we’re seeing now —
AMY GOODMAN: Being repeated with Kanye West meeting secretly with Jared Kushner in Colorado —
STUART STEVENS: Same thing.
AMY GOODMAN: — as the Republicans try to get Kanye West on presidential ballots across the country?
STUART STEVENS: It’s the same strategy. And by the way, that’s illegal for Jared Kushner to have done that. And if we had a functional FEC, they would be all over Jared Kushner. And that ought to be investigated.
What we’re seeing now, and saw last night, is a comfortableness with the Republican Party, a Trump party, with white grievance. I mean, there were two people who spoke at the convention last night that the only reason that they were at the convention is because they waved guns at Black people. That’s their sole qualification. And this idea that you’re going to — these Black people are coming into the suburbs to get you white people is one of the oldest tropes of racist politics in the last 50, 70 years. I think it’s misplayed. I don’t think that’s how the suburbs are. I don’t think that most women in the suburbs like to be referred to as “suburban housewives,” as Donald Trump refers to them.
And I take, like, my home state of Mississippi. I’m a seventh-generation Mississippian. We finally took down the state flag, which was basically the Confederate battle flag. It was a powerful moment for a lot of us. And that same week, Donald Trump was defending the Confederate flag, so much so he got on the wrong side of a culture war with NASCAR, with bringing down the — banning Confederate flags from events.
So, I think that just indicates — the vision that they laid out last night at this convention, I think it’s wrong on a lot of levels, but I think it’s wrong politically. You know, you take your average teenager in Mississippi. Their cultural models are more Black rap stars than Robert E. Lee. They don’t want to go back to this. And I don’t think any of these suburban voters like to think of themselves as being afraid of Black people or afraid of those who are different from them. It’s a very 1978 kind of Queens divisive view of the world that Donald Trump has.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: But your book lays out that this is the logical — that Trump is the logical extension of where the Republican Party is going, not that he was this hostile takeover that — with an outlier who somehow managed to gain control. But what about those mainstream Republicans — you mentioned George Bush, the Bush family — and those Republicans that have still been largely silent throughout this process as the Trump presidency has unfolded?
STUART STEVENS: Look, I think that George Bush believed very passionately in the idea of compassionate conservatism. I know he did. I saw it. For him, this was education. And if you go back and you look at his first major piece of legislation as president, it was signing No Child Left Behind, a bill he signed with Ted Kennedy over his right shoulder. I mean, today that would be presented like at a war crimes tribunal of the Republican Party. That vision of what the party could have become, I think, ended on 9/11, when Bush became a wartime president.
So, there’s just — there are these different strains in the party. So, if you go back to when the first President Bush was president, David Duke became the Republican nominee down — for the Senate, down in Louisiana. President Bush actively worked to beat the Republican, who was David Duke. They established a committee of Republicans to beat David Duke. And that was the right thing to do. And the party has just lost that sense of right and wrong, as being led by Donald Trump.
And one of the lessons I really take from this is how much leaders matter. I think the party could have been led in a different direction. It reminds me of the 1930s. There was a huge fascist element in America. Why didn’t America become fascist like so many countries in Europe? Probably because Roosevelt was president, and Lindbergh wasn’t. And we wouldn’t have been the same country. And the same with the civil rights movement. Why was it nonviolent? Probably because Martin Luther King was leading it, instead of, say, Stokely Carmichael, who had a different vision. So, leaders have consequences. I mean, we’re taught that in school, and I think we’re kind of getting a living lesson of it now.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you, before we break, about the significance of Jerry Falwell, who has reportedly resigned, though that was going back and forth, clearly trying to work this out with Liberty University, as president of the evangelical Christian school in Virginia, amidst the growing fallout over claims about his personal life — put on leave earlier this month after he posted a photo on Instagram in which he’s posing with an arm around a young woman, holding a drink, with his pants unzipped. And then, this week, a young man, Giancarlo Granda, a former hotel pool attendant who then became a business partner, said he had an affair with Falwell’s wife Becki, and he said that Falwell would look on as they had sex. Jerry Falwell is a prominent supporter of President Trump and shocked many in 2016 when he endorsed President Trump over — I think at the time Ted Cruz —
STUART STEVENS: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: — was expecting to get that endorsement. Can you talk about the significance of Falwell and his throwing his support to Trump?
STUART STEVENS: Well, look, I think one of the truths that’s been revealed here is just the hollowness of much of the evangelical movement, by its leadership. I think that there’s what? Thirty-seven million or so evangelicals in America, many of them African American and Hispanic. So, I don’t think we can talk about all evangelicals. It was evangelicals who largely defeated Roy Moore in Alabama. It was Black evangelicals. But there’s been this corruption at the top of the white evangelical movement, that’s gone on for a very long time — I mean, Jimmy Swaggart, these conmen. And that’s what Falwell is. I could care less about Falwell’s personal life. And I actually think most people kind of feel that way.
It’s just the hypocrisy of it. And it’s — how do you sustain this, when you support Donald Trump? I mean, a guy who’s been married three times, has five kids by different — who talks in public about having sex with his daughter. It’s just — he says that he’s never asked God for forgiveness because he’s never done anything to be forgiven for.
AMY GOODMAN: Stuart Stevens, you say Black women will determine this next race, who will be president of the United States?
STUART STEVENS: I think so. And the numbers would indicate that, which I think is very hopeful. You know, Donald Trump won with 46.1%. We shouldn’t lose sight of this. Mitt Romney lost with 47.2%. African American turnout went down for the first time in 20 years in 2016, for a lot of reasons, including very active voter suppression. If African American and nonwhite turnout can just get back to the levels where it was before and where it was headed, there’s really no path to victory for Donald Trump. I think the Biden campaign, which I think is running a very, very good campaign, I think they understand this. I think Senator Harris will help. And it’s really, to me, this race is — if I was going to focus on one thing, I would focus on the percentage of the total turnout that will be nonwhite. I think if we knew that number today, we’d know who’s going to win this race.
AMY GOODMAN: Stuart Stevens, we want to thank you for being with us, veteran Republican political consultant. His new book, just out, It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump.
When we come back, we speak with a formerly incarcerated firefighter about the climate-fueled wildfires engulfing California. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-08-25--RNC Opens with Baseless Trump Claims of Rigged Election & Warnings About Socialism and Unions

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : The Republican National Convention opened in Charlotte , North Carolina , Monday .
President Trump made a surprise speech during the day .
Just minutes after he was formally nominated for a second term , he spoke in front of a group of delegates in Charlotte .
AMY GOODMAN : During his daytime speech , President Trump continued his attack on mail-in voting .
AMY GOODMAN : While Trump spoke in Charlotte , the new postmaster general , Louis DeJoy , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being grilled by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee , who accused him of trying to sabotage the Postal Service ahead of the election .
In an unusual decision , the Republican Party has decided not to adopt a new platform this year , a move that ensures there will be no public debate at the convention about the direction of the party under Trump .
During the primetime Republican National Convention , speakers , including the president ’ s son Donald Trump Jr. , used apocalyptic language to describe the dangers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off with Charlie Kirk , founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point .
AMY GOODMAN : Throughout the first night of the Republican convention , speakers repeatedly praised Trump ’ s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak , even as the U.S. death toll tops 177,000 — by far the highest in the world .
The U.S. has less than 5 % of the world ’ s population but more than 25 % of the deaths .
No mention was made of Trump ’ s record of spreading misinformation , his urging of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months-long refusal to wear a mask during the pandemic .
This is Amy Ford , a nurse from West Virginia .
AMY GOODMAN : There continues to be a lack of tests and masks available to the overall population in the United States .
While polls show 90 % of Black voters back the Biden-Harris ticket , a number of African American public figures were featured on Monday night ’ s Republican convention , including Vernon Jones , a Democratic state representative from Georgia .
AMY GOODMAN : The wealth white St. Louis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter protesters who marched near their mansion in June also spoke .
Mark and Patricia McCloskey now face felony charges over the incident , which saw Mark McCloskey point a semiautomatic assault rifle at protesters while Patricia waved a silver pistol , her finger on the trigger .
MARK McCLOSKEY : That ’ s exactly right .
Whether it ’ s the defunding of police , ending cash bail so criminals can be released back out on the streets the same day to riot again , or encouraging anarchy and chaos on our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats no longer view the government ’ s job as protecting honest citizens from criminals , but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens .
Not a single person in the out-of-control mob you saw at our house was charged with a crime .
But you know who was ?
We were .
AMY GOODMAN : Black Lives Matter protesters were passing the McCloskeys ’ house to get to the mayor ’ s house in protest , when the McCloskeys brandished their weapons at the protesters .
Many speakers on the opening night of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if Trump loses the race .
This is former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle .
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE : They want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear .
They want to steal your liberty , your freedom .
They want to control what you see and think and believe , so that they can control how you live .
They want to enslave you to the weak , dependent , liberal , victim ideology , to the point that you will not recognize this country or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the partner of Donald Trump Jr. , who spoke next .
She ’ s also the ex-wife of the California governor , Gavin Newsom .
She also took aim at California .
But Donald Trump Jr. also then addressed the convention .
DONALD TRUMP JR. : People of faith are under attack .
You ’ re not allowed to go to church .
But mass chaos in the streets gets a pass .
It ’ s almost like this election is shaping up to be church , work and school versus rioting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the words of Biden and the Democrats , “ peaceful protesting.
” Anarchists have been flooding our streets , and Democrat mayors are ordering the police to stand down .
Small businesses across America , many of them minority-owned , are being torched by mobs .
The Democrat mayors pretend it ’ s not happening .
They actually called it a “ summer of love.
” AMY GOODMAN : Former U.N .
Ambassador Nikki Haley , who ’ s widely viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2024 , also spoke .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican National Convention ended with Senator Tim Scott , the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate .
He claimed Joe Biden wants a cultural revolution in the United States .
AMY GOODMAN : Senator Tim Scott , speaking at the opening of the Republican National Convention .
When we come back , we ’ ll speak to veteran Republican strategist Stuart Stevens , author of the new book , It Was All a Lie : How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The Republican National Convention opened in Charlotte, North Carolina, Monday. President Trump made a surprise speech during the day. Just minutes after he was formally nominated for a second term, he spoke in front of a group of delegates in Charlotte.
DELEGATES: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Now, if you want to really drive them crazy, you say “12 more years.”
DELEGATES: Twelve more years! Twelve more years! Twelve more years!
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Because we caught them doing some really bad things in 2016. Let’s see what happens.
AMY GOODMAN: During his daytime speech, President Trump continued his attack on mail-in voting.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election. We’re going to win this election. … What they’re doing is using COVID to steal an election. They’re using COVID to defraud the American people, all of our people, of a fair and free election. And we can’t do that.
AMY GOODMAN: While Trump spoke in Charlotte, the new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, who is a major Trump donor, was being grilled by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, who accused him of trying to sabotage the Postal Service ahead of the election.
In an unusual decision, the Republican Party has decided not to adopt a new platform this year, a move that ensures there will be no public debate at the convention about the direction of the party under Trump.
During the primetime Republican National Convention, speakers, including the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., used apocalyptic language to describe the dangers of a Biden presidency. The evening kicked off with Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point.
CHARLIE KIRK: We may not have realized it at the time, but Trump is the bodyguard of Western civilization. Trump was elected to protect our families from the vengeful mob that seeks to destroy our way of life, our neighborhoods, schools, churches and values. President Trump was elected to defend the American way of life.
AMY GOODMAN: Throughout the first night of the Republican convention, speakers repeatedly praised Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, even as the U.S. death toll tops 177,000 — by far the highest in the world. The U.S. has less than 5% of the world’s population but more than 25% of the deaths. No mention was made of Trump’s record of spreading misinformation, his urging of states to reopen too soon or his months-long refusal to wear a mask during the pandemic. This is Amy Ford, a nurse from West Virginia.
AMY JOHNSON FORD: President Trump recognized the threat this virus presented for all Americans early on, and made rapid policy changes. And as a result, telehealth services are now accessible to more than 71 million Americans, including 35 million children.
AMY GOODMAN: There continues to be a lack of tests and masks available to the overall population in the United States.
While polls show 90% of Black voters back the Biden-Harris ticket, a number of African American public figures were featured on Monday night’s Republican convention, including Vernon Jones, a Democratic state representative from Georgia.
REP. VERNON JONES: I’m here to tell you that Black voices are becoming more woke and louder than ever. The Democratic Party has become infected with a pandemic of intolerance, bigotry, socialism, anti-law enforcement.
AMY GOODMAN: The wealth white St. Louis couple who brandished guns at Black Lives Matter protesters who marched near their mansion in June also spoke. Mark and Patricia McCloskey now face felony charges over the incident, which saw Mark McCloskey point a semiautomatic assault rifle at protesters while Patricia waved a silver pistol, her finger on the trigger.
PATRICIA McCLOSKEY: What you saw happen to us could just as easily happen to any of you who are watching from quiet neighborhoods around our country. And that’s what we want to speak to you about tonight.
MARK McCLOSKEY: That’s exactly right. Whether it’s the defunding of police, ending cash bail so criminals can be released back out on the streets the same day to riot again, or encouraging anarchy and chaos on our streets, it seems as if the Democrats no longer view the government’s job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens. Not a single person in the out-of-control mob you saw at our house was charged with a crime. But you know who was? We were.
PATRICIA McCLOSKEY: They’re not satisfied with spreading the chaos and violence into our communities. They want to abolish the suburbs altogether.
AMY GOODMAN: Black Lives Matter protesters were passing the McCloskeys’ house to get to the mayor’s house in protest, when the McCloskeys brandished their weapons at the protesters.
Many speakers on the opening night of the Republican National Convention warned of chaos if Trump loses the race. This is former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: They want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear. They want to steal your liberty, your freedom. They want to control what you see and think and believe, so that they can control how you live. They want to enslave you to the weak, dependent, liberal, victim ideology, to the point that you will not recognize this country or yourself.
AMY GOODMAN: Kimberly Guilfoyle is the partner of Donald Trump Jr., who spoke next. She’s also the ex-wife of the California governor, Gavin Newsom. She also took aim at California. But Donald Trump Jr. also then addressed the convention.
DONALD TRUMP JR.: People of faith are under attack. You’re not allowed to go to church. But mass chaos in the streets gets a pass. It’s almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism — or, in the words of Biden and the Democrats, “peaceful protesting.” Anarchists have been flooding our streets, and Democrat mayors are ordering the police to stand down. Small businesses across America, many of them minority-owned, are being torched by mobs. The Democrat mayors pretend it’s not happening. They actually called it a “summer of love.”
AMY GOODMAN: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who’s widely viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2024, also spoke.
NIKKI HALEY: In much of the Democratic Party, it’s now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country. This is personal for me. I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. They came to America and settled in a small Southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a Brown girl in a black-and-white world. We faced discrimination and hardship, but my parents never gave in to grievance and hate.
AMY GOODMAN: The opening night of the Republican National Convention ended with Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate. He claimed Joe Biden wants a cultural revolution in the United States.
SEN. TIM SCOTT: Our side is working on policy, while Joe Biden’s radical Democrats are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an American. Make no mistake: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want a cultural revolution, a fundamentally different America. If we let them, they will turn our country into a socialist utopia. And history has taught us that path only leads to pain and misery, especially for hard-working people hoping to rise.
AMY GOODMAN: Senator Tim Scott, speaking at the opening of the Republican National Convention.
When we come back, we’ll speak to veteran Republican strategist Stuart Stevens, author of the new book, It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-08-25--Headlines for August 25, 2020

Headlines for August 25, 2020

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called in the National Guard Monday as protests continued in Kenosha for a second night following the police shooting on Sunday of Jacob Blake , an unarmed 29-year-old Black man .
An officer shot Blake seven times in the back as he was getting into a car .
His three children — ages 3 , 5 and 8 — witnessed the shooting .
Blake was reportedly trying to break up a fight between two women before the shooting , but the police have not explained why they went after him .
He remained hospitalized in serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a curfew Monday night as police used tear gas on crowds .
Protests also took place across the country , including here in New York City .
Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes called state lawmakers into a special session to take up legislation on police brutality that was introduced earlier in the year .
This is Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes .
Lt. Gov .
Mandela Barnes : “ This was not an accident .
This wasn ’ t bad police work .
This felt like some sort of vendetta being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community .
The officer ’ s daily actions attempted to take a person ’ s life in broad daylight .
And like many of you , the video is etched into my mind , like so many other past videos that are just like it .
It was a video that I would have rather not had to have watched .
But the irony isn ’ t lost on me .
That is , Jacob Blake was actually trying to deescalate a situation in his community , but the responding officer didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same .
”

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called in the National Guard Monday as protests continued in Kenosha for a second night following the police shooting on Sunday of Jacob Blake, an unarmed 29-year-old Black man. An officer shot Blake seven times in the back as he was getting into a car. His three children — ages 3, 5 and 8 — witnessed the shooting. Blake was reportedly trying to break up a fight between two women before the shooting, but the police have not explained why they went after him. He remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition Monday. Protesters defied a curfew Monday night as police used tear gas on crowds. Protests also took place across the country, including here in New York City.
Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes called state lawmakers into a special session to take up legislation on police brutality that was introduced earlier in the year. This is Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.


democracynow--2020-08-28--Hurricane Laura Devastates Gulf Coast, Laying Bare Climate Crisis, Environmental Racism

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
We ’ re Breaking with Convention .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , as we go to the Gulf Coast , where Hurricane Laura slammed ashore Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane , the strongest to hit Louisiana in over a century before it was downgraded to a tropical storm then tropical depression .
Laura made landfall south of the city of Lake Charles near the border of Louisiana and Texas .
At least six people were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to more than half of U.S. refining capacity .
And as they shut down ahead of the storm , an analysis by the environmental news outlet Grist showed just nine of the refineries would produce some four million pounds of excess hazardous chemicals .
Hurricane Laura arrived 15 years after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana and sets a record pace as the seventh named storm to make landfall in the United States so far this year .
For more , we are joined by Hilton Kelley , who lives in Port Arthur , Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the eye of the storm passed , home to the largest oil refinery in the Western Hemisphere , the Motiva refinery .
Hilton Kelley , you are facing five crises all at once—hurricanes , rising sea levels , air pollution , extreme heat and COVID .
Lay it out for us .
HILTON KELLEY : Hello .
Thank you for having me on the show .
Number one , we are dealing with a major , major issue here in the Gulf Coast , particularly with COVID-19 and pre-existing conditions that many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Of course with all the refineries and chemical plants in our area , there is a large amount of various toxins that are released into the environment which we live in , in the Port Arthur , Orange , Beaumont , Lake Charles and Cameron , Louisiana area .
AMY GOODMAN : Talk about the difficulty of the evacuation .
You , too , finally evacuated after NOAA called you and begged you , your wife called you and begged you .
Because they were talking about 20-foot storm surges .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a time of COVID .
I mean , setting up shelters , how people could be protected , even going in the buses .
HILTON KELLEY : Well , one of the biggest concerns we had , and also the mayor of Port Arthur , Mayor Thurman Bartie , was the fact that here we are , dealing with a disproportionate number of people suffering in the city of Port Arthur in Jefferson County with the COVID-19 virus .
I know about three people personally that have succumbed to the coronavirus and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this country , but also in small towns like Port Arthur , Texas , Beaumont and Jefferson County .
But yet here we are now faced with these major storms as we look down the barrel of Hurricane Laura , and they talked about the surges .
Everyone was sort of bewildered on how do we deal with this .
But the only thing you can do is sort of get buses lined up , and you had people sit in every other seat , which basically took away from those people that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet at the same time , they had to do something .
So they lined up quite a few buses .
My wife , she also worked for the Port Arthur transit , Marie Kelley , and she worked diligently over time , under time , and to get people lined up , to get people the information they needed .
And they had to work well into about 3:00 a.m. , 4:00 a.m. in the morning just answering phones to get all the people that needed rides situated .
And they still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough transportation because of the situation where they had to separate people .
AMY GOODMAN : And of course you ’ re largely talking about these areas that are overwhelmingly communities of color .
Can you talk about the oil industry , the largest refinery in the world there , when you have this kind of hurricane , the combination of the hurricane , the climate crisis and the extreme heat and now a fire ?
HILTON KELLEY : When you add it all up , and to add insult to injury , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an industrial community like Port Arthur , Texas , and the Orange , Texas area , what you find is that many of these industries go into shutdown mode .
And whenever they go into shutdown mode , that means they can ’ t process the oil and make all the products that they ordinarily make .
Much of their product that ’ s left in the pipeline have to be sent to the flares and actually burned , along with a lot of the gases that build up .
So what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or the derricks is these huge , huge plumes of black smoke and soot .
Much of it is contaminated with benzene .
Much of it is contaminated with sulfur and other toxins that are not being processed , also volatile organic compounds .
And so people are ingesting all of these dangerous toxins and at the same time dealing with COVID-19 and the extreme heat .
It really exacerbates the respiratory system and also the immune system , making us more prone to be affected by COVID-19 .
AMY GOODMAN : Can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate crisis and environmental racism , Hilton Kelly ?
HILTON KELLEY : Well , when you look at the fact that we know climate change is real , nowhere is it more prevalent than on the Gulf Coast .
What we ’ re seeing is sea level rise .
What we are seeing is extreme heat .
What we are seeing is a disproportionate number of people dying from cancer .
We ’ re seeing a disproportionate number of people dealing with respiratory issues and also succumbing to respiratory problems like asthma , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Texas , one out of every five households have a child or someone behind the doors that have to use a nebulizer to breathe or take breathing treatments .
It is time that we do more to assist the world with ending climate change .
It is time for the United States to get back into the Paris agreement .
And I think Trump , instead of rolling back some of these Clean Air Act laws and regulations , we should be looking at ways in which we can place more regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not only on the Gulf Coast , but across this country .
It is time that we stand together and it ’ s time that all citizens realize that it is up to us to make sure that our environment is safe and clean for all citizens .
AMY GOODMAN : Hilton Kelley , I want to thank you so much for being with us , winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize , Executive Director of the Community In-Power and Development Association .
Thank you so much .
Democracy Now !
produced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deena Guzder , Libby Rainey , Nermeen Shaikh , Maria Taracena , Carla Wills , Tami Woronoff , Charina Nadura , Sam Alcoff , Tey-Marie Astudillo , John Hamilton , Robby Karran , Hany Massoud and Adriano Contreras .
Our general manager is Julie Crosby .
Special thanks to Becca Staley , Miriam Barnard , Denis Moynihan , Paul Powell , Mike DiFilippo , Miguel Noguera [ sp ] , Hugh Grand .
Stay safe , save lives , wear a mask .
And go to our website at Democracynow.org , for our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our coverage of the conventions , for our coverage of global issues and the issue of police brutality and the climate crisis .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! We’re Breaking with Convention. I’m Amy Goodman, as we go to the Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Laura slammed ashore Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest to hit Louisiana in over a century before it was downgraded to a tropical storm, then tropical depression. Laura made landfall south of the city of Lake Charles near the border of Louisiana and Texas. At least six people were killed.
The Gulf Coast is home to more than half of U.S. refining capacity. And as they shut down ahead of the storm, an analysis by the environmental news outlet Grist showed just nine of the refineries would produce some 4 million pounds of excess hazardous chemicals. Hurricane Laura arrived 15 years after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana, and sets a record pace as the seventh named storm to make landfall in the United States so far this year.
For more, we’re joined by Hilton Kelley, who lives in Port Arthur, Texas, which is about an hour from where the eye of the storm passed, home to the largest oil refinery in the Western Hemisphere, the Motiva refinery.
Hilton Kelley, you’re facing five crises all at once: hurricanes, rising sea levels, air pollution, extreme heat and COVID. Lay it out for us.
HILTON KELLEY: Well, hello. Thank you for having me on the show.
Number one, we are dealing with a major, major issue here in the Gulf Coast, particularly with COVID-19 and preexisting conditions that many of the citizens are dealing with here. Of course, with all the refineries and chemical plants in our area, there is a large amount of various toxins that are released into the environment which we live in, in the Port Arthur, Orange, Beaumont, Lake Charles and Cameron, Louisiana, area.
AMY GOODMAN: So, talk about the difficulty of the evacuation. You, too, finally evacuated after NOAA called you and begged you, your wife called you and begged you, because they were talking about 20-foot storm surges. But if you can talk about the difficulty, in a time of COVID, I mean, setting up shelters, how people could be protected, even going in the buses?
HILTON KELLEY: Well, one of the biggest concerns we had, and also the mayor of Port Arthur, Mayor Thurman Bartie, was the fact that here we are, dealing with a disproportionate number of people suffering in the city of Port Arthur in Jefferson County with the COVID-19 virus. I know about three people personally that have succumbed to the coronavirus, and it’s running rampant throughout not only this country, but also in small towns like Port Arthur, Texas, Beaumont and Jefferson County. But yet here we are now faced with these major storms as we look down the barrel of Hurricane Laura, and they talked about the surges. You know, everyone was sort of bewildered on how do we deal with this.
But the only thing you can do is sort of get buses lined up, and you had people sit in every other seat, which basically took away from those people that were dealing with transportation barriers. But yet, at the same time, they had to do something. So they lined up quite a few buses. My wife, she also worked for the Port Arthur Transit, Marie Kelley, and she worked very diligently over time, under time, and to get people lined up, to get people the information they needed. And they had to work well into about 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. in the morning just answering phones to get all the people that needed rides situated. And they still fell short because there wasn’t enough transportation, because of the situation where they had to separate people.
AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, you’re largely talking about these areas that are overwhelmingly communities of color. Can you talk about the oil industry, the largest refinery in the world there, when you have this kind of hurricane, the combination of the hurricane, the climate crisis and the extreme heat and now a fire?
HILTON KELLEY: Well, when you add it all up, and to add insult to injury, whenever you have a huge storm coming at an industrial community like Port Arthur, Texas, and the Orange, Texas, area, what you find is that many of these industries go into shutdown mode. And whenever they go into shutdown mode, that means they can’t process the oil and make all the products that they ordinarily make. And much of the product that’s left in the pipeline have to be sent to the flares and actually burned, along with a lot of the gases that build up.
So, what you see coming off of the smokestacks or the derricks is these huge, huge plumes of black smoke and soot. And much of it is contaminated with benzene. Much of it is contaminated with sulfur and other toxins that are not being processed, also volatile organic compounds. And so people are ingesting all of these dangerous toxins and at the same time dealing with COVID-19 and the extreme heat. It really exacerbates the respiratory system and also the immune system, making us more prone to be affected by COVID-19.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the connection between the climate crisis and environmental racism, Hilton Kelley?
HILTON KELLEY: Well, when you look at the fact that we know climate change is real, nowhere is it more prevalent than on the Gulf Coast. What we are seeing is sea level rise. What we are seeing is extreme heat. What we are seeing is a disproportionate number of people dying from cancer. We’re seeing a disproportionate number of people dealing with respiratory issues and also succumbing to respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis and COPD. In Port Arthur, Texas, one out of every five households have a child or someone behind the doors that have to use a nebulizer to breathe or take breathing treatments.
It’s time that we do more to assist the world with ending climate change. It’s time for the United States to get back into the Paris Agreement. And I think Trump, instead of rolling back some of these Clean Air Act laws and regulations, we should be looking at ways in which we can place more regulations to ensure the safety of our citizens, not only on the Gulf Coast, but across this country. It’s time that we stand together, and it’s time that all citizens realize that it’s up to us to make sure that our environment is safe and clean for all citizens.
AMY GOODMAN: Hilton Kelley, I want to thank you so much for being with us, winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, executive director of the Community In-Power and Development Association. Thank you so much.
Democracy Now! produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Libby Rainey, Nermeen Shaikh, Maria Taracena, Carla Wills, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud and Adriano Contreras. Our general manager is Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley, Miriam Barnard, Denis Moynihan, Paul Powell, Mike DiFilippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran.
Stay safe. Save lives. Wear a mask. And go to our website at democracynow.org for our coverage of the Gulf Coast, for our coverage of the conventions, for our coverage of global issues and the issue of police brutality and the climate crisis.


democracynow--2020-08-28--Historian Rick Perlstein on the RNC & Trump's Dangerous Propaganda Driving People to Violence

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
We ’ re Breaking with Convention .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
President Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican Party ’ s nomination Thursday night before a crowd of about 1,500 people on the South Lawn of the White House .
In defiance of social distancing rules , attendees sat shoulder-to-shoulder .
Few wore masks .
Trump spoke as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus neared 180,000 , by far the highest total in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people sat in front of him as die every day in the United States of coronavirus .
During his speech , Trump repeatedly defended his administration ’ s handling of the pandemic .
AMY GOODMAN : In fact , the U.S. has the highest total death toll in the world .
With a little over 4 % of the world ’ s population , the U.S. has about 25 % of the world ’ s coronavirus deaths .
One-hundred twenty nations have a lower case fatality rate than the United States .
CNN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 20 false or misleading statements in Trump ’ s acceptance speech .
Earlier in the day , Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered a prebuttal to Trump ’ s speech and attacked his handling of the coronavirus outbreak .
AMY GOODMAN : During his acceptance speech , President Trump made no reference to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha , Wisconsin , or the killing of the two protesters in Kenosha by a 17-year-old white militia Trump supporter .
AMY GOODMAN : During her prebuttal , Kamala Harris directly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other incidents of police violence .
AMY GOODMAN : During Trump ’ s acceptance speech , he mentioned Joe Biden ’ s name , oh , about 41 times .
He attacked him repeatedly , claiming he was a Trojan horse for socialism and a threat to the American dream .
AMY GOODMAN : To talk more about President Trump ’ s acceptance speech and the 2020 race , we are joined by historian Rick Perlstein .
Over the last 20 years , Perlstein has written a four-volume series on the rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ final volume just published .
It ’ s titled Reaganland : America ’ s Right Turn , 1976-1980 .
Welcome to Democracy Now !
It ’ s great to have you with us , Rick Perlstein .
Can you talk about the tropes , the language that President Trump used last night ?
But go beyond his speech last night and talk about what you see happening to the Republican Party right now .
Would you say last night was just a celebration of white supremacy ?
RICK PERLSTEIN : Yeah .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard conclusion to avoid .
Adolf Hitler ’ s chief propagandist , Joseph Goebbels , used to say it ’ s easier to get the public to believe a big lie than a small one .
And what he meant was , if you create such an all-encompassing completely dominating picture of the world that bears no resemblance to reality , people might think that it ’ s inconceivable that that could be false , right ?
And that ’ s exactly what we ’ ve seen this week in the Republican Convention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while basically a young man who amounts to a stochastic terrorist , that ’ s basically a person committing political acts of violence believed to be inspired by the acts and wishes of a leader , has happened , is something that you can not separate from what we saw on our screens .
This young man is an impassioned Trump supporter , an impassioned police supporter .
He goes to Trump rallies .
He goes online and presents videos , believing himself to be an armed vigilante , protecting the nation against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes to Kenosha .
And every terrorist believes or claims to believe that they are protecting something , they are protecting order .
This young gentleman goes around with the support of the police who hand him water from their riot tanks .
And he shoots .
He is fleeing .
People are trying to disarm him .
And his first instinct is to shoot another person in the head , acting basically in line with not the things that a white supremacist Nazi writer of pamphlets says , but the things that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And the picture that we are looking at of course bears careful and thoughtful resemblance to the world that the Republican Party made over the last 40 years .
But to understand it , we need to go back to the history of strongmen .
You know , going back to a Mussolini , going back to a Hitler .
AMY GOODMAN : Johns Hopkins University Professor Narges Bajoghli wrote on Twitter last night , “ Having studied production of propaganda in history and present for years , poring over endless hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it works well , the RNC convention the past three days has been some of the best produced and most effective propaganda I ’ ve seen.
” Rick Perlstein ?
RICK PERLSTEIN : Yeah .
I think that it ’ s effective in the sense that it ’ s going to really motivate people who are within this kind of phony worldview , the one in which the coronavirus is referred to in the past tense and America ’ s economy is the most awesome dynamo the world has ever seen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he needs to reach beyond that and win the majority of electoral votes .
But by the same token , I ’ ve made an absolute commitment not to talk about the election of Donald Trump and his attempt to retain power only by talking about voters and electoral votes .
Because he is appealing so adamantly to the kind of people who will take arms , take up arms in the streets if he loses .
One of the things we need to understand when it comes to the history of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their janissaries and enablers are so lawless that they know that if they lose , they may well be called to account for their breaking of the laws .
And that makes it an absolute desperate imperative that they not lose .
And that is when you see the most frightening developments .
The idea that you can not allow elections to stand .
That ’ s what we saw in Chile in 1970 .
They lost an election and that ’ s when they bombed the presidential palace .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential palace , but that ’ s when the generals seized power by force of arms because they knew that were they to lose , they would be held responsible for the crimes that they had committed .
AMY GOODMAN : Rick , I wanted go back to the Democratic National Convention last week centering on the voices of anti-Trump Republicans but sidelining progressive Democrats , like AOC , for example—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .
Yes , she spoke for 60 seconds .
She took 90 seconds .
But she actually wasn ’ t invited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Bernie Sanders to nominate him .
RICK PERLSTEIN : Yeah .
I want to give it a mixed review .
It is absolutely true that they let the former governor of Ohio , John Kasich , a Republican and someone who did things like sign laws to allow guns in bars and was a very adamant pro-life activist—and they let him bait the left wing of the party , which was an absolute absurdity .
But at the same time , they really kind of went all in on a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nights , for Black Lives Matter .
They had an unbelievably galvanizing segment about the imperative to let Dreamers stay in the United States .
They had a great segment about feminism .
So it was really this attempt to create this big tent .
But at the same time , does the highlighting of these Republicans cause such a contradiction that the American people say to themselves , “ Well , what does this party really believe ?
” And it ’ s absolutely scandalous that the younger generation of Democrats who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effectively to push aside very long-term incumbent congressmen , were slighted .
AMY GOODMAN : Rich Perlstein , in this last minute we have , and we ’ ll have you back to talk more about Reaganland , but take us back .
You have been chronicling the rise of the conservative and Republican Party for decades now , wrote four books on it .
Take us to Reaganland and the similarities you see—Reagan , Trump , and how Trump has taken it further .
RICK PERLSTEIN : Yeah .
I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ express these very subtle similarities and differences .
One thing I will say right now is that Ronald Reagan would definitely say , “ Two plus two equals five.
” Right ?
There ’ s no question about it .
But when he would say things like that , it tended to be the off-the-cuff stuff , not the stuff that his speechwriters had written .
Whereas when Donald Trump takes a podium and he is reading a speech , that is when he lies the most adamantly .
And it shows that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ propaganda , authoritarianism is qualitatively more systematic than under Ronald Reagan .
But at the same time that it would not have been possible without Ronald Reagan and the movement around him kind of priming the Republican electorate and Republican elected officials for this kind of lawlessness and viciousness .
AMY GOODMAN : And you of course say that Reagan was one of the most dangerous presidents in U.S. history .
RICK PERLSTEIN : There is no question .
Whether a guy cuts 80 % out of the public housing budget in eight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a smile or a scowl , the effect is the same .
One of the most dangerous things that Ronald Reagan did as president was something we saw all over in this Republican Convention , which is that idea that people who criticize America are not quite Americans .
That is the Reagan legacy , not only to America , but to the United States .
That is something that is completely unquestioned in the Republican Party .
AMY GOODMAN : Rick Perlstein , we want to thank you so much for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four-volume series on the rise of the modern conservative movement , the final book just published , Reaganland : America ’ s Right Turn , 1976-1980 .
When we come back , we go to the Gulf Coast .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! We’re Breaking with Convention. I’m Amy Goodman. President Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination Thursday night before a crowd of about 1,500 people on the South Lawn of the White House. In defiance of social distancing rules, attendees sat shoulder to shoulder. Few wore masks. Trump spoke as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus neared 180,000 — by far the highest total in the world. About the same number of people sat in front of him as die every day in the United States of coronavirus. During his speech, Trump repeatedly defended his administration’s handling of the pandemic.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The United States has among the lowest case fatality rates of any major country anywhere in the world. The European Union’s case fatality rate is nearly three times higher than ours, but you don’t hear that. They don’t write about that. They don’t want to write about that. They don’t want you to know those things.
AMY GOODMAN: In fact, the U.S. has the highest total death toll in the world. With a little over 4% of the world’s population, the U.S. has about 25% of the world’s coronavirus deaths. One hundred twenty nations have a lower case fatality rate than the United States. CNN reports this was one of the more than 20 false or misleading statements in Trump’s acceptance speech. Earlier in the day, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered a prebuttal to Trump’s speech and attacked his handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: Donald has failed at the most basic and important job of a president of the United States. He failed to protect the American people, plain and simple. Trump showed what we in the legal profession would call a reckless disregard for the well-being of the American people. A reckless disregard.
AMY GOODMAN: During his acceptance speech, President Trump made no reference to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, or the killing of the two protesters in Kenosha by a 17-year-old white militia Trump supporter.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When there is police misconduct, the justice system must hold wrongdoers fully and completely accountable. And it will. But when we can never have a situation where things are going on, as they are today, we must never allow mob rule. We can never allow mob rule. In the strongest possible terms, the Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting, arson and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities all, like Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago and New York and many others. Democrat-run. There is violence and danger in the streets of many Democrat-run cities throughout America.
AMY GOODMAN: During her prebuttal, Kamala Harris directly addressed the police shooting of Jacob Blake and other incidents of police violence.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: As Vice President Biden put it, the shots fired at Mr. Blake pierced the soul of our nation. It’s sickening to watch. It’s all too familiar. … People are rightfully angry and exhausted. And after the murders of Breonna and George and Ahmaud and so many others, it’s no wonder people are taking to the streets. And I support them. We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence.
AMY GOODMAN: During Trump’s acceptance speech, he mentioned Joe Biden’s name, oh, about 41 times. He attacked him repeatedly, claiming he was a “Trojan horse for socialism” and a threat to the American dream.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Biden is a Trojan horse for socialism. If Joe Biden doesn’t have the strength to stand up to wild-eyed Marxists like Bernie Sanders and his fellow radicals — and there are many — there are many, many — we see them all the time — it’s incredible, actually — then how is he ever going to stand up for you? He’s not. … Make no mistake: If you give power to Joe Biden, the radical left will defund police departments all across America. They will pass federal legislation to reduce law enforcement nationwide. They will make every city look like Democrat-run Portland, Oregon. No one will be safe in Biden’s America. My administration will always stand with the men and women of law enforcement.
AMY GOODMAN: To talk more about President Trump’s acceptance speech and the 2020 race, we’re joined by historian Rick Perlstein. Over the last 20 years, Perlstein has written a four-volume series on the rise of the modern conservative movement, the final volume just published. It’s titled Reaganland: America’s Right Turn, 1976-1980.
Welcome to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us, Rick Perlstein. Can you talk about the tropes, the language that President Trump used last night? But go beyond his speech last night and talk about what you see happening to the Republican Party right now. Would you say last night was just a celebration of white supremacy?
RICK PERLSTEIN: Yeah, I think that that’s a very hard conclusion to avoid. Adolf Hitler’s chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, used to say it’s easier to get the public to believe a big lie than a small one. And what he meant was, if you create such an all-encompassing, completely dominating picture of the world that bears no resemblance to reality, people might think that it’s inconceivable that that could be false, right? And that’s exactly what we’ve seen this week in the Republican convention.
And the idea that this is happening while basically a young man who amounts to a stochastic terrorist, that’s basically a person committing political acts of violence believing to be inspired by the acts and wishes of a leader, has happened, is something that you cannot separate from what we saw on our screens. This young man is an impassioned Trump supporter, an impassioned police supporter. He goes to Trump rallies. He goes online and presents videos, believing himself to be an armed vigilante protecting the nation against these dark and frightening hordes. He comes to Kenosha. And every terrorist believes or claims to believe that they’re protecting something, they’re protecting order.
This young gentleman goes around with the support of the police, who hand him water from their riot tanks. And he shoots. He’s fleeing. People are trying to disarm him. And his first instinct is to shoot another person in the head, acting basically in line with not the things that a white supremacist Nazi writer of pamphlets says, but the things that the president of the United States does. And the picture that we’re looking at, of course, bears careful and thoughtful resemblance to the world that the Republican Party made over the last 40 years. But to understand it, we need to go back to the history of strongmen, you know, going back to a Mussolini, going back to a Hitler.
AMY GOODMAN: Johns Hopkins University professor Narges Bajoghli wrote on Twitter last night, “Having studied production of propaganda in history/present for yrs—pouring over endless hours dissecting how it works/lkg for when it works well, the RNC convention past 3 days has been some of best produced+most effective propaganda I’ve seen,” she said. Rick Perlstein?
RICK PERLSTEIN: Yeah. I think that it’s effective in the sense that it’s going to really motivate people who are within this kind of phony worldview, the one in which the coronavirus is referred to in the past tense and America’s economy is the most awesome dynamo the world has ever seen. But, of course, in order to win, he needs to reach beyond that and win the majority of electoral votes. But by the same token, I’ve made an absolute commitment not to talk about the election of Donald Trump and his attempt to retain power only by talking about voters and electoral votes, because he’s appealing so adamantly to the kind of people who will take arms, take up arms in the streets, if he loses.
One of the things we need to understand when it comes to the history of authoritarian strongmen is they are so lawless and their janissaries and enablers are so lawless that they know that if they lose, they may well be called to account for their breaking of the laws. And that makes it an absolute desperate imperative that they not lose. And that’s when you see the most frightening developments — you know, the idea that you cannot allow elections to stand. That’s what we saw in Chile in 1970. They lost an election, and that’s when they bombed the presidential palace, right? That’s in 1973 when they bombed the presidential palace, but that’s when the generals seized power by force of arms, because they knew that were they to lose, they would be held responsible for the crimes that they had committed.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Rick, I wanted go back to the Democratic National Convention last week centering on the voices of anti-Trump Republicans but sidelining progressive Democrats, I mean, like AOC, for example — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
RICK PERLSTEIN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: Yes, she spoke for 60 seconds. She took 90 seconds.
RICK PERLSTEIN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: But she actually wasn’t invited by the DNC. She was invited by Bernie Sanders to nominate him.
RICK PERLSTEIN: Yeah. I want to give it a mixed review. It’s absolutely true that they let the former governor of Ohio, John Kasich, a Republican and someone who did things like sign laws to allow guns in bars and was a very adamant pro-life activist — and they let him bait the left wing of the party, which was an absolute absurdity.
But at the same time, they really kind of went all in on a lot of this, on a lot of those nights, for Black Lives Matter. And they had an unbelievably galvanizing segment about the imperative to let DREAMers stay in the United States. And they had a great segment about feminism. Right? So it was really this attempt to kind of create this big tent.
But at the same time, does the highlighting of these Republicans cause such a contradiction that the American people say to themselves, “Well, what does this party really believe?” And it’s absolutely scandalous that the younger generation of Democrats, who are, after all, organizing quite effectively to push aside very long-term incumbent congressmen, were slighted.
AMY GOODMAN: Rich Perlstein, in this last minute we have, and we’ll have you back to talk more about Reaganland, but take us back. You have been chronicling the rise of the conservative and Republican Party for decades now, wrote four books on it.
RICK PERLSTEIN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: Take us to Reaganland and the similarities you see — Reagan, Trump, and how Trump has taken it further.
RICK PERLSTEIN: Right, yeah. I’ve been trying to figure out ways to express these very subtle similarities and differences. And one thing I will say right now is that Ronald Reagan would definitely say, “Two plus two equals five.” Right? There’s no question about it. But when he would say things like that, it tended to be the off-the-cuff stuff, not the stuff that his speechwriters had written, right? Whereas when Donald Trump takes a podium and he’s reading a speech, that’s when he lies the most adamantly.
And it shows that the kind of lying, deception, propaganda, authoritarianism is qualitatively more systematic than under Ronald Reagan, but at the same time that it would not have been possible without Ronald Reagan and the movement around him kind of priming the Republican electorate and Republican elected officials for this kind of lawlessness and viciousness.
AMY GOODMAN: And you, of course, say that Reagan was one of the most dangerous presidents in U.S. history.
RICK PERLSTEIN: There’s no question, right? I mean, whether a guy cuts 80% out of the public housing budget in eight years, as Ronald Reagan did, with a smile or a scowl, the effect is the same, right? And one of the most dangerous things that Ronald Reagan did as president was something we saw all over in this Republican convention, which is that idea that people who criticize America are not quite Americans. Right? That is the Reagan legacy, not only to America, but to the United States. And that’s something that is completely unquestioned in the Republican Party.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Rick Perlstein, we want to thank you so much for being with us, author of a four-volume series on the rise of the modern conservative movement, the final book just published, Reaganland: America’s Right Turn, 1976-1980. When we come back, we go to the Gulf Coast. Stay with us.