democracynow--2020-03-04--After Biden's Super Tuesday Surge, Sanders Campaign Faces Questions About African-American Support

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : We continue to look at Super Tuesday results , which established the fight for the Democratic nomination as largely a two-man race between Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden .
Biden swept the South and the Midwest last night , winning Virginia , North Carolina , Arkansas , Alabama , Tennessee , Oklahoma , Massachusetts , Minnesota and Texas , propelled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in several states .
And Sanders won in the West , with victories in Colorado and Utah and the grand prize of the night , California , with significant Latinx support .
Sanders also won his home state of Vermont .
AMY GOODMAN : Biden ’ s strong showing came after the Democratic Party establishment consolidated around the former vice president , with Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropping out in recent days and throwing their support behind him .
But it also was due to black voters in the South , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBC reports Biden won the support of 63 % of black voters in Virginia , 62 % of black voters in Tennessee and 72 % of black voters in Alabama .
Exit polls also show 6 in 10 black voters backed Biden in Texas and North Carolina .
According to an NBC exit poll , black voters outside the South were less likely to support Biden , and Black voters under 45 are around three times as likely to support Bernie Sanders than older voters .
Well , for more , we host @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re joined by Barbara Ransby , historian , author and activist adviser to the Movement for Black Lives .
She ’ s endorsed Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination .
Her latest book is Making All Black Lives Matter : Reimagining Freedom in the 21st Century .
Reverend Dr. William Barber is with us in Washington , D.C. , co-chair of the Poor People ’ s Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach .
And via Democracy Now !
video stream , we ’ re joined by Elie Mystal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the magazine 's new monthly column , “ Objection !
” His recent column is titled “ Black Voters Didn ’ t Vote for Biden in South Carolina Because They 'Lack Information . '
” Welcome back to Democracy Now !
, Elie .
Elie , let us begin with you .
Your response to what happened on Super Tuesday ?
ELIE MYSTAL : I think it ’ s pretty amazing how much the black community in the South , the older black community , has really rallied behind Joe Biden .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ start , when it looked like he was shaky .
It looked they might even go to Mike Bloomberg .
But they ’ ve all come back to Biden .
And it ’ s provided him a firewall that I am surprised that Bernie Sanders hasn ’ t yet been able to break through , right ?
He ’ s had five years to work on this problem .
This is what happened to him in 2016 against Hillary Clinton .
And I think it deserves serious analysis to try to figure out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community , when he ’ s had so long to work on it .
I think your earlier guest , Chuck , he made a good point that Bernie seems to have made real inroads with the Latinx community .
But that hasn ’ t worked with the black community , hasn ’ t worked with the Southern older black community specifically .
And just to kind of cut people off at the pass , I think one thing that we can ’ t say , one bad analysis that ’ s out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blacks are just , “ oh , more conservative , and so that ’ s why they… ” There is no evidence that Southern black voters are more socially conservative than other voters in this primary , when you look at the fact that all of the candidates running are basically in lockstep on the social issues , right ?
Like , all the candidates running support a woman ’ s right to choose .
All the candidates running support gay marriage .
Like , all of the Democratic primary candidates are kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On the economic progressivism issues , again , black voters all across the country , including in the South , have a record of supporting economic progressivism .
Right ?
The Poor People ’ s Campaign that Reverend Barber is running .
Like , there is strong African-American support all across the South for economic progressivism .
So , what is it that ’ s — what part of Bernie ’ s message is not translating to Southern black voters , I think , is a really nuanced and interesting question .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ d like to bring Barbara Ransby into the discussion .
And , Barbara Ransby , specifically , there is an existing superstructure of black elected officials across the country who for most of this campaign were sort of divided in their perspective , until , it seems to me , the South Carolina primary , especially the pronouncements of James — of Congressman Clyburn and his impact on the race in terms of — it appeared to consolidate the existing superstructure of black elected officials around the country to turn out the vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of what happened last night .
BARBARA RANSBY : Yeah .
No , I think that ’ s really a good point .
But let me say this : The good news from last night was Bloomberg ’ s defeat , in a sense .
You know , the fear that Bloomberg could literally come in and buy black voters and other voters was a real fear .
And so , even with all his millions of investment , he didn ’ t have the showing that he expected .
So I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one important takeaway .
I think , in terms of black voters , you know , Ibram Kendi made the point last night in a tweet that we are talking about a subset of black voters .
We are talking about older black voters .
We ’ re talking about primarily black voters in the South .
And I think people vote for a lot of reasons .
Most people are not reading every line of everyone ’ s platform , and there ’ s a lot of trust by association .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his full weight behind Joe Biden , I think it did indeed have a ripple effect .
I ’ m not saying that black voters in the South are not — you know , my relatives are in the South .
I respect and have drawn wisdom from black folks in the South .
My people come from the South .
And my research is about the strength and fortitude and brilliant leadership of black Southerners in the Black Freedom Movement .
So , absolutely no diss to black Southerners at all .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I think our people voted more out of fear and pragmatism than out of hope and optimism .
And we ’ ve got to turn that around .
If you look at a Joe Biden versus a Bernie Sanders , both very imperfect .
I am not looking for a savior in this election .
But clearly , down the line , looking at his past , looking at his platform and looking at what he represents for the future , including young black activists , who are excited about him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what black people need to be looking toward in terms of a campaign that can make a material impact on our lives and the lives of our people .
So , you know , I think the race is not over .
I think that there are a number of states still to be won and are in play .
And I also think we have to recalibrate our notion of winning .
For me , electoral politics is one part of a larger effort to further the cause of black freedom and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , for all people , and certainly sustainability for the planet .
So this is one part of a larger agenda , a larger effort , a larger movement building .
I think that ’ s one of the things I have appreciated about the Sanders campaign , people like Phil Agnew and Nina Turner and others in that campaign , who have a bigger vision of building a movement , not just winning an election — although , hopefully , we will win the election , as well .
AMY GOODMAN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re in Washington right now , you ’ re from North Carolina .
That ’ s where you live .
The percentage points in your home state , 42 % of the vote went to Biden — he , of course , won North Carolina — to Sanders ’ 24 % .
Why do you think former Vice President Biden did so well in North Carolina ?
REV .
WILLIAM BARBER II : Well , first of all , good morning , and to your other guests .
And yes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South , and I ’ m certainly glad that we ’ re finally having this conversation about the South , because you get over 160 , almost 170 , electoral votes just out of the former 13 Confederate states .
And I ’ m glad we ’ re having this conversation about African-American voters .
Now , I ’ m on my way planning for June 20th , 2020 , the Poor People ’ s Assembly National Moral March on Washington .
And I have a little bit different perspective , living in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the South .
I ’ ve seen a lot of candidates on the Democratic side win primaries and read their primary numbers one way and then lose in the general election .
So , here ’ s the question , Amy , and questions that I think we have to raise and that we ’ re looking into this morning .
And first of all , the question is — when you say someone won 61 % of the black vote , that ’ s good .
That should be celebrated .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
It ’ s a percentage of those who voted .
The other question is : How many weren ’ t inspired to vote ?
How many weren ’ t inspired to move ?
Yes , a lot of the initial vote may be based on personality , familiar , and Obama policies .
And that ’ s not a bad thing necessarily .
But also we have to ask — in those states last night , those 14 states , there are over 40 million poor and low-wealth voters .
Now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump .
What was the numbers of poor and low-wealth Americans in those states that turned out or didn ’ t turn out ?
What didn ’ t inspire them ?
Some places like Texas , you had 600,000 , almost an even split between Sanders and Biden .
That means that there is this split in the party , in the soul , for aspirations .
How will the party deal with that ?
Because that is not some clear , far victory that dismisses , say , for instance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ silly , as I ’ ve heard some Democrats say .
And they have to be very careful with that .
The last thing is , not only who didn ’ t vote , but in those Southern states — you know , we ’ re talking about this black wall , but are the Dems really going to fight after the primaries ?
Are they going to really invest in the North Carolinas , the Georgias , the Mississippi , the Alabama , Virginia , after the primaries , in the general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the general election , oftentime we see something very different .
For instance , last time , in the Clinton campaign , they left a half-million African-American voters off the table .
There was really no real effort to go after .
And in all of those states , the number of poor and low-wealth people and the number of African Americans who didn ’ t vote held the political calculus to not elect Donald Trump , that could have fundamentally changed .
And I want to know : Are we really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South and focus on bringing together poor blacks and poor whites in the South ?
Now , if that happens , we can have a fundamental shift in political calculus in this country .
You could see states like Virginia , North Carolina , Georgia , Mississippi , Florida flip in the general election .
But if we don ’ t , if we ’ re just going to deal with primary now and who gets the primary vote , and not look deeper — who didn ’ t vote , who wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how many black people were left out , how many poor people were left out last night and why — then we might end up with a lot of excitement in the primary and a lot of sobbing and sadness in the general election .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : I wanted to bring Elie Mystal back into the conversation .
In a recent column in The Nation , you laid out why you thought black voters are opting for Biden , and you said that it ’ s not because they “ lack information.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ turned out for Biden , even though , understanding , as Reverend Barber says , this is a primary , it ’ s not as representative of an overall subset or a part of the population as the general election ?
ELIE MYSTAL : I think you have to look at black voters , and I think this links up exactly with what Reverend Barber is saying — who is going to be there for black voters in the future ?
And are the policies that Bernie Sanders is running on , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for our community and lots of other communities — are white Americans ready to vote for those policies and uplift all people and share the great wealth of this country ?
Because the answer historically has been no .
The answer historically has been that when you ask white people to share the wealth of this country , they say no .
They vote with their pocketbooks over their morality .
That is how you get an unvarnished bigot and open sexist in the White House over a highly qualified woman .
Right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white people did in 2016 .
We have seen this .
We have seen the white electorate go for the Republican nominee time and time and time again .
Bernie Sanders is out here telling us that white people are ready to vote for real economic redistribution and change .
And I don ’ t know that he has convinced black people that white people are ready to do that .
And so I don ’ t think that it ’ s fear exactly .
I think it is pragmatism .
I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like you have white allies willing to take this pledge with you , well , then you revert back to the most important thing as beating Donald Trump , and that ’ s how you get kind of — that ’ s how you get back to Biden .
Now , one thing I will say , and again , I think this links up — what Reverend Barber is saying is so important .
You can start to change this if you continue to invest in the South , because it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own presidential campaign .
We have people running in the South in the Senate , that we desperately need to take back and we desperately need to support .
Don ’ t leave South — don ’ t leave Jaime Harrison hanging out there .
Jaime Harrison , by the way , seems to support Joe Biden .
Don ’ t leave Thom Tillis ’ s seat out there .
Don ’ t leave those two seats in Georgia out there .
Like , if the top of the ticket reinvests in these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help them win the Senate , that ’ s the kind of thing that I think long-term impresses African-American voters that white people are ready to be allies to the cause of social justice and racial equality .
AMY GOODMAN : Historian Barbara Ransby , you were among more than 100 leading black scholars , writers , educators , including Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor , Marc Lamont Hill , Gerald Horne , who issued a joint letter endorsing Bernie Sanders this weekend .
Can you talk about , specifically , simply , why you believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most benefit African Americans in this country , not to mention all Americans ?
BARBARA RANSBY : Right .
I ’ m glad you brought up that ad that we did .
We did a statement .
There were over a hundred black scholars , people who have devoted their entire lives to not only studying , but standing with the Black Freedom Movement , people who come out of the Black Freedom Movement and out of black communities .
And our assessment is — look , I grew up in Detroit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues of race and class have always been intimately bound up .
And I think while , you know , sometimes I ’ m disappointed , quite frankly , that Bernie Sanders doesn ’ t lead with a racial justice analysis , but when I listen carefully and when I look at the policies , I see a way forward for black working-class people .
As an educator , many of my students are first-generation college .
They ’ re black and Latinx students .
They ’ re deeply , deeply in debt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is of serious concern to all of us who are educators .
And that is a very racialized , racially imbalanced debt , falling heavily on people of color , young people of color .
Bernie Sanders ’ commitment to prison reform , to enfranchising incarcerated citizens — I mean , all these things are elements of a progressive vision for the future .
And , you know , this thing about white voters , listen , you ’ ve got racist — racism is everywhere in the country .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist white people who voted for Barack Obama .
You ’ ve got racist white people who voted for Elizabeth Warren in this primary .
You ’ ve got racist white people who voted for Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden .
So , people vote for a complex set of reasons , and we ’ re not all going to be on the same page in that .
And I think what we have to look at is what are the candidates ’ commitments — right ?
— around issues of race , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly around poor and working-class people .
I think the work that Reverend Barber is doing with the Poor People ’ s Campaign is so important , but also coalitions like The Rising Majority that are looking at a range of issues as they impact the lives of black people .
All of this is in the mix when we assess what presidential candidate could best lead us into a brighter , more just and sustainable future .
And for us , that candidate is Bernie Sanders .
But it ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a person .
I reserve the right to critique everybody , including people who I love and respect .
But it ’ s the campaign that he is building .
You know , again , it ’ s people like Chokwe Lumumba in Mississippi , who endorsed him .
It ’ s people like Senator Nina Turner .
It ’ s people like Phil Agnew , brilliant young organizer from Florida you ’ ve had on the show , who was very much a part of the early Black Lives Matter movement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deeply respected among a whole ecosystem of young black activists .
So , those are the principles that we united around when we formed the statement .
And the statement involved a lot of discussion and debate and push and pull about what tone did we want to strike , why was it important for us to do so as educators , and all of that .
And so , I hope it ’ s gotten some traction , but we are certainly not alone .
I think the young organizers in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Agnew comes out of , their 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) , did endorse Bernie Sanders , as well .
So there are a number of black organizers , activists , educators who see in the Sanders campaign , in the people around him , like AOC , like Ilhan Omar , like Rashida Tlaib , a real hope for a different kind of politic .
But again , you know , for us — for me , I would say — it is really a vote-plus strategy .
I agree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t end at the primary and can ’ t end at the primaries , but it also can ’ t end in November .
We have to be about building a movement .
And I think what Bernie Sanders ’ campaign represented , but also what Elizabeth Warren ’ s campaign represented , that a joining of forces there really represents a hopeful growth of a movement , a multiracial and anti-racist movement for a justice agenda long-term .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Reverend Barber , I ’ d like to ask you — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to think about how they keep saying the black vote is the heart of the party , yet when they had a chance to include blacks on the stage , they didn ’ t fight for that , but changed the rules for a billionaire .
Your thoughts in terms of the party ’ s two-faced strategy when it comes to the African-American vote , and especially how they treated Kamala Harris or Cory Booker versus how they opened the doors up for Michael Bloomberg ?
REV .
WILLIAM BARBER II : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve been a part of two campaigns that have actually won in the South , one in Kentucky and Moral Mondays in North Carolina .
And I learned that when you address systemic racism , systemic poverty , ecological devastation , the war economy and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism , you can in fact bring black and poor and low-wealth white and black people and Latinos together , and you can make significant change .
We have a study coming out now that shows if you just organize 2 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , white and Latino people in the country , not just in the South , but significantly in the South , you could fundamentally change elections .
We have to talk about that .
And it ’ s not so much race or class , but it ’ s race and class .
I ’ ve challenged , for instance , Bernie Sanders and all of the — Biden , all of them , as my sister said , to lead with a race analysis , but not about culture , but about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the issue of poverty and low wealth .
Sixty-one percent of African Americans live in poverty and low wealth .
That ’ s 26 million people .
Thirty-seven percent of white people live in poverty and low wealth .
That ’ s 66 million people .
We will never have a political transformation in the calculus in this country until we deal with the issue of poverty — 140 million people , 43 % of this nation .
Now , the issue of how we are treating African Americans .
There ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the heart , are the heart , are the heart of the party .
They ’ re the firewall .
They ’ re different things .
Well , where was all the fervor to ensure that African Americans stayed on the stage ?
That ’ s an interesting issue .
And if we are the heart and if 61 % of African Americans are poor and low-wealth , why are most candidates only talking about — if they talk about poverty , they do it — in the Democrats , they use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats run from poverty .
We talk about the working class , but not poverty .
We looked at the issue of poverty in these states , and we said that the number of people who are poor and low-wealth in the Super Tuesday states , in the former Confederate states , far outweigh any margin of victory in Senate races or in presidential races .
Why are we scared to say the issue ?
We will never move people until they hear themselves .
So here ’ s what I want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serious conversation about African-American people , then why not every candidate put in writing how will that candidate in the future — not what they ’ ve done in the past ; in the future — deal with the wealth gap , how will it close the wealth gap , how will it deal with the healthcare gap , how will they deal with racist voter suppression and gerrymandering and expanding access to the ballot , how will they deal with the disparate ecological issues in our communities , how will they deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will they deal with mass incarceration , resegregation of public schools , how will they increase the number of African Americans in the federal court appointees and increase the number of African Americans in the Senate , and what is the strategy to go after the Senate , that is truly holding up progress for poor and low-wealth people of every race , creed and color ?
Put it in writing and then change the next debate to be about nothing but the issue of systemic racism and poverty , and not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how it undermines the democracy .
For instance , every state that is a racist voter suppression state is also a state where once the people who use racist voter suppression get elected , they then block policies of living wages , block policies of healthcare , and end up hurting more white people , in terms of raw numbers , than black people .
So let ’ s have a full , thorough-going debate on these issues .
Every candidate needs to say , “ My policies , this is how it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community .
This is how it ’ s going to impact the rural community .
This is how it ’ s going to impact the Latino community.
” Let ’ s move deep , deep , deep into policy and put that out there .
And I believe if that happened , you would not just see a percentage of black votes turning out , that then folks say , well , they got 60 % of a vote that may have been only 40 % of the total black population , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of participation and a building of alliances .
But I also know , finally — REV .
WILLIAM BARBER II : — the political system is not going to do that .
It ’ s going to take a movement .
And that ’ s why the Poor People ’ s Campaign : A National Call for a Moral Revival is engaged .
AMY GOODMAN : Reverend Dr. William Barber , I want to thank you for being with us , with the Poor People ’ s Campaign , from North Carolina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us from Illinois ; and Elie Mystal of The Nation .
When we come back , we speak with the author of Yesterday ’ s Man : The Case Against Joe Biden .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We continue to look at Super Tuesday results, which established the fight for the Democratic nomination as largely a two-man race between Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden swept the South and the Midwest last night, winning Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, propelled by a huge majority of African-American votes in several states. And Sanders won in the West, with victories in Colorado and Utah and the grand prize of the night, California, with significant Latinx support. Sanders also won his home state of Vermont.
AMY GOODMAN: Biden’s strong showing came after the Democratic Party establishment consolidated around the former vice president, with Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropping out in recent days and throwing their support behind him. But it also was due to black voters in the South, who supported Biden by extremely significant margins. NBC reports Biden won the support of 63% of black voters in Virginia, 62% of black voters in Tennessee and 72% of black voters in Alabama. Exit polls also show 6 in 10 black voters backed Biden in Texas and North Carolina. According to an NBC exit poll, black voters outside the South were less likely to support Biden, and Black voters under 45 are around three times as likely to support Bernie Sanders than older voters.
Well, for more, we host a roundtable discussion. In Chicago, we’re joined by Barbara Ransby, historian, author and activist. She’s endorsed Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination. Her latest book is Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the 21st Century. Reverend Dr. William Barber is with us in Washington, D.C., co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach. And via Democracy Now! video stream, we’re joined by Elie Mystal, The Nation's justice correspondent and author of the magazine's new monthly column, “Objection!” His recent column is titled “Black Voters Didn’t Vote for Biden in South Carolina Because They 'Lack Information.'”
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Elie. Elie, let us begin with you. Your response to what happened on Super Tuesday?
ELIE MYSTAL: I think it’s pretty amazing how much the black community in the South, the older black community, has really rallied behind Joe Biden. They have been with Biden from the start, when it looked like he was shaky. It looked they might even go to Mike Bloomberg. But they’ve all come back to Biden. And it’s provided him a firewall that I am surprised that Bernie Sanders hasn’t yet been able to break through, right? He’s had five years to work on this problem. This is what happened to him in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. And I think it deserves serious analysis to try to figure out why his message is not impacting that community, when he’s had so long to work on it. I think your earlier guest, Chuck, he made a good point that Bernie seems to have made real inroads with the Latinx community. But that hasn’t worked with the black community, hasn’t worked with the Southern older black community specifically.
And just to kind of cut people off at the pass, I think one thing that we can’t say, one bad analysis that’s out there, is that somehow Southern older blacks are just, “oh, more conservative, and so that’s why they…” There is no evidence that Southern black voters are more socially conservative than other voters in this primary, when you look at the fact that all of the candidates running are basically in lockstep on the social issues, right? Like, all the candidates running support a woman’s right to choose. All the candidates running support gay marriage. Like, all of the Democratic primary candidates are kind of in lockstep on the social issues. On the economic progressivism issues, again, black voters all across the country, including in the South, have a record of supporting economic progressivism. Right? The Poor People’s Campaign that Reverend Barber is running. Like, there is strong African-American support all across the South for economic progressivism. So, what is it that’s — what part of Bernie’s message is not translating to Southern black voters, I think, is a really nuanced and interesting question.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, I’d like to bring Barbara Ransby into the discussion. And, Barbara Ransby, specifically, there is an existing superstructure of black elected officials across the country who for most of this campaign were sort of divided in their perspective, until, it seems to me, the South Carolina primary, especially the pronouncements of James — of Congressman Clyburn and his impact on the race in terms of — it appeared to consolidate the existing superstructure of black elected officials around the country to turn out the vote. I’m wondering your perspective of what happened last night.
BARBARA RANSBY: Yeah. No, I think that’s really a good point. But let me say this: The good news from last night was Bloomberg’s defeat, in a sense. You know, the fear that Bloomberg could literally come in and buy black voters and other voters was a real fear. And so, even with all his millions of investment, he didn’t have the showing that he expected. So I think that’s the good news and one important takeaway.
I think, in terms of black voters, you know, Ibram Kendi made the point last night in a tweet that we are talking about a subset of black voters. We are talking about older black voters. We’re talking about primarily black voters in the South. And I think people vote for a lot of reasons. Most people are not reading every line of everyone’s platform, and there’s a lot of trust by association. So when Jim Clyburn comes in and gives his full weight behind Joe Biden, I think it did indeed have a ripple effect. I’m not saying that black voters in the South are not — you know, my relatives are in the South. I respect and have drawn wisdom from black folks in the South. My people come from the South. And my research is about the strength and fortitude and brilliant leadership of black Southerners in the Black Freedom Movement. So, absolutely no diss to black Southerners at all. But I think people are afraid, and I think our people voted more out of fear and pragmatism than out of hope and optimism. And we’ve got to turn that around.
If you look at a Joe Biden versus a Bernie Sanders, both very imperfect. I am not looking for a savior in this election. But clearly, down the line, looking at his past, looking at his platform and looking at what he represents for the future, including young black activists, who are excited about him, Bernie Sanders, hands down, is what black people need to be looking toward in terms of a campaign that can make a material impact on our lives and the lives of our people.
So, you know, I think the race is not over. I think that there are a number of states still to be won and are in play. And I also think we have to recalibrate our notion of winning. For me, electoral politics is one part of a larger effort to further the cause of black freedom and justice in this country, for black people, for all people, and certainly sustainability for the planet. So this is one part of a larger agenda, a larger effort, a larger movement building. I think that’s one of the things I have appreciated about the Sanders campaign, people like Phil Agnew and Nina Turner and others in that campaign, who have a bigger vision of building a movement, not just winning an election — although, hopefully, we will win the election, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Reverend Barber, while you’re in Washington right now, you’re from North Carolina. That’s where you live. The percentage points in your home state, 42% of the vote went to Biden — he, of course, won North Carolina — to Sanders’ 24%. Why do you think former Vice President Biden did so well in North Carolina?
REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: Well, first of all, good morning, and to your other guests. And yes, I’m a son of the South, and I’m certainly glad that we’re finally having this conversation about the South, because you get over 160, almost 170, electoral votes just out of the former 13 Confederate states. And I’m glad we’re having this conversation about African-American voters. Now, I’m on my way planning for June 20th, 2020, the Poor People’s Assembly National Moral March on Washington. And I have a little bit different perspective, living in the South all my life, working in the South. I’ve seen a lot of candidates on the Democratic side win primaries and read their primary numbers one way and then lose in the general election.
So, here’s the question, Amy, and questions that I think we have to raise and that we’re looking into this morning. And first of all, the question is — when you say someone won 61% of the black vote, that’s good. That should be celebrated. But what is that a percentage of? It’s a percentage of those who voted. The other question is: How many weren’t inspired to vote? How many weren’t inspired to move? Yes, a lot of the initial vote may be based on personality, familiar, and Obama policies. And that’s not a bad thing necessarily. But also we have to ask — in those states last night, those 14 states, there are over 40 million poor and low-wealth voters. Now, poor and low-wealth Americans did not support Donald Trump. What was the numbers of poor and low-wealth Americans in those states that turned out or didn’t turn out? What didn’t inspire them? Some places like Texas, you had 600,000, almost an even split between Sanders and Biden. That means that there is this split in the party, in the soul, for aspirations. How will the party deal with that? Because that is not some clear, far victory that dismisses, say, for instance, Sanders’ policies as senseless, as silly, as I’ve heard some Democrats say. And they have to be very careful with that.
The last thing is, not only who didn’t vote, but in those Southern states — you know, we’re talking about this black wall, but are the Dems really going to fight after the primaries? Are they going to really invest in the North Carolinas, the Georgias, the Mississippi, the Alabama, Virginia, after the primaries, in the general elections? Because, you know, in the general election, oftentime we see something very different. For instance, last time, in the Clinton campaign, they left a half-million African-American voters off the table. There was really no real effort to go after. And in all of those states, the number of poor and low-wealth people and the number of African Americans who didn’t vote held the political calculus to not elect Donald Trump, that could have fundamentally changed. And I want to know: Are we really seriously now going to focus on the South and focus on bringing together poor blacks and poor whites in the South? Now, if that happens, we can have a fundamental shift in political calculus in this country. You could see states like Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida flip in the general election. But if we don’t, if we’re just going to deal with primary now and who gets the primary vote, and not look deeper — who didn’t vote, who wasn’t inspired and why, and how many black people were left out, how many poor people were left out last night and why — then we might end up with a lot of excitement in the primary and a lot of sobbing and sadness in the general election.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to bring Elie Mystal back into the conversation. In a recent column in The Nation, you laid out why you thought black voters are opting for Biden, and you said that it’s not because they “lack information.” Why do you think so many turned out for Biden, even though, understanding, as Reverend Barber says, this is a primary, it’s not as representative of an overall subset or a part of the population as the general election?
ELIE MYSTAL: I think you have to look at black voters, and I think this links up exactly with what Reverend Barber is saying — who is going to be there for black voters in the future? And are the policies that Bernie Sanders is running on, which I personally think are the right policies for our community and lots of other communities — are white Americans ready to vote for those policies and uplift all people and share the great wealth of this country? Because the answer historically has been no. The answer historically has been that when you ask white people to share the wealth of this country, they say no. They vote with their pocketbooks over their morality. That is how you get an unvarnished bigot and open sexist in the White House over a highly qualified woman. Right? So, that’s what white people did in 2016. We have seen this. We have seen the white electorate go for the Republican nominee time and time and time again. Bernie Sanders is out here telling us that white people are ready to vote for real economic redistribution and change. And I don’t know that he has convinced black people that white people are ready to do that. And so I don’t think that it’s fear exactly. I think it is pragmatism. I think that if you don’t feel like you have white allies willing to take this pledge with you, well, then you revert back to the most important thing as beating Donald Trump, and that’s how you get kind of — that’s how you get back to Biden.
Now, one thing I will say, and again, I think this links up — what Reverend Barber is saying is so important. You can start to change this if you continue to invest in the South, because it’s not just in terms of your own presidential campaign. We have people running in the South in the Senate, that we desperately need to take back and we desperately need to support. Don’t leave South — don’t leave Jaime Harrison hanging out there. Jaime Harrison, by the way, seems to support Joe Biden. Don’t leave Thom Tillis’s seat out there. Don’t leave those two seats in Georgia out there. Like, if the top of the ticket reinvests in these Southern states, not only will it help them win the Senate, that’s the kind of thing that I think long-term impresses African-American voters that white people are ready to be allies to the cause of social justice and racial equality.
AMY GOODMAN: Historian Barbara Ransby, you were among more than 100 leading black scholars, writers, educators, including Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Marc Lamont Hill, Gerald Horne, who issued a joint letter endorsing Bernie Sanders this weekend. Can you talk about, specifically, simply, why you believe Senator Sanders should be president and would most benefit African Americans in this country, not to mention all Americans?
BARBARA RANSBY: Right. I’m glad you brought up that ad that we did. We did a statement. There were over a hundred black scholars, people who have devoted their entire lives to not only studying, but standing with the Black Freedom Movement, people who come out of the Black Freedom Movement and out of black communities. And our assessment is — look, I grew up in Detroit, a working-class family. For me, issues of race and class have always been intimately bound up. And I think while, you know, sometimes I’m disappointed, quite frankly, that Bernie Sanders doesn’t lead with a racial justice analysis, but when I listen carefully and when I look at the policies, I see a way forward for black working-class people. As an educator, many of my students are first-generation college. They’re black and Latinx students. They’re deeply, deeply in debt. The $1.6 trillion student debt is of serious concern to all of us who are educators. And that is a very racialized, racially imbalanced debt, falling heavily on people of color, young people of color. Bernie Sanders’ commitment to prison reform, to enfranchising incarcerated citizens — I mean, all these things are elements of a progressive vision for the future.
And, you know, this thing about white voters, listen, you’ve got racist — racism is everywhere in the country. It’s ubiquitous, right? So you have racist white people who voted for Barack Obama. You’ve got racist white people who voted for Elizabeth Warren in this primary. You’ve got racist white people who voted for Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. So, people vote for a complex set of reasons, and we’re not all going to be on the same page in that. And I think what we have to look at is what are the candidates’ commitments — right? — around issues of race, and what are the candidates’ commitments particularly around poor and working-class people. I think the work that Reverend Barber is doing with the Poor People’s Campaign is so important, but also coalitions like The Rising Majority that are looking at a range of issues as they impact the lives of black people. All of this is in the mix when we assess what presidential candidate could best lead us into a brighter, more just and sustainable future.
And for us, that candidate is Bernie Sanders. But it’s not just Bernie Sanders as a man, as a person. I reserve the right to critique everybody, including people who I love and respect. But it’s the campaign that he is building. You know, again, it’s people like Chokwe Lumumba in Mississippi, who endorsed him. It’s people like Senator Nina Turner. It’s people like Phil Agnew, brilliant young organizer from Florida you’ve had on the show, who was very much a part of the early Black Lives Matter movement and the Movement for Black Lives, deeply respected among a whole ecosystem of young black activists. So, those are the principles that we united around when we formed the statement.
And the statement involved a lot of discussion and debate and push and pull about what tone did we want to strike, why was it important for us to do so as educators, and all of that. And so, I hope it’s gotten some traction, but we are certainly not alone. I think the young organizers in the Dream Defenders, the organization that Phil Agnew comes out of, their 501(c)(4), did endorse Bernie Sanders, as well. So there are a number of black organizers, activists, educators who see in the Sanders campaign, in the people around him, like AOC, like Ilhan Omar, like Rashida Tlaib, a real hope for a different kind of politic. But again, you know, for us — for me, I would say — it is really a vote-plus strategy. I agree with Reverend Barber that this doesn’t end at the primary and can’t end at the primaries, but it also can’t end in November. We have to be about building a movement. And I think what Bernie Sanders’ campaign represented, but also what Elizabeth Warren’s campaign represented, that a joining of forces there really represents a hopeful growth of a movement, a multiracial and anti-racist movement for a justice agenda long-term.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Reverend Barber, I’d like to ask you — you tweeted recently that the Dems also need to think about how they keep saying the black vote is the heart of the party, yet when they had a chance to include blacks on the stage, they didn’t fight for that, but changed the rules for a billionaire. Your thoughts in terms of the party’s two-faced strategy when it comes to the African-American vote, and especially how they treated Kamala Harris or Cory Booker versus how they opened the doors up for Michael Bloomberg?
REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: Well, you know, I’ve been a part of two campaigns that have actually won in the South, one in Kentucky and Moral Mondays in North Carolina. And I learned that when you address systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism, you can in fact bring black and poor and low-wealth white and black people and Latinos together, and you can make significant change. We have a study coming out now that shows if you just organize 2 to 10% of poor and low-wealth black, white and Latino people in the country, not just in the South, but significantly in the South, you could fundamentally change elections. We have to talk about that.
And it’s not so much race or class, but it’s race and class. I’ve challenged, for instance, Bernie Sanders and all of the — Biden, all of them, as my sister said, to lead with a race analysis, but not about culture, but about real issues, and to deal with the issue of poverty and low wealth. Sixty-one percent of African Americans live in poverty and low wealth. That’s 26 million people. Thirty-seven percent of white people live in poverty and low wealth. That’s 66 million people. We will never have a political transformation in the calculus in this country until we deal with the issue of poverty — 140 million people, 43% of this nation.
Now, the issue of how we are treating African Americans. There’s all this talk about that African Americans are the heart, are the heart, are the heart of the party. They’re the firewall. They’re different things. Well, where was all the fervor to ensure that African Americans stayed on the stage? That’s an interesting issue. And if we are the heart and if 61% of African Americans are poor and low-wealth, why are most candidates only talking about — if they talk about poverty, they do it — in the Democrats, they use a pseudonym. Republicans racialize poverty. Democrats run from poverty. We talk about the working class, but not poverty. We looked at the issue of poverty in these states, and we said that the number of people who are poor and low-wealth in the Super Tuesday states, in the former Confederate states, far outweigh any margin of victory in Senate races or in presidential races. Why are we scared to say the issue? We will never move people until they hear themselves.
So here’s what I want to put out. If this is a serious conversation about African-American people, then why not every candidate put in writing how will that candidate in the future — not what they’ve done in the past; in the future — deal with the wealth gap, how will it close the wealth gap, how will it deal with the healthcare gap, how will they deal with racist voter suppression and gerrymandering and expanding access to the ballot, how will they deal with the disparate ecological issues in our communities, how will they deal with militarization in our communities, how will they deal with mass incarceration, resegregation of public schools, how will they increase the number of African Americans in the federal court appointees and increase the number of African Americans in the Senate, and what is the strategy to go after the Senate, that is truly holding up progress for poor and low-wealth people of every race, creed and color? Put it in writing and then change the next debate to be about nothing but the issue of systemic racism and poverty, and not just how racism affects black people, but how it undermines the democracy. For instance, every state that is a racist voter suppression state is also a state where once the people who use racist voter suppression get elected, they then block policies of living wages, block policies of healthcare, and end up hurting more white people, in terms of raw numbers, than black people. So let’s have a full, thorough-going debate on these issues. Every candidate needs to say, “My policies, this is how it’s going to impact the black community. This is how it’s going to impact the rural community. This is how it’s going to impact the Latino community.” Let’s move deep, deep, deep into policy and put that out there. And I believe if that happened, you would not just see a percentage of black votes turning out, that then folks say, well, they got 60% of a vote that may have been only 40% of the total black population, but we will see an increase in the number of participation and a building of alliances. But I also know, finally —
AMY GOODMAN: We’ve got 10 seconds.
REV. WILLIAM BARBER II: — the political system is not going to do that. It’s going to take a movement. And that’s why the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival is engaged.
AMY GOODMAN: Reverend Dr. William Barber, I want to thank you for being with us, with the Poor People’s Campaign, from North Carolina; historian Barbara Ransby, speaking to us from Illinois; and Elie Mystal of The Nation.
When we come back, we speak with the author of Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-03-04--Then There Were Two: Sanders Wins California with Latinx Support as Biden Sweeps Southern Black Vote

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : The biggest voting day of the Democratic presidential primary campaign has ended in a two-person race between two candidates : former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders .
With more than a third of the delegates at stake , Biden swept the Midwest and the South , winning Virginia , North Carolina , Arkansas , Alabama , Tennessee , Oklahoma , Massachusetts , Minnesota and delegate-rich Texas .
Sanders saw victories in Colorado , Utah , and the Associated Press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grand prize of the night , the largest delegate state of California .
He also won his home state of Vermont .
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren finished in an embarrassing third place in her home state .
And New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg said he planned to reassess his candidacy , after he spent more than half a billion dollars to score just one victory — in American Samoa .
Biden delivered his victory speech in Los Angeles , where he was interrupted when two protesters with Direct Action Everywhere stormed the stage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He began his address with a much-talked-about gaffe .
AMY GOODMAN : Meanwhile , Bernie Sanders used his speech at the end of Super Tuesday in his home state of Vermont to contrast his record with Biden and President Donald Trump .
AMY GOODMAN : Sanders ’ biggest win came in California .
MSNBC and CNN aren ’ t calling it , but the Associated Press is .
He won the support of some 55 % of Latinx voters , who account for nearly 40 % of California ’ s population .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone .
The Latinx community in Texas also showed up in droves for Sanders , with 39 % of the vote , compared to Biden , who received 26 % , though Texas went to Joe Biden .
Latinx voters could also play a key role in states ’ upcoming primaries in Arizona and Florida .
For more , we go to Washington , D.C. , where we ’ re joined once again by Chuck Rocha .
He ’ s senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders ’ presidential campaign .
He ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign strategy to mobilize Latinx voters .
Welcome back to Democracy Now !
So , let ’ s begin with the big numbers .
You ’ ve got Joe Biden winning nine states , including , well , your home state of delegate-rich Texas .
You ’ ve got Bernie Sanders winning , well , four states , if you include California , which AP has called , the largest , the delegate-rich state of California .
But this is really being called a victory for Joe Biden .
They ’ re talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his surge especially among Southern African-American voters .
Chuck Rocha , your analysis of what happened on Super Tuesday ?
CHUCK ROCHA : There ’ s no doubt that Joe Biden had a good night last night , but I would argue that Bernie Sanders had a good night .
This is not about who wins what state .
All of your people that are watching this great program know that it ’ s about the delegate count .
And what ’ s we get done counting California , we ’ ll be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , much like when we came into this race .
And we learned a lot last night .
Anybody who ’ s worth their weight in salt will know that what you do now is you back up , you see where you did really well — you alluded to the amazing operation we ’ ve been running for now months and months in the Latino community — and places where we need to improve .
We will reevaluate that now .
We ’ ll look towards the states that are coming up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to put our shoulder against the wheel and empower all those grassroots activists out there that really make the difference in this campaign .
Let ’ s talk about one big loser last night , and that was the folks running the election system .
I get sick and tired of watching good folks stand in line for hours and hours trying to represent democracy by voting .
Voting in this country should not be that hard .
At the richest country , at the richest in history , we should make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they don ’ t have to stand in line sometimes for three or four hours .
I found that whole process disgusting last night .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Chuck , I wanted to ask you specifically about Texas .
From what I can tell , there was maybe about twice as many people who voted in this primary for president in Texas as did in 2016 .
But clearly , Texas has different — it ’ s a huge state .
In East Texas , there ’ s a large African-American community , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little further north in Dallas .
What ’ s your sense of how the turnout and also how the state broke down versus what you expected versus what actually happened ?
CHUCK ROCHA : Well , the one thing I will say for sure is the Latino vote almost single-handedly carried the state for Bernie Sanders .
But overall , if you look at the African-American vote and the Latino vote , you had Bernie Sanders , who had done all this work in that community .
We had been there , spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You had an African-American community that was very , very much ginned up for Joe Biden .
But overall , what I ’ ve been seeing , all the way back to the last midterm elections , is this anxiety with people of color and in minority communities around Donald Trump .
I think Donald Trump is motivating lots of folks in diverse communities who feel threatened .
There ’ s lots of Latinos with brown skin like me , who are U.S. citizens , who feel like we ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a second-class citizen .
That ’ s why you see a lot of energy out there .
And I think Bernie Sanders is capturing some of that .
And to give credit where credit ’ s due , Joe Biden has captured some of that , as well .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And would you say the big loser of the night appears to have been Michael Bloomberg , who staked his entire $ 500 million on being able to avoid the early states and then score big victories on Super Tuesday ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ CHUCK ROCHA : Well , there are some political consultants in Texas that ’ s already started building their second house on the amount of money they made with Michael Bloomberg , I ’ ll promise you that .
And he threw a lot of money away in lots of states and spent lots of time in lots of places , and it just didn ’ t work out for him .
It just goes to show that you can ’ t go in and buy an election .
You can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like our grassroots movement by paying activists on the ground .
Anybody is welcome to run for president , but he stands against everything we stand for in the Bernie Sanders campaign , of raising donations $ 5 at a time and empowering regular Americans to be a part of this process .
AMY GOODMAN : So , NBC is reporting , Chuck , that Biden won the support of 63 % of black voters in Virginia , 62 % of black voters in Tennessee , 72 % of black voters in Alabama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — let ’ s see , 6 in 10 black voters backed Biden in Texas and North Carolina .
According to NBC poll , exit poll , black voters outside of the South were less likely to support Biden , black voters under 45 around three times as likely to support Bernie Sanders than voters [ 45 and over ] .
If you can talk — I mean , you were a main architect of the Latino strategy , but you ’ re part of a team that is really also focusing on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interesting that Symone Sanders , who was one of Bernie Sanders ’ top people , is now one of the top people for Joe Biden .
And she is , of course , African-American .
CHUCK ROCHA : Well , let ’ s not forget that Joe Biden was the vice president of Barack Obama , the first black president , who made history , who was an amazing president , who is still the most popular figure in Democratic politics .
So there is a piece to overcome there with that piece @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give up on that vote and you walk away .
When I started this telecast , I said you step back now , and you evaluate what you did , and you reassess , and you change your strategy .
We continue to do well with young African Americans , but we can always do better with older African Americans .
These folks have come and literally are the backbone of this party , especially black women .
And we want to lift up their voices and make sure they have a part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re doing this in the right way .
So I think we can always improve .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Chuck , I wanted to ask you — obviously , whoever is going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party has to get 50 % or more of the delegates to be nominated .
So far , if you look at — Biden actually got more than 50 % of the vote , I think , in two states on Tuesday , and Bernie on one , in Vermont , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
How do you see a path to getting more than 50 % of the vote ?
Because when you add up even the Warren folks , if you ’ re looking at the so-called progressive camp , if you add up the Warren votes and the Sanders votes in many of these states , they don ’ t quite come to 50 % .
So , how do you see the path to actual nomination ?
CHUCK ROCHA : Well , there ’ s a lot of big states coming up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s everything in this — if you ’ ve watched this primary from the beginning — and I ’ ve been on this particular race over a year and was with Senator Sanders back in '15 — things change quickly .
And you 're going to have debates .
You ’ re going to have chances for people to back up now .
The whole field has consolidated .
And so , all of that is a strategic decision on resource allocation and where you ’ re really doubling down in certain states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Washington state , that we won last time , Michigan , Missouri , then you start looking at Florida and Arizona , and , oh my goodness , Pennsylvania , New York and all these Midwestern states , there ’ s all these different strategies that go in .
One thing that you should keep your eye on is that Midwest area , with lots of blue-collar , African-American , Latino , white folks who work in unions , all of the above , and around this issue of jobs and trades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been hoodwinked by President Trump , and they ’ re looking for an alternative now , now that they see that he ain ’ t quite right .
They want somebody that they can believe in .
And Bernie Sanders has stood with them against every trade deal that sent all of their jobs overseas .
AMY GOODMAN : Now , the next group of states , almost a dozen , the majority of them went to Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in 2016 , which is why , although he won California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as none of them are — and so they ’ re going to come out around even on the delegates .
But he wanted a big cushion from California because of what ’ s coming up next , not possibly favorable to him .
Do you have that same assessment ?
CHUCK ROCHA : I don ’ t .
I don ’ t , because we did really well in Washington , and we did really well when we shocked people in Michigan last time .
So there ’ s two states that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senator is very popular in .
And looking down the road , this is just not the same race .
And I just talked about a whole new group of people being motivated to come out because of the undertow of Donald Trump .
We ’ re going to fight for every single vote .
What really makes us different is our fundraising apparatus with our grassroots activists and those activists making phone calls and knocking on doors .
We ’ re fixing to rotate now from the Deep South up to working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Western states , with New York and Pennsylvania .
We feel really good about all those states and our grassroots activism in those states .
AMY GOODMAN : We want to thank you so much for being with us , Chuck Rocha , senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders ’ presidential campaign .
When we come back , we look at Biden ’ s decisive victory with Southern African-American voters .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The biggest voting day of the Democratic presidential primary campaign has ended in a two-person race between two candidates: former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. With more than a third of the delegates at stake, Biden swept the Midwest and the South, winning Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Minnesota and delegate-rich Texas. Sanders saw victories in Colorado, Utah, and the Associated Press reports he is the winner of the grand prize of the night, the largest delegate state of California. He also won his home state of Vermont.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren finished in an embarrassing third place in her home state. And New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg said he planned to reassess his candidacy, after he spent more than half a billion dollars to score just one victory — in American Samoa.
Biden delivered his victory speech in Los Angeles, where he was interrupted when two protesters with Direct Action Everywhere stormed the stage chanting, “Let dairy die.” He began his address with a much-talked-about gaffe.
JOE BIDEN: It’s a good night! It’s a good night, and it seems to be getting even better. They don’t call it Super Tuesday for nothing. By the way, this is my little sister Valerie, and I’m Jill’s husband — oh, no, this is not — no, you switched on me. This is my wife. This is my sister. They switched on me. Folks, it’s still early, but things are looking awful, awful good. … So I’m here to report we are very much alive! And make no mistake about it: This campaign will send Donald Trump packing. This campaign is taking off! Join us!
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders used his speech at the end of Super Tuesday in his home state of Vermont to contrast his record with Biden and President Donald Trump.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: But we are not only taking on the corporate establishment, we’re taking on the political establishment. But we’re going to win because the people understand it is our campaign, our movement, which is best positioned to defeat Trump. You cannot beat Trump with the same old, same old kind of politics.
AMY GOODMAN: Sanders’ biggest win came in California. MSNBC and CNN aren’t calling it, but the Associated Press is. He won the support of some 55% of Latinx voters, who account for nearly 40% of California’s population. His campaign had 23 field offices in California alone. The Latinx community in Texas also showed up in droves for Sanders, with 39% of the vote, compared to Biden, who received 26%, though Texas went to Joe Biden. Latinx voters could also play a key role in states’ upcoming primaries in Arizona and Florida.
For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we’re joined once again by Chuck Rocha. He’s senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. He’s been called the architect of Sanders’ campaign strategy to mobilize Latinx voters.
Welcome back to Democracy Now! So, let’s begin with the big numbers. You’ve got Joe Biden winning nine states, including, well, your home state of delegate-rich Texas. You’ve got Bernie Sanders winning, well, four states, if you include California, which AP has called, the largest, the delegate-rich state of California. But this is really being called a victory for Joe Biden. They’re talking about “Joementum,” because of his surge especially among Southern African-American voters. Chuck Rocha, your analysis of what happened on Super Tuesday?
CHUCK ROCHA: There’s no doubt that Joe Biden had a good night last night, but I would argue that Bernie Sanders had a good night. This is not about who wins what state. All of your people that are watching this great program know that it’s about the delegate count. And what’s we get done counting California, we’ll be very close to where Joe Biden is, much like when we came into this race.
And we learned a lot last night. Anybody who’s worth their weight in salt will know that what you do now is you back up, you see where you did really well — you alluded to the amazing operation we’ve been running for now months and months in the Latino community — and places where we need to improve. We will reevaluate that now. We’ll look towards the states that are coming up, to make sure that we continue to put our shoulder against the wheel and empower all those grassroots activists out there that really make the difference in this campaign.
Let’s talk about one big loser last night, and that was the folks running the election system. I get sick and tired of watching good folks stand in line for hours and hours trying to represent democracy by voting. Voting in this country should not be that hard. At the richest country, at the richest in history, we should make it easy for folks to vote, and they don’t have to stand in line sometimes for three or four hours. I found that whole process disgusting last night.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Chuck, I wanted to ask you specifically about Texas. From what I can tell, there was maybe about twice as many people who voted in this primary for president in Texas as did in 2016. But clearly, Texas has different — it’s a huge state. In East Texas, there’s a large African-American community, in places like Houston, obviously a little further north in Dallas. What’s your sense of how the turnout and also how the state broke down versus what you expected versus what actually happened?
CHUCK ROCHA: Well, the one thing I will say for sure is the Latino vote almost single-handedly carried the state for Bernie Sanders. But overall, if you look at the African-American vote and the Latino vote, you had Bernie Sanders, who had done all this work in that community. We had been there, spent millions of dollars, empowered that community. You had an African-American community that was very, very much ginned up for Joe Biden. But overall, what I’ve been seeing, all the way back to the last midterm elections, is this anxiety with people of color and in minority communities around Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump is motivating lots of folks in diverse communities who feel threatened. There’s lots of Latinos with brown skin like me, who are U.S. citizens, who feel like we’ve been demagogued by this president, treated like a second-class citizen. That’s why you see a lot of energy out there. And I think Bernie Sanders is capturing some of that. And to give credit where credit’s due, Joe Biden has captured some of that, as well.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And would you say the big loser of the night appears to have been Michael Bloomberg, who staked his entire $500 million on being able to avoid the early states and then score big victories on Super Tuesday? That just didn’t happen.
CHUCK ROCHA: Well, there are some political consultants in Texas that’s already started building their second house on the amount of money they made with Michael Bloomberg, I’ll promise you that. And he threw a lot of money away in lots of states and spent lots of time in lots of places, and it just didn’t work out for him. It just goes to show that you can’t go in and buy an election. You can’t go in and try to duplicate something like our grassroots movement by paying activists on the ground. Anybody is welcome to run for president, but he stands against everything we stand for in the Bernie Sanders campaign, of raising donations $5 at a time and empowering regular Americans to be a part of this process.
AMY GOODMAN: So, NBC is reporting, Chuck, that Biden won the support of 63% of black voters in Virginia, 62% of black voters in Tennessee, 72% of black voters in Alabama. Exit polls show 6 in 10 — let’s see, 6 in 10 black voters backed Biden in Texas and North Carolina. According to NBC poll, exit poll, black voters outside of the South were less likely to support Biden, black voters under 45 around three times as likely to support Bernie Sanders than voters [45 and over]. If you can talk — I mean, you were a main architect of the Latino strategy, but you’re part of a team that is really also focusing on African-American strategy. It’s also interesting that Symone Sanders, who was one of Bernie Sanders’ top people, is now one of the top people for Joe Biden. And she is, of course, African-American.
CHUCK ROCHA: Well, let’s not forget that Joe Biden was the vice president of Barack Obama, the first black president, who made history, who was an amazing president, who is still the most popular figure in Democratic politics. So there is a piece to overcome there with that piece. That don’t mean you give up on that vote and you walk away. When I started this telecast, I said you step back now, and you evaluate what you did, and you reassess, and you change your strategy. We continue to do well with young African Americans, but we can always do better with older African Americans. These folks have come and literally are the backbone of this party, especially black women. And we want to lift up their voices and make sure they have a part of this campaign and that we’re doing this in the right way. So I think we can always improve.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Chuck, I wanted to ask you — obviously, whoever is going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party has to get 50% or more of the delegates to be nominated. So far, if you look at — Biden actually got more than 50% of the vote, I think, in two states on Tuesday, and Bernie on one, in Vermont, just over 50% of the vote there. How do you see a path to getting more than 50% of the vote? Because when you add up even the Warren folks, if you’re looking at the so-called progressive camp, if you add up the Warren votes and the Sanders votes in many of these states, they don’t quite come to 50%. So, how do you see the path to actual nomination?
CHUCK ROCHA: Well, there’s a lot of big states coming up, right? And so, there’s everything in this — if you’ve watched this primary from the beginning — and I’ve been on this particular race over a year and was with Senator Sanders back in '15 — things change quickly. And you're going to have debates. You’re going to have chances for people to back up now. The whole field has consolidated. And so, all of that is a strategic decision on resource allocation and where you’re really doubling down in certain states. With big states coming up, like Washington state, that we won last time, Michigan, Missouri, then you start looking at Florida and Arizona, and, oh my goodness, Pennsylvania, New York and all these Midwestern states, there’s all these different strategies that go in.
One thing that you should keep your eye on is that Midwest area, with lots of blue-collar, African-American, Latino, white folks who work in unions, all of the above, and around this issue of jobs and trades. A lot of these people have been hoodwinked by President Trump, and they’re looking for an alternative now, now that they see that he ain’t quite right. They want somebody that they can believe in. And Bernie Sanders has stood with them against every trade deal that sent all of their jobs overseas.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, the next group of states, almost a dozen, the majority of them went to Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in 2016, which is why, although he won California — this is not winner-take-all state, as none of them are — and so they’re going to come out around even on the delegates. But he wanted a big cushion from California because of what’s coming up next, not possibly favorable to him. Do you have that same assessment?
CHUCK ROCHA: I don’t. I don’t, because we did really well in Washington, and we did really well when we shocked people in Michigan last time. So there’s two states that’s coming up immediately that the senator is very popular in. And looking down the road, this is just not the same race. And I just talked about a whole new group of people being motivated to come out because of the undertow of Donald Trump. We’re going to fight for every single vote. What really makes us different is our fundraising apparatus with our grassroots activists and those activists making phone calls and knocking on doors. We’re fixing to rotate now from the Deep South up to working in the Midwest and some of these Western states, with New York and Pennsylvania. We feel really good about all those states and our grassroots activism in those states.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you so much for being with us, Chuck Rocha, senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. When we come back, we look at Biden’s decisive victory with Southern African-American voters. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-03-04--Headlines for March  4, 2020

Headlines for March  4, 2020

The biggest voting day of the Democratic presidential primary campaign has ended in a two-person race between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders .
On Super Tuesday , Biden swept the South and Midwest , winning Virginia , North Carolina , Arkansas , Alabama , Tennessee , Oklahoma , Massachusetts , Minnesota and Texas , propelled by a huge majority of African-American votes in Southern states .
Meanwhile , Bernie Sanders won his home state of Vermont and scored victories in the West , winning Colorado and Utah .
And according to the Associated Press , Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , California , with significant Latinx support .
Biden ’ s strong showing came after the Democratic Party establishment consolidated around the former vice president , with Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropping out in recent days and throwing their support behind Biden .
This is Joe Biden speaking in Los Angeles last night .
Joe Biden : “ I ’ m here to report we are very much alive !
And make no mistake about it : This campaign will send Donald Trump packing .
This campaign is taking off !
Join @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s biggest win came in California , where Latinx voters account for nearly 40 % of the population .
He spoke last night from his home state of Vermont .
Sen. Bernie Sanders : “ We have two major goals in front of us , and they are directly related .
First , we must beat a president who apparently has never read the Constitution of the United States , a president who thinks we should be an autocracy , not a democracy .
But second of all , we need a movement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , white , Latino , Native American , Asian-American , gay and straight , of people who are making it clear every day they will not tolerate the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality we are experiencing.
” Senator Elizabeth Warren finished in third place in her home state of Massachusetts .
Billionaire and former Republican New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said he planned to reassess his candidacy , after he spent more than a half-billion dollars to score just one victory — in American Samoa , where he won five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delegate in American Samoa .

The biggest voting day of the Democratic presidential primary campaign has ended in a two-person race between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. On Super Tuesday, Biden swept the South and Midwest, winning Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, propelled by a huge majority of African-American votes in Southern states. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders won his home state of Vermont and scored victories in the West, winning Colorado and Utah. And according to the Associated Press, Sanders won the grand prize of the night, California, with significant Latinx support. Biden’s strong showing came after the Democratic Party establishment consolidated around the former vice president, with Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg dropping out in recent days and throwing their support behind Biden. This is Joe Biden speaking in Los Angeles last night.
Joe Biden: “I’m here to report we are very much alive! And make no mistake about it: This campaign will send Donald Trump packing. This campaign is taking off! Join us!”
Senator Bernie Sanders’s biggest win came in California, where Latinx voters account for nearly 40% of the population. He spoke last night from his home state of Vermont.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “We have two major goals in front of us, and they are directly related. First, we must beat a president who apparently has never read the Constitution of the United States, a president who thinks we should be an autocracy, not a democracy. But second of all, we need a movement and are developing a movement of black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian-American, gay and straight, of people who are making it clear every day they will not tolerate the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality we are experiencing.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren finished in third place in her home state of Massachusetts. Billionaire and former Republican New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said he planned to reassess his candidacy, after he spent more than a half-billion dollars to score just one victory — in American Samoa, where he won five delegates. Tulsi Gabbard picked up one delegate in American Samoa.


democracynow--2020-03-05--The New Poll Tax? Long Lines, Closed Polling Stations Hurt Black, Latinx & Student Voters in TX, CA

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
NERMEEN SHAIKH : Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday , especially in districts with high numbers of black and Latinx voters and college students .
Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot .
At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013 , when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 .
In one case , CNN correspondent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rogers , an African-American voter who waited nearly seven hours to cast his vote at a polling site at Texas Southern University in Houston , one of the nation ’ s largest historically black colleges .
Rogers brought his own chair with him so he could sit while waiting in line .
He finally voted at 1:30 a.m. , before heading off for work — late — to his overnight shift .
AMY GOODMAN : There were long lines , too , in Los Angeles , where election officials acknowledged problems with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bernie Sanders ’ campaign asked a federal court for an emergency order to keep polls open an extra two hours Tuesday night , saying people were denied their constitutional right to vote .
L.A. County Registrar Dean Logan denied the request but apologized to people who waited in line for up to four hours .
For more , we ’ re turning to Ari Berman , a senior writer at Mother Jones , reporting fellow at Type Media Center , author of Give Us the Ballot : The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mother Jones , “ Here ’ s Why Texans Had to Wait Six Hours to Vote.
” Why ?
ARI BERMAN : Well , there are a number of reasons .
There weren ’ t enough poll workers .
There were voting machines that were 20 years old and shut down .
But a major contributing factor in Texas to the very long lines was the fact that Texas closed 650 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and said that states like Texas no longer had to approve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In all of the Southern states previously subject to the Voting Rights Act , they closed 1,688 polling places .
But Texas closed more than any other state .
So the long lines we saw in Texas were a direct result of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act .
It disproportionately hurt Democratic and minority voters , because 70 % of the polling places were closed in the 50 counties in the state with the largest growth of black and Latino voters .
So , in places like Dallas and Houston @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where you saw disproportionate lines .
They were not the same lines in wealthy white neighborhoods that there were in black and Latino and neighborhoods where a lot of young people voted .
AMY GOODMAN : So , and let ’ s remember , Texas was called for Joe Biden , who beat Bernie Sanders .
It was a tightly — and it was a surprise for many that that ’ s what happened .
Do you think it influenced the outcome of the Texas results ?
ARI BERMAN : I think the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think there were elderly African Americans that had to wait a long time who voted for Joe Biden .
And I think there were a lot of young people that voted , and it hurt Bernie Sanders .
But there ’ s no doubt that people left .
It ’ s absolutely unconscionable in America that it should take six hours and 20 minutes to vote .
And there were anecdotal stories all across the state of people saying , “ I can ’ t wait that long.
” I mean , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ ll take half an hour , an hour if the lines are long .
You can ’ t budget five or six hours of your time .
Hervis Rogers , the guy that waited six hours and 20 minutes to vote in Texas , right after he finished voting , he had to go work a night shift .
So , these long lines are a form of a poll tax .
ARI BERMAN : They ’ re standing .
And the long lines are a form of a poll tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to work .
They keep people from getting to their kids or their families .
And it ’ s disproportionately hurting Democratic communities .
It ’ s disproportionately hurting young people .
It ’ s disproportionately hurting Latinos , African Americans , other people , that are already struggling to vote in states like Texas that have other forms of voter suppression , as well .
NERMEEN SHAIKH : There ’ s also another aspect of voting in America which distinguishes it from a lot of countries in the world , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place on a workday , and that workday is not declared a national holiday .
So that ’ s another way in which I think many people are not able to vote , the combination of having to get to work and then often having to wait hours in order to cast a vote .
ARI BERMAN : Absolutely .
I mean , many other countries choose to hold voting on the weekend .
ARI BERMAN : They make Election Day a national holiday .
They have polling places at every school , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many , many , many few polling places .
You look at Texas .
They ’ re voting on a weekday .
People are not getting time off .
That have a very restrictive voter ID law that prevents people from voting .
Then they close 750 polling places , and you start to see why there are six-hour lines for people to vote .
AMY GOODMAN : So , let ’ s go from Texas to California .
ARI BERMAN : It was a slightly different story in California .
There was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A lot of people waited a long time to vote .
They voted on Election Day instead of early .
What happened in L.A. in particular is they were rolling out an entirely new voting system , and basically it crashed .
It didn ’ t work .
People couldn ’ t check in properly .
The poll books weren ’ t working .
The voting machines weren ’ t working .
And then , you could vote at any polling place , which theoretically is a good thing , but there weren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like at UCLA , for example , there was one polling place for 40,000 students .
So , I don ’ t think we saw the same intentional voter suppression in California that we saw in Texas , but there ’ s no doubt that a lot of things were messed up in California .
And again , we don ’ t know how many people just decided to not go through the process because the lines were so long .
AMY GOODMAN : Ultimately , on Election Day , who does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s going to help Donald Trump on Election Day , because Democrats , no matter who the campaign is , no matter who the nominee is , they ’ re going to need a large turnout to beat Donald Trump .
They ’ re going to need big turnout from young people , from African Americans , from Latinos , for Asian Americans .
Those are the people that have to work longer .
So , Donald Trump is sitting there seeing the six-hour lines in black and Latino areas and thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were no lines in white Republican parts of Houston , Texas .
The lines were in black and Latino parts that , no matter who they ’ re voting for , they ’ re voting for Democrats over Republicans .
AMY GOODMAN : Can they open more polling places in Texas before Election Day ?
ARI BERMAN : I certainly hope they do .
I certainly hope Democratic officials in Texas , in the counties they control , in places like Houston and Dallas — ARI BERMAN : Exactly .
I hope they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we saw 25 % turnout in Texas , and the lines were this long .
Imagine if we see 50 , 60 , 70 % turnout in the general election .
AMY GOODMAN : Can we switch to a different issue ?
AMY GOODMAN : The issue of census and coronavirus .
ARI BERMAN : I ’ m very concerned about the census .
There were already so many difficulties facing this census , which , by the way , starts next week .
And now you have a situation where people don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They don ’ t want to talk to strangers .
Census workers are going to be uncomfortable going into certain communities .
So , I think there have to be some real contingency plans .
I think we need to think about the fact that the census might have to take longer to complete , that there might have to be some sort of way to count people that aren ’ t opening their doors .
AMY GOODMAN : And why does the census matter ?
ARI BERMAN : The census matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in America .
It forms the basis for how political districts are drawn .
It forms the basis for how $ 880 billion in federal funding is spent , for things like healthcare and roads and education .
If we screw up the census , we screw up all of American democracy .
And right now we ’ re beginning the census in the midst of a potentially massive pandemic .
And so , we need to get this right , if it means that the census takes longer , if we push @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The most important thing is to count everyone in America and to overcome whatever obstacles there might be .
And this is now the latest obstacle in a long line of obstacles facing the census .
AMY GOODMAN : Ari Berman , we want to thank you for being with us , senior writer at Mother Jones , reporting fellow at Type Media Center , latest piece , we ’ ll link to , “ Here ’ s Why Texans Had to Wait Six Hours to Vote.
” That does it for our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a number of positions here in our New York City studio , from our newsroom to outreach and development teams .
Information for jobs at democracynow.org .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and Latinx voters and college students. Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In one case, CNN correspondent Ed Lavandera tweeted a photo of Hervis Rogers, an African-American voter who waited nearly seven hours to cast his vote at a polling site at Texas Southern University in Houston, one of the nation’s largest historically black colleges. Rogers brought his own chair with him so he could sit while waiting in line. He finally voted at 1:30 a.m., before heading off for work — late — to his overnight shift.
AMY GOODMAN: There were long lines, too, in Los Angeles, where election officials acknowledged problems with the brand-new $300 million voting system. Bernie Sanders’ campaign asked a federal court for an emergency order to keep polls open an extra two hours Tuesday night, saying people were denied their constitutional right to vote. L.A. County Registrar Dean Logan denied the request but apologized to people who waited in line for up to four hours.
For more, we’re turning to Ari Berman, a senior writer at Mother Jones, reporting fellow at Type Media Center, author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America. His latest piece for Mother Jones, “Here’s Why Texans Had to Wait Six Hours to Vote.” Why?
ARI BERMAN: Well, there are a number of reasons. There weren’t enough poll workers. There were voting machines that were 20 years old and shut down. But a major contributing factor in Texas to the very long lines was the fact that Texas closed 650 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and said that states like Texas no longer had to approve their voting changes with the federal government. In all of the Southern states previously subject to the Voting Rights Act, they closed 1,688 polling places. But Texas closed more than any other state. So the long lines we saw in Texas were a direct result of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. It disproportionately hurt Democratic and minority voters, because 70% of the polling places were closed in the 50 counties in the state with the largest growth of black and Latino voters. So, in places like Dallas and Houston and San Antonio, that’s where you saw disproportionate lines. They were not the same lines in wealthy white neighborhoods that there were in black and Latino and neighborhoods where a lot of young people voted.
AMY GOODMAN: So, and let’s remember, Texas was called for Joe Biden, who beat Bernie Sanders. It was a tightly — and it was a surprise for many that that’s what happened. Do you think it influenced the outcome of the Texas results?
ARI BERMAN: I think the long lines hurt both candidates. I think there were elderly African Americans that had to wait a long time who voted for Joe Biden. And I think there were a lot of young people that voted, and it hurt Bernie Sanders. But there’s no doubt that people left. It’s absolutely unconscionable in America that it should take six hours and 20 minutes to vote. And there were anecdotal stories all across the state of people saying, “I can’t wait that long.” I mean, you go to vote, you think maybe it’ll take half an hour, an hour if the lines are long. You can’t budget five or six hours of your time. Hervis Rogers, the guy that waited six hours and 20 minutes to vote in Texas, right after he finished voting, he had to go work a night shift. So, these long lines are a form of a poll tax.
AMY GOODMAN: And let’s remember, they’re standing.
ARI BERMAN: They’re standing. And the long lines are a form of a poll tax, because they keep people from being able to work. They keep people from getting to their kids or their families. And it’s disproportionately hurting Democratic communities. It’s disproportionately hurting young people. It’s disproportionately hurting Latinos, African Americans, other people, that are already struggling to vote in states like Texas that have other forms of voter suppression, as well.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: There’s also another aspect of voting in America which distinguishes it from a lot of countries in the world, the majority, which is that voting takes place on a workday, and that workday is not declared a national holiday. So that’s another way in which I think many people are not able to vote, the combination of having to get to work and then often having to wait hours in order to cast a vote.
ARI BERMAN: Absolutely. I mean, many other countries choose to hold voting on the weekend.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: On the weekend.
ARI BERMAN: They make Election Day a national holiday. They have polling places at every school, for example. So there’s many, many, many few polling places. You look at Texas. They’re voting on a weekday. People are not getting time off. That have a very restrictive voter ID law that prevents people from voting. Then they close 750 polling places, and you start to see why there are six-hour lines for people to vote.
AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s go from Texas to California.
ARI BERMAN: It was a slightly different story in California. There was very high turnout that was unexpected. A lot of people waited a long time to vote. They voted on Election Day instead of early. What happened in L.A. in particular is they were rolling out an entirely new voting system, and basically it crashed. It didn’t work. People couldn’t check in properly. The poll books weren’t working. The voting machines weren’t working. And then, you could vote at any polling place, which theoretically is a good thing, but there weren’t enough polling places. So, like at UCLA, for example, there was one polling place for 40,000 students. So, I don’t think we saw the same intentional voter suppression in California that we saw in Texas, but there’s no doubt that a lot of things were messed up in California. And again, we don’t know how many people just decided to not go through the process because the lines were so long.
AMY GOODMAN: Ultimately, on Election Day, who does this serve?
ARI BERMAN: It’s going to help Donald Trump on Election Day, because Democrats, no matter who the campaign is, no matter who the nominee is, they’re going to need a large turnout to beat Donald Trump. They’re going to need big turnout from young people, from African Americans, from Latinos, for Asian Americans. Those are the people that have to work longer. So, Donald Trump is sitting there seeing the six-hour lines in black and Latino areas and thinking, “This helps me.” There were no lines in white Republican parts of Houston, Texas. The lines were in black and Latino parts that, no matter who they’re voting for, they’re voting for Democrats over Republicans.
AMY GOODMAN: Can they open more polling places in Texas before Election Day?
ARI BERMAN: I certainly hope they do. I certainly hope Democratic officials in Texas, in the counties they control, in places like Houston and Dallas —
AMY GOODMAN: And California.
ARI BERMAN: Exactly. I hope they’re much better prepared, because we saw 25% turnout in Texas, and the lines were this long. Imagine if we see 50, 60, 70% turnout in the general election.
AMY GOODMAN: Can we switch to a different issue?
ARI BERMAN: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: The issue of census and coronavirus.
ARI BERMAN: I’m very concerned about the census. There were already so many difficulties facing this census, which, by the way, starts next week. And now you have a situation where people don’t want to open their doors. They don’t want to talk to strangers. Census workers are going to be uncomfortable going into certain communities. So, I think there have to be some real contingency plans. I think we need to think about the fact that the census might have to take longer to complete, that there might have to be some sort of way to count people that aren’t opening their doors.
AMY GOODMAN: And why does the census matter?
ARI BERMAN: The census matters because it forms the basis for democracy in America. It forms the basis for how political districts are drawn. It forms the basis for how $880 billion in federal funding is spent, for things like healthcare and roads and education. If we screw up the census, we screw up all of American democracy. And right now we’re beginning the census in the midst of a potentially massive pandemic. And so, we need to get this right, if it means that the census takes longer, if we push back the dates a little bit. The most important thing is to count everyone in America and to overcome whatever obstacles there might be. And this is now the latest obstacle in a long line of obstacles facing the census.
AMY GOODMAN: Ari Berman, we want to thank you for being with us, senior writer at Mother Jones, reporting fellow at Type Media Center, latest piece, we’ll link to, “Here’s Why Texans Had to Wait Six Hours to Vote.”
That does it for our show. Democracy Now! is hiring for a number of positions here in our New York City studio, from our newsroom to outreach and development teams. Information for jobs at democracynow.org.