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Dear Progressive Reader,

The week began for us in Iowa. Progressive reporter Alice Herman and photographer Joeff Davis joined me in Ames, Iowa to cover ([link removed][UNIQID]) the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. What followed has been termed by some an “app-pocalypse.” As Herman reports ([link removed][UNIQID]) , “In a state whose perceived electoral importance garners breathless months of media coverage and millions of dollars of campaign spending, there is something nasty and poetic about the Democrats’ inability to report the results of their own election: campaign hype, and the spectacle of the process, always overblown, are empty placeholders without the vote itself.” Davis provides this photo essay ([link removed][UNIQID]) of the scene in Iowa, ending, somewhat poignantly, with the American flag bunting crumpled on a chair after candidates and journalists left to head to New Hampshire
with Iowa vote totals still unknown.

As the Iowa uncertainty continued to roil through the week, Donald Trump’s campaign sarcastically announced that he had bested the Democrats in Iowa. On Tuesday, the president gave a triumphant State of the Union speech. As Ruth Conniff wrote ([link removed][UNIQID]) , “It was The Hunger Games. It was the descent of our democracy into decadence. It was a wake-up call—or should have been—to Americans of every political persuasion.” The following day, Republicans in the Senate gave Trump what he called “full vindication and exoneration.” The acquittal fell completely along party lines, with the exception on one lone vote from Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. As Bill Lueders says ([link removed][UNIQID]) , “Where other members of his party capitulated to fear of Trump’s wrath and the low ethic of party loyalty, Romney acted in accordance with his conscience.” As Lueders puts it,
“Romney’s solitary act of courage in an era of partisan pusillanimity . . . placed himself on the right side of history.” That history, of course, continues to unfold.

Following Thursday’s win in the Senate, Trump held what was originally billed ([link removed][UNIQID]) as a “public statement,” but later called ([link removed][UNIQID]) by Trump a “celebration.” As cartoonist Mark Fiore illustrates ([link removed][UNIQID]) , it really was an ode to autocracy. The speech, which was filled with verbal attacks on his opponents in Congress (and especially Mitt Romney), was followed later in the week by retaliation against some of the witnesses (Vindman and Sondland) who had testified in the House impeachment inquiry. It is likely that further retribution is planned. At the same time, as Jud Lounsbury documents ([link removed][UNIQID]) , a number of states won’t hold Republican primaries, or, if they do, won’t have any other name on the ballot than
Trump’s.

As Ruth Conniff describes ([link removed][UNIQID]) , “Friday’s New Hampshire debate, just days before that state’s primary, did little to resolve the Democrats’ endless discussions about persuading versus motivating voters, because it did neither.” While all of the Democrats agree that the goal is to oust Trump in November, the path to that victory remains unclear. One thing is clear, as Phyllis Bennis and Reverend William Barber II point out in an op-ed this week, military spending (barely discussed in last night’s debate) must be examined in this campaign. “We’ve debated the costs and benefits of spending on health, the environment, education, and other investments that would improve the lives of millions,” they write ([link removed][UNIQID]) . “Now let’s do the same for the wars and weapons that have taken the lives of millions.”

Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time. And, for the new year, don’t forget to click here ([link removed][UNIQID]) to order your 2020 Hidden History of the United States calendar from The Progressive!

Sincerely,

Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. – Thank you so much to everyone who generously contributed to The Progressive in 2019. We truly could not keep doing this work without your support! 2020 promises to be a busy year with many new opportunities. We look forward to traveling that road together with you, our readers and supporters, as we move forward in this new year.

If you have not done so already, please take a moment to support hard-hitting, independent reporting on issues that matter to you. Your donation today will help keep us on solid ground and help us continue to grow in the coming years. Please use the wallet envelope in the current issue of the magazine, or click on the “Donate” button below to join your fellow progressives in helping to sustain The Progressive as a voice for peace, social justice, and the common good.
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