Dear Progressive Reader,
Wisconsin’s April 7 primary election violated the state’s “Safer at Home” declaration and forced voters to choose between risking their health and risking their democratic rights. But the transparent effort at voter suppression failed in its goal of maintaining the seat of conservative Justice Daniel Kelly, who lost by more than 10% after the final count of nearly 1.55 million ballots. A record number of people voted absentee, but thousands more waited for hours to cast their votes on Election Day at a significantly reduced number of polling places. The vote totals were announced a week after the election as required by a court decision, and that night Ruth Conniff wrote, “As politics in our state and our nation descends into an abyss of cynical self-dealing, [Judge Jill] Karofsky’s victory is a major bright spot: a sign of hope in a season when we badly need it.”
Protests are being organized in several states to demand a “re-opening” in spite of strong scientific evidence that “stay at home” policies are working. “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” and “LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” tweeted Donald Trump on Friday. And then, in his perhaps most blatantly pandering tweet, “LIBERATE VIRGINIA and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!” Media reports have identified that much of this “grassroots” uprising is actually being funded by well-heeled rightwing donors, including the family of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. In the meantime, as cartoonist Mark Fiore illustrates, Trump’s daily press briefings are becoming more unhinged.
James Goodman writes this week about the hazards to immigrants in detention from the coronavirus. At the same time, today’s news carries stories of immigrants being deported back to Guatemala who are infected with COVID-19. Jeff Abbott, writing from Guatemala City, reports on the varying responses to the virus around the region. And Edward Hunt describes the ways that the U.S. government is taking advantage of the crisis to further its geo-political agenda in the region. Elle Fersan and Kai Golden of the Immigrants and Global Migration Initiative pen an op-ed this week for our Progressive Media Project, pointing out that Trump’s xenophobia is part of the problem. “The coronavirus pays no mind to citizenship status. Neither should public health,” they say.
Sarah Jaffee describes efforts by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ro Khanna to put workers’ rights at the front of the COVID-19 recovery agenda. Mike Ervin reminds us of some Americans who have been forgotten by the federal “stimulus” payments. And Sarah Lahm explains how the “influx of billions of dollars from the U.S. government [is] both desperately needed and woefully inadequate” for our public schools that are struggling during the pandemic, and beyond.
Finally, next Tuesday marks the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. The holiday, somewhat overshadowed by the current pandemic, is, in so many ways, more relevant now than ever. In April 1970, The Progressive devoted a special issue to the environmental crisis. This April, we hear from Tia Nelson, daughter of Earth Day founder Senator Gaylord Nelson, who writes, “Now, as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of that first Earth Day, the planet is in the throes of a sweeping pandemic that requires an unprecedented level of global commitment and cooperation. It is a moment that could have a profound impact on humankind’s response to the existential threat posed by climate change.” Let us hope that, as we respond to the coronavirus threat, we learn the right lessons to confront other present global threats and challenges.
We have been gathering all of our coverage of COVID-19 under one tab on our website for quick access. Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
P.S. – In an unprecedented move, spurred by the urgency of the moment, we released the entire new issue of The Progressive early, in digital form. You can read it or download it at progressive.org/AprilMay2020pdf or read it on a mobile device here. We hope you will share the link with others who would like to read this month’s articles as well. We exist because we want people to read our content, but we survive because they do.
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