Dear Progressive Reader,
Today is Halloween, but perhaps a Halloween like no other. Mask wearing has taken on a totally new meaning, and intricate methods of no-contact delivery of treats are being developed in communities across the country. It is also difficult to create “scary stories” for the holiday that can match the frights of everyday reality with more than 230,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States alone. More than nine million people have been infected so far, with millions more affected by the economic crisis and the ripple effect of the loss of employer-based healthcare and more. And, on top of all that, we are facing what may be the most critical election in U.S. history.
Nationally, early voting is at about 65% of the total votes cast in 2016, but in Texas and Hawaii early voting has already surpassed the total number of ballots cast in those states in 2016. But in spite of what will no doubt be a huge turnout, concerns remain about how quickly those votes will be counted, and how many of those votes will count. Many groups are organizing in anticipation of court challenges to ballots. Both parties have assembled teams of lawyers, and the Republican Party pledged $20 million in the months preceding the election to challenge attempts by states to make voting easier and safer during the pandemic. Concerns have also grown in the past few weeks about voter intimidation on Election Day as well, as Donald Trump has called on his supporters to “watch the polls.” A new report states that “Militia groups and other armed non-state actors pose a serious threat to the safety and security of American voters.”
In Madison, Wisconsin, much of the downtown area remains boarded up with the plywood that was installed at the beginning of protests last May and June, following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. But in an ominous sign of concern over potential post-election violence, one downtown hotel was adding new plywood this week to cover its large glass windows. Similarly, Facebook, which had already announced it would not carry “political ads” in the week leading up to election day, told users this week “Importantly, please note that we will temporarily stop running all social issue, electoral, and political ads in the US on November 4, 12:00AM Pacific Time”—with no end date specified.
Stephen Zunes writes, “[W]hile the courts may be insufficient to hinder a Trump coup—especially after the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett—a growing network of organizations is already preparing to launch a large-scale civil resistance movement to defend American democracy.” Based on his research on civil resistance to coups around the world, Zunes argues, “Fundamentally, the defense of a society under threat of a de-facto coup relies on widespread mobilization, building alliances, nonviolent discipline, and a refusal to recognize illegitimate authority.” Trump, on the other hand, has repeatedly warned (with no evidence) that it is Joe Biden who would “surrender our country to the violent, left-wing mob.”
As we get closer to Election Day, the pace of rallies in key battleground states continues to accelerate. Biden’s rallies do a much better job of adhering to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines, while Trump’s rallies have regularly been referred to as potential super-spreader events. As Ruth Conniff reports, “He simply doesn’t care about Americans who get sick and die.” And, she continues, “Trump’s defiance extends to the pandemic itself and to people who take public-health precautions to try to contain it. . . . . It’s a breathtaking posture for a president on whose watch hundreds of thousands of Americans have died.”
Michael Felsen, former Department of Labor attorney, says in an op-ed this week that Trump has “has delivered a series of blows to working people.” And GM worker Dave Green echoes these comments in another op-ed, noting, “Nationwide, Trump has the worst jobs record of any president in modern history. . . . And all Trump can do is lie about it.”
Also this week, Asher Luberto reviews three new films that he says are designed to “persuade undecided voters and motivate decided ones to actually vote.” But action does not end with casting a ballot on Election Day every four years. As Jacques Servin (better known as Andy Bichlbaum, co-founder of The Yes Men) writes this week, “[T]he two presidents who brought us the most important progressive legislation of the 20th century were also longstanding centrists who inherited giant messes. Critically, both of those presidents—Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson—faced pressure by mass movements shortly after they were elected.” After Inauguration Day, if Biden is victorious, Servin reminds us, “We'll need to show our new President just how troublesome mass movements can be. In other words, we’ll need to give him the power [to move a truly progressive agenda].”
Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
P.S – Our new 2021 Hidden History of the United States calendar is now available for purchase through our website. They make great gifts and hang well on walls and refrigerators.
P.P.S. – If you don’t already subscribe to The Progressive in print or digital form, please consider doing so today. Also, if you have a friend or relative that you feel should hear from the many voices for progressive change with our pages, please consider giving a gift subscription. And, if you know someone who you think would enjoy receiving this free weekly email newsletter, please share this link with them to subscribe — https://tiny.cc/ProgressiveNewsletter — it is free, and I enjoy writing it every Saturday morning.
P.P.P.S. – We need you now more than ever. Please take a moment to support hard-hitting, independent reporting on issues that matter to you. Your donation today will keep us on solid ground and will help us continue to grow in the coming years. You can use the wallet envelope in the current issue of the magazine, or click on the “Donate” button below to join your fellow progressives in sustaining The Progressive as a voice for peace, social justice, and the common good.
|
|
