Letter from an Editor | January 9, 2021

Dear John,

We are at a pivotal turning point in this country. It has been a dark week in American history. On Wednesday, domestic terrorists, at the behest of the current President of the United States, rioted and invaded our nation’s Capitol building. It is clear to me that President Trump is directly responsible for this violence—in his speech before the siege, he continued his constant lies about a “stolen” election and extorted the massive crowd to fight and to “take back America.” This rally was simply the culmination of his years of lies and violent rhetoric.

What we witnessed this week demands impeachment of President Trump for violation of his pledge to uphold the Constitution. Lawmakers who perpetuated the lies of a stolen election that animated the rioters—notably Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley—must also be held accountable. If you agree, now is the time to make your voice heard—to call your Representatives and Senators—and demand that these men are held to account for their actions.

But, in the midst of this darkness, we also saw such hopeful moments this week—and I would be remiss to allow these right-wing, hateful actors to prevent us from celebrating the progress made this week. After a hard-fought run-off election, both of Georgia’s Senate seats have flipped to blue. Raphael Warnock will be the state’s first Black senator and the first Black Democrat to represent a southern state in the Senate, while Jon Ossoff will be Georgia’s first Jewish senator and the youngest sitting U.S. senator (he’s 33). With their victories, Democrats will control the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Also this week, President-Elect Biden announced additional Cabinet and other high-level appointments. So far, Biden has named a historic number of women and people of color to his Cabinet—and that trend toward true representation continued this week with his announcement of three incredible women to serve in high level roles in the Justice Department: Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general; Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general; and Kristen Clarke as assistant attorney general for civil rights. They will work alongside Merrick Garland, Biden's choice for U.S. attorney general. We were lucky enough to have both Gupta and Clarke join us on our podcast, On The Issues with Michele Goodwin earlier this fall – if you’d like to get to know them better, I’d encourage you to give those episodes a listen now (listen to Gupta here [[link removed]] and Clarke here [[link removed]] ).

Inauguration Day is steadily approaching – but as Speaker Pelosi said on Thursday: “[Trump] is deadly to our democracy and to our people. In inciting sedition as he did yesterday, he must be removed from office. Although there are 13 days left, every day can be a horror show in America.” Now is not the time to relax. We must keep up the fight. We must demand our lawmakers do the same.

For equality,
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor

This Week's Must-Reads from Ms .

“Deadly To Our Democracy and To Our People”: Feminists React To the Trump-Led Insurrection [[link removed]]

The Ms. Q&A: Jackson Katz on Performative Patriotism, White Masculinity, and the Future of the Republican Party [[link removed]]

“We’re Building a Future Voting Culture”: How Barbara Arnwine and Others Mobilized Georgia’s Historic Win [[link removed]]

Biden Picks Merrick Garland and Three Women to Lead Justice Department [[link removed]]

Women’s Representation: It’s Time to Build a Truly Representative Democracy [[link removed]]

The Ms. Q&A: VoteRiders’ Kathleen Unger Talks Voter ID Laws and the Georgia Elections [[link removed]]

In 2020, We Created a Culture of Civic Participation. This Work Must Continue in 2021 [[link removed]]



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