First, let’s do one jibby jab at the consultant class, which now with Biden’s ascension, all of them want a job with the DNC:
I continue to find it genuinely bizarre that wealthy & well-connected media pundits & DC operatives log onto Twitter or go on cable news on a daily basis to scream at young, debt-ridden, working-class and/or lower-income people that *they* are "privileged" for not cheering Biden.
MSNBC’s Joy Reid recently made headlines by teaming up with Al Jazeera‘s Mehdi Hasan to dogpile progressive commentator Kyle Kulinski on Twitter for saying he refused to support Biden and was fine with Democrats blaming him for a Trump re-election.
“What this kind of thing says to me is that these are not ‘left-wing’ voters. They are privileged white voters who demand to be bowed down to, no different than Trump’s voters want those who are not white and Christian to take the knee for them like in the ‘good old days,’” Reid tweeted Monday evening. “These are voters whose primary concern is that everyone else kneel. That’s it. Kneel. Or they threaten the rest of us with the endless torment of Trumpism. Caged children. Viral death. Poverty. Want. Voter Suppression. Muslim bans. Of course none of this harms or impacts them.”
“Well here is [reality],” Reid continued. “No one is going to kneel. Those who get the danger of Trumpism are going to vote and find enough fellow voters committed to doing the right thing. The danger to living, breathing people is real. Most don’t have the luxury to pout over their preferred candidate.”
There are two problems with this “privileged” narrative, the first being that it is objectively false. As The Intercept‘s Glenn Greenwald explained in an article published last week, those who participate in America’s two-party voting performance are overwhelmingly richer and whiter than those who decline to participate, with a comprehensive Pew Research Center survey finding that “Nonvoters were more likely to be younger, less educated, less affluent and nonwhite.”
Which makes sense. Wealthy Americans have two mainstream parties which represent their interests to an extent that is directly proportionate to their wealth, while everyone else is aware to a greater or lesser extent that they do not.
And that is the second problem with the “refusing to support Biden is a sign of privilege” narrative: not only is it objectively false, but the exact opposite is true. Refusing to participate in a system you know doesn’t serve you is not a sign of privilege, a sign of privilege is feeling that you can afford to continue to suppoberrt a status quo which murders, exploits and oppresses disadvantaged groups at home and abroad regardless of which party’s sock puppet occupies the White House.
Wild theory here: sneering at progressives and calling Medicare for All proponents “grifters” while promoting candidates, think tanks and front groups bankrolled by Wall Street executives is probably not a good way to unify the Democratic Party.
Bernie Sanders is hosting another TH, this time with guests Prof. Stephanie Kelton from Rutgers; Prof. Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia; Sara Nelson, labor activist; and Prof Robert Reich from Berkeley.
There are two musical guests, Laura Jean Anderson and Max.
Billed as a discussion on how COVID-19 is affecting the health and economic plights of younger voters. I was surfing on FB and came across it. Discuss among yourselves. Bar is open. Update: it appears the host and the guest are running late. ETA is 10ET. …Continue reading →
I think it’s already here. Progressive Rep. Pramilla Jayapal has her staff working overtime on various bills. Here’s one of them.
My Paycheck Guarantee Act continues to pick up support from a diverse set of economists, lawmakers, labor unions, businesses & others.
Why? Because mass unemployment is catastrophic but avoidable – & a federal paycheck guarantee is a solution that meets the scale of the crisis. https://t.co/XsqSUgLy9c
The consensus of 57 economists surveyed this month by The Wall Street Journal is that 14.4 million jobs will be lost in the coming months, and the unemployment rate will rise to a record 13% in June, from a 50-year low of 3.5% in February. Already nearly 17 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits in the past three weeks, dwarfing any period of mass layoffs recorded since World War II.
Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist of Oxford Economics, projects 27.9 million jobs will be lost, and industries beyond those ordered to close will account for 8 to 10 million, a level of job destruction on a par with the 2007-09 recession.
Oxford Economics, a U.K.-based forecasting and consulting firm, projects April’s jobs report, which will capture late-March layoffs, will show cuts to 3.4 million business-services workers, including lawyers, architects, consultants and advertising professionals, as well as 1.5 million nonessential health-care workers and 100,000 information workers, including those working in the media and telecommunications.
“The virus shock does not discriminate across sectors as we initially thought,” Mr. Daco said.
Forecast April job losses, in selected industries, in millions: Source: Oxford Economics
7.9 Accommodation, food service 4.9 Retail, excluding online, grocery 1 Entertainment 3.4 Professional, business services 1.5 Ambulatory health-care services 1.5 Manufacturing 1.4 Transportation, warehousing 0.8 Wholesale trade 0.6 Social assistance 0.6 Construction
Gary Cuozzo, owner of ISG Software Group in Wallingford, Conn., said in recent weeks he’s only received a few hundred dollars in payments from customers, including manufacturers, nonprofits and retailers, for which he hosts websites and builds applications. It’s not enough to pay the $3,000 electric bill for his servers and other equipment, much less pay his own salary.
“Customers who paid like clockwork for 10-plus years are suddenly late,” he said. “I’m burning through all the cash I have.”
The AP interviewed Bernie Sanders this afternoon. I’m not certain I was ready to hear his words, but here is a portion of the interview (text, not video):
Sanders, who suspended his presidential bid last week, spoke at length about his decision to endorse Biden, his political future and the urgent need to unify the Democratic Party during an interview with The Associated Press. He railed against the Republican president but also offered pointed criticism at his own supporters who have so far resisted his vow to do whatever it takes to help Biden win the presidency.
He seemed to distance himself from his campaign’s former national press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, when asked about her recent statement on social media refusing to endorse Biden.
“She is my former press secretary — not on the payroll,” Sanders noted. A spokesman later clarified that all campaign staffers were no longer on the payroll as of Tuesday, though they will get a severance check in May. (note by me: that explains all of the farewells and exits seen on twitter today)
Sanders said his supporters have a simple choice now that Biden has emerged as the presumptive nominee: “Do we be as active as we can in electing Joe Biden and doing everything we can to move Joe and his campaign in a more progressive direction? Or do we choose to sit it out and allow the most dangerous president in modern American history to get reelected?”
He continued: “I believe that it’s irresponsible for anybody to say, ‘Well, I disagree with Joe Biden — I disagree with Joe Biden! — and therefore I’m not going to be involved.’”
Sanders said he would not actively campaign or spend money on advertising in the primary contests that are still on the calendar in the coming months. But he still encouraged Democrats in those states to vote for him, hoping to amass as many delegates as possible for leverage to shape the party platform and the direction of Biden’s campaign.
He also vowed to continue fighting for progressive priorities such as his signature “Medicare for All” as a senator, even though Biden has refused to embrace the government-backed single-payer health care system.
“If people want to vote for me, we’d appreciate it,” Sanders said of the roughly 20 primary contests that remain where his name will appear on the ballot. He later added, “I think you’re going to see significant movement on the part of the Biden campaign into a more progressive direction on a whole lot of issues.”
Sanders did not outline any specific plans to begin helping Biden in earnest, though he noted that he held dozens of rallies for former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton four years ago and would be at least as active for Biden. In the short term, he said he’s essentially “incarcerated in his home” because of coronavirus social distancing guidelines and did not know when he would return to the campaign trail.
Sanders brushed away questions about why he was willing to back Biden so much sooner than he did Clinton, whom he waited until June to endorse. He said recent conversations with former President Barack Obama did not influence his decision. It came down to simple math, he said.
In 2016, Sanders said he had a mathematical path to the nomination all the way until the California primary, which was held on the last day of voting in June. That simply wasn’t the case this year.
“What would be the sense of staying in, of spending a whole lot of money, of attacking the vice president, giving fodder for Trump — what’s the sense of doing that when you can’t win?” he asked.
“I will do everything I can to help elect Joe,” Sanders continued. “We had a contentious campaign. We disagree on issues. But my job now is to not only rally my supporters, but to do everything I can to bring the party together to see that (Trump) is not elected president.”
Bernie, pls don’t give Biden nor the DNC my e-mail address. I have no appetite for someone who is deceptive.
More news, tweets, videos in the comments. This serves as an open thread.
Looks like Ms. Karofsky got a lot of Dem and some indie support to bolster her to victory over incumbent Justice Daniel Kelley. Great story is emerging from this set of tweets by Ben Wikler, the WI Dem Party Chairman
Meanwhile, presidential campaigns got involved. @BernieSanders endorsed Jill Karofsky—and engaged his volunteers in calling, texting, and doing social media outreach on her behalf, all focused on absentee voting. https://t.co/0PBczlVlm8
That organizing by Team Sanders made a critical difference. And he wasn't alone. @JoeBiden endorsed Karofsky and urged Wisconsin voters to support her. @ewarren tweeted and emailed her Wisconsin list. @PeteButtigieg and @JulianCastro endorsed as well. https://t.co/Xh2OB8g0UR
Yet these same voters couldn’t vote for Bernie. I digress.
Alright, more about election day results for Karofsky:
That organizing by Team Sanders made a critical difference. And he wasn't alone. @JoeBiden endorsed Karofsky and urged Wisconsin voters to support her. @ewarren tweeted and emailed her Wisconsin list. @PeteButtigieg and @JulianCastro endorsed as well. https://t.co/Xh2OB8g0UR
I won't force you to relive Wisconsin's election day in this thread. It should not have happened. We still don't know how many people got infected because it did happen. But on that day, was obvious to *nobody* how this election would turn out. https://t.co/vrhZnaf7PG
Good for Wisconsin. Hopefully the SCOW will better serve the needs of all people, not just the corporate interests.
The communications between Sanders and Biden camps indicate engagement as teams are forming to discuss issues and strategies. The NYT has some more superficial but still interesting reporting on the relationship-building transition process of the two entities.
That news of the endorsement did not leak beforehand was another signal of the growing unity between the campaigns. Only a small group of people on each campaign knew it was happening, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Ms. Warren and Mr. Biden have also spoken multiple times since her exit about policy issues, including the plan that Mr. Biden has developed to respond to the pandemic. At the staff level, Ms. Warren’s chief campaign strategist, Joe Rospars, and Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to Mr. Biden, have been engaged in talks bridging the two camps.
Ms. Dunn, along with Ron Klain, another longtime Biden adviser, played a central role in negotiations with the Sanders camp in recent weeks, while a top Sanders political adviser, Jeff Weaver, and campaign manager Faiz Shakir, represented the Vermont senator.
The scene on Monday was a striking example of the ways the coronavirus has upended traditional campaigning. In normal times, both men most likely would have appeared onstage together at a rally — or at least done so at an event with more pomp. Instead, they appeared at their homes, as they have been doing for weeks. When Mr. Sanders officially declared his endorsement, Mr. Biden seemed visibly moved. “Oh!” Mr. Biden said, before dropping his head as if he hardly saw it coming.
The two men said they would form “task forces” on issues including the economy, education, immigration, health care, criminal justice and climate change. Mr. Biden’s campaign said that the groups would include “policy experts and leaders that represent the diverse viewpoints of the Democratic Party,” and promised updates on the groups’ progress.
Two senior Biden advisers, Cristóbal Alex and Symone D. Sanders, who both have relationships in the progressive sphere, have been reaching out to leading liberal organizations, including groups that focus on immigrants’ rights and on climate. And Representative Cedric Richmond, Mr. Biden’s campaign co-chairman, has spoken with his counterpart on the Sanders campaign, Representative Ro Khanna, about the need to unite the party.
Still, Mr. Sanders’s endorsement surprised many of the progressive grass-roots groups that had endorsed his candidacy and that are struggling with the prospect of the more moderate Mr. Biden becoming the nominee. Some worried that it undercut the leverage Mr. Sanders might have to persuade Mr. Biden to make policy concessions.
“We want those task forces to be given real power in the campaign and in the party apparatus,” Mr. Weber, of the Sunrise Movement, said. “Not just gestures but real commitments.”
It is unclear how much sway Mr. Sanders would have over Mr. Biden’s campaign decisions, including his potential cabinet or vice-presidential selections. In a Friday interview with PBS NewsHour, Mr. Sanders acknowledged a preference for Mr. Biden to pick a more progressive running mate but said he had not weighed in on the choice.
“Joe is going to have to make that decision himself,” Mr. Sanders said.
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Sanders had often referred to Mr. Biden as his “friend” and the two men have a personal relationship that has remained intact. Even as the field dwindled, Mr. Sanders was reluctant to attack Mr. Biden directly and largely did so only for a brief spell near the end of his campaign that included the last debate — and only on policy.
That comity was on display Monday in an appearance that at times resembled a slapdash buddy skit, with levity that offered a brief respite from the seriousness of a national health crisis. The two men seemed to delight in talking to each other — bantering away on subjects that generally sounded as if they had been cleared with campaign aides.
“Do you have any questions for me, Bernie?” Mr. Biden said.
“I did, Joe,” he said. Both gushed their effusive praise.
Near the end, when Mr. Biden asked Mr. Sanders if there was anything else he wanted to do, Mr. Sanders quipped that they should “play some chess.”
“I’d like to play chess!” Mr. Biden said.
But Mr. Sanders was out of moves.
As Mr. Biden’s live stream drew to a close, a message popped up on his one-time rival’s video screen: “You are muted by host.”
The same article says that Warren is supposed to endorse sometime soon.
I feel like I got some kind of head cold but actually I’m fine. This whole election is far crazier than 2016 or 2008.
What this campaign did was put together a grassroots movement unlike anything in American politics. Thank you to all of our supporters for being part of that. pic.twitter.com/3PAj5FOvho
It’s pretty evident Bernie is concerned about the strong reaction Berners have had to support Biden, and those two camps have talking over the weekend. The camps are now called defacto “task forces” in dealing with the pandemic.
sorry bernie, i was r*ped when i was 14 and im not voting for a r*pist at the age of 26. https://t.co/IRnJfr67tT
