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Part One:
We take a close look at voter turnout with Lou Jacobson, senior correspondent at PolitiFact. It turns out that Democratic candidates for state and federal office in 2018 got more votes than the 2016 winners, including a number getting 10% more votes than Hillary Clinton had. This was due, in part, to a better turnout of existing Democratic voters in 2018, and partly to drawing new people to the voting process.
Moreover, even for those Democratic candidates who lost in 2018 (despite doing better than Hillary had), some had coattails that helped candidates for lesser office to win. And even where a legislature had already been majority-Democratic, the improved results may have helped them to override a Republican governor’s veto, or to bring some Republicans to vote for their bills. In short, it is wise to focus on the long-term, building a movement which may not win it all today but which can grow to a point where they can create a better future.
Part Two:
We speak with Bob Hennelly, who now writes for the Chief-Leader covering public unions and civil servants in New York City. His Salon article describes Jeffrey Epstein as “Exhibit A for capitalism’s moral bankruptcy.”
In federal court last week, he observed Epstein’s “condescending disregard” for the legal proceedings against him (charges of child sex-trafficking), and the sense of entitlement Epstein seems to feel, based on his white male privilege and his enormous wealth. And why shouldn’t he feel like he’ll prevail? Not long ago, he paid millions of dollars to defend himself in a similar case. He succeeded in making a deal with a Republican US Attorney — Alex Acosta, who just resigned as Pres. Trump’s Secretary of Labor — and a Democratic prosecutor — Cyrus Vance, Jr. Epstein was able to enter into a kind of “gentlemen’s agreement”: a non-prosecution and a grant of immunity.
Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes in our justice system. This privilege intersects with other social conflicts in our country. The same 1% who caused the 2008 Great Recession are receiving an even higher proportion of American income and wealth than they were back then. They are still running the country, still obtaining tax breaks and other special-interest welfare that has sent inequality skyrocketing.
In addition to economic injustice, racial discrimination is still rampant, in aspects well beyond mass incarceration and black lives not mattering to many police officers. You don’t need to visualize Charlottesville to understand that white supremacy is a serious threat to the United States. Likewise, Trump and his allies stoke xenophobia, hatred and bigotry, both at the border and in everyday targeting of Congressmembers of color.
We remain hopeful that more and more decent people are recognizing the moral emptiness of dehumanizing some human beings who may look different from oneself. More people are joining together with other victims of the banks, corporations and insurance companies, demanding a more fair, more humane future.
