WEEKEND QUOTABLES

 

Rebecca Solnit

Biden's victory is only the prelude. What happens now is up to us. -- Guardian

James Downie, WaPo's Digital Opinions Editor

Black, brown, and working-class voters delivered Joe Biden the presidency; the hard work of turning out those voters wasn’t done by the national party this year, but by grass-roots organizers over many years. -- Democratic leaders play a ridiculous blame game with progressives

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon

After Biden pulled ahead in Pennsylvania, Sturgeon tweeted: ''The world can be a dark place at times just now — but today we are seeing a wee break in the clouds.'' - Washington Post

Mayor Lori Lightfoot

 “With the Republicans [potentially] retaining control of the Senate, it’s far from clear that any additional monies will be flowing by way of stimulus.” -- IL Playbook

IL State Rep. Bob Morgan on Madigan

 “Allegations surrounding Speaker Madigan and Commonwealth Edison are extremely troubling, as are [previous] ones about sexual harassment by top aides. Leadership requires taking responsibility, and the pervasive culture of mistrust and corruption in Illinois rests at Mike Madigan’s feet.” -- Statement

Erendira Rendon, Immigrant Advocacy and Defense Project V.P.

“This win doesn’t mean that all of a sudden the immigrant community is safe now." -- Tribune

With 9 days to go, a warning.

My Dodgers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory last night. An improbable set of events that took place in 15 seconds may end up costing us them the World Series they were destined to win. 

Last night, I thought it was just a bad dream. But I woke up this morning and it was on ESPN. So it must have really happened.

A bad Election Day omen for Democrats?

Nah. Just a heads-up. Stuff happens.
#blackswan

United front against Trump doesn't mean struggle ends.

"Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: Give people light and they will find a way." -- Joe Biden 

"You and I cannot be free in America or anywhere else where there is capitalism and imperialism." --  Ella Baker, Puerto Rico Solidarity Rally 1974

Yes, I was captivated as usual by the Obama speeches and deeply moved by Kamala Harris' personal story and will definitely try to beat my brother Fred to the polls this time around to vote the anti-Trump ticket from top to bottom.

Although you might not have gotten this from the convention's singular focus on Biden/Harris, we also need to get out the vote for congressional candidates and take back the Senate if we are to begin undoing the damage Trump's regime has caused. My hunch is, congressional candidates weren't getting much play at the DNC so as not to offend or scare away the anti-Trump Republicans.

It's pretty clear that a united-front strategy -- all hands on deck -- is the right one to take down Trump in November even though it leaves some ("they're all the same") ultra-lefties grumpy and feeling betrayed by their base. But it's also important to remember that even within a united front, struggle goes on. Without that struggle -- and there is room for struggle -- the tone of the Democratic Convention would have been far different and minus progressive voices that made it through Nancy Pelosi's loyalty screen.

It seemed almost pro forma for convention speakers to tip their hat to SNCC '60s freedom fighters at the start of every speech. It shows how much the national BLM protests have forced the party leftward in order to maintain its credibility with labor, immigrants, and younger Black and Latinx voters and how much today's Democratic Party leaders like Harris (admittedly) have to stand on the shoulders of their Black Freedom Movement forerunners.

And these women inspired us to pick up the torch, and fight on. Women like Mary Church Terrell and Mary McCleod Bethune. Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash. Constance Baker Motley and the great Shirley Chisholm. -- Kamala Harris speech

Despite all the civil-rights chatter, it became pretty clear that Pelosi's right-center conception of the anti-Trump united front is far different from ours. Hers is essentially a Kasich/Clinton/Obama coalition that even welcomes with open arms, union-busters, Pentagon and NRA faves, global-warming deniers, right-to-lifers, and neocon Republicans while keeping progressive and left-leaning Democrats at arm's length or out the door completely.

I know, AOC got her minute in the sun (and a powerful minute it was) and Bernie Sanders is too legit to quit. But I'm amazed, though not really surprised to see even loyal progressive Texas Democrats like Julian Castro and Beto O'Rourke, let alone Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib getting short shrift at the DNC. Remember Omar and Tlaib are big-time vote-getters and election winners in crucial swing states MI and MN.

Yet, Pelosi, Biden, and other Dem leaders feel compelled to attack them and other Squad members publicly and are, hopefully unsuccessfully, backing machine pols against them in local primaries. Case in point is Pelosi's recent endorsement of Rep. Joe Kennedy III in a primary challenge against progressive Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey.

The struggle continues

Y'all keep coming for @lsarsour so we will keep showing up for her and let you know that we stand w our sister in solidarity. Hi @lsarsour - we got your back! pic.twitter.com/LhMiFAMPb1

— Harish I. Patel (@iamharishipatel) August 21, 2020

AOC and Sanders point the way for lefties

There’s this talk about unity as this kind of vague, kumbaya, kind of term. Unity and unifying isn’t a feeling, it’s a process. -- AOC

There's no need for us to create crises. There's plenty of them to go around. Some occur naturally and others are man-made or politically manufactured. No matter how much we all yearn for a return to "normalcy" the storms will keep rolling in.

Among the questions facing millions of those of us hardest hit by this crisis, as we to race to November, is which forces are capable of leading the way out of the coronavirus crisis and of building a coalition capable of toppling Trump and Trumpism? While sectarian and divisive practices are holding back some on the left, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders continue to point the way forward in these hard times.

Aside from identifying the main issues for the moment at hand, like healthcare for all, economic justice, a Green New Deal, and racial equality -- AOC and Bernie are modeling for young activists, good tactical leadership. How to unite and struggle at the same time. They are also finding new ways to keep the struggle alive under impossible conditions, while Democratic Party regulars have generally stayed hidden in quarantine. 

Bernie's endorsement of Joe Biden is a case in point. It enables Bernie and his large base of mostly-young activists to maintain their focus on defeating Trump while at the same time, continue to push those issues while the public is laser-focused on politics. Bernie has made it clear that his support for Biden is conditional and must continually be renegotiated. 

“It’s no great secret Joe that you and I have our differences, and we are not going to paper them over. That’s real,” Sanders said. “But I hope that these task forces will come together, utilizing the best minds and people in your campaign and in my campaign, to work out real solutions to these very, very important problems.” 

There are many young people, including African-American and Latinx activists who are simply not going to vote for Biden or vote period. Many for good reason. They have been given little reason to trust the electoral system, Biden or the party's leadership which has rarely reached out to them or given voice to their issues. Ocasio-Cortez probably comes closest to doing that of any seated politician.

While supporting Biden, AOC goes even farther than Bernie in making clear that her base of voters wants more than just a pat on the head from Democrats.

There’s also this idea that if we all just support the nominee that voters will come along as well. I’ve flagged, very early, two patterns that I saw [among Biden’s campaign], which is underperformance among Latinos and young people, both of which are very important demographics in November. And so, I don’t think this conversation about changes that need to be made is one about throwing the progressive wing of the party a couple of bones — I think this is about how we can win.

I guess the thing that bothered me the most about DSA's tweet announcing their non-endorsement wasn't that their members aren't supporting Biden (most probably are) but that the message said nothing else. No alternative.

We are not endorsing @JoeBiden.

— DSA 🌹 (@DemSocialists) April 12, 2020

Nobody cares about an endorsement or lack of one. AOC supports the Democratic nominee against Trump without offering an official endorsement.

But this statement more or less places them on the sidelines of a major battle being waged within the Democratic Party, not just by AOC and Bernie, but by thousands of young activists and people of color who have committed themselves to defeating Trump but who are looking for more. Now, they've painted themselves in a corner with the worst consequence being irrelevancy in the months ahead. 

Biden sightings

Biden campaign has a new podcast. Is that it?

With only 7 months to go in the campaign, it's not so much that Joe Biden has disappeared into a shell. It's that the DNC has chosen not to directly take on Donald Trump. That task has been entirely left up to governors and mayors in states and cities hit hardest by the coronavirus and the accompanying failure of federal support.

The daily press conferences held by IL Gov. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lightfoot, have been hard-hitting and effective and offer a model to Democratic Party leaders on how to mobilize public support in these difficult times for organizers and campaigners.

Yesterday's was the best, with Lightfoot delivering a strong kick in the butt to Jared Kushner after he stunned state and city leaders with his comment that "the federal stockpile (of medical equipment) was it’s supposed to be our stockpile... not supposed to be the states’ stockpiles that they then use.”

This is what leadership looks like. pic.twitter.com/TTqIYrT5WJ

— Mike Klonsky (@mikeklonsky) April 3, 2020

There have been a few Biden sightings in the past week. One in particular caught my eye. It was reported in yesterday's Military Times where Biden was quoted as being critical of the Pentagon's decision to fire Capt. Brett Crozier, the heroic commander of the nuclear aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt who first warned about the spread of COVID on his ship.

“Navy leadership sent a chilling message about speaking truth to power,” Biden tweeted Friday. “The poor judgment here belongs to the Trump administration, not a courageous officer trying to protect his sailors.”

Good for you Joe.

But there was the paragraph further down in the article that caused my stomach to turn.

Biden has suspended most campaigning since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in America last month, but has said in recent days he will speak with Trump about the federal response to the pandemic.

Speak with Trump? Biden and the Democrats had better un-suspend the campaign. start speaking directly to voters (especially in battleground states) and move into attack mode, especially over the issues of how the Republicans are (or aren't) responding to the COVID crisis. Thousands, and possibly millions of lives hang in the balance.

Trump continues his domination of the media as expected. But the Biden camp has at least begun to stir with the launching of a new 2020 campaign podcast. That all well and good. But if that's all they've got, we're likely in for a repeat of 2016.

DNC knives may be pointed at Biden as well as at Bernie

As I told the reporter, I am absolutely not running for President. Any report otherwise is categorically false. I’ve been proud to campaign with my good friend Joe Biden, who is going to win the nomination, beat Trump, and make an outstanding president.

— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) February 2, 2020

As filmmaker Michael Moore put it the other day, "the knives are out."

He was, of course, referring to the divisive campaign being waged by the DNC against the party's progressive wing. Bernie Sanders' surge in the polls has DNC leaders in a panic and they're pulling out all stops to split party regulars from Sanders, to ensure his defeat, and maintain their power regardless of the consequences in November.

But at least some of their knives are also aimed at their own guy, frontrunner Joe Biden. There's lots of buyer's remorse over Biden whose bumbling debate performances and poor fundraising ability have party leaders in a sweat. While he may eke out a win in Iowa, his numbers are weaker than anticipated, especially with younger voters who aren't content with returning to the pre-Trump status quo.

This week's Iowa State/Civiqs poll finds Sanders leading among 18-to-34-year-olds with 33% while Biden got just 1%.

They're also worried that the Hunter Biden/Ukraine scandal has legs heading into November.

Every day we're hearing talk about a possible late replacement jumping into the race in case big campaign donors lose confidence in Biden.

Yesterday, it was John Kerry.  ABC News reported that Kerry, co-architect with Clinton of the party's "regime change" foreign policy, was overheard Sunday on the phone explaining what he would have to do to enter the presidential race amid "the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party — down whole."

Sitting in the lobby restaurant of the Renaissance Savery hotel, Kerry was overheard by an NBC News analyst saying "maybe I'm f---ing deluding myself here" and explaining that to run, he'd have to step down from the board of Bank of America and give up his ability to make paid speeches. Kerry said donors like venture capitalist Doug Hickey would have to "raise a couple of million," adding that such donors "now have the reality of Bernie."

More NBC News...

 It's not clear how serious Kerry was on the call about jumping into the race. But that he would even discuss the possibility suggests that prominent members of the Democratic Party remain deeply unsettled by the current field, Sanders' strength in the polls and the ability of any candidate to defeat President Donald Trump.

Yes, Kerry is f---ing delusional. As is Hillary Clinton who has been sending up her own trial balloons. Clinton has been telling party leaders for months that she would be willing to come back from the political graveyard and enter the race. Last week, in an interview with Variety, Hillary admitted she was feeling "the urge to run because I feel the 2016 election was a really odd time and an odd outcome."

In recent weeks she has assumed the position as chief gunslinger, firing not only at Bernie but his supporters as well. Clinton's anti-Bernie tirades led to booing at a rally in Iowa, at the very mention of her name by Sanders supporters and Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Remember that Michigan is a must-win state for Dems if they have any hope of defeating Trump.

According to CNN,

From the Sanders perspective, it's hard to not want to push back against Clinton saying that the Vermont senator has no friends and cost her the election. While Tlaib's booing may not have been the perfect response, you can understand the frustration among the left toward Clinton, who not only lost what everyone in the Democratic Party assumed was a slam-dunk election in 2016 but has spent the last 3+ years blaming everyone but herself for it.

Smelling blood in the water, even Sanders-hater and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, whose 2016 campaign was a dismal failure, is raising his hand -- meekly.

“If there’s a muddled finish [in Iowa and New Hampshire] or an unelectable leftist, that’s Bloomberg time. In 2016, there were some people who said to me, ‘Well, if you could only have hung in until we got totally sick of Bernie.’ And I said, ‘Well, I couldn’t. I had no money.’"

Yes, as they say, bullshit walks. And as I keep saying, Biden better watch his back. The DNC's knives are out and they're not just pointed at progressives.

Trying to make sense of Iowa

Lots of Chicago activists are driving to Iowa this weekend to knock on doors for Sanders or Warren. Is the trip worth their while? Hard to say.

A recent Sanders surge in the polls has the party leadership in a panic. But there's not much they can do about it, fearing a push to stop him would backfire

I can only imagine what Warren's Chicago people are saying to Iowans about Bernie and vice-versa.

How important are the Iowa caucuses as a predictor of who will win the nomination? Not very. Since 1972, caucasions (sic & pun intended) have had a 55% success rate at predicting which Democrat will win. It's more than obvious that states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are the key states to watch, with candidates rising or falling on black-voter turnout in cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philly.

But that doesn't mean Iowa isn't important. For example, if certain candidates, ie. Buttigieg, Warren, Klobuchar, stumble badly in Iowa, they may never get to MI. On the other hand, if an unlikely winner pulls an upset in Iowa, like Obama did in 2008, it could mean more credibility with voters and campaign donors nationally. The Iowa campaign is also important as a prerequisite to battling Trump on issues like farming and trade war with China.

My prediction: A close finish between Sanders and Biden who will put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack. I think Biden will win, mainly because the progressive movement on the ground is so badly split.

Biden is currently at 23% in the polls. Bernie at 21%. Warren at 10%. Put those last two numbers together and you've got something.

But prospects for progressive unity in Iowa and beyond, are pretty dim right now, especially given the all-out anti-left assault by the DNC, aimed mainly at Sanders voters (so-called "Bernie Bros"). See my previous post for more on this.

An interesting side note... Iowa State/Civiqs poll found Sanders leading among 18-to-34-year-olds with 33% while Biden got just 1%! That survey estimated that 47% of likely caucus-goers will be under 50 years old, a boon for Sanders’s topline number, whereas the 2016 entrance poll found that just 42% of caucus-goers were under the age of 50.

A trend to watch after Iowa.

Klobuchar was the worst of the six.

"And then when it comes to Iraq, right now, I would leave our troops there, despite the mess that has been created by Donald Trump." -- Amy Klobuchar at Des Moines debate.

Of the six candidates on stage in Des Moines Tuesday night, Amy Klobuchar was by far, the worst.

She outflanked the others on the right on nearly every issue, from war to the economy, to the environment. She doesn't support a wealth tax or Medicare for all, tuition-free K-16 public ed, and if elected, won't repeal Trump’s tax break for the rich.

She wants to keep troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and keep nuclear weapons in southern Turkey. She defended the assassination of Gen. Soleimani. She's a big fan of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and says that as president, she would "bring in American support again in a big way for Israel." She wants to keep the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem and leave in place the Trump administration’s policies on Israeli settlements.

And on it goes.

In other words, Klobuchar represents a wing of the Democratic Party that stands in direct opposition to progressives like Sanders and Warren on most of the fundamental issues.

She even slams Warren personally for being "too wonky."

So my question is, why would Elizabeth Warren decide to block with Klobuchar against Sanders Tuesday night? Was it just to score a few quick points against her long-time political ally in order to supplant him as the current progressive frontrunner? Was it simply an act of retaliation for Sanders' alleged "a woman can't win" comment in a private conversation? If so, it failed badly. It was a short-sighted, opportunist move that will divide the progressive wing of the party and will likely hurt mainly her as well as Sanders' chances of winning the nomination.

I hope not.

Last night, they somewhat, actually debated the war.

Bloomberg on Colbert: "We are the superpower of the world.” 

I missed the beginning because the Duke/Clemson basketball ended late. Clemson pulled the exciting upset over #2 Blue Demons (fallen angels?)

But I did catch the war debate.

Bernie Sanders and to a lesser degree Elizabeth Warren were the only candidates who took a forthright anti-war stance following Trump's assassination of Gen. Soleimani.

Last night, the rest were wavering on the war issue. You know, keep our embassy in Baghdad. Leave special forces in place. OK to use mercs, drones or even all-out war with congressional approval. All especially seemed agreed on that last point -- no spending on war with Iran without a vote in Congress. That's a good thing, given the current situation.

However, it belies the fact that congress (including most Democrats), has already given Trump and the Pentagon the trillions they need to carry on their eternal war to protect the oil.

But you could watch, especially Joe Biden, wriggle around the question,

BIDEN: Well, I tell you what, there's a difference between combat troops and leaving special forces in position.

Biden admitted he "mistakenly" voted for the war in Iraq (Oops!). But then tried to hide behind Obama.

I said 13 years ago it was a mistake to give the president the authority to go to war if, in fact, he couldn't get inspectors into Iraq to stop what — thought to be the attempt to get a nuclear weapon. It was a mistake, and I acknowledged that.

But right — the man who also argued against that war, Barack Obama, picked me to be his vice president. And once we — once we were elected president, he turned — and vice president, he turned to me and asked me to end that war.

Huh?

But, only a few days ago, Biden had John Kerry arguing he hadn't really voted for the war. Or if he did, it was because Republicans tricked him into it.

“It was a mistake to have trusted them, I guess, and we paid a high price for it,” Kerry added. “But that was not voting for the war.”

These two need to get in a room together and get their stories straight.

Today's Washington Post summed it up best:

With tensions with Iran and controversy over President Trump’s decision to kill Qasem Soleimani big in the news, Democrats had a chance to define their party on the issue. And the debate began on that subject, with the candidates talking at some length. What we got instead was a lot of general talk about taking out combat troops but leaving in other troops who would be tasked with other missions.

As for the rest of the debate, again it was Sanders and Warren standing up for real reform on healthcare and education and the rest arguing “How we gonna pay for it”? (on everything but war).

Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar want Medicare for some, college for some, daycare for some, bring some troops home. It’s the Some Party.

Some of the craziest moments came from Buttigieg, who argues against Bernie's call for tuition-free college. PB doesn't think the wealthy should be allowed to send their kids to tuition-free public universities (and I assume to public schools in general).

And I don't think subsidizing the children of millionaires and billionaires to pay absolutely zero in tuition at public colleges is the best use of those scarce taxpayer dollars. 

Mayor Pete, I believe that's why they call it PUBLIC EDUCATION, public healthcare, public parks, and public space in general. Public schools would be much better funded if white parents and yes, rich white parents sent their kids there. You should be about taxing the wealthiest the most. Not excluding them from tuition-free public space.

The real winner of the debate may have been a candidate who didn't even take part. Appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” immediately after the debate, Billionaire Michael Bloomberg got more unchallenged talk time than any of the six.

Bloomberg echoed the neocon line, promising that he would lead the U.S. to war if the national security of America is directly threatened,

“and if the rest of the world is threatened, we have an obligation to go and help. We are the superpower of the world, and with superpower status comes responsibility.” 

When you're as rich and powerful as Bloomberg and the leader of the "superpower of the world," I don't suppose you need congressional approval to do anything, invade or bomb anyone. Just ask Donald Trump.

MY WEEKEND QUOTABLES

THE REAL RATS IN BALTIMORE...Wells Fargo Bank first pushed sub-prime mortgages on thousands of working-class, black families in Baltimore (referred to as "Mud People" by loan officers), then foreclosed on their homes. 

Baltimore Sun Editorial

It was only surprising that there wasn’t room for a few classic phrases like “you people” or “welfare queens” or “crime-ridden ghettos” or a suggestion that the congressman “go back” to where he came from. -- Better to have a few rats than to be one

Jonathan Kinloch, Democratic chairman of MI’s 13th Cong Dist

“We can’t make the same mistake Hillary made in 2016 and assume that because Donald Trump is such a vile candidate, that black people will rise up and just zombie to the polls.” -- Tribune

Simon Moya-Smith

This country has always had the capacity for cruelty, and has often acted on that capacity with the flag in one hand and the Bible in the other. -- Think

Alaina Hampton

“We are witnessing what appears to be the condoning of inappropriate behavior, which will continue to silence victims and perpetuate a culture of sexism. Speaker Madigan's organization’s used to be able to get away with this type of corruption, but this time everyone is watching.” -- IL Playbook

To the Democratic Women’s Caucus:

I have now been waiting for a year & a half for you to support me publicly, or even address me by name in a statement. Where are you? What is your stance? We all want to know.

— Alaina Hampton (@alainaxhampton) July 25, 2019

IL Appellate Judge Michael B. Hyman

 “Taking together the text of our constitution and its historical interpretation by our supreme court, we conclude that the Illinois Constitution requires, in the ordinary case, a warrant to issue before an arrest can be made. Arrests based on investigative alerts violate that rule.” -- Injustice Watch

Future looks dim for Cook County Dems without a change at the top.

New #ChiMayor19 Poll

Lightfoot 53%
Preckwinkle 17%

(+-4.4, 500 likely voters, Temkin/Harris Poll for @CrainsChicago and @WTTW)

Also asked: if Rahm Emanuel were running would you vote for him?

No 63%
Yes 25%
Undecided 12%

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) March 25, 2019

Polling around the Chicago mayor's race has been pretty accurate. In the first round the pollsters were nearly perfect. But I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around latest numbers showing Toni Preckwinkle Polling at only 17% with just over a week to go.

I know she's run a terrible campaign, but still. I mean this is a sitting prez of the Cook County Board, running with endorsements and big money from the CTU and SEIU. She's also the successor to Boss Joe Berrios as chair of the Cook County Democratic Party. How in the hell are her numbers so low? Lower even than Mayor Rahm Emanuel's, which reached the point where he had to drop out of the race to avoid an embarrassing butt kicking.

What's happened to the mighty Chicago Democratic Party machine?

This raises more questions...1) If she loses this election as big as expected, can TP hang on to her party post? Lots of Democrats are facing tough races next year. Can she garner their support after such a dismal showing in her own election campaign? 2) Consider question #1 in light of TP's failure to repudiate Cong. Bobby Rush's outrageous attack on Lori Lightfoot voters, claiming that all thousands of these mostly liberal and progressive voters have "blood on their hands". Will TP be able to rally these bloody voters behind party candidates? 3) Will her most avid supporters running for re-election, pay a price for her defeat, especially after they to remained silent after Rush's absurd comments. Most also stayed mumm after hateful, anti-gay flyers were spread over south-side churches and neighborhoods by Lori-haters.

All this isn't likely to go away after April 3rd.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES on MLK Day

"The King is Dead" and "Long Live the King" are seen written on a store in the 1400 block of North Sedgwick on April 7, 1968, two days after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. | Sun-Times file photo

Classic Mike Royko (April 5, 1968)

Hypocrites all over this country would kneel every Sunday morning and mouth messages to Jesus Christ. Then they would come out and tell each other, after reading the papers, that somebody should string up King, who was living Christianity like few Americans ever have. -- Chicago Daily News

Pence compares Trump to Dr. King

Claims, "both leaders have inspired Americans to change through the legislative process". -- Newsweek

Michelle Alexander's King Day Op-ed

 Similarly, many students are fearful of expressing support for Palestinian rights because of the McCarthyite tactics of secret organizations like Canary Mission, which blacklists those who publicly dare to support boycotts against Israel, jeopardizing their employment prospects and future careers. -- NYT, Time to Break the Silence on Palestine

Director Alan Sorkin goes after young, elected Dems

"The young Democrats newly elected to Congress should "stop acting like young people".  Sorkin said he believes Democrats should say the party is "not just about transgender bathrooms". -- CNN

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez responds

"News Flash: Medicare for All & equal rights aren’t trends," 29-year-old Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman elected to the House, wrote in response to a video of Sorkin's interview.

"When people complain about low turnout in some demos, it’s not because communities are apathetic, it’s bc they don’t see you fighting for them. If we don’t show up for people, why should you feel entitled to their vote?" -- The Hill

Let’s dig into “gravitas,” bc it’s an ambiguous word, selectively applied.

Ever wonder how expression that’s feminine, working-class, queer, or poc isn’t deemed as having “gravitas,” but talking like an Aaron Sorkin character does? 🤔

Men have “gravitas,” women get “likeable.” https://t.co/0g9FNpExAl

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 20, 2019

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Susan Bro, Heather Heyer's mother

Susan Bro

Bro told reporters to “please remember not to think of Heather, but why she was here. She was here to support equality, she was here to support affordable housing, she was here to support taking care of people the way you would want to be taken care of". -- The Hill

Issac J. Bailey, author of the memoir My Brother Moochie

"Charlottesville was where white supremacists were welcomed back into the mainstream." -- Politico

Dave Zirin

The Nazis have scurried out of Lafayette Park. There were thousands of us anti-Nazis. There were 30 of them.....and then on cue, the rain did fall. I have to say it was a good day. -- FB

Chicago developer, Gene Bernshtam

“You’re not going to be able to recognize the surrounding blocks in the next few years, and I think that it’s going to be for the better. There’s a much better caliber of people moving in, enjoying what we have.” -- Block Club Chicago

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Ocassio-Cortez at Netroots: “Our swing voter is not red to blue. It's non-voter to voter." 

Anoa Changa at Netroots

“I think Trump’s win scared the shit out of everybody. I think it’s been a wakeup call for a lot of people that we have to invest. We can’t just do the traditional model where we only talk to super-voters.”

That doesn’t mean ignoring whites and Trump voters. Instead, "it’s rejecting the notion that our way to victory is having a centrist, moderate right-leaning strategy that feels like we could peel off Romney Republicans, versus investing in communities of color, marginalized groups and progressive white people." -- The Atlantic

Unite the Right comes to D.C.

Jackie Jeter ATU Local 689 President 

“More than 80% of Local 689’s membership is people of color, the very people that the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist groups have killed, harassed and violated. The union has declared that it will not play a role in their special accommodation.” -- Think Progress

Michael Jordan

"I support L.J.," Jordan told NBC News through a spokesperson. "He's doing an amazing job for his community." -- The Hill 

Elijah Edwards, Pres. AFSCME Local #2858

Since the Janus decision, "District 31's membership has gone up..." -- Hitting Left

Kimberly Wasserman, executive director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

“There’s been enough injustice done in different communities. We’re starting to fight back.”

At this time & place for any African American, @KingJames @donlemon @RepMaxineWaters @repjohnlewis & #NFL plyrs to be criticised by @realdonaldtrump means you must be doing something right! As I have said before- Its the biggest compliment you can get. @TwitterSports @MSNBC @CNN

— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) August 5, 2018

There's a real progressive in the MI gov's race

Chuy Garcia and Abdul El-Sayed

Democrats in Michigan have a chance to back a genuine progressive over a couple of corporate dems in the upcoming governor's race. But the official state party officials are holding back support because they say, he's too young, too brown and too Muslim.

I got to meet Dr. Abdul El-Sayed at an event in Chicago this morning where he was introduced with lavish praise by soon-to-be Congressman Chuy Garcia. And quite frankly, cynical me was blown away by his eloquence, his qualifications and his history of progressivism. This in a state that is currently under all-out assault by the worse dregs of Trumpian Republicanism who are committed to nothing less than the total privatization of everything public, including schools, healthcare and public decision-making.

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed

Republicans won the state in 2016 even though Barack Obama won MI twice and Bernie Sanders won the primary in 2016. Part of the reason, says El-Sayed, is because "people of color stayed home", uninspired by traditional Democratic candidates.

According to El-Sayed, there are currently four Michigan cities that rank in the top 20 in national poverty stats: Flint is #1. Detroit is #4. Kalamazoo is #18 and Dearborn is #20.

El-Sayed, the former Detroit Health Department director, has a Medicare-for-all plan. He also wants to abolish ICE. He's also taken a strong stand against school privatization, expressed a strong distaste for Ed. Sec. Betsy DeVos (Michigan's own) and wants to reverse the current governor's takeover of dozens of local municipal governments.

His opponents in the Aug. 7 primary are two corporate-types, one of them a Republican, running as a Democrat, the other running with lots of PAC money from the giant health care corporations.

Dr. El-Sayed will campaign later this month with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who he connects with in terms of generation and political outlook.

If you're interested to working for his election, doing some campaign work in Michigan or contributing some dough, you can do it here. 

What I’m running for:

🏥 #MedicareforAll
💰 Paying people a living wage.
📚 A good education for all.
🏡 Affordable housing.
🚰 Clean water.
🌎 Taking care of our planet.
✊🏽 People over profits.

These are not political issues. They’re moral ones.

— Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) July 20, 2018

Educators have no business supporting war

Damascus after the attack. 

War is the enemy of education, of children and families. Education leaders have no business supporting war or encouraging war-mongering politicians or militarists to invade or bomb other countries. But this is exactly what happened Thursday when Trump bombed Damascus and other Syrian cities in response to the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons in it's war against rebel groups.

Without getting congressional approval, and with Gen. Mattis, and Sarah Huckabee-Sanders admitting there was "no conclusive evidence" the Assad regime had used those weapons (a day before inspectors from the OPCW were attempting to enter Syria) the U.S. launched, what turned out to be a largely symbolic missile attack on selected targets. Those targets may or may not have had anything to do with chemical weapons production.

Symbolic as the raid turned out to be, gaining no U.S. military or political advantage and obviously more for domestic political consumption, one can only imagine the terror felt by Syrian children and families as missiles rained down upon their already war-torn cities. So far, U.S. missiles have already reportedly killed more than 6,000 Syrian civilians. If anything, the attack seemed to rally more Syrians in support of Assad.

WaPo reports:

Hours earlier, civilians and soldiers gathered in Ummayad Square in Damascus for a show of support, waving Syrian flags and dancing to songs that praised the army.

More than that, the missile attack threatened to turn the cold war with Russia into hot war and lead to Israeli-inspired military action against Iran. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed. Reportedly, Pentagon generals were on the hotline with their Russian counterparts before the raid.

[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] Dunford said the only communications that took place between the United States and Russia before the operation were “the normal deconfliction of the airspace, the procedures that are in place for all of our operations in Syria.”

You got to love this new word added to the war lexicon, "deconfliction".

Trump has personal interests in avoiding confrontation with Russia. More accurately, he's in bed with Putin and the Russian oligarchs. See how he pulled the rug out from under Nikki Haley after she announced Russian sanctions at the U.N. Meanwhile top Democrats and neocons continue to push for regime change in Syria and expansion of the Syrian conflict to include Russia and Iran.

The thing that angered me most was seeing support for Trump's bombing raid coming from top Democrats and AFT leaders like Randi Weingarten and Leo Casey. Their criticism of Trump was that his attack on Syria "didn't go far enough".

Weingarten called the illegal bombing raid, "a retaliatory strike" as if the U.S. was attacked by Syria.

Then she signaled approval for the attack with this tweet:

Absolutely important to put Syria on notice over Chemical attacks: Trump Orders Strikes on Syria Over Suspected Chemical Weapons Attack via @NYTimes https://t.co/qtMCAxuR06

— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) April 14, 2018

None of this is really news. Here's AFT's official statement from a year ago when Trump bombed Syria.

WASHINGTON—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on U.S. attacks on Syria:

“Syria’s barbaric use of chemical genocide required an immediate response, which President Trump’s missile strikes accomplished last night. While we believe Trump should have gone to Congress first, I find it curious that many members of Congress who are applauding the U.S. strikes had opposed former President Obama when he sought congressional approval for similar action.

Casey went even further, referring to those opposed to the missile attack as "isolationists" and "America Firsters", even accusing anti-war activists of being silent on the settlement of Syrian war refugees. A ridiculous charge.

My unpopular opinion: I see a lot of people who were silent on US' refusal to accept refugees from Syria waxing righteous about the bombing of chemical weapon facilities. It's an America First, isolationist wolf in sheep's clothing.

— Leo Casey (@LeoECasey) April 14, 2018

Pretty vile stuff.

When confronted with the illegality of the attack and it's violation of international law, Casey echoed Trump, tweeting:

If you actually believed in international law, you are a dollar short and a day late.

— Leo Casey (@LeoECasey) April 15, 2018

As expected, support for the bombing also came from top Dem leaders like Nancy Pelosi. 

“Tonight’s strike in Syria appears to be a proportional response to the the regime’s use of chemical weapons. -- Fox News

Shades of '68. It seems, there are now two pro-war parties in the U.S.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Remembering Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor who died 30 years ago. 

Conrad Worrill

“It’s hurtful because that was a time when black people had come together in unity around a common purpose...And the personality of Harold Washington and his ability to communicate the desires of not only his own community, but the city as a whole, is the reason why his untimely death impacted the spirit of the black community.” -- Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell 

Rachel Weber, professor of Urban Planning at UIC

“Let’s hope, though, that CPS has some more creative ideas for how to deal with this problem than just radical surgery.” -- Will Chicago close another 50 schools? (WBEZ).

10-year-old Ronyde Christina Ponthieux

“We are not criminals. Like my parents, like your parents, like you, they are hardworking honest people who just want a safe place to raise their families.” -- Daily News

Charles Barkley, an Alabamian 

 “Roy Moore is running with Steve Bannon as his righthand man who is a white separatist. I’m not even going to get into the women stuff. But the guy, how can you be a white separatist and represent all the constituents in your state?" -- Guardian

 Democratic political strategist Phil Singer

But overall it's a weak [Democratic] field, “You have a bunch of Celine Dions but there’s no Beatles." -- Yahoo News

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Tom Balanoff

SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff 

“Your recent singling-out of  [Hannah] Jubeh highlights a sexist mindset toward women that has no place in politics, the labor movement or anywhere else in society. It denotes a hostility toward women who refuse to ‘fall in line’ with their male counterparts. … We demand an apology for your unacceptable behavior.” -- Letter to AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan

Rex Tillerson

"I checked. I’m fully intact." -- AP Wire 

Paul Vallas to Bruce Rauner

 “Concerning our potential partnership, I would welcome the opportunity to contract with you to assist with your school reform efforts in Chicago....“You once told me that if I ever decided to launch a domestic education business, you would be willing to invest. Based on my research and years in the education field, I firmly believe this is a can’t miss.” -- Sun-Times 

King County Executive Dow Constantine

 “Being a billionaire right-wing donor should not give you license to take a sledgehammer to the foundation of equal opportunity. No, it should not. But here she is. American prosperity, really American democracy, are built on the bedrock of universal education.” -- At DeVos protest 

Are Dem leaders on the road to nowhere in 2018-20?

Sneed this morning on...

Dem presidential loser Hillary’s Clinton’s new book, “What Happened,” which details an intimate view of her disastrous campaign, blasts and blames everyone . . . including herself.

And a disastrous campaign it was. Hillary turned out to be the worst possible candidate, although Dem leadership will never admit it. They're content to blame the November debacle on Putin/Sanders/Stein, an analysis that leaves them on the road to nowhere in 2018-2020.

I wonder if the book will hold accountable her top (all-white) campaign strategist/pollster team of Podesta, Mook, Benenson, Anzalone, Binder & Co., who somehow thought it was a great idea for her to bash young Sanders voters and then hang out in Arizona the last week of the campaign.

She ended up winning the national popular vote by 3M only to lose WI, MI and PA by a combined total of 77,744 votes and there's a sociopath with his finger on the nuclear button in the WH. The consequences of Dem arrogance and entitlement.

Speaking of same old, same old... it looks like Dem leaders in IL are all-in behind billionaire J.B. Pritzker in the party primary.

Sneed again... Picking Pritzker . . . and pricking Kennedy? [Perfect verb for Kennedy, the perfect prick--mk]

• Translation: Sneed is told top Cook County Dem slatemakers gathering Thursday and Friday for their biannual slatemaking meeting are predicting J.B. Pritzker will be endorsed as the party’s pick to try to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

“It’s simple. Pritzker has the financial wherewithal to mount a vigorous campaign against Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has limitless money to fund his re-election campaign,” the source added.

Makes perfect sense in a way, since there's little to separate the rest of the Dem primary pack from J.B. besides the size of their war chests in this, likely the most obscenely expensive gov's race in history.

Last point this morning...

Saw some progressive Chicago educators scratching their heads yesterday over the mayor's sudden, apparent support for vouchers. Rahm himself has played his cards close to the vest, since his not-so-secret meeting with Ed Sec. Betsy DeVos back in April. We wouldn't have known about their meeting, were it not for a recently released cache of Rahm's private emails that reveals he had been open to discussing a controversial voucher-like program that could divert millions of taxpayer dollars to private schools.

Jay Rehak

Tomorrow at 11 CDT on Hitting Left with the Klonsky Bros...
Brother Fred talks pension theft with Chicago Teachers Pension Fund trustee board prez Jay Rehak and Teacher Retirement System blogger and activist John Dillon.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell in 1967. "What's my name...?"

Dave Zirin

  Government agents had the temerity to ask Muhammad Ali, Jr., where he “got his name from.” In my dreams, he answers that question with a left hook. -- The Nation

William Owens, father of commando killed in Yemen raid

 “I’m sorry; I don’t want to see him... I told them I don’t want to meet the president. I told them I didn’t want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldn’t let me talk to him... Why at this time did there have to be this stupid mission when it wasn’t even barely a week into his administration? Why?” -- N.Y. Times

Keith Ellison

 “We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided." -- Washington Post

Bernie Sanders

 Sanders, who had supported Ellison, said in a statement that it was “imperative that Tom understands that the same-old, same-old is not working and that we must open the doors of the party to working people and young people in a way that has never been done before.” -- Washington Post

Jimmy Kimmel

...skewered Donald Trump and the Academy’s record on diversity in his opening monologue for the Oscars, thanking the president and saying: “Remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars was racist?” -- Guardian