Democrats – The LCR

Cuomo Needs to Resign, Here’s Why

March 14, 2021

by Danielle Bingham with No Comment Featured Politics

Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s troubles are reaching a saturation point with the public and many congressional Democrats, who are demanding that he step down. As more women come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, the more comical his refusal to resign becomes. These revelations come after data from the New York Department of Health revealed that Covid deaths in nursing homes were underreported by as much as 50 percent, leaving out deaths of patients that had been transferred out of nursing homes to hospitals. This discovery alone should be enough for Cuomo to resign. However, he denied that there was a discrepancy and refused to take responsibility, calling it a delay in reporting.

Since the election, which ousted Trump from the Oval office and ushered in the Biden Administration, the polarization of the American people is more prominent than ever. Many on the far right continue to push unfounded claims of a stolen vote, and the far left appears to still be gloating at President Biden’s significant, yet hotly contested, win. Biden is walking a fine line as he attempts to promote his unity message, and has said nothing about Cuomo’s scandals.

Biden has worked hard to promote his $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, and has been vocal about promoting the role of women in his administration, so his silence seems weird – and intentional. Several members of Congress, as well as New York mayor Bill DeBlasio and others, have made it clear that they believe Cuomo needs to resign.

Cuomo, who has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, appears to be taking a page out of his playbook. The Trump Administration ran roughshod over government and individual accountability over the last four years, denying wrongdoing for obvious transgressions, covering up scandals, and eroding public trust in our democracy. Democrats have made it quite clear that they would make (GOP) politicians accountable for their corruption. By logical extension, this should apply to all politicians, and many Democrats appear to be willing to apply that to members of their own party. Cuomo, on the other hand, is doubling down on his self-righteousness, defending the grievous gap in nursing home Covid deaths and expressing hollow regret for his actions toward the women he allegedly harassed.

Democrats have tenuous control of Congress, and Cuomo is endangering the delicate balance. He is handing the GOP the ammo it needs to wrestle back control in 2022. The New York state Assembly has authorized an impeachment investigation in an effort to remove the stain of his alleged misdeeds before they become permanent. That will take time, however – and more accusations may come forth, making Cuomo and the Democrats look even worse. This is as close to a guarantee that the GOP can grab back control of Congress as one might get.

Cuomo needs to acknowledge the scandals, express true contrition, and step down. He can make the hard choice, or have the choice made for him. His ouster – whether by resigning or impeachment – is inevitable.

TRUMP-19

February 28, 2021

by Cynthia, Swiss with No Comment Culture Featured Politics

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Last night over dinner my eldest son, almost 8, asked me if Donald Trump had become rich by winning the lottery. Amused, I told him that Trump’s father was already a rich man when his son Donald started making his own money in business. He replied, “I think Trump’s father got rich by making TikTok videos or something similar.” I don’t know where my son got familiar with TikTok as no one in our family owns an account, and the anachronism was of course a good reason for my partner and I to have a good laugh, but then I started reflecting on my son’s vision of the world.

Two years ago, they didn’t know who Donald Trump was, and Covid-19 didn’t even exist. Since January 2020, these have been our main focuses, as we watched the news of the world and commented on both situations, in both cases appalled by what we heard and saw. We have since learnt how to keep a safe distance with other people, how to wear a mask correctly, how to wash our hands thoroughly. We have learnt that being a racist, a misogynist, a con man and a liar could make you, then destroy you. Or not exactly…

To be honest, the overrepresentation of Trump and his acolytes in the media was almost as much a sore as the literal toll Covid-19 was taking on humanity. Waiting shakily for the weekly update on the toll, the safety measures and closures, wondering whether schools would close again was, and still is, our daily lot. Comic relief came in the form of a character Shakespeare would not have disowned in this larger-than-life tragedy. How many times did I think I had heard it all, only to be contradicted the next day? I didn’t attempt to count, and I am glad I didn’t. Rather, I used Trump as a lesson to teach my sons about truth, respect, tolerance and fair-play. I told them they were growing up in a very special time, and they needed to remember that our planet defends itself against us sometimes, just as we defend ourselves against people like Donald Trump.

I watched, flabbergasted, as the Capitol rioters claimed to rescue their nation from the Big Bad Democrats. I watched as they invaded, threatened, broke, stole, and laughed. I watched as they made excuses for themselves claiming they were just doing what the President had enticed them to do, powerless as he was to fight against this newly born evil called defeat. I watched as the President himself failed to bear the consequences of his words, his acts and his lies. I was lucky enough to watch, instead of lying in a hospital bed attached to a ventilator. This, I told my sons, is how a dictator falls. This is how a nation realizes it must stand together stronger and reclaim what is their founding principle: justice and freedom for all. It didn’t take long for me to be disappointed. The decision to reject the impeachment of the now-former President of the United States is a political move, by no means justice. You may loathe or love the man, but you must recognize him for what he is, and has always been: a selfish, arrogant, and spoilt megalomaniac. Losing the election was only fair revenge considering the harm he did to the American people. The ultimate step was to acknowledge that he had behaved the same way as those leaders he admires so much. Impeaching him was the only way to tell the Americans they had been swindled, mistreated, and lied to. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” That we had to wait for it to happen –again— in the Land of the Free, couldn’t be more ironic.

If Biden, or anyone, wants to help fix this broken country, he must start with the people who claim they are dedicating their life to making it great. The fracture between Democrats and Republicans can heal, just like a broken bone, with reason and admission of guilt, not excuses. Fresh faces representing the USA’s multiculturalism will be needed to cement and reinforce the unity. Donald Trump shattered an already fragile skeleton, watched it crumble and danced onto its pieces. His failure to address the issues revolving around the pandemic contributed to his downfall, but the level of protection he benefits from is properly shameful. Aristotle’s assertion that all communities aim at some good only serves to highlight the decision-makers as prioritizing their own good at the cost of their country’s. We are witnessing a very special moment in history as the whole world is fighting a deadly virus. Since we have to rely on our governments to drive us through this crisis, now their time has come to shine, although making amends is sometimes the only way.

By refusing to impeach Donald Trump, the Republicans have lost the trust many Americans, but also world citizens, had in justice. Sadly, I presume they have also gained unconditional support from those who think that getting away with crime is proof of leadership and strength. I do believe there’s dignity to be found in acknowledging one’s mistakes before starting anew. Hopefully, my sons will grow up to see the USA stand again, proud to be free as a true democracy, and Donald Trump will never be on TikTok.

Similar Read: Post-Covid: Look to Japan

RBG… A Critical Look at Our Leaders Staying in Office Too Long

September 20, 2020

by Left Women's Rights Advocate with 3 Comments Featured Politics

2020 has struck again. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at the age of 87. Her appointment to the court was historic and she fought long and hard as a liberal justice. While America mourns her death, I can’t help but worry about whom President Trump might pick to replace her.

It’s actually quite a paradox that America can’t fully grieve her death because we are more concerned about her replacement. And while we must be equally concerned about her replacement we should take a critical look at what led us to this juncture. A critical look at our leaders staying in office until their death is worth a discussion.

This year alone we have seen Representatives Elijah Cummings and John Lewis die in office. Both were ill before their deaths, just as Ginsburg. So why didn’t they expedite their retirements upon learning of their illnesses? There’s an argument that once you reach a certain age the brain slows down when you retire. There’s something about a routine work life that helps senior citizens age well and stay mobile as their mental faculties continue in full force. But what happens when our leaders get sick and refuse to step down with a proper succession plan?

I want to first examine former Washington DC, “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry, who died in office while serving as the city’s Ward 8 Councilmember. When he died in 2014 there was no plan on whom would succeed him in office. One day he was the council member and the next day the seat was vacant with no heir apparent. The political fallout resulted in nearly 20 people running for office.

We can look at the deaths of Cummings and see a similar pattern. He died, his wife ran along with several other people but ultimately Kwame Nfume wins, who was the previous US Representative for Maryland’s 7th District. Cummings didn’t have an heir apparent.

With Lewis, his death was a bit different. While it wasn’t anticipated, a replacement was quickly named, Georgia State Senator Nikema Williams. She will still have to run after completing the remaining of his term, but the point here is that he died in office.

In Ginsburg’s case, she could have retired while President Barack Obama was still in office. She would have been 82 at the time of her retirement during his last days as president. One can assume she hoped Secretary Hillary Clinton would win and wanted to leave the opportunity for Clinton to appoint the next Justice, but that’s not how the story ended. Clinton lost.

Now we have Donald Trump and we are in a position where we are wondering whom he might select as he’s already given the public a preview of his likely picks. But we arrive back at our original question. Why didn’t Ginsburg retire when she had all her mental faculties? Why not put America and a democratic president in the best position to appoint another liberal justice? Was it because the appointment would have gone to a Black leader? Was maintaining White Supremacy working in her hope that the next president would be Clinton? We don’t know, but what we do know is that her dying wish was to serve out her term and let the next president choose her replacement. Maybe she thought she would make it to 2021 to see if a new Democratic leader would be elected. And even that isn’t a given.

While her service to this country’s justice system is laudable, the way our leaders prepare to leave is important. And Ginsburg did not do her liberal colleagues on the bench any justice by staying in longer than her health would allow. America must learn this lesson. President Trump and Senate Majority Leader are already planning to push a nominee through for confirmation before the election which is in less than 50 days.

We can mourn Ginsburg’s death but we must learn a critical lesson. Banking on a Democrat leader to help save our country may never happen. And even when Democrats win we don’t know what he or she will exactly do.

Pass the button while there is still time. Time to recruit a new leader, time to mentor a new leader, time to truly show a successor the road map to be successful. We can admire legacy more when it is properly preserved.

Washington, DC US Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton is aging in her seat and should consider early retirement so she doesn’t go down in history like these other great leaders… leaving a powerful office untended due to political prowess to hold on.

Similar Read: GOP Hypocrisy Laid Bare

GOP Hypocrisy Laid Bare

September 19, 2020

by Stoic Troubadour with No Comment Featured Politics

Mitch McConnell intends to have this Senate vote on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement for the Supreme Court. Trump is planning to announce a nominee as early as Monday before RBG is even laid to rest.

This is in direct opposition to statements that Senator McConnell and other Republicans made in their defense of the historic blocking of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

Of the many statements made to justify their unprecedented (yet legal) stonewalling, only one needs to be brought forth as evidence of the clear hypocrisy, dishonesty, and inconsistency of the means the GOP used to attain its ends:

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” McConnell said.

This was 11 months before the 2016 election. The 2020 election is already underway.

Many Republicans expressed dismay at the dangerous precedent it would set to not only block the nominee, but to refuse even a debate. Lindsay Graham said, “I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”

There is bad faith here. There is deceit.

If McConnell and the GOP are more focused on war and victory than peace and compromise, they will be sad to learn that those who live by the sword also die by the sword.

Consequently, if a Trump Supreme Court pick is rushed through the confirmation process before the next Presidential inauguration, and the Democrats win back the Senate and Presidency…

The 2021 Democrats should balance the Supreme Court and appoint two additional Justices. They should also approve statehood for The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to gain four more senators. These are legal maneuvers and turnabout is fair play.

Don’t Steal My Dreams

June 30, 2020

by Independent Asian Inquisitor with No Comment Featured Politics

A few nights ago I had a conversation with a family whose history is as complex and colorful as many of ours. Their parents came to this country with nothing to their names and built a life that allowed their children to achieve more than their parents could ever imagine. So as I sat in their lovely living room drinking a glass of wine discussing my own history and learning about theirs, the topic of DACA came up, most specifically, the decision that was made by the Supreme court on June 18th, 2020.

Before diving into the decision that was made on June 18th, let us understand how did this program become a focal point of divide between the Democrats and Republicans, and what exactly is DACA and who are the Dreamers.

When did this battle for the dreamers take place

On September 5, 2017, President Trump ordered an end to the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This program protected a percentage of young undocumented immigrants —who usually arrived at a very young age in situations and circumstances beyond their control—from deportation. Going back even further, In 2012, President Obama issued the DACA executive order after the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act failed to pass in Congress continually. The young people impacted by DACA and the DREAM Act are often referred to as “Dreamers.”

In making the announcement, the then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions proclaimed that the Trump administration was ending the DACA program. This decision meant that over a period of time, 800,000 young adults brought to the U.S. as children who qualified for the program, would become eligible for deportation and lose access to education and work visas.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions argued that “the executive branch, through DACA, deliberately pursued to achieve what the legislative branch specifically refused to authorize on multiple occasions. His logic stated that such an open-ended circumvention of immigration laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch.”

After the Trump administration ordered an end to DACA in 2017, a large number of lawsuits were filed against the termination of DACA. At this time, two federal appellate courts ruled against the administration, allowing previous DACA recipients to renew their deferred action, and the Supreme Court agreed to review the legal challenges.

What is DACA and who are the Dreamers?

DACA or Deferred Action on Child Arrivals is a program that allows young people who may have been born here by illegal parents or came here to the United States under illegal means to remain here and grow up as Americans without the fear of being sent back to a country they hold no allegiance to. These are individuals who have grown up American, speak English, and have no memory of any other place besides the United States.

Many of these individuals do not even know they were unauthorized immigrants until they were teenagers… Usually when they cannot get a driver’s license or receive financial aid because they do not have Social Security numbers. The dream act is meant to provide these individuals with a pathway to U.S. citizenship who are or wish to go to college or the military and have a clean record.

Just to be clear, the program is by no stretch of the imagination easy to get into or to be accepted. DACA enables certain people who came to the U.S. as children and are successful in meeting several key guidelines to request consideration for deferred action. It allows non-U.S. citizens who qualify to remain in the country for two years, which is then subject to renewal. When accepted, recipients are eligible for work authorization and other benefits and are shielded from deportation. The fee to request DACA is $495 every two years.

What happened on June 18th, 2020?

On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s administration’s attempt to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) in a 5-4 ruling. The ruling stabilizes the program and allows DACA recipients to renew membership, which offers them work authorization and temporary protection from deportation. Unfortunately, the ruling creates the possibility that the Administration could still remove DACA in the future if they provide a more comprehensive justification.

Statistics on DACA as it stands

Since its inception, DACA has approved 787,580 individuals for its program
91% of DACA recipients are employed
The average hourly wage for a DACA recipient is $17.46
45% of DACA recipients are currently enrolled in school
72% of those recipients who are enrolled in school are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree.
The average age of a DACA recipient is 24 years old

In conclusion

For a recipient who is a dreamer, all they have ever known is what surrounds them in this country. They are American through and through, and their allegiance lies in the very environment that has raised them and cultivated their mindsets and characteristics.

Isn’t that what this nation was founded on? A place where you can leave the old paradigms behind and reinvent yourself? To follow what gives you purpose, what makes you successful, safe, and happy? At the end of it all, isn’t that exactly what we all are trying to pursue? Purpose and contentment? Why can’t we provide those liberties to all and not just a select group of the privileged?

The moment we start to believe that our freedom and right to pursue our dreams is unique to only a select few is the day we stop being American.

2016 Is About To Happen Again

May 26, 2020

by Right Army Veteran with 2 Comments Featured Politics

I heard over and over from highly educated, liberal professionals after the 2016 election that some mistake had happened. “The election was stolen.” The electoral college had somehow disrupted our normal process (spoiler: it wasn’t any different)… “The Trump campaign enlisted Russian government support.” And then afterward we all needed to read Hillbilly Elegy to understand how to kindly condescend to the plight of the misinformed blue-collar rust belt that had erred and turned away from Democrats and sided with President Trump. At the time I was moving back and forth between NYC colleagues who’d secured a seat at Hillary’s victory party in Manhattan and neighbors in new England who’d sold their home early to facilitate their quick nomination through the Senate to take their new place in the administration “with her.” They sat down on election night ready to watch the show, and they were shocked at the show they saw. They never saw it coming. And it’s happening again… and again they don’t see it coming.

I think they saw a glimmer of it before the COVID-19 crisis locked them all in their homes? But since then, the tone has changed. They’re locked in their homes reading their favorite websites and the articles their phone algorithms say they’ll like- and all of those sources tell them that Donald Trump’s performance through COVID-19… all the polls being conducted… point to a president losing ground heading into election season.

Many in this group don’t understand the monster they’ve created in their media bubble. In 1980 (the year CNN was founded) there were 3 news networks. To be viable, network news needed both liberals and conservatives, and the news was 30 minutes 3 times a day stuck between Brady Bunch reruns and The Jeffersons. You couldn’t serve people what they wanted with the context they wanted- so you gave them straight, complete facts with a straight face and let them apply their own context. Now media is fragmented to where a 3% market share is huge, and straight shooting is dead. Even the best journalists quit trying to challenge us. They serve us what we want by arranging and selecting facts and applying context to make stories what we wish to see in them, and our tech knows what media will excite us. Most of what’s “mainstream media” is the slice that serves the prime consumer: 25-40 years old, professional, urban, liberal-leaning, with substantial discretionary income. So now if you’re an educated professional, working for a large company in a white-collar job… these days you log in from home, work on zoom, order from Amazon. It’s annoying, but life is working. And if you look at the media that targets you, the biggest problem out there right now are those that want to reopen too quickly.

If you’re a small business owner, a self-employed tradesman, a wage earner or any sort of gig worker (ie the people Biden needs to win back from the president to win this time), three months of this has been hell. If you had savings, it’s gone. You can’t work, your children are home with you complicating work even more. Stress is elevated; money is scarce, and even if the $600 a month in federal assistance works for now, the uncertainty of what’s to come is crushing. Even as the signs are there, the articles pushed back to the mainstream consumer talk about elevated levels in “black and brown communities” that need “understanding and voice.” That’s true – but what those also are are the communities of people that still need to head out in the world every day to work. They are still getting sick because they’re still out there, and having been out in it since the start, they’re not nearly as scared of the virus as they are of losing their livelihood. Further, having not been scared by the world they continue to toil in all day, they continue to visit their friends and family more, and quietly dismiss you when you try to shame them. They’re over it. And they’re turning on Democrats again, and on the rare occasions when they speak up, they’re again facing condescension (here’s looking at you, Governor Whitmer). Those aren’t all MAGAs out there; it’s also your blue-collar swings.

Also, polls now aren’t really polls. For years, exit polls have needed rebasing because Republicans are less likely to respond – a fact that was exacerbated in the 2016 election when Trump voters began to feel that announcing loudly that you expect to vote for Donald Trump could cause indignation from someone around them and began to not state (or misstate) their intentions. With tensions running high in 2016 the weight-adjusted polls turned out to be not weight adjusted enough. Tensions are higher now. Also, currently most polls being completed are online polls by your favorite news sources. You can’t walk down the street, get in someone’s space and get a good poll sample in-person anymore. With online being the only way that works, it turns out (as an example), that most people that respond to a Huffington Post poll are still voting for Biden (although less than you might expect).

And once again, there’s a candidate who isn’t exactly rising to the occasion. Biden has emerged twice since being named the presumed party nominee- once for a late and horribly jumbled explanation of Tara Reade’s accusations, and another botched interview with Charlamagne Tha God – both of which were designed and curated by campaign aides to be well-choreographed softballs and neither of which won him a voter he hadn’t had already. Conversely, if either interview had any effect at all, it decreased voter excitement which (according to Charlamagne Tha God himself) is likely to depress voter roles. Trump raised $212MM this quarter – a clip he’s been maintaining steadily since he started his re-election fund the day of his swearing in. Biden raised only $60MM in hard money in April – despite his new status as the Democrats’ ordained winner. The president has a motivated base, is organized, and has a turnout plan that was tested in dry runs during the early primaries (and generated unprecedented primary turnouts for an incumbent presidential primary). Sitting in his basement without a formal role in the government, Biden needs to create viral moments that will excite women, minorities and wage earners, and so far his performance seems likely to depress turnouts for all three.

And it’s happening again. This time… just don’t be so surprised.

Similar Read: Mainstream Media or “Fake News”?

Should Biden’s VP be a Black Woman?

May 21, 2020

by Left Women's Rights Advocate with 5 Comments Featured highlight Politics

In an unenthusiastic race for president the light and fire for the Democratic side will come from the vice-presidential pick. Former Vice President, Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee after a long primary that hasn’t officially ended. After the last round of primary races in March, Biden announced that he would pick a woman as his running mate. To no surprise women and many liberals were ecstatic at his announcement.

That was over a month ago.

Now as we approach June many are wondering whom Biden will pick. Several women have already made their intentions clear about their desire to run alongside Biden. California US Senator Kamala Harris, Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota US Senator Amy Klobaucar have all expressed interest after failed primary bids for president. There’s also Stacy Abrams, who ran a tight and unsuccessful bid to become the Democratic Governor of Georgia in 2018.

While a woman as a vice presidential running mate would be historic, having a Black woman would be monumental. But does Biden owe it to the Black community to pick a black woman as his running mate? South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn doesn’t think so. Considering the Biden campaign’s win in South Carolina was a major turning point during the primary, especially because of Clyburn’s endorsement, it’s reasonable to think Biden might listen to his advice. But that advice hurts Black women and their chances to become VP, and deprives the Black community of actualizing a national Black candidate outside of former President Barack Obama.

Joe Biden should pick a woman of color and that woman of color should be a Black woman.

Black voters in America have been the driving force behind the Democratic party for decades. And Black women are the most consistent voting bloc of the Democratic party. But Biden shouldn’t pick a Black vice-presidential candidate because he owes it to loyal Black voters, but because it would signal that he values the Black vote beyond election day. It would signal he values Black voices in the policy realm and more importantly it sets up his pick to run for president in the future.

I Don’t Believe In Voting Blue No Matter Who

April 14, 2020

by Tamera Middlebrooks with No Comment Culture Featured Gen Z Politics

The first time I heard the phrase “vote for the lesser of two evils,” was when Hillary Clinton was chosen as the Democratic Nominee for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. I’m sure we all remember that enthusiasm for Hillary was low. She was widely disliked and many people were devastated at having to choose between her and Trump, but criticisms of her were immediately shut down by people claiming “she’s the lesser of two evils.” Basically, no matter how many valid reasons people had for rejecting Hillary, they had no choice but to shut up and vote for her because her evil was easier to swallow than Trump’s. Fast forward to 2020, and I’m hearing the same arguments all over again. Joe Biden is the Democratic frontrunner and his so-called supporters are out in full force, silencing any and all criticisms. They’re saying to “vote blue no matter who” regardless of his many faults because anyone’s better than Trump. I disagree entirely and I’m honestly sick and tired of hearing these arguments. There are many problems with this kind of mindset and I think it’s both harmful and unproductive to promote it, so here are the reasons why I don’t believe in “voting blue no matter who/voting for the lesser of two evils.”

One reason I’m not okay with these phrases is because they encourage people to settle for candidates that we *know* are unfit to lead us. We deserve better and should demand better from our elected officials, instead of just throwing our hands in the air and accepting a candidate who is proven to be unworthy in every way, shape and form. Progress is what I seek, and I know that settling for the status quo will get us nowhere.

I can’t accept “vote for the lesser of two evils” because in terms of Biden vs Trump, this phrase suggests that Joe Biden is somehow less evil than Donald Trump, which is a lie. In fact, I believe that Trump and Biden are the exact same brand of evil, the only difference being that Biden wears a blue MAGA hat while Trump wears a red one. There are too many similarities between the two, one being that Trump and Biden are both racist. Trump has labeled Mexicans as criminals and rapists, was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for housing discrimination against Black people, proposed a ban against Muslims, and referred to African countries as “shithole countries” (these examples hardly scratch the surface of his history of racism). Biden was good friends with white supremacist James Eastland and gave a eulogy at the funeral of segregationist Strom Thurmond. He opposed desegregating schools because in his own words, he didn’t want his kids going to school in a “racial jungle.” He called Barack Obama “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean,” said that “poor kids are just as bright and talented as White kids” during an Iowa town hall, and helped write the 1994 Crime Bill that expanded mass incarceration in the U.S.

Other similarities between Trump and Biden? They’ve both been accused of sexual assault/harassment/uncomfortable physical contact by numerous women. Trump has accusations from 20+ women, while Biden has eight, (and has also been seen on video inappropriately touching underaged girls and smelling their hair). Both have disappointing track records on LGBTQ+ rights, both have credible accusations that they’re mentally unfit to be president, both have worked for administrations that put kids in cages, and both are warmongers. Now that I’ve laid out all the reasons why Biden and Trump are horrible in pretty much all the same ways, how exactly is one better than the other? Swapping out one bigot in chief for another is not a win, giving me no reason to rally behind either candidate. I’m a marginalized person and my marginalized community will be harmed by both Trump AND Biden, which is why I cannot just sit down and “vote blue no matter who”—and anyone who tries to bully others into doing so is blatantly choosing their party affiliation over their morals.

It’s time to kill the idea that we should choose a lesser evil over another, and that we have to vote blue no matter who. I need people to realize that politicians work for us, not the other way around, so we shouldn’t give up our power by accepting less than what we deserve and by being afraid to demand what we need from them. I also need people to realize that Donald Trump is not the sole reason for all the evil in this country and that replacing him with Biden will not put an end to it. In reality, Trump is a product of the evil in the U.S. and in order to make real change in this country, we must dismantle the systems that allow him to thrive, not just focus 100% of our energy on him. Since people will always do what they want regardless, I’m not going to end this article by telling anyone who to vote for. But I will tell you not to allow the direction of the 2020 election to make you feel hopeless, because regardless of who’s in office—whether it’s a Democrat or Republican, whether you love them or hate them, there is work that needs to be done. We must stay aware, stay involved, and look out for our fellow community members, because in the words of my good friend and one of the smartest, most passionate activists I know, Brooke Solomon…

“No president is going to save my community.”

While electing a president is important, it is not the only way to create change. The power lies within us. Real change exists outside of electoral politics, and we need to be the ones to create it.

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My Summary of the 7th Democratic Debate

January 16, 2020

by Amira with No Comment Featured Politics

My debate summary:

Sanders started out the strongest but started to fall back when it came to health care.

Biden started out the weakest but picked up when discussing foreign policy. He had an OK night.

While I’ve never been a fan of hers, Klobuchar had a solid night.

Buttigieg didn’t stand out at all and I still see him as manufactured, smug, and condescending.

Warren made great points throughout but she lost it for me when the beef with Sanders came up. It made me think her camp concocted the Sanders smear so that she could go on stage to make her case on why women can win a presidential election. I didn’t like that. In previous debates, Warren acted as though she and Sanders were friends. Now she’s suddenly bringing up a supposedly old conversation? NOW she’s upset? I don’t get it and it feels disingenuous.

I don’t dislike Steyer.

If I had to choose the winner for this debate I’d say Klobuchar. Sanders and Warren follow in a tie for second place. Biden would be third and Buttigieg last. Buttigieg represents what I think a lot of people don’t like in politicians. On the other hand, some people love that he seems very “politician-y.” I’m torn on where to place Steyer. I could place him in first with Klobuchar or I could place him last with Buttigieg. Go figure.

I don’t think this debate will move any needles but then again, who knows! Maybe Buttigieg will drop? Maybe Steyer will get a boost? ??‍♀️ What happens on the ground is most important.

I don’t think the Warren-Sanders spat will do anything. From what I’ve seen, Sanders supporters feel Warren is lying and Warren supporters think Warren made a slam dunk on stage with her well-planned performance regarding their beef.

Although he gets the least bit of speaking time, Yang was definitely missed. Plus if you follow me you know he’s my #1 in this race.

I agree with Van Jones when he said this post-debate:

“Democrats have to do better than what we saw tonight. There was nothing I saw tonight that would be able to take Donald Trump out. And I want to see a Democrat in the White House as soon as possible… I came away feeling worried for the Democratic Party. It felt like a big bowl of cold oatmeal, and I got to say this: I missed Andrew Yang tonight.”

Nobody Is Above The Law… Impeachment

December 17, 2019

by The LCR Editor with No Comment Featured Politics

The night before only the 3rd vote in US history to impeach a sitting president, New Yorkers gathered in Time Square to chant, “Nobody is above the law.” Nobody… surprisingly a point of contention considering some would argue that doesn’t include the highest office in the land, Commander-in-Chief, 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Following the Civil War in 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first president in US history to be impeached. Nearly 150 years later, Bill Clinton become the second. And with the exception of some unforeseen wild event, Donald Trump will become the third. A shame for Donald Trump considering he survived the Mueller investigation, only to get caught up in a quid pro quo regarding his attempt to pressure Ukraine’s leaders to dig up dirt on Hunter Biden and his father, senior statesman and Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

(Sidenote: Hunter Biden sat on the board of directors for Burisma, a Ukraine-based energy holding company from 2014 to 2019 while his father, Joe Biden, who was Vice President at the time, oversaw policy regarding the Eastern European nation. Hunter had no experience in Ukraine nor did he have a background in the energy sector. While it’s not illegal, him having a paid board seat on the other side of the world is bizarre, it doesn’t add up, and should be questioned.)

I digress… back to US presidential history…

It’s important to note that while Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton have both been formally impeached, neither of them were removed from office through impeachment. And neither will Donald Trump. While the House of Representatives have more than enough votes to impeach him, the Senate does not. Nevertheless, Trump felt the need to write a 6-page rant disguised as a letter to Nancy Pelosi where he exclaimed, “More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.”

6 pages of that…

Nearly a year from the 2020 elections, how will this impact the electorate? Specifically independents and voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania… three states which all went blue for the previous 6 presidential elections before 2016.

Will it even matter? Or more importantly, which Dem will capitalize on this historic moment, win the nomination and carry that momentum to the general election?