Dear friends,
Trump famously remarked during his first run for president that
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?"
It remains to be seen whether voters will be influenced by the jury’s findings. Nonetheless, it is a triumph for a E. Jean Carroll, who sought to
“clear my name and to get my life back. Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed."
Ms. Carroll had to wait a long time for justice. It seems worth pointing out that in the mid-1990s, when the assault occurred, it is almost certain that she would not have been believed and that a lawyer’s efforts to discredit her testimony — because she did not scream and could not remember certain details — would have been effective.
It turns out that an improved understanding of trauma has pervaded the public consciousness. Part of what we’ve learned from watching the right wing normalize all sorts of deeply aberrant policy ideas is that it is powerful to change norms.
Liz Cheney — who is working to restore some healthier norms — launched an anti-Trump advertisement with voiceover that highlights his “dereliction of duty” and “unfit(ness) for office” over footage of the Jan 6 insurrection. The ad will play in New Hampshire, where Trump is scheduled to speak at a town hall tomorrow.
Fighting sexual harassment and abuse has become more politically viable. Today, a state lawmaker in Texas has been forced to resign for having sex with an intern.
The viability of a range of important policies — gun control, abortion rights, and climate action, among them — is shifting.
The emergence of converts, like ex-military, self-proclaimed gun-lover, Steven Spainhouer, calling for gun control, is a sign that folks are ready to resist madness such as this:
Texas’s state legislature is considering a bill that would require children in grade school to be given access to battlefield-style tourniquets and to be trained on how to use them to stop bleeding in case a mass shooter targets them.
On Monday, Republican Texas state legislators Republicans advanced a bill “that would raise the purchase age for semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 to advance out of a House committee.” For Texas, this represents progress, even if the bill has little chance of passing.
There was some buzz about six weeks ago when The Economist published a piece about the migration of Southern whites to western states and the consequent rightward political shift. Like most folks, I couldn’t get behind the paywall, but I saw the map and the headline and it had some explanatory power.
So, while I know that Washington is on the coast, it is still worth noting that this western state just enacted an assault-weapons ban, mandated safety training for gun purchasers, and a law that makes it easier to sue gun manufacturers for the harm done by their products.
It’s good to see some Republican women in South Carolina defending abortion access, at least a little. There also appears to be at least one Republican in Congress who wants to address gun violence and abortion rights. This is perhaps another important vulnerability in the right flank.
Jessica Valenti called attention to a piece in the The Washington Post that featured interviews with two Republican women who changed their views on abortion care after direct experiences as health care practitioners. She wrote:
Twenty-seven year-old Taylor Young was a Trump-supporting anti-choice voter who changed her mind on abortion after working as a surgical technician in labor and delivery—now she believes that there should be zero abortion restrictions. And Abigail Delaney, 40, an infertility specialist, became pro-choice after doing her OBGYN residency and seeing “all the bad things that can happen in pregnancy.”
Valenti believes that these interviews offer a window into the “medical myths and scare tactics” that the right relies on to generate support, and offers the hope that reality-based reporting will lead more people to rethink their views.
Watch Defiant: Stories from Abortion Providers on the Front Lines. These videos are available through the National Women’s Law Center.
The idea of Universal Basic Income has gradually entered the public consciousness, even if it is not yet broadly understood nor politically viable. I expect to be around to see the shift. In the meantime, however, some folks in the US Senate need a major kick in the pants.
Tell Senators that Medicaid should not be tied to work requirements. This action is from Caring Across Generations.
New York State authorized the NYS Power Authority — the largest state public power authority in the US — to build renewable energy projects for the transition from fossil fuels. This was the product of a lot of agitation by climate activists and is a win to celebrate.
The new law directs the New York Power Authority to plan, construct, and operate renewable energy projects in service of the state’s renewable energy goals. Under New York’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the state aims to generate 70 percent of its electricity from renewables and cut overall greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
Finally, I’m extending a personal invitation to an event this Saturday, 5/13 at Lincoln Center. The piece, Search for Spring,
a sweeping choral work exploring the emotional toll of climate change and our hope for a better future ahead. Search for Spring is sung by hundreds of community voices, coming together to create a unique, spectacular performance.
I’ve enjoyed learning Jonathan Dove’s music for this world premiere and am excited to participate in this “crowd action for optimism.”
Come see Search for Spring. It’s free, it’s outdoors, and it features the Young People’s Chorus of New York.
with love,
L