Tara Reade, rent strikes, and mail-in voting.
everything's gonna be fine, right?
Good morning, Monday! I dunno about you all, but we spent the weekend buried in a hole of content and our personal hygiene is severely lacking for it. Let’s get to some news.
There is new evidence that seems to support the credibility of Tara Reade’s allegation against Joe Biden: in the form of a 1993 clip of a call in to “Larry King Live” on CNN.
The largest rent strike in nearly a century is going down on May 1st: especially among organizers and tenants in New York City, where many have been left unable to pay rent because of coronavirus.
Voting by mail: coronavirus has increased the need to do so, but should we be thinking about mail-in voting down the line, too?
Alright, try not to get a headache, let’s get break it down.
ELECTION 2020
New Evidence Emerges Regarding Tara Reade’s Sexual Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden
Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden has new evidence to consider. In case you’re totally out of the loop: Reade is a former Biden staffer who has accused the presidential nominee of sexual harassment and assault. Now, a clip has emerged of what may be Reade’s mother calling in to “Larry King Live” on CNN back in 1993—where she asked the host for advice as to what her daughter, who works for a prominent senator, should do regarding “problems.” She goes on to say that “the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.”
Here’s the full clip.
How Does the Evidence Stack Up?
Reade had mentioned her mother calling into the show in an earlier interview with The Intercept, although at the time she characterized the call as being more explicit in that “I remember it being an anonymous call and her saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help?”
The dates match up. Congressional records do show that Reade’s last month of employment at Biden’s Senate office was in August of ‘93.
According to Ryan Grim’s reporting, property records do show that Reade’s mother, Jeanette Altimus, lived in San Luis Obispo County at the time, which is where the caller was from.
Reade says the voice on the call is her mother’s.
What Should We Make of This?
There are plenty of compelling arguments to believe Reade but there are also plenty of reasons to be skeptical. Let’s take a look at some of the common arguments.
The timing. This coming out right when Biden surges into a clear position to be the Democratic nominee screams “oppo research!” It also makes sense that Reade would push the story once seeing her assaulter being propelled into the highest office in the land, though.
Reade’s memory of the events. Reade doesn’t recall the exact date of the alleged assault, where it happened, or the location of the office where she eventually filed a complaint against Biden. Then again, if the call is her mother on the other line, it’s clear that she remembers the general substance of what happened even if she doesn’t remember specific details.
Bottom line: regardless of what you make of Reade’s accusations, this makes it a story that’s unavoidable. In fact, Ryan Grim—who did much of the reporting surrounding Reade’s accusations—noted that “the right wing Media Research Center posted this video not long after I posted the transcript, which means they were sitting on it, waiting, and this was coming out whether The Intercept broke it or not.”
Basically: the right is going to run with this story and ignoring the accusations isn’t just a bad look, it’s also pretty immoral and slimy. We also find Reade’s case to be pretty compelling.
ECONOMY
There Will Be a Huge Rent Strike This May
Rent strikes. While telling a single elderly person who pays your mortgage to go fuck themselves may not be all that feasible (or…nice), organizing large enough rent strikes—building-wide strikes or strikes within apartment communities who are all owned by the same entity—can be an effective way of fighting back against rent gouging or landlord neglect. This May, New York City will have the largest rent strikes the city has seen since the 1930s.
What This Strike Will Look Like
Organizing on this level is often difficult to do, but with the coronavirus serving as a catalyst, many are finding themselves on board with the program.
There are at least 400 families living in buildings with over 1,500 rentable units that are coordinating building-wide rent strikes, according to Cea Weaver of Housing Justice For All, which is a New York-based coalition of housing activists.
There’s also an online pledge to not pay rent on May 1st that has already racked up over 8,500 signatures as of writing.
Organizers are encouraging those who can pay rent to withhold rent payments for May to act in solidarity with those who can’t.
Bottom line: rent strikes are really effective ways of moving the needle on housing issues. When the money begins to dry up, it can quickly become clear that major changes need to happen. Considering just how dense New York City is, the outrageous costs of living (median NYC rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $2,980 last year), and the number of people who lost their jobs in the city because of COVID-19, it’s no wonder that we’re seeing this happen.
VOTING
Voting by Mail is Popular Regardless of Coronavirus
Voting by mail. It’s a good way to avoid a smelly middle school gym (and a deadly pandemic) yet still participate in democracy, so why do only Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have all-mail elections?
A recent Harvard-Harris survey indicated that 72% of responders said they would support the decision to conduct the 2020 Presidential election entirely by mail country-wide.
Like any policy to increase voter participation, Republicans (and Trump) oppose voting by mail. This isn’t some ideological position they hold deep in their souls; it’s motivated by power-grabbing because they know that voter suppression helps them win.
Rules vary quite a bit, though 33 states as well as the District of Columbia either collect ballots by mail or permit “no excuse” absentee voting.
Bottom line: Coronavirus may be revitalizing conversations about voting by mail because of safety concerns, but it’s something we should be making more widely available anyway. The more accessible voting is, the more people can participate in our political system. We can only hope that Democrats press the Trump administration on switching to more voting by mail in the coming weeks.
END OF THE LINE...
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The Bread Line
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