The future of the Democratic party, Sanders Delegates, and an eviction crisis. 🏠
“tiger king” was seriously like 5 years ago right?
Good morning friends, family, whoever the heck. A quick note on the program: I, David, am moving on Thursday. That means we may or may not publish on time on Friday but something will get sent out at some point.
After 2016, many have had their eyes on what direction the Democratic party would head toward. Thanks to the DNC platform and leadership that has been more vocal than usual lately, we have a better idea these past few days. It’s not great, tbh!
Three weeks out from the Democratic National Convention, Sanders delegates are planning a revolt. Some 400-something delegates have decided that they won’t be voting for the Democratic party platform if it doesn’t include support for Medicare for All.
There is a looming eviction crisis. What are Democrats doing about it? Just how bad is it going to be? Very little and catastrophic, respectively.
Does this count as doomscrolling? Gosh, we hope not.
THE DEMOCRATS
2020 is Seeing a Cohesive Democratic Party. Is It Any Better?
The future of the Democratic Party. For leftists, the question of just how transformative their presence in the party can be is a huge, looming question. Can voices like AOC, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, or Rashida Tlaib change the party with as much urgency as it deserves? We’re starting to get some answers on where the party is at in 2020.
An Amazing Lack of Vision
The DNC Platform Committee recently voted on what would be included in the party’s draft platform.
The committee rejected backing Medicare for All with a vote of 125-36. This is despite Medicare for All polling well—some 85% of Democrats do, in fact. Even during primary exit polls, we saw consistent results that those who backed Joe Biden over Bernie Sanders still wanted a Medicare for All System.
We’re not going to reiterate the benefits of M4A. That would be beating a dead horse, which is precisely the issue: Joe Biden refuses to take the policy seriously and that unimaginative attitude regarding policy drips down into every nook and cranny of the Democratic machine.
The same committee shut down proposals to expand Medicare to children and anyone over 55.
They also shut down a proposal that called for legalizing marijuana, another policy position Joe Biden has been rather vocal on since he’s a total square.
The platform is also decidedly not a progressive approach towards Israel policy.
Keep in mind this platform proposal isn’t set in stone—it’s still voted on by mail for the virtual Democratic National Convention in three weeks. More on that later.
...And a Regressive Streak
When we look at any party, it’s important to judge its direction by what its leaders are doing. The leaders of the Democratic party ain’t doin’ so great.
Biden recently released a statement in response to violence at Black Lives Matter protests. One part of it is incredibly troubling, when Biden warns that “arsonists and anarchists should be prosecuted.”
Hold the fuck up, anarchists should be prosecuted?! Last I checked, this was a country that didn’t prosecute people based on privately held beliefs. He gonna say that white nationalists should be prosecuted or is this just centrist kowtowing?
This is the same candidate who joked that you “ain’t black” if you’re considering voting for Trump, the same candidate who said that Trump is America’s first racist president, and the same candidate who still has what we think is a fairly credible sexual assault allegation looming over him that was swept under the rug.
Bottom line: Biden’s failure to understand the moment isn’t just some gaffe that can be written off. It’s a shameful stain on the Democratic party. He’s probably one of the worst candidates we could have to rise to this particular moment in time—going forward, it’s worth analyzing how we let things get to this.
BERNIE
Hundreds of Sanders Delegates Pledge to Vote Against Party Platform if M4A Isn’t Included
The Democratic National Convention is happening in three weeks. Nearly 500 Bernie Sanders delegates have signed a petition pledging not to vote for the party’s platform if it doesn’t include support for Medicare for All.
A Divided Party
While the vote itself is happening August 3-15, remotely, the platform committee met on Monday per our last story. This petition was drafted by Sanders delegates from Nevada in response.
While Sanders himself has said that he will vote for the platform nonetheless, his spokesman Mike Casca said that “the senator appreciates that, amid a deadly pandemic which is creating a national health emergency, his delegates understand that now more than ever we must guarantee health care as a human right.”
We’ll be damned if that isn’t true: over five million Americans have lost their health insurance and without that insurance, being hospitalized for COVID-19 (or anything else) could absolutely bankrupt them.
These petition signers aren’t going to change the party’s platform. That said, they may draw more attention to their cause, as Sanders currently has over a thousand of those four thousand delegates. Some Biden backers may even end up signing the pledge.
Organizers behind this movement have said that they will vote for Joe Biden in the general election.
Bottom line: We're rather cynical when it comes to this whole prospect that the true American left will have any significant sway over a Biden administration. We’d love to be proven wrong.
EVICTIONS
How Bad is the Looming Eviction Crisis in America?
We’re on the brink of an eviction crisis. There is simply no other way to slice it; after the federal moratorium on evictions expired, nearly 30% of American rentals lost some majorly important protections. Here’s what’s cookin’.
Unprecedented, Very Bad.
While the White House has declared an intent to extend the moratorium on evictions, that gap still leaves many vulnerable, particularly Black and Hispanic tenants.
Some estimates indicate around 40 million Americans may be facing eviction. That’s unlike any other housing crisis we’ve ever seen in this country.
It also depends on the state. According to CNBC, “nearly 60% of renters in West Virginia are at risk of eviction compared to 22% in Vermont.” They also have a handy, terrifying map displaying what states are up against.
Democrats plan to introduce a bill that would fund legal assistance for anyone facing eviction, a measure some states have already put in place individually. Critics say this doesn’t go far enough and that we ought to be pushing for a full on ban on evictions for the time being; however, public attorneys may solve a good deal of the exploitation that goes on between landlords and tenants.
Bottom line: IT’S FUCKED!!!
BREADCRUMBS
Where the News Gets “Fun!”
“Ocasio-Cortez calls for end to federal funding for military recruitment in schools.”Last issue, we wishfully mentioned that it’d be nice if this was on the table. Now it is.
“Bernie Sanders introduces bill to provide ‘Masks for all.’” This is the wealthiest nation to have ever existed, etc., etc. The old man doesn’t miss.
“Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Lieu introduce amendment to curtail federal crackdown on protestors.”Good! Also, we have a total soft spot for Ted Lieu. What a guy.
“Send Ed Markey back to the Senate.”The Boston Globe has endorsed progressive Ed Markey over everyone’s least favorite fail son with drool on his mouth, Joe Kennedy III.
“Hoyer says Democrats aren’t demanding $600 or bust in unemployment stimulus talks.”You know how we kinda dedicated this whole newsletter to talking trash about Democrats? Yeah, this is why.
END OF THE LINE...
That’s it for today.
That’s what we’ve got. Remember, we’re only able to do this every day because of readers like you. Drop your friends, family, or anyone else whose email you happen to have a referral link and help us grow. We’d truly appreciate it.
Have a good one,
The Bread Line
we’re listening to: