Today’s Edition (June 2, 2021)

“To fill the silence.”

         It took 100 years for an American president to visit the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre to acknowledge the atrocity that America tried to forget. On Tuesday, Joe Biden stood near the site of the massacre and said that it was time to “fill the silence.” ‘Fill the silence’ he did. In a speech that will stand the test of time, Biden said,

          For much too long, the history of what took place here was told in silence, cloaked in darkness. But just because history is silent, it doesn’t mean that it did not take place. We can’t just choose what we want to know, and not what we should know. We should know the good, the bad — everything. That’s what great nations do. They come to terms with their dark sides.

          On the anniversary of an event freighted with layers of reckoning, reconciliation, and hope, Biden connected the animus of the Tulsa Massacre to Republican efforts to disenfranchise Black voters today. Biden acknowledged the unfilled promise of voting rights protections in H.R.1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, saying that he would continue to fight for those bills, which address “not just an echo of distant history,” but the “current assault” on voting rights.  In a remarkably frank passage, Biden said,

          [I]n 2020, we faced restrictive laws, lawsuits, threats of intimidation, voter purges and more. I hear all the folks on TV saying, ‘Why didn’t Biden get this done?’ Because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and two in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends.

          If Biden’s words bruised the tender feelings of Senators Manchin and Sinema, it is because his words had the sting of truth. Democrats are poised to defeat Republican efforts to undermine the rights guaranteed in the 14th Amendment but are stymied by the punctilious objections of two Democratic Senators who care more about Senate rules than they do about the civil rights of tens of millions of Americans. See Talking Points Memo, “Biden Jabs Manchin And Sinema While Pushing For Voting Rights Reforms.” Senator Manchin responded irritably, telling reporters he was “not going to separate our country” by ending the filibuster, which he asserted would be “wrong.” See MSN, “Manchin Tells Reporters to Stop Hounding Him Over Filibuster: ‘You Ask the Same Question Every Day’.” In preserving the filibuster, Senators Manchin and Sinema are the ones who are “separating our country” into factions of those who have free access to the ballot box and those who do not.

          Biden’s speech was both remarkable and important. Everyone should read it in full. But you can’t (at least not yet) because the White House press office has neglected to post the text of the speech to WhiteHouse.gov—an embarrassing oversight that someone should correct immediately. I will circulate the link when it is available.

          Once again, Biden has not only exceeded expectations but has exceeded the accomplishments of many (maybe all) of his modern predecessors. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most difficult chapters in our nation’s history. In visiting the site of the atrocity and delivering a speech that both marked and redefined the event in a broader historical context, Biden hewed closely to the most important speeches in our nation’s history. It is now up to each of us to fill the silence—through our actions and our words. Thanks, Joe, for reminding us of our duty.

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland suspends Arctic drilling permits.

In another significant development in the fight to protect the environment, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland announced that the administration would suspend oil drilling permits in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. See WaPo, “Biden administration moves to cancel Arctic National Wildlife Refuge leases.” (“Interior Secretary Deb Haaland orders new environmental review of the leasing program, saying the Trump administration did an ‘insufficient analysis’ of drilling’s impact.”) The order reverses one of Trump’s most significant environmental decisions. Good.

          In appointing Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior, Biden took a risk. Haaland held a congressional seat in New Mexico, which was part of Democrats’ narrow margin of control in the House. The special election to fill Deb Haaland’s vacated seat was held on Tuesday, June 1st. The Democratic candidate, Melanie Stansbury, was declared the winner shortly after the polls closed. See CBS News, “Democrat Melanie Stansbury wins special election for New Mexico House seat.” Stansbury’s victory increased Democrats’ margin of control from four to five in the House. Good news! The better news is that the efforts of Stansbury’s opponent to cast her as a “radical environmentalist” and a proponent of “defunding the police” gained no traction in the election.

          Here is more good news: Tonight, I am hearing from readers who wrote postcards to New Mexico voters urging them to vote for Stansbury. Those readers are excited about Stansbury’s success and proud of their efforts on her behalf. Their reaction illustrates one of the benefits of writing postcards: The act of reaching out to voters in another state expands horizons and creates a sense of engagement in the writer. Readers sometimes ask me if I believe that writing postcards will change the minds of any voters. I frequently respond that writing postcards is important because it changes the postcard writer from an observer to an activist. Writing postcards is a gateway to a broader world of political engagement. I heartily recommend it—and I thank the readers who shared their sense of accomplishment with me. Thanks for doing your part!

The Republican Party drifts towards incitement of insurrection—again.

          The leaders of Trump’s election denial brigade are urging the military to stage a coup to return Trump to power (or predicting that the military will do so. Former General Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia, told a questioner at a QAnon-friendly conference that a Myanmar-style military coup “should happen” in the United States. See The Hill, “Michael Flynn says Myanmar-like coup 'should happen' in US.” After Flynn realized that he could be court-martialed for his comments, he attempted to deny words that were recorded on videotape for the world to hear. CNN, “Michael Flynn says he didn't endorse Myanmar-style coup after he appears to back plan in video exchange.” Flynn escaped conviction for his crime of lying to the FBI because Trump pardoned him; a new indictment for inciting insurrection would subject him to criminal jeopardy again.

          In a similar vein, Trump’s on-again-off-again attorney Sydney Powell predicted that Trump would be “reinstated” as president in August and that Biden would be evicted from the White House. See Business Insider, “Ex-Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell Tells QAnon Crowd Trump Can Be 'Reinstated' As President.” Flynn and Powell have begun to make appearances at “Stop the Steal” events that are laced with a heavy QAnon presence. Their lunatic predictions that Trump should be or will be re-installed as president are par for the course for Flynn and Powell. But, according to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, Trump has begun telling associates that he expects to “reinstated” as president by August. See Maggie Haberman on Twitter, “Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August.”

          The talk of Myanmar-style military coups and “reinstatement” of Trump by August is dangerous and irresponsible talk—similar to the statements by Trump that incited the January 6th Insurrection. Trump, Flynn, and Powell are delusional or treasonous (or both). As a group, they are ineffectual; the three of them couldn’t plan an outing to a baseball game. But the dangerous silence of Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and other Republican leaders is injecting oxygen into the blast furnace of conspiracy and lunacy.

          The failure of GOP leaders to condemn Trump’s irresponsible comments before January 6th contributed to the insurrection. By failing to condemn the most recent comments by Trump, Flynn, and Powell, GOP leaders are implicitly endorsing their suggestions of a coup and “reinstatement” of Trump. The GOP is the greatest internal threat to democracy facing America today.

Putin sides with the Insurrectionist Caucus.

          In advance of a summit with Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled that he will bring up the “persecution” of the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6th. See Business Insider, “Russian Foreign Minister Says Capitol Rioters Are Being 'Persecuted'.” This threat comes after Russia has allowed hackers to launch another cyberattack on an important supply-chain producer. See CNBC, “U.S. says ransomware attack on meatpacker JBS likely from Russia.” By ignoring the hacking industry within its borders, Russia is acting as an outlaw nation and Putin is acting as a dangerous dictator. Republicans should take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves why Putin is coming to their defense in minimizing the assault on the Capitol. If Republicans have any self-awareness, they will see in the mirror a reflection of one of Putin’s “useful idiots.”

Concluding Thoughts.

          The political environment has become more dangerous and fragile after the 2020 election than it was before the election. The pervasive view that the election was stolen from Trump and the related efforts to disenfranchise Black voters in future elections is a serious threat to democracy. But I urge caution in reading or accepting at face value the many predictions that democracy is one election away from its demise. Another such warning appeared this week in a statement by 100 “democracy scholars.” See Talking Points Memo, “100 Democracy Experts Issue Dire Warning About The American Experiment.” I have read the statement and there isn’t anything inaccurate or unfair about its recitation of the facts. The source document is here: New America, “Statement of Concern.” The experts prescribe a solution—the passage of H.R.1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Of course, that isn’t going to happen unless Senators Manchin and Sinema suddenly reverse strongly held positions that they have reiterated as recently as today.

          So, if the “solution” of voting rights reform isn’t forthcoming immediately, what are the democracy scholars saying about the future of democracy? Are they suggesting that it is doomed? Maybe not explicitly, but that undertone pervades many such articles. That is where I part company with the doomsday genre of political reporting. Things are bad, I will grant you that. They may get worse, and the threats are real. But the doomsday articles always seem to ignore the hundreds of millions of Americans who will not watch passively as democracy dies. If you assume away the majority of Americans who support democracy, it is easy to predict disaster. But Americans who cherish democracy cannot be assumed away. We are here to stay. We will do what is necessary to sustain democracy for the next generation. And all that is necessary is that we show up to vote on Election Day—and that we urge our friends, neighbors, and fellow Democrats to do so, as well. We can do that. We have done so before, and we will do so again.

          Talk to you tomorrow!