We don’t have the luxury of indifference.

April 2, 2024

On a big news day, I want to take a moment to reflect on my criticism yesterday of Kristen Welker’s subdued coverage of Trump's call to violence. During a dialog with a reader about whether my criticism of Welker was appropriate, the reader said, “It isn’t Kristen Welker’s job to defend democracy.” (That comment was made in a lengthy back and forth so please don’t jump on the reader; we were exchanging ideas.)

The comment caught me by surprise. It is true that no part of Kristen Welker’s contract with NBC says, “You must protect and defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” No one expected Tim Russert to defend democracy when he helmed Meet the Press. Nor did we expect Walter Cronkite or Chet Huntley to defend democracy—at least not explicitly.

But we no longer live in the world of Chet Huntley, Walter Cronkite, or Tim Russert. We live in a world where the only US president ever to attempt a coup has a too-close-for-comfort chance of being re-elected on a platform of overt fascism. That changes everything. We do not have the luxury of indifference.

We do not have the luxury of being “just” journalists, lawyers, elected officials, educators, students, co-workers, entertainers, parents, family members, or citizens. At this moment, we must be defenders of democracy in everything we do. If not, we betray and abandon the Constitution. There is no in-between. The question has been called.

Indifference is a choice. Cynicism is a choice. “Just doing my job” is a choice.

Democracy is a choice.

Defending democracy is a duty that appears unbidden when Americans least expect it. Every generation before ours has discharged that duty honorably. Ours cannot be the one to falter.

Kristen Welker does not get a free pass because she did not sign up to defend democracy. No journalist gets a “free pass” in this dangerous moment for our country. When speech seeks to incite violence in aid of regime change, journalists cannot discuss whether some voters will be “energized” by hate speech. If they do, they abet the assault on the Constitution by trivializing the threat.

Indeed, no American gets a free pass to say, “It’s not my job” to defend democracy. Unless enough of us step up to perform a duty “not in our job description,” the notion of democracy will become a memory—a quaint, old-timey relic of the “before times.”

Yes, it is Kristen Welker’s job to defend democracy. And it is our job, too.

Thanks to the hundreds of readers who sent notes to NBC criticizing Kristen Welker for failing to understand this moment in our nation’s history—and her unbidden duty to defend democracy from atop her privileged vantage in the world of journalism.

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Coda

For an outstanding example of a journalist who fully embraces the truth that we cannot afford the luxury of indifference, see Editorial by Chris Quinn, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Our Trump reporting upsets some readers, but there aren’t two sides to facts.

Quinn notes that he regularly receives complaints from Trump supporters about the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s reporting on Trump. Readers of the newspaper ask,

Why don’t our opinion platforms treat Donald Trump and other politicians exactly the same way. Some phrase it differently, asking why we demean the former president’s supporters in describing his behavior as monstrous, insurrectionist and authoritarian. [Others] politely ask how we can discount the passions and beliefs of the many people who believe in Trump.

Quinn then answers those readers as follows:

The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.

The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.

This is not subjective. We all saw it. . . . Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.

As for those who equate Trump and Joe Biden, that’s false equivalency. Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump.

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The political earthquake in Florida.

On Monday, the Florida Supreme Court issued three decisions that will reshape the landscape of personal liberties in Florida. In the process, a state supreme court dominated by DeSantis appointees may have put Florida in play in the presidential and US Senate elections.

In brief, the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion ban signed by Ron DeSantis, approved a reproductive liberty amendment to the Florida constitution to appear on the November ballot, and approved an initiative legalizing marijuana to appear on the November ballot.

The ruling approving the six-week ban is effectively a replay of the reasoning in Dobbs—except worse. Five DeSantis appointees overruled a 35-year-old precedent that held the privacy clause in the Florida constitution protected reproductive liberty. What changed under Florida law to justify overturning decades of precedent?

Nothing.

Except that the members of the Florida Supreme Court changed by gubernatorial appointment. If the law is entirely dependent on the personal political views of the justices, there is no certainty, predictability, or rationality in jurisprudence. As Mark Joseph Stern writes in Slate,

“What’s exasperating about the Florida Supreme Court’s decision is that, unlike the U.S. Constitution, the Florida constitution explicitly guarantees a right to privacy.”

The decision is devasting for the women (and men) of Florida. It will become effective in 30 days. Although SB 300 says that abortions are prohibited “after the gestational age of 6 weeks,” an earlier law states that gestation is calculated “from the first day of the pregnant woman’s last menstrual period.”

In effect, the ruling prohibits terminations of pregnancy only two weeks after most women recognize they have not started menstruating “on schedule” (in parenthesis to recognize that there is no single “schedule” for all women).  

For a discussion of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision, see Chris Geidner, Law Dork, Florida high court upholds abortion ban — and puts abortion on the ballot. As usual, Chris takes a deep dive into the majority opinion by the Florida Supreme Court—and some of the objections in the dissenting opinions.

But the decision may be short-lived. The same court approved a voter-led initiative to amend the Florida constitution to enshrine reproductive liberty—setting up an epic battle between a DeSantis-packed court and the people of Florida. See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, Florida will now be ground zero for the abortion wars in 2024.

Stern writes,

But a bare majority [of the Florida Supreme Court] also let Florida voters have the final say on reproductive freedom, teeing up a momentous battle over personal liberty in a presidential election year.

If that were not enough, the majority also defied DeSantis’ crusade to prevent marijuana legalization from going to the voters, giving residents the chance to greenlight recreational sales long after many other states have made the move.

Florida remains a red state dominated by Republican lawmakers and judges. And the consequences for women in Florida and the surrounding area will be horrific in the coming months. But Democrats could not have asked for a better set of issues to campaign on.

Indeed, within hours of the Florida Supreme Court’s trio of rulings, the Biden-Harris campaign released a memo saying that it believes it can win in Florida. See NBC News,  Biden campaign says it sees Florida as 'winnable' in 2024.

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Trump legal updates

Trump posted his reduced appeal bond--$175 million—thereby forestalling the seizure of his assets to satisfy New York’s judgment against Trump in the amount of $453 million. Trump posts $175 million bond in New York civil fraud case | CNN Politics.

Judge Juan Merchan expanded the gag order against Trump to protect family members of court personnel, witnesses, and jurors. See Politico, Judge slaps expanded gag order on Trump after attacks on his daughter. As Judge Merchan noted, attacking the family members of court personnel, witnesses, and jurors would dissuade each of the groups from participating in the trial.

Merchan wrote:

The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.

The trial starts on April 15, 2024, before Judge Merchan. The Judge has signaled his intention to control Trump and his lawyers. It will be a battle of wills. I would bet on Judge Merchan.

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Sign a letter asking Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from United States v. Trump

Lawyers Defending American Democracy has invited readers of this newsletter to sign onto a letter calling on Justice Thomas to recuse himself from US v. Trump. I have signed the letter.

[Note: if your firewall does not allow you to click on links in newsletters, right click on the hyperlink below, select “copy,” open a new tab in your browser, right click in the address bar, select “paste,” and the hit “return.”]

If you have already signed our letter calling on Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the case of Unites States v. Trump, we thank you. We are continuing our signature-gathering efforts to ensure that as many voices as possible are heard all the way to the Supreme Court.

As our letter sets forth in detail, Justice Thomas’ spouse, Virginia, has an extensive and well-documented involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and obstruct certification of the electoral vote. Efforts to overturn that election are at the heart of criminal charges against the former president.

 If the Supreme Court decides that presidential immunity applies to all of the former president’s actions, Virginia Thomas escapes the potential scrutiny that could emerge in a trial against Mr. Trump. Under the Cour’s own Code of Conduct, disqualification is warranted where Justices know that they, or their spouse, have an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of a proceeding.

The only correct action under the Code is for Justice Thomas to recuse himself on April 25. If he will not, then the Chief Justice should exercise his leadership and intervene. 

We are asking you to please join LDAD’s efforts to prevent this from happening by signing our letter to Chief Justice Roberts today. To sign, click on this link: Call on Justice Thomas to Recuse Himself in United States v. Trump. – LDAD

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Opportunities for reader engagement

Join a free film screening and panel discussion on immigration:

You're invited to join FairSay Films on Thursday, April 4^th at 6:30 p.m. Eastern in New York City (not a Zoom conference) as they present a private premiere screening of DISPLACED, a short film about immigration, followed by a panel discussion with immigration thought leaders as a part of the Soundbites2Solutions series. The panelists will cut through misleading soundbites and offer real solutions to the immigration crisis.

FairSay Films is a female-run production company committed to telling the untold story of the underrepresented and is thrilled to debut its first film, DISPLACED, in collaboration with SoulTech Magazine's oundbites2Solutions. Join the mailing list and learn more about how you can get involved here.

RSVP for the Free Screening and Panel Discussion here.

Our friends at 31st Street Swing Left are hosting a fundraiser to support the Pennsylvania and Michigan state Democratic Parties:

34 precious Electoral College Votes in Must Win Blue Wall Pennsylvania and Michigan! Please join 31st Street Swing Left’s fundraiser supporting Pennsylvania and Michigan State Democratic Parties, Wednesday April 10 at 7p.m ET. State Democratic Parties do important and unique work for elections and infrastructure for the long term, but are grossly underfunded.  We will hear from rising star Jalen Nix, Deputy Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and highly respected Party Chair Lavora Barnes, of the Michigan Democratic Party, on actions to win in 2024 up and down the ballot.

31st Street Swing Left is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to electing Democrats, up and down the ballot, through persistence and precision, and especially by promoting broad impact, long term infrastructure.

Here is the link to register for this free event. And here is the link to donate.

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Concluding Thoughts

Nearly eight months to go before the election and we are experiencing daily seismic shifts on many fronts—almost all of them good for President Biden.

It is too early to rely on polls, but they continue to show that Democrats are well positioned for both chambers of Congress and the presidential election. The dramatic shift in Florida’s electoral politics in a single day is welcome news for Democrats and a gut punch for Republicans. Voters will be driven to the polls in Florida by the six-week (really two-week) ban on abortions, the initiative to enshrine reproductive liberty in the Florida state constitution, and the initiative to legalize marijuana.

Trump's especially hateful and violent rhetoric over the Easter weekend has also shaken many voters at a time when President Biden is hitting his stride on the campaign trail.

After months of the media telling us that the view is bleak for Democrats, we can see the truth emerging from the fog of political war: Democrats are on message and disciplined, while Republicans are a mess. We can’t rely on Republicans to defeat themselves; neither should we ascribe to them strength, organization, or resiliency they do not have. We can beat them up and down the ballot.

Talk to you tomorrow!