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Civil rights groups, labor unions, and major newspapers have ratcheted up pressure on political donors and lawmakers to take a stand against the GOP anti-voting extravaganza, apparently misunderstanding the aim: Nothing nefarious, Republicans simply think not all voters deserve to vote! :)
- Republican lawmakers in Arizona have introduced nearly two dozen voter suppression bills this year, several of which have advanced in the last few weeks. (Hi, Kyrsten Sinema.) Here’s how racist GOP Arizona lawmaker John Kavanagh racistly defended those racist efforts: “Everybody shouldn't be voting...Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that they're totally uninformed on the issues. Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.” We can all agree that a high-quality voter must be able to quote fluently from QAnon scripture, and cite at least ten Facebook memes on the socialist virus hoax.
- As Republicans gleefully take democracy apart at the seams, the political donors who helped put them in office are under increasing pressure to denounce the bills and rescind their support for those politicians. Two major corporate donors in Arizona, Union Pacific and Prudential Financial, have voiced their opposition to the wave of legislation, and Union Pacific has suspended all political giving in the state. As for the other largest donors in the state, many of which have publicly championed voting rights? Not so much!
- That fight is heating up in Georgia, where civil rights groups have launched an ad campaign calling on corporations like Coca-Cola and Delta to bring their political action in line with their rhetoric. In the leadup to the 2020 election, Coca-Cola ran a series of ads celebrating Black voting rights, but since 2018, the company has donated $34,750 to the sponsors of Georgia’s two most dangerous voter-suppression bills. (If you or folks you know live in Georgia, keep an eye on Black Voters Matter and the New Georgia Project for updates on whom to yell at and where to protest.)
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At the same time, public pressure on Democratic senators to do whatever it takes to pass H.R.1 has escalated.
- The AFL-CIO met this week to determine its stance on the filibuster, and is now expected to come out against keeping it intact. The editorial boards of the Washington Post and New York Times have both sounded the alarm, in opinions on the GOP war on democracy and the necessity of doing away with the filibuster in order to defeat it: “If America is to be governed competently and fairly—if it is to be governed at all—the filibuster must go.” Civil rights leaders have begun discussing a potential Selma-esque march in Washington, DC, or Atlanta, GA, to highlight the threat and build momentum.
- As calls for the Senate to pass H.R.1 get louder, dishonest GOP attacks on the bill have grown increasingly hysterical. On Wednesday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) offered this fun spin on legislation that would expand voting access and put a stop to partisan gerrymandering: “This is a bill as if written in hell by the devil himself.” Looks like we’ve got a nation of devil-worshippers on our hands: Polls have consistently found H.R.1’s election reforms to be wildly popular, even among a majority of Republican voters. Hail Satan, protector of democracy.
A bigger spotlight on what Republicans are trying to pull in state legislatures will create greater urgency around H.R.1, and push Senate Democrats to overcome GOP opposition at all costs. Committing to getting involved is the most important thing you can do → votesaveamerica.com/forthepeople.
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This week on Hysteria, Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco welcomed two amazing guests. First they talked to Teen Vogue labor writer Kim Kelly about Amazon unionization efforts, then they’re joined by USAID administrator/friend of the pod Samantha Power.
Listen to Hysteria and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts→
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A sixth accuser—a current aide—says that Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) aggressively groped her after she was summoned to the Executive Mansion to help him with a technical problem. Cuomo called her account “gut-wrenching,” and also denied it completely. The woman’s lawyer has reported the allegation to Albany police. A majority of state legislators, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the National Organization for Women (NOW) have all called on Cuomo to resign; Cuomo has repeatedly said he won’t step down. On Thursday, Democrats in the state assembly authorized an impeachment investigation. Actually removing Cuomo from office might prove tricky: A conviction would depend on both the state Senate and the judges on the New York Court of Appeals, all seven of whom are Cuomo appointees.
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- Surprise, President Biden signed the relief bill on Thursday afternoon! Relief checks will start hitting bank accounts as early as this weekend, according to the White House.
- In his primetime address tonight, Biden announced he will direct states to make all adult Americans eligible for the vaccine no later than May 1, and that this summer will be a lawless bacchanalia (last part is more implied).
- Judge Peter Cahill has reinstated a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin. Six jurors have been selected after two days of screening, and opening arguments are likely to begin on March 29.
- Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) has lifted Oklahoma’s coronavirus restrictions, when he could have just released a statement saying, “I need everyone to know I have learned nothing in the past year,” and saved a bunch of lives.
- The House has passed gun legislation that would expand background checks on all commercial gun sales. Eight Republicans voted in favor of the bill and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) was the only Democrat to oppose it, after also casting the lone Democratic vote against the relief package. Big week for Jared!
- A Texas judge has allowed the state to remove Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program, which means that more than 8,000 low-income Texans will have to go out and find a new health-care provider during a pandemic.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) plans to hold multiple tech-related antitrust hearings as chairwoman (Klobuchair) of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee. We would like to see how Mark Zuckerberg’s hair would fare in a blizzard.
- Beth Moore, an evangelical woman with enormous influence in the community, has broken away from the Southern Baptist Convention over its leaders’ support for Donald Trump. The Southern Baptist Convention’s membership was already in decline, and Moore’s departure could prompt more defections.
- A new vaccine PSA features all living former presidents and first ladies, with the exception of the Trumps. It’s unclear whether they were invited to participate or not.
- Christie’s auction house sold its first NFT (nonfungible token) (which is...a digital collectible?) (seems dumb!) for $69 million (nice).
- As connoisseurs of Days, we here at What A Day can confirm that March 11, 2020, was up there with the weirdest of them. Here’s a dizzying oral history.
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Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been attacking New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz all week, over her accounts of...dealing with online harassment. On Monday night, Carlson highlighted a tweet from Lorenz earlier that day asking her followers to support women enduring online harassment, dismissing her experiences as “not real harassment” during a segment on “powerful people claiming to be powerless.” After a second night of attacks on Tuesday, the Times released a statement calling it “a calculated and cruel tactic.” Carlson simply doubled down that night. It’s the latest instance in Carlson’s pattern of singling out reporters to instigate harassment, sometimes resulting in real-world danger. Fox News defended Carlson’s deranged string of attacks this week as “legitimate criticism.”
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During the Trump administration, over 5,500 migrant families were systemically torn apart by the cruel practice of family separation. The ACLU was there from the start, filing a national class-action lawsuit that successfully blocked the policy. And as a result, thousands of families have been reunited.
However, many families remain separated to this day. Our latest report shows the parents of hundreds of children have still not been found – and the irreparable trauma inflicted upon all the families is everlasting. That's why the ACLU is urging the Biden administration to undo the damage and provide support to the families harmed by this cruel practice. Are you with us? Sign the petition today.
The work to undo family separation must be an urgent priority for the Biden administration and a task force on family separation is just the start. The ACLU is urging the Biden administration to commit to reuniting all the families in the U.S., provide them immediate protections from deportation and support a pathway citizenship, and make systemic changes to end family separation for good.
Add your name to the ACLU’s petition and urge the Biden administration to take action now.
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A new Israeli analysis found that the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine was 97 percent effective in preventing symptomatic cases, and held up well against the variant first identified in the U.K.
Lawmakers in Mexico have approved a bill to legalize recreational marijuana.
Evanston, IL, could soon become the first city to fund reparations for its Black residents.
Wells Fargo has pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, following similar pledges by the country’s other five largest banks.
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