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Its a busy week for lawmakers in both chambers of Congress, as they address the dual crises facing the country: systemic racial inequality and the resurgent coronavirus pandemic.

Its getting real, and nerves are fraying.

McGovern, Lesko Get Testy In Exchange Over Masks And Righteousness

Things got heated when Rep. Debbie Lesko, a Republican from Arizona, accused House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern and other Democrats of double standards during an unprompted exchange about a House rule requiring lawmakers to wear masks at committee hearings.

Stop with the righteousness on the masks. Im absolutely sick of it, Lesko said from a Capitol Hill committee room during a virtual markup hearing, her own face mask dangling from her ear.

I think, Mr. Chairman, you said some of us believe in science implying that some of us don't believe in science, Lesko continued. For goodness sakes, we are like sitting maybe 10, 12 feet away from each other! Everyone in here ... is wearing masks.

Lesko said she tested negative twice for COVID-19 in the last week, including before a meeting with President Trump. So dont be telling me how Im unsafe, and how I'm going to be doing things that are going to affect people.

McGovern, attending the hearing from his Capitol Hill office mask on said the rule is about safety.

Just for the record, my urging for people to wear masks is to counter what the president is saying, because Im worried, McGovern said, citing the presidents refusal to wear masks or require them at his indoor campaign events. Its not about being righteous.

Lesko contended Democrats pattern of calling for mask wearing was just getting totally ridiculous and sickening. She said she hoped Democrats were also demanding the same of protesters, rioters, looters, the people who are tearing down statues in our nation.

The Worcester Democrat shot back.

As somebody who actually participated in some the protests and marches in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, along with others who are outraged at that killing, I wore a mask, McGovern said. I think everyone around me wore masks.

By the way, they werent looters, McGovern added. They were patriotic Americans who are just sick and tired of racism in the country at every level.

Neal, Democratic Leaders Press To Expand ACA

Rep. Richard Neal, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic House committee chairs to present a bill that would expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act during the coronavirus pandemic.

Were very much in the midst of this pandemic, Neal said during a press conference yesterday. There is no better time to increase access to high quality health care while lowering health care costs than right now.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act would lower health insurance premiums by expanding eligibility for premium tax credits. It would also lower the income threshold for eligibility and increase the size of tax credits for all income brackets. Americans with private health insurance could obtain prescription drugs at the same lower price as those covered by Medicare.

Neal said the measure would help bring most Americans closer to the relatively high coverage levels seen in Massachusetts.

One hundred percent of the children in Massachusetts today have health insurance, and almost 98% of the adults have health insurance because of our efforts, the Springfield Democrat said.

Under this legislation, Neal says no one would pay more than 8.5% of income for a silver plan secured on the ACA marketplace, and Americans earning $19,000 or less annually would pay no premium. A family of four with a household income of $40,000 would save $1,600 a year, according to Neal.

Pelosi said the bill will go to a House vote on Monday, but the legislation faces certain defeat in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Pressley Files Amendment To Nix Police Qualified Immunity, Cops In Schools

Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced two amendments to the police reform bill, set for a House vote today, that would eliminate the qualified immunity defense for alleged police misconduct and stop federal funding for police officers in schools.

As we work to fundamentally reimagine our criminal legal system, it is critical that we center the people, Pressley said of her amendments to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. In this moment of reckoning for our nation, our legislative response must match the scale and scope of the hurt so many are feeling, and these amendments do exactly that.

One of the amendments, co-sponsored by Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, would extend the bills provision eliminating qualified immunity for federal law enforcement to include all local and state officials.

The other, co-sponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, would bar federal funding for hiring, maintaining or training law enforcement personnel in elementary schools or secondary schools.

These amendments would help us protect the dignity and humanity of all in community by removing law enforcement from K-12 schools and finally allowing for police, corrections officers, and other public officials to be held accountable for violating our legal and constitutional rights, Pressley said in a statement.

3 More Things:

Keating condemns noose, white supremacy flyers found in Yarmouth: Rep. Bill Keating decried the existence of flyers encouraging white men to join local white supremacist groups found taped up around the town several days after a noose was found hanging from a tree there. This is shameful, Keating wrote in a Facebook post. This does not represent Cape Cod. And make no mistake, this will not stand in the way of long-overdue change. Keating added that the incidents in Yarmouth serve as a reminder that no community is untouched, it can not be ignored, and inaction is unacceptable. There is too much at stake.

Lynch files legislation to protect ability of service members to vote from abroad: Rep. Stephen Lynch said his Digital Overseas Voting Act would allow U.S. military service members and other overseas citizens to submit their applications for federal absentee ballots by email, fax or postal mail in federal primary, general, special and runoff elections. Currently the applications must be submitted by postal mail only. As the pandemic limits travel and slows mail service, the measure would serve as a critical method of overseas absentee voting in upcoming federal elections, Lynch said in a statement.

Pressley calls for transit investments: Pressley, a co-chair of the House Future of Transportation Caucus, joined other members of the group in calling for $50 billion in investments over the next five years to support and boost the nations public transit systems. High-quality, safe and affordable public transit is a public good and will play a key role in protecting the public health and advancing our long-term economic recovery efforts, she and other lawmakers wrote in a letter to Pelosi and Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home reveals that veterans died and became infected due to shocking failures in basic infection control by the Home and a Department of Veterans' Services that neglected its responsibility to oversee the Home. Everyone responsible for this tragedy must be held accountable. I remain deeply concerned about the health and safety of veteran residents and staff at long-term care facilities across the commonwealth, and I urge the Home and the commonwealth to swiftly implement the investigation's recommendations to improve care and avoid such a crisis in the future.

-- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, reacting to state-ordered independent investigation into the coronavirus outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home. Read more here.

If you liked this weeks WBUR Town Hall on the pandemics impact on the 2020 election, my colleague Anthony Brooks and I will be back for more Monday, when well reprise the discussion on On Point. Tune in at 10 a.m. EST on WBUR, or check your local NPR listings.

I also hope youll tune in tomorrow, when I join the journalists roundtable on Here & Now to recap the week in the news. Tune in at noon on WBUR, or check your local stations listings.

Read this article:
Neal And Democrats Want To Expand ACA Coverage, But No Traction In Senate - WBUR

PHOENIX At the start of 2020, optimistic Democrats already thought this might be the year when a presidential election turned Arizona blue again.

Many suburban moderates were fed up with President Trump; in 2018, they sent a Democrat to the Senate from their state for the first time in more than three decades. Young Latino voters who now make up 24 percent of eligible voters in Arizona were casting ballots at record rates, angered by the presidents anti-immigrant rhetoric. And the party was fielding a strong candidate for Novembers Senate race.

Now, four months until Election Day, that optimism is hardening into sustained confidence.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to campaign here on Tuesday, in a state whose 11 electoral votes he badly needs to hold to be re-elected, especially if he loses any of the three Midwestern states he flipped in 2016.

Democratic officials believe that frustrations over Mr. Trumps immigration policies and his handling of the pandemic, as well as polling trends, indicate that Joseph R. Biden Jr. has the best shot of any Democratic presidential candidate to win Arizona since Bill Clinton carried the state in 1996. And the Biden campaign sees winning Arizona as not just a path to victory, but also a confirmation that Latino and immigrant voters are a strong and dependable part of the party.

Mr. Trump will arrive in Phoenix in a moment of acute turmoil in Arizona. The coronavirus pandemic is growing evermore deadly in the state, which is experiencing some of the steepest spikes in the country. Thousands of protesters have filled the streets for weeks, angered not only by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis that led to nationwide demonstrations, but also over the case of Dion Johnson, 28, a black man who was shot and killed by state troopers last month after being found asleep in a car on a Phoenix highway.

For frustrated and anxious voters, the dual crises of police brutality and a pandemic point to an opportunity for Democrats.

There are people coming to protests who have never shown up before, who are seeing the kinds of things weve seen for years and that will unquestionably help us, said Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat who represents Phoenix and is an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Biden, the former vice president and the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Still, Mr. Gallego and other Democrats know what formidable odds they have in Arizona. The state has long been a hotbed of conservative activism; it was here that anti-immigrant politicians rose to power in the early 2000s, using the same kind of rhetoric later embraced by Mr. Trump.

The Republican governor, Doug Ducey, easily captured the state with 56 percent of the vote in 2018 and the legislature is controlled by the G.O.P. Though Hillary Clinton spent considerable money in the state and many in her party were optimistic in 2016, Mr. Trump won with 48 percent of the vote.

As many Arizonans attempt to return to a pre-pandemic life, flocking to indoor bars and restaurants amid triple-digit temperatures, interviews with dozens of voters in the Phoenix area in the last week showed how the governments impact on everyday life was increasingly on their minds.

For a long time, it was hard to understand what politics has to do with you, like thats something over there and youre over here, said Bethany Marshall, 31, a math teacher in Phoenix and occasional Democratic voter. Now, were doing, were watching, were not going away.

For nearly three weeks, Ms. Marshall and several of her friends have joined marches near the State Capitol, where razor wire and a double-layer chain link fence keep protesters away from the building. A few feet away two monuments face each other: one is for Martin Luther King, the other commemorates the confederacy. All the crowds have been filled with black, brown and white faces, most of them young.

At protests, one speaker after another implores the crowd to vote. Register to vote here, and if youre already registered, find five friends who are not.

The only way for enough to actually be enough is to get out there and vote, have people with faces who look like mine, to get police to stop harassing us, Alexander Sojourney, a recent graduate of Arizona State University and the organizer of a protest earlier this month, told a large crowd marching to the capitol. Get people in office who can fix that and change that.

Those crowds, and voters like Mr. Sojourney, are part of the reason that Democratic officials are confident they can win both the presidential and Senate races in the state.

The Biden campaign has repeatedly called Arizona one of its prime targets and Mark Kelly, the Democratic Senate candidate, has a multimillion dollar fund-raising advantage over Senator Martha McSally, his Republican opponent. Polls have shown Mr. Kelly with a double-digit lead and Mr. Biden ahead of Mr. Trump.

Arizona voters are roughly evenly split on party registration, according to the secretary of state, with Republicans making up 34.9 percent of the electorate, Democrats 32.5 percent and unaffiliated voters the fastest growing group 31.8 percent. And in a state where voting by mail is already widely embraced, Democrats say their advantage could be even stronger.

In the final three months of the 2018 campaign, for every two voters that registered as Republicans in the state, three registered as Democrats, which helps explain how several Democrats won statewide office that year.

Nowhere is the liberal optimism more prevalent than in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and the majority of Arizonas population. In 2016, when Mr. Trump won the state, Maricopa voters also kicked out Joe Arpaio, the longtime Republican sheriff who had championed draconian anti-immigrant policies. The county is widely seen as the most competitive in the country.

The same people who defeated Arpaio will defeat Trump, said Mr. Gallego.

Democrats are not only counting on younger new voters they are also focused on convincing suburban moderates that they should abandon the Republican Party.

Aaron Marquez, a former captain in the Army Reserves, runs VetsForward, a Democratic-aligned group that relies on military veterans to sway voters in swing districts.

He spends time each week in the northwest suburbs of Phoenix, areas that were once entirely retirement communities but increasingly attract families in search of more affordable housing, delivering boxes of food to potential voters in need.

They set down boxes overflowing with milk, tortillas, grapes and sprinkled doughnuts and ask people what they would want Mr. Trump to know about the virus and its impact on their lives.

Mr. Marquez has met plenty of people who are frustrated, but the program also indicates the challenge for Democrats. With each delivery, voters are asked to rank the presidents handling of the pandemic on a scale of zero to 10. Among the roughly 100 deliveries so far, the responses have been about evenly split.

And Republicans are hardly ceding the state. Mr. Trump will land here Tuesday for his third visit in the last five months, speaking at a Phoenix megachurch in an event billed for college students. Last weekend, Ms. McSally held her first in-person fund-raiser in months, with guests sipping on Martha-ritas at an airport hangar.

Ms. McSally said she approved of Mr. Duceys handling of the pandemic. Some other states have been very draconian and dictatorial, she said, adding that she preferred Arizonas approach of giving people information and allowing them to make good decisions for themselves.

When Arizona started to open up, I went and got my haircut, was able to safely do that, she said, describing her desire to support small businesses. I go out to restaurants. Im young and healthy. I went and got a pedicure.

In a state strangely split between lockdown and an embrace of normalcy, there is widespread confusion and distrust of the government. Those who feel invincible or rebellious are heading to bars even as hospitals report that they are close to running out of space in their intensive care units.

Democratic mayors in Phoenix and Tucson clashed for weeks with Mr. Ducey, who until last week had prevented them from requiring face masks in public. (The mayor of Phoenix has said that the city has no plans to issue citations to anyone not wearing masks at the presidents event Tuesday.)

And even among protesters, there is far from universal enthusiasm for Democrats, particularly Mr. Biden and Mr. Kelly. Leighton Mendez, 24, a Phoenix resident at another protest, said that her prior lack of interest in voting had been replaced with an understanding that elected officials decide on policy that affects her.

Im not sure why it took this long, but being out here, Im really connecting the dots, she said, though she quickly added: It is not enough to just be not as bad as the other guy.

Diane Fellows Morazan was also out protesting, wearing a T-shirt with a handwritten message: Today we march, November we vote.

More of us are angry, more of us are eager to do something with whatever power we have, and we know thats with our ballot, she said.

There are other signs that even once-loyal Republicans are considering a change this fall. Black Lives Matter protests have taken place in dozens of suburbs once seen as conservative throughout the state.

Jenna Plopper, 31, of Surprise, Ariz., said that after voting for Mr. Trump in 2016, her perspective started to change. In the past month, she has attended several demonstrations against police brutality in the suburbs, along with many other young, white mothers.

Ms. Plopper said that while many of her Republican friends planned to support Mr. Biden, she was leaning toward a third-party candidate. What she is certain of, though, is that this year is different from 2016.

I kind of just took the outlook from my parents: youre going to vote, and this is how we vote, she said, of her support for Mr. Trump. I saw him as a lesser of two evils. Now, after listening to all he says and his actions, a lot of people like me are saying we dont want this guy.

More here:
Theres a Reason Trump Is Fighting Hard for Arizona - The New York Times

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

Todays Senate primary in Kentucky has been transformed by the outcry over police brutality. Jonathan Martin, on what the election can tell us about the future of Democratic politics.

Its Tuesday, June 23.

Jonathan, tell me about todays Senate race in Kentucky.

Well, this is the Democratic primary to take on Senator Mitch McConnell, who, of course, is the majority leader of the Senate. And, for a long time, it seemed like his Democratic opponent was going to be Amy McGrath

Im Amy McGrath, and I love our country. I spent 20 years as a U.S. Marine, flew 89 combat missions bombing Al Queda and the Taliban.

who came to some fame nationally in her 2018 House race on the basis of her resume.

I was the first woman marine to fly in an F18 in combat, and I got to land on aircraft carriers.

She was a Marine pilot, and entered the House race talking a lot about her military experience

This is my new mission to take on a Congress full of career politicians who treat the people of Kentucky like theyre disposable.

and almost immediately gained this national profile.

Some are telling me a Democrat cant win that battle in Kentucky, that we cant take back our country for my kids and yours. Well see about that.

But she was not a terribly good candidate, it turns out.

This is a disappointment to Democrats. It comes from state to Kentucky. Amy McGrath, the former Marine combat pilot, defeated by the four-term incumbent, Andy Barr.

She was running in a pretty difficult seat for a Democrat.

But this is a district that Trump won by 15 points. Her opponent, Andy Barr, looks like will get that fourth term.

And she lost what was otherwise a great year for Democrats. But Chuck Schumer, who runs the Senate Democratic caucus, and effectively runs recruitment of Senate Democratic candidates, figured that she had one very important asset that could help him in 2020. She raised a lot of money and built a large list of national donors in 2018.

Hm. And so, as this Senate not House race gets underway this year, Im guessing Chuck Schumer decides to look to Amy McGrath once again.

Exactly. Because the idea was not necessarily to beat Mitch McConnell, but to at least keep the race competitive, keep McConnell pinned down in Kentucky, keep him focused on raising money for his own re-election, and perhaps siphon some national G.O.P. money that would otherwise go to different states, and have it go to Kentucky. So that was Schumers thinking.

Look, Amy McGrath is our candidate. Shes a strong candidate.

And he looked at McGrath and saw her money potential, saw the sort of breadth of her national donor list, and said

Shes giving McConnell a run for his money. The Republican super PAC put $10 million dollars into Kentucky. Shes doing very well.

this is who I want to be our nominee against McConnell. And Im going to make sure that she does not have any kind of a consequential primary to speak of.

So he wants to clear a path for her to become the nominee.

Right. Schumer wants to clear the field. He wants McGrath to be their candidate. He doesnt want to deal with drama in the primary. He just wants to have her raising money, putting up enormous numbers to spook McConnell, and divert McConnells attention back to his own home state and his own re-election. So it does seem like, for some time, that McGrath is not going to have a terribly competitive primary. And so while McGrath seems to be full steam ahead towards the general election, with not much of a primary to speak of, she is banking money at an extraordinary rate. She has raised over $40 million, which is more money than a lot of Senate candidates raise in an entire campaign, let alone a primary.

Yeah. Thats a lot of money. So as far as everybody is concerned, especially back in Washington, Amy McGrath is on a glide path to the nomination.

Exactly right. And then something happens.

We turn now to a deadly police-involved shooting in Louisville. The victim was an E.M.T. Her family claims she was executed by police, as officers served a search warrant in the middle of the night.

On March 13, shortly after midnight, Louisville police officers used a battering ram to enter the apartment of Breonna Taylor, who was a 26-year-old African-American emergency room tech, and shot her eight times while she was in bed in her own apartment.

So they just went into her apartment looking for a suspect, whom we now understand was already in police custody. This is not unique to Louisville.

We need answers. We need answers, because this should have never happened.

And this killing of Miss Taylor by Louisville police sparked an outcry in the state

We have right to live while black!

that is then amplified, sadly, by the killing in late May of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

(CHANTING) George Floyd!

Say his name!

George Floyd!

Say her name!

Breonna Taylor!

Say her name!

Breonna Taylor!

Say her name!

Breonna Taylor!

And how does that begin to impact this Senate race?

The activism in the aftermath of the killing of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd is extremely intense in Kentucky, and especially in Louisville. The demonstrations are nightly. There are clashes with police. And there is a candidate who is running from Louisville. Hes an African-American, and his candidacy is now starting to get more attention.

[APPLAUSE] I stand before you as your brother, as your cousin, as your neighbor, as your fellow good troublemaker.

My name is Charles Booker. [CHEERING]

35-year-old state representative named Charles Booker.

Im state representative for the 43rd District, which we are standing in. And if you are not from the 43rd District, I represent you anyway. [CHEERING]

So he represents what he likes to say is the poorest zip code in all of Kentucky.

No one pays attention to my neighborhood. In the West end of Louisville, with roughly 75,000 people, we have just a couple of grocery stores, a handful of dollar stores, because they prey on us.

He is from the West End of Louisville, black neighborhood.

And if you need to use public transportation to get to the hospital, it can take you a couple of hours. Jobs have left.

And he is someone who is running as a progressive, and had been running as a progressive

Our platform is about ending structural inequity, and ending generational poverty.

talking about issues like the Green New Deal, like single-payer health care, but hadnt gotten a lot of attention in large part because he hadnt raised much money. And McGrath had raised so much cash.

Right.

But after the killing of Taylor and then Floyd

We are crying out for Brianna Taylor, and were crying out for ourselves.

once these demonstrations get going, there is now suddenly more attention to Booker. Because he is a state lawmaker who is in these protests.

When Breonna died, when she was killed

Murdered!

a part of us was killed, as well.

Yes!

He is getting tear gassed in the streets of Louisville. And he is seeing this up front. He is experiencing this himself, day in, day out in his hometown. He is effectively a Black Lives Matter candidate.

But if you look like me, if you look like him, if you look like him, if you look like her, you may be seen as a deadly weapon before being seen as a human being.

Yes!

It aint right, and its hurting all of us.

And so what happens to Bookers candidacy as these protests intensify in Louisville, and all over the country?

Well, the two largest papers in the state, The Courier-Journal in Louisville and Lexington Herald-Leader, taking note of this fraught moment of racial politics, endorse Booker and state that hes the best candidate for these times. So that helps to give him traction. And then, in addition to getting that key local support, hes getting the attention from national progressive leaders. Bernie Sanders offers his endorsement. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez gets behind his candidacy. And thats putting him on the sort of national progressive radar screen, if you will.

So Jonathan, as Booker is, from everything youre describing, catching fire, what is the partys anointed candidate, Amy McGrath, doing in response?

Well, she is talking about these demonstrations and about the killing of George Floyd a little bit more, in recognition that she cant take the primary for granted. But Amy McGrath is not a natural politician. This was part of her struggle in 2018. And it does not go perfectly when she tries to engage these issues. In fact, in a debate shes asked the question about

Have you been on the ground in Louisville with the protesters the last three days or in Lexington or elsewhere, Miss McGrath?

have you been to any of the protests. And she answers pretty awkwardly.

I have not.

And, why?

Well, Ive been with my family and Ive had some family things going on this past weekend. But Ive been following the news and making sure that you know, I think were in the middle of a pandemic.

So suddenly, Amy McGraths politics of moderation and her distance from these protests are seeming quite out of sync with the moment.

Right. And, more to the point, Booker is very much tapping into the moment. This is suddenly a competitive primary. Amy McGrath has had to spend an enormous amount of money on ads in the last couple of weeks to sustain her advantage money that I think she and national Democrats thought that they would use against McConnell. And Booker has made this more of a competitive race going into the primary Tuesday.

And so what is Bookers surge here? What does that mean for Democratic Party leaders back in Washington, who bet so heavily on Amy McGrath?

So Booker illustrates that the intensity, the activism that were seeing on the streets of America in the last few weeks, is now at the door front of the Democratic Party. And Democrats are eager to harness this energy and activism, especially when it comes to organizing against President Trump and Republicans this fall. But when it comes to their own races, their own primaries, their own party, its more complicated. So this does also represent a challenge to Democratic leaders.

Well be right back.

Jonathan, how is it a challenge for Democratic Party leaders to have a candidate like Booker doing really well? Because on the surface it seems like a hotly contested Democratic primary that raises lots of attention, raises lots of money, that thats a good thing for the party.

Well, it creates a challenge, because Chuck Schumer has gotten used to being able to dictate primaries in the Senate races basically every two years. But its not just about Schumer. This is about the Democratic Partys leadership being able to keep its grip on who the nominees are going to be, where the money is going to go. And this is a real challenge to that power, that grip on the party.

And why does that grip matter if it may be out of sync with what Democratic primary voters want?

Well, because leaders like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi believe that to keep or gain majorities they have to appeal to a broad cross-section of voters, and that that means nominating some candidates who are more moderate depending upon the state or the district that theyre running in.

And Booker does not fit that mold.

Exactly. Leaders like Schumer are skeptical that a candidate of Bookers liberal politics could win the race in a place like Kentucky, where Trump won by 30 points four years ago. But I think to get closer to the bone here, if Schumer is not able to control the outcomes of these Democratic primaries, and hes got people in his caucus, potentially, who are not loyal to him, who won despite his intervention, then thats going to create vote counting headaches for him. And looking at the map right now, his majority is probably going to be, if there is one, a seat or two. Its not going to be that extensive. So every vote counts. So hes thinking about, who am I going to have in my caucus? Whos going to be reliable? Whos going to be less so? And so thats where this matters.

This reminds me a little bit of what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dealt with, with the election of the squad, among whom is Alexander Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, progressive Democrats who tugged the entire body at times to the left in ways that House leadership wasnt perhaps ready for.

But its even more delicate in the case of Schumer because of math, because the Senate is going to be so closely divided next year. And if Democrats have a majority, itll be a narrow one. Think about it. Pelosi in the House she won 40 seats in 2018. They had a pretty robust majority. So you could lose a handful of progressives, like the squad, and basically cater to your more moderate Democrats, because those are the ones that had numbers. This is just a more sort of delicate situation because the Senate is on a knifes edge.

Jonathan, were talking about this race in Kentucky as if it is very high stakes for Chuck Schumer. But how much does this race, in particular, really matter?

So this less about eventually beating McConnell, which is going to be a tall order in Kentucky, then it is about whats happening in the Democratic Party. And its not just in Kentucky. Also on Tuesday, there is a competitive primary featuring Eliot Engel, whos the long-serving chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whos facing a primary from an African-American, Jamaal Bowman. In Virginia, a fairly conservative district, there is also an African-American running in that primary. So what Im really interested in watching these primaries unfold is can progressives gather strength, organize and sort of overcome the establishment candidates in some of these races? But also, is 2020 going to be for black candidates what 2018 was for a lot of women, which is sort of capturing the energy of the moment? And I think thats going to be one of the most fascinating things to watch on Tuesday, is can black candidates like Jamaal Bowman in New York, like Booker in Kentucky can they build these multi-racial coalitions, capitalizing on this extraordinary moment of race in America?

Jonathan, it would seem counterproductive, not to mention perhaps hypocritical, for the Democratic leadership to stand in the way of such a change within their party, that you described. I mean, the party said it welcomed all these progressive women in 2018. And wouldnt it want to welcome and celebrate African-American progressive candidates in this coming election cycle?

Well, heres the catch. A lot of the women in 2018 the Democrats embraced were more moderate. You know, the squad got the attention. But a lot of the women who ran and won in 2018, who were not as well known, are much more centrist in their political orientation. I think the difference here is twofold. First of all, I think there is concern that some of their politics are too progressive for their states or districts. And I think in the case of Engel, of Congressman Engel, its just a matter of protecting incumbents. Thats a longstanding rule in both parties, that they support incumbents. So Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo feel obliged to support a longtime ally, somebody whos up for re-election.

Right. They dont want to lose loyal votes, longtime allies. That all makes sense for the leadership, in theory. But isnt the greater risk for Democratic leaders, on a really practical level, that they are missing this moment? They are not getting behind candidates. And they risk losing touch with this very powerful constituency that seems to be ascendant within the party.

Right! The left would say, this is what the moment is, and this is about the country now needs and demands. Given the virus, given issues of racial injustice, given the economic collapse, the moment cries out for real substantive sweeping policy changes in America, and that if you dont abide that, if you dont recognize that, then youre out of touch as a Democratic leader. And I think this conversation this tension between the left and the center in the Democratic party, I think, is really going to come to the fore.

And in that version of this, Jonathan, what becomes of some of these Democratic leaders who we started this conversation focusing on, like a Senator Schumer?

Well, they have to adapt to the moment. And if they dont, then theyre going to pay a political price in their own party. And they risk losing control of their own partys nominating process, because they would further feed this energy on the left, and risk having their own colleagues lose primaries. And, yes, even perhaps in Schumers case, they would risk their own seats.

You know, Ive spent a lot of time talking to candidates. And they often try to hedge or they often try to trim their answers to reflect the states that theyre running in. But that was not the case when I talked to Booker.

Read the original post:
The Battle Over the Democratic Partys Future - The New York Times

Theyre slogans on signs for now, but theyre also real policy goals.

Police the Police

End Cash Bail

We Protect Us

Those and other messages are spreading across Florida in a surge of progressive energy. Thousands have taken to the streets in the past two weeks to fuel a campaign of anti-racism and anti-police brutality thats been years in the making.

You cannot reform, if you will, a racist system. You have to reconstruct it, said Dwight Bullard, a former Democratic state senator from Miami on a virtual news conference call with Florida Democrats. Bullard is now the political director for New Florida Majority, which aims to politically mobilize the states minority communities. You have to dismantle it and rebuild it from the bottom up.

Interviews with state lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum, however, show that turning activism into state policy is going to be difficult.

The next scheduled legislative session, the two-month period when lawmakers pass bills, isnt until next March. Already, Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, the incoming Senate President, says he cant envision a scenario in which the Legislature passes any reforms that dont have the backing of law enforcement.

The incoming House Speaker, Palm Harbor Republican Chris Sprowls, did not respond to requests for comment.

Facing whats likely to be staunch opposition to major criminal justice or other types of reforms, some Democrats are urging lawmakers to be pragmatic.

Youve got to get some stuff passed, said Rep. Bruce Antone, the Chair of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. When all of this stuff is done, the nation is going to be looking for some change. If we dont get something done, this will all be for naught.

Antone, an Orlando Democrat, said he could see Republicans being receptive to officially requiring local law enforcement agencies to report use-of-force incidents that result in serious bodily injury or death to a state database. The FBI already has such a database, but a state law would keep the reporting permanent and mandatory, said Antone, who is not seeking re-election this year because of term limits.

Changes sought by protesters across the state are not easily captured in a single narrative. Although a few local leaders are emerging, the movement, which was sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer, is largely decentralized.

However, a bureaucratic tweak to a use-of-force database isnt what protesters likely have in mind, either.

For Roman Le, a rising senior at Chiles High School in Tallahassee, changing the political landscape so it can sustain more progressive ideals is a long game.

"It's not a half-and-half ratio in Florida. It's like, one really progressive politician to 50 who just don't care," said Le, 17. "I have faith that with a lot of patience and time, as we grow older and start to change government ... it's a slow process but eventually we will get there.

Le is an independent organizer who works with the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, a grassroots group that is helping lead the capital citys protests against police brutality.

As a black, transgender man, he was inspired to join the movement after the killing of Tony McDade. Tallahassee police killed McDade on May 27 after approaching the black transgender man as a suspect in a stabbing that had taken place earlier in the day.

That movement, amorphous as it may be, has pushed some state Democrats to call for more sweeping action. Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, requested a special session last week to address police brutality. He recommended 10 criminal justice reforms that he said would make the system more equitable. Among them: delegating the investigation of police shootings to an outside agency; training officers on implicit bias and de-escalation; and giving new independent investigative powers to local citizen review boards.

When asked how hed respond to those who might say his proposed reforms dont go far enough, Bracy said hed probably agree.

Im a lawmaker who has to deal with the realities of a Republican Legislature that hasnt really shown much interest in dealing with any of these proposals or reforms, Bracy said.

His call for a special session was rejected this week by Republican leadership.

There is definitely a role for the Senate in helping to craft a comprehensive solution, but not a solution that can be achieved in a time-limited special session without more consideration and understanding of what will work to solve the problem," Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, replied in a letter to Bracy.

Sen. Janet Cruz and Rep. Dianne Hart, both Democrats from Tampa, also urge reforms, including the banning of police choke holds statewide.

The calls from Democrats echo proposals from Democrats in other red states. For instance, in Texas, progressives want an end to broken windows policing; the ban on choke holds; and a requirement that body cameras on officers remain on.

History shows that there is not much appetite for criminal justice reform in Tallahassee since the get-tough-on-crime era of the 1990s. This past session, St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeffrey Brandes proposed a slate of reform measures, only to see many of them die in committee.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, among the most ardent liberals in Tallahassee, noted that its not just Republicans whove blocked police reforms in Florida. The states larger cities, nearly all governed by Democrats, are where many of the highest profile cases of police brutality have happened.

A lot of Democrats need to do a lot of soul searching, Eskamani, D-Orlando said. If you havent been working on this issue, you better start caring about it now.

Eskamani said one of the things she kept hearing at protests was a criticism of police unions. Progressives and libertarians all over the country have argued that unions shield bad law enforcement actors from the consequences of their actions.

The Florida Police Benevolent Association, the states police union, has given a total of at least $28,500 to Democrats seeking legislative seats this cycle. (The union has given Republicans and conservative political committees at least $232,500 this cycle.)

Matt Puckett, the executive director of the state police union, said his organization works to make sure the standards for law enforcement are on the highest level.

Bad cops dont help anybody, Puckett said.

Antone, the black caucus chair, said he doesnt believe his colleagues should accept money from police unions anymore.

Rep. Shevrin Jones, a West Park Democrat running for state Senate, got $3,500 from the union this cycle for his campaign and an associated political committee. He said that although he has a good working relationship with the union, he wouldnt accept contributions from them going forward.

Not now. Considering the climate that were in, it would be very counterproductive and it also sends the wrong message, Jones said, noting hed recently met with union officials. I would much rather us have a conversation about how we can change the culture of the police.

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This is an unprecedented wave of progressive activism. Are Florida Democrats ready to seize it? - Tampa Bay Times

Photo from Assemblyman D. Billy Jones's facebook page

Jun 12, 2020 In the wake of sweeping police reforms passed by the state legislature this week, were checking in with our North Country lawmakers on how they voted. Assemblyman D. Billy Jones is a Democrat from Chateaugay who represents Clinton and Franklin Counties, and parts of St. Lawrence County. Hes also a former corrections officer.

Assemblyman Jones has been getting a life-long education in how our society thinks about crime and punishment.

"Im open minded and I am willing to listen to anyone at any given time, and certainly Ive learned a lot and have educated myself a lot on these issues."

He spent twenty years working inside New York state prisons, where a disproportionate amount of people incarcerated are black. And since getting elected to the Assembly, he says hes learned a lot from his colleagues about the communities many of those incarcerated people came from, and their relationships with police.

"And we do have to cure or try to cure the ills of our society. Racism, bigotry has no place in our society. And we must do things to stop that. And certainly the relationships in black and brown communities with our law enforcement need to be improved as well."

Jones says these reforms could be a big step toward healing those relationships: mandating the use of body cameras on officers, setting up a special prosecutor to investigate police misconduct, or banning chokeholds, and was proud to vote in favor of them.

But it was the reform thats getting the most attention right now, the repeal of 50-a the law which since the 1970s police have used to seal disciplinary records from the public that Jones couldnt get behind. He broke with most of his Democratic colleagues to vote against it, because he says the language of the bill doesnt adequately protect to officers from unsubstantiated claims.

"And I think theres gonna be some fallout from this. I think its going to lead to a lot of issues, not only for our law enforcement but for our community members, and I just wish we wouldve cleaned that up."

The bill does let a department redact parts of the record like personal information, or minor infractions, before releasing it. But Jones says thats not strong enough protection for the former colleagues of his who he says this law could alienate.

"I think a lot of them feel its us against the world mentality, and I know thats not good for communities either."

Back in his North Country office yesterday, Jones said he thinks theres still a lot more work to do, and that this recent package of bills has kept him hopeful.

"You need to be in this line of work and especially now. Because if you dont have hope, I would probably get done, the day that I dont believe we cant improve our society, that would probably be my last day on the job, so, I guess youll know when I lose a little bit of hope."

Governor Cuomo could sign the reforms into law any day now.

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Assemblyman Jones, Democrat and former corrections officer, thinks through NY police reform - North Country Public Radio