This piece was originally published in the August 18, 2020 edition of CAP Action’s daily newsletter, the Progress Report. Subscribe to the Progress Report here.
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— Sen. Bernie Sanders on Trump’s negligence in the wake of an unprecedented global pandemic
All eyes were on Michelle Obama last night. The former First Lady spoke to the urgency of the moment, eviscerating Trump and calling out his utter inability to “be who we need him to be.”
Revisiting her famous words from four years ago, she insisted that despite the bigotry and disaster we’re facing, she still believes in going high. But “going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things,” she warned. “[It] means standing fierce against hatred.”
Share Michelle Obama’s powerful words on Facebook:
It’s Day 2 of the 2020 Democratic Convention. Headlining the virtual stage tonight is former Second Lady Jill Biden. She’ll be joined by speakers including former President Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Lisa Blunt Rochester, health care activist Ady Barkan, Fair Fight President Stacey Abrams, and former acting AG Sally Yates.
The primetime lineup will air from 9–11pm EST. You can follow along at DemConvention.com/watch or on another one of the many platforms that’ll be airing it.
IN THE NEWS
- Today marks 100 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving white women the right to vote. As we celebrate this milestone, we can’t forget one massive caveat: Black women didn’t have full access to the ballot until the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The wait was even longer for Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous women. In reality, many Black women still face hurdles to voting today. Trump commemorated today’s anniversary by posthumously pardoning Susan B. Anthony, a white suffragist with a deeply problematic history of partnering with racists to exclude Black men from the suffrage movement, delaying codification of their right to vote for decades. You can read more about the complicated history of the 19th Amendment in this new piece from CAP’s Robin Bleiweis, Shilpa Phadke, and Jocelyn Frye.
- The U.S. Postal Service is (still) under attack. Despite embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s seemingly positive announcement today that he was suspending further changes to the USPS until after the November election, experts warn that much damage has already been done, and his statement is suspiciously riddled with holes. People are reporting delays in receiving their medication, and DeJoy hasn’t made it clear what he plans to do about the hundreds of dropboxes and sorting machines that were already removed. As Senator Elizabeth Warren said today, “I’ll be watching DeJoy’s actions — not just his words.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- The Senate Intelligence Committee dropped a bipartisan report saying that the Trump administration obstructed their investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The report also presented new information and evidence of the Trump campaign’s eagerness to accept assistance from a foreign government.
- CEOs now earn 320 times as much as a typical worker in their industry. According to new data from the Economic Policy Institute, corporate boards are increasingly giving massive compensation packages to their top executives. The report finds that these compensation packages have grown much faster than the stock market and the pay of typical workers, college graduates, and even the top 0.1%. But this isn’t just about CEOs getting rich. This comparison represents a major contributor to our widening wealth gap — one EPI argues we could “safely do away with.”
WHAT WE’RE READING (AND WATCHING)
- The Women the 19th Amendment Left Behind (Teen Vogue)
- Redesigning Federal Funding of Research and Development by Christian E. Weller, Rhonda V. Sharpe, Danyelle Solomon, and Lisa D. Cook (CAP)
- How the next president can fix a DOJ that protects Trump instead of serving Americans by Barbara McQuade (USA Today)
- Fighting Coronavirus Misinformation and Disinformation by Erin Simpson and Adam Conner (CAP)
- Watch former HUD Secretary and 2020 presidential candidate Julián Castro talk about why housing is a human right.
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