New from Liveright and the author of Rat F**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count,Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy, by David Daley.
I will vote for neither Pete nor Bloomberg in a general election for the office of President of the United States of America. It would not matter anyway because I live in New York, but even if I were in a swing state, the same would be true.
I think the Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle skit on SNL the Saturday after the election of 2016 captures the essence of what Black people have been saying and feeling for decades, if not literal centuries about life in this country; and when I say literal centuries, I mean literal centuries of Black lives in the US.
The fact that a lot of you Hwite people just started to feel a slight draft of injustice in 2016 when Donald Trump was elected; the fact that you all were only incensed at something being so wrong at *that* time; the fact that you had to rise up and take action in the wake of the 2016 election… Where have you been?
You’ve been complacent and blind to the injustice that has surrounded you. Mike Brown was killed and his body laid out for hours in a street in 2014. Trayvon Martin was killed and George Zimmerman found not guilty prior to the election of 2016. HIV rates about Black and Brown communities have remained steady and in some cases have increased.
But “mission accomplished!” So much so that at one point, with regard to a certain national performing arts organization, we were asking the question “are our groups still relevant?” As if there weren’t any non hwite issues to be solved. Willfully blind, I tell you.
And now we have this “blue no matter who” foolishness.
I will abstain from voting if the person that Donald Trump’s opposition puts up has an awful track record with communities who represent *my* multiple identities. The parts of me that certain other marginalized communities have ignored *just* as much as the enemy.
Black and Brown folks: This is the attitude you need to take. If your hwite friends try to give you shit for having this stance, then they’re clearly not listening. Instead, they’re only centering their own agenda which has NOT centered people who look like you, for literal centuries.
American Politicians spend too much time raising money. They don’t have time to make good policy, or to care how it affects us.
If I want to spend more time writing, I am going to have to figure out how to sell my book, but if I spend my time selling it, I won’t have time to write. One of the things I like to do is make up new words. There are a few in my book. Today I want to introduce you to…
hey so the Democrats are in charge at this very moment. They could enshrine abortion rights in the constitution at this very moment. Why would they wait until after midterms to do something, and if they aren’t gonna wait until after midterms, wtf does this have to do with midterms?
The only way to “enshrine it in the constitution” would be to make it an amendment. This requires a 2/3 vote from both the House and the Senate.
Which… wouldn’t pass.
I know this is shocking. But “being in charge” doesn’t actually mean unlimited power.
This post mentions the midterms because it 1. Could give us a super majority needed for this kind of amendment and 2. Would affect STATE governments which could safeguard abortion on a state level.
this. Repealing roe v Wade doesn’t make abortion illegal, it gives states the right to outlaw abortion in their states. This will effect poor and minority women in red states first. If your state government has more progressive, pro-women, science literate officials any one of them can make a real difference for people in your community. This is about state auditors, state attorneys, county commissioners, elected judges, and city council members as much as it is about governors, Congressional representatives and senators.
Attention southern Texas! (San Antonio, Laredo, McAllen, etc.)
If you live in Texas’ 28th congressional district, you have a big opportunity to make positive change on May 24th, 2022!
In the 2020 Democratic Primary, Jessica Cisneros came within four points of successfully beating the most conservative Democrat in the entire House of Representatives: Henry Cuellar. Since then, Congressman Cuellar’s home has been raided by the FBI as part of a foreign corruption investigation. Now, Cisneros is taking him on again.
On May 24th, south Texans will have the ability to replace a corrupt right-wing Democrat with a progressive woman who is not accepting any corporate money. Cisneros is running on Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, immigrant rights, reproductive justice, and more; see more of her platform here. While her opponent has been endorsed by the Democratic House Majority Leader, a number of progressive Democrats have broken ranks to endorse her, including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren.
Alongside his latest ethics issues, current congressman Henry Cuellar is pro-life, one of the only House Democrats to vote against legal marijuana, the only House Democrat to vote against pro-union labor reform, and is considered the oil industry’s favorite Democrat. Voting for Jessica Cisneros would put an end to all of this.
We came within less than 3,000 votes of south Texas joining the Squad in 2020. This race is competitive, but it can definitely be won.
Click here for information about how to Vote for Jessica Cisneros
ALRIGHT AMERICANS TODAY WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A THING.
How to make sure our pal Bernie Sanders wins the primaries so he can be our president:
1. First of all, what are primaries?
Well friends, it’s a preliminary election that decides the presidential candidates for each political party. If Bernie loses the primaries, he will NOT be able to become our next president. So for that reason it’s INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT that we all get our butts to those polls when the time comes. Here are the known or expected dates for the 2016 Democratic Party Primaries:
February
Monday, February 1:Iowa
Tuesday, February 9: New Hampshire
Saturday, February 20: Nevada
Saturday, February 27: South Carolina
March
Tuesday, March 1: Alabama; Arkansas; Colorado; Georgia; Massachusetts; Minnesota; North Carolina; Oklahoma; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia
Saturday, March 5: Louisiana; Nebraska; Kansas
Tuesday, March 8: Mississippi; Michigan
Tuesday, March 15: Florida; Illinois; Missouri; Ohio
Tuesday, March 22: Arizona; Utah
Saturday, March 26: Alaska caucuses; Hawaii; Washington
April
Tuesday, April 5: Wisconsin
Tuesday, April 19: New York
Tuesday, April 26: Maryland; Connecticut; Delaware; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island
May
Tuesday, May 3: Indiana
Tuesday, May 10: West Virginia
Tuesday, May 17: Kentucky; Oregon
June
Sunday, June 5: Puerto Rico
Tuesday, June 7: California; Montana; New Jersey; New Mexico; South Dakota
Tuesday, June 14: Washington, DC
2. Okay cool, now I know when I need to vote!
But do you know in some states you can ONLY vote for Bernie if you are a registeredDemocrat?
STATES THAT AREOPEN PRIMARIES (you do NOT need to be a registered Democrat to vote for Bernie):
Alabama
Michigan
North Dakota
Arkansas
Minnesota
Vermont
Georgia
Missouri
Wisconsin
Hawaii
Montana
STATES THAT ARE CLOSED PRIMARIES (youMUST be a registered Democrat to vote for Bernie):
Delaware
Maine
New York
Florida
Nevada
Pennsylvania
Kansas
New Jersey
Wyoming
Kentucky
New Mexico
STATES THAT ARE TOP-TWO PRIMARIES (you vote on candidates regardless of their party affiliation so you do NOT need to be a registered Democrat to vote for Bernie):
California
Nebraska
Louisiana
Washington
STATES THAT ARE HYBRID PRIMARIES (these vary between open and closed, and often depend on the current party, so if you live in one of these states you WILL need to find out the protocol for the 2016 presidential primaries):
Alaska
Maryland
Rhode Island
Arizona
Massachusetts
South Carolina
Colorado
Mississippi
South Dakota
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Tennessee
Idaho
North Carolina
Texas
Illinois
Ohio
Utah
Indiana
Oklahoma
Virginia
Iowa
Oregon
West Virginia
3. Okay, so how do I register to vote/as a Democrat?
Worried because your state has closed primaries or you’ve never used your constitutional rights to vote before and you think registering will be a terrible, vigorous, process?
DON’T WORRY FRIENDS.
Registering to vote is so easy, let me walk you through it.
Hereis an online form you can mail in (available in multiple languages) that also gives you step by step instructions depending on your state. If you live in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, orthe U.S. Virgin Islands, unfortunately you can NOT use this method.
For any state, you can check the following places to register in person:
State-funded programs that serve people with disabilities
Any public facility that a state has designated as a voter registration agency
Here is another link of states where you can register online, if you’re an anxious nugget like me.
EACH STATE HAS A SPECIFIC DEADLINE TO REGISTER IN TIME FOR PRIMARIES. IF YOU NEED TO REGISTER, MAKE SURE YOU FIND OUT WHEN THAT IS AND REGISTER BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
If you do end up having to register in person, do not be afraid friends! You are doing a very importantandbrave thing.
4. Alright, so I know when I have to vote, I am registered to vote, and if my state has closed primaries, I registered as a Democrat! I’m done now, right?
Nope, there’s one last thing! If you’re like me and unable to get to a voting poll, whether or not it’s due to school, work, your health, or being out of your state/country, you need to fill out an ABSENTEE BALLOT FORM!
This link contains not only the absentee ballot forms of every state, but some even have more voter registration forms as well!
DON’T FORGET. DEADLINES EXIST.
Write it in your planner, your calendar. Post it on your ceiling. Write it in ketchup on your burger. Tattoo it to your arm. Whatever helps!
AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, WHATEVER YOU DO:
Do not brush this off. Do not assume, well I’m just one person, what is one vote going to do? Bernie can win without little old me.
That’swrong. You and your vote is so incredibly important. Bernie cannot win without you. Without us.
So please. Read this. Spread this. Register. Get ready to vote. Bernie promises to do his best to better America. Let’s do our best to get him there.
