Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips

Battleground Michigan: Saving Lives, Beating Trump

Garlin Gilchrist, Michigan's lieutenant governor, talks to us about life on the frontlines in a battleground state that is dealing all at once with the COVID-19 crisis, armed protesters storming the Capitol demanding the lifting of stay-at-home orders, and ensuring a safe and fair Fall election in a state Trump won by just 10,704 votes. [8:15]
Gilchrist, a 38 year-old political rising star, also shares with us the story behind his unlikely path from Microsoft software engineer to second-in-command state leader, the first African American to ever hold the position. Gilchrist is chair of the recently created Michigan Coronavirus Taskforce on Racial Disparities, one of the first taskforces of its kind in the country.
We also talk about how the indifference coming from the White House in the face of catastrophic human suffering reveals the lack of a shared “social contract” when it’s the lives of people of color that are being disproportionately affected, and we discuss the implications for progressive politics and policy.
References:
Garlin Gilchrist - @Garlin and @LtGovGilchrist
Gretchen Whitmer - @GovWhitmer
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun - @DrKhaldun
Ron Meloni - Audio Clip https://twitter.com/RodMeloni/status/1255901755474403328?s=20
Michigan Coronavirus Taskforce on Racial Disparities - Executive Order 2020-55 (Covid-19)https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/0,9309,7-387-90499_90705-526476--,00.html
The Atlantic Monthly // Adam Serwer - The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/americas-racial-contract-showing/611389/
The Washington Post // Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Knowles - Michigan lawmaker denies wearing Confederate flag mask, calls it history, then apologizes https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/25/dale-zorn-confederate-flag-mask/

I Survived, But What About Georgia?

Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, talks to us about both her personal experience as a COVID-19 survivor and her continued efforts as a State Senator to keep her constituents healthy and safe in a state that is one of the first in the nation to lift its shelter-in-place order, according to Governor Brian Kemp’s plans. Williams shares valuable lessons for states across the country debating when and how to reopen.
References:
Nikema Williams - @NikemaWilliams
Georgia Democratic Party - @DPGChair
The Washington Post // Reis Thebault, Andrew Ba Tran and Vanessa Williams - For black folks, it’s like a setup: Are you trying to kill us? https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/26/coronavirus-southwest-georgia
CBS’s American legal web TV series - The Good Fight
Hulu TV drama series - Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng - Little Fires Everywhere novel
Director David Yates and Writer J.K. Rowling - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The French Georgia Choir message to Kemp: No Sir Kemp. Stay Home! #StayHomeGeorgia https://www.facebook.com/khristie.french/videos/3162915557073885/UzpfSTYzNTg5NTIzMDoxMDE2MzMxNjg4MjgwNTIzMQ/

The Six Women Who Could Be Vice President

Stacey Abrams, Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, and Catherine Cortez Masto are the six women most often mentioned as Biden's possible choice for running mate. We analyze each person's strengths and weaknesses in terms of what Biden and the Democrats most need in order to win in November.
References:
New York Times Op Ed  // Steve Phillips - It’s Obvious Whom Joe Biden Should Pick as Vice President https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/opinion/joe-biden-running-mate-stacey-abrams.html
Donors of Color Action - http://www.donorsofcolor.org

One Virus, Two Americas

We sit down with Ron Brownstein, senior editor at The Atlantic and senior political analyst for CNN to talk about how responses and attitudes towards the coronavirus differ along the same lines that divide the country politically. What does this divide mean for how this pandemic unfolds? How will it all play out politically, and what does it mean for November?
Brownstein is one of the nation’s top political journalists. He’s a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has written six books, including The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America
His analysis that America is in the midst of a battle between the Coalition of Transformation and the Coalition of Restoration is one of the most illuminating frameworks for understanding U.S. politics presented by any analyst.
Ron Brownstein - @RonBrownstein
The Atlantic // Ron Brownstein - Red and Blue America Aren’t Experiencing the Same Pandemic https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/how-republicans-and-democrats-think-about-coronavirus/608395/
Ron Brownstein - The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299750/the-second-civil-war-by-ronald-brownstein/
Jonathan Metzl - Dying of Whiteness https://www.dyingofwhiteness.com
Frank Chin (Editor), Jeffery Paul Chan (Editor), Lawson Fusao Inada (Editor), Shawn Wong (Editor) - AIIIEEEEE!: An Anthology of Asian American Writers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16042534-aiiieeeee
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Self Reliance https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1760630.Self_Reliance?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=85rsAPMuDz&rank=1
Homer // Translated by Robert Fitzgerald - The Odyssey https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48643953-the-odyssey?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=F3tJFLCcVw&rank=2
Manuel Pastore - USC https://socialinnovation.usc.edu/staff/manuel-pastor/

We’re All In This Together

Coronavirus has upended life across the country and the world. We talk about how it’s been affecting us, how we’re coping, and what the future looks like. We’re joined by special guest Stephanie Douglass, human resources director for a global company with offices in Beijing, on how China flattened the curve and lessons we can learn from China and other Asian countries. [4:10] Also, what’s happening in politics and public policy in light of COVID-19.
References:
Democracy in Color & She the People - Open Letter to Democratic Presidential Candidates: A Call for Committing to Choosing a Woman of Color as Candidate for Vice President http://democracyincolor.com/wocvp
The Nation // Steve Phillips - The Vice Presidential Nominee Should be a Woman of Color https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/biden-sanders-vp-of-color/
The Washington Post // Vanessa Williams - Groups call on Biden, Sanders to choose a woman of color for vice president https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/17/groups-call-biden-sanders-choose-woman-color-vice-president/
The Washington Post // Harry Stevens - Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve” https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

And the Winner Is...

Post-Super Tuesday: What happened, why, and what’s next? After a dizzying week in national politics, we try to make sense of it all by discussing why Biden bounced back, what it means for Bernie, and what the data says about how it’ll all end up.
References:
Democracy in Color - How to Help https://www.democracyincolor.com/howtohelp
Rolling Stones // Tessa Stuart - Stacey Abrams Is Building a New Kind of Political Machine in the Deep South https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/stacey-abrams-census-voting-rights-vice-president-953173/
New York Times // Steve Phillips - Bernie Sanders Can Beat Trump. Here’s the Math. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/opinion/bernie-sanders-polls.html
C-SPAN - Joe Biden Remarks in Los Angeles https://www.c-span.org/video/?469947-1/joe-biden-addresses-supporters-los-angeles

Dear Left, You’re Missing The Mark

We talk about how the Left is missing the mark at this moment with its troubling silence on Trump’s white nationalism, which is the key to and cornerstone of his continued power. By failing to make this their top priority issue—and keep it front and center—the Left, including all current Democratic primary candidates, risks throwing away their best chance at winning this November. We also hear what our special guest, Maurice Mitchell, formerly a key leader in the Black Lives Matter movement and now National Director of the Working Families Party, has to say on this topic, the party’s support of Elizabeth Warren, and much more. [11:21]
Maurice Mitchell - https://twitter.com/mauricewfp
Working Families Party - https://twitter.com/workingfamilies

After the White States, What’s Next?

Iowa Caucus 2020 will be one for the books. We talk about what happened and what it means as the nomination race heads to another nearly-all-white state—New Hampshire—and then, finally, on to the diverse states of Nevada and South Carolina, where voters of color will help decide who becomes the eventual winner. Steve breaks down the interplay of Momentum and Math (accumulating delegates) in determining the Democratic nominee. Also get great insight on what’s ahead from Emmy Ruiz, one of the nation’s foremost political strategists who worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Nevada in 2016 and was most recently a senior advisor to Kamala Harris’ campaign. [12:54]

How to Flip the Senate in 2020

With the impeachment trial underway in the U.S. Senate and the Republicans doing everything in their power to cover up Trump’s corruption, we unveil an innovative new formula for ranking winnability of 2020 Senate elections and look at what it will take for Democrats to flip control of what’s supposed to be “the world's greatest deliberative body.,” [09:16], Plus, we sit down with one of the year’s most inspiring Senate candidates in the country, Texas’s Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez as she explains why Trump’s team is “deeply afraid of people like me.” [21:23].
References:
The Nation Magazine: 12 States Where Democrats Could Flip the Senate

The White Man’s Bump

Are white male presidential candidates receiving preferential treatment from the Democratic Party? As the Democratic presidential primary field grows whiter and more male, we discuss how the Party and its rigid reliance on polling and fundraising numbers in its debate qualification rules give white men an advantage. We also explain what the Party should be doing to change this fact.
Also in this episode: Reflections on Julian Castro and the ending of his campaign; spotlight on Hidden Figure Maya Rupert, Castro's campaign manager, and what we did over the holidays.