The new Gerald Desmond Bridge is now open p. 3 Tune-in Festival, Oct. 28 to 31, remembers the Ash Grove p. 13 Grilled cheese and tomato soup: Depression-era comfort food p. 14
Beyond Trump
The battle for the future is near By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Oct. 14, 2020: 8,108,862 • Deaths: 221,184 • Days to Election: 20 For local stats: www.randomlengthsnews.com
October 14 - 28, 2020
[See Beat Trump, p. 12]
Mystal had a hard time getting people’s attention, until Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. But the GOP’s sharp reversal from the “rule” it invented four years ago, to prevent President Barack Obama from filling a court seat in February, seems to have finally done the trick.
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Donald Trump’s erratic debate performance and role as a COVID-19 superspreader has led to his sharp drop in the polls — showing Joe Biden leads as high as 14 to 17% nationally — which will probably also cost Republicans the Senate. But not before they place another justice on the Supreme Court, creating a 6 to 3 GOP-appointed, conservative majority, which threatens to stymie or undo everything that Democrats might hope to do, as well as potentially overturning Obamacare, Roe vs. Wade and more. It was the highest priority for Trump and the Republican Party — a reminder of how unified they are, when push comes to shove — but not for the American people, or even Republican voters. The week after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, Data For Progress found 65% support for passing new coronavirus relief legislation, compared to 22% support for confirming a replacement. Even Republicans narrowly favored coronavirus relief 44 to 43. But Trump and his Republican enablers had their eyes on a long-term power-grab, rather than helping millions of Americans in distress. To bring about such sweeping changes through the court with a popular mandate would be one thing. But the depth of minority rule is breath-taking: Republican presidents have made 15 of the most recent 19 appointments to the court, prior to the current one, despite only winning the popular vote once since 1988. As The Nation magazine’s justice correspondent, Elie Mystal, wrote back in February, when the balance was only 5 to 4: Not a single significant policy or initiative proposed by the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination is likely to survive a Supreme Court review. Nothing on guns, nothing on climate, nothing on health care — nothing survives the conservative majority on today’s court.
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