March 17 Update — A debate and a nightmare

Hey everyone, I’m writing to you from my social solidarity set up at home.

First, the elephant in the room. Stay home as much as you can, don’t panic buy, take care of your health, and do more than what the CDC recommends. I’m not a public health expert so I’ll move on from that…

The State of the Race

Let’s catch up from last weeks contests. Biden secured Virginia, Michigan, Missouri, and Mississippi, and SOMEHOW, our great state of Washington (how??). Sanders won North Dakota. The current delegate count is: Biden — 860 to Sanders — 706. Tonight we have Arizona, Illinois, and Florida. Ohio has been postponed… more on that later.

Last week I wrote that Sanders had to win Michigan in order to have a shot at the nomination. Unfortunately not only did he lose Michigan, he lost every single county in Michigan. It was a total and complete victory for Biden in every part of the state. And it’s one of several signs that Bernie can’t secure the nomination going forward.

I’m sure we all have opinions on whether and when Sanders should drop out. I don’t think Sanders should drop out quite yet. Sanders should stay as long as he can, and then make it his effort, as he has said many times he will, to support Biden as the nominee. Bernie can use his organizing and digital communications apparatus to boost progressive ideals while attacking Trump in states like Texas and Arizona in the West and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in the East.

Furthermore, he has signaled that he’s staying in the fight to keep the progressive agenda legitimate and open to Biden’s consideration. In fact, I think his presence in the race is more important than ever.

Let’s think about these two ideologies in the context of coronavirus. Take the neoliberal economic model of the Obama (and Biden)/Trump era. Businesses are folding. Sick workers continue to clock in to maintain their livelihoods. Parents wonder how to replace the meals their children are missing by not being at school. Most of us not being able to afford an unexpected expense of $400. Would socialism in certain industries benefit us in this moment? Would paid sick leave offer relief for families? Would a lack of debt allow us to get by more easily in these times? Would a national healthcare system keep someone from staying home and worrying about the cost of care?

And yes, you could counter this argument by saying “look at Europe, it didn’t do anything over there,” and sure, that’s a point well taken. But maybe we’d be a little better off, just maybe? It’s hard to think about these hypotheticals. But I think it’s important for the Democratic Party, and the nation, to at least have another perspective on the issue in this incredibly trying time.

All we know is this: America does not treat healthcare as human right, and we are all only as safe as the least insured person among us.

Let’s move on.

A Potential Nightmare in November

This is hard to write. You need to begin thinking about what this outbreak means for the nations elections. We’re already seeing states postpone their elections, as Ohio did today. Louisiana and Wyoming did last week. Voter turnout in Illinois, Florida, and Arizona is going to be very low. Here’s the thing: with no end in sight to this pandemic, and a November election looming, it is fair to consider whether we’ll be able to vote in November.

Just think about that for a moment. I’m not saying it will happen, I’m saying it’s in the realm of possibility. What if we can’t vote as required by federal law?

The Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020 is being introduced in the Senate by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or) and already has support from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn). In the House, Washington’s own Suzan DelBene is an early supporter. You can read up on it here, but basically, it would release $500 million in federal support to states to ensure their elections system allow for mail-in ballots.

Be prepared to act on this idea in a national movement and demand answers from local, state, and federal leaders. For context, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado are the only states with complete mail-in or absentee voting systems. Other states allow absentee voting with an excuse, others don’t allow it whatsoever. You can see a complete breakdown from The Guardian here. We need every single state in America on the same page if this threat continues to grow.

Fortunately, organizations are already driving this topic into the public discourse and it’s becoming more apparent in the media. Just today, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, with several other organizations, partnered to write all members of Congress, all governors, and all state elections officials and bring the issue to their attention immediately. You can see a copy of that letter here.

This is a very real threat and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. That being said, this bill, but most definitely the concept of mail-in voting, needs your support now, today.

Here’s my final thought.

I want each of us to imagine what the world will look like on the other end of corona. I see a people less divided by ideology, a body politic with a shared understanding of the truth, a public with increased faith for institutions, and above all else, a more compassionate and caring world for us all. I need you to visualize that world very, very clearly. And when times get tough over the next several days, weeks, and months, I need you to remember that world and hang on to it. Each of us will keep it alive, one at a time, day by day, until we’re there.

Until we’re there.