Hope!

Around 1861, Emily Dickinson wrote:

“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers-

That perches in the soul-”

She could have been writing for the here and now. After the intolerable 25-day stretch between the debate and Joe Biden’s step aside from the campaign, there is reason for hope and optimism.

Tonight in the New York Times, Hillary Clinton wrote, “History has its eye on us. President’s Biden’s decision to end his campaign was as pure an act of patriotism as I have seen in my lifetime. It should also be a call to action to the rest of us to continue his fight for the soul of our nation.” She tells us, “This is a race Democrats can and must win.” Amidst all the talk of Kamala Harris’ short runway for rallying voters, Clinton points out that the recent Labour Party victory in Britain and the left-wing coalition one in France happened on shorter fuses, and that Harris has the “strong record” and “ambitious plans” in place to convince voters she can make Americans lives better and safer, as well as “restore and protect our rights and freedoms.”

Hillary Clinton also has a charge for all of us, in the plain, common sense language she is so good with. She tells us, “The time for hand-wringing is over. Now it’s time to organize, mobilize and win.”

That process is well underway, with all sorts of groups mobilizing on phone calls and Zoom calls to get to work for Harris. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is how to do this. Record fundraising: $81 million in the first 24 hours after Harris announced, 60% of it from first-time donors. And it keeps coming. All across the country I’m hearing experienced organizers and campaigners tell me they are overwhelmed by the number of people who have never been involved in an election before who want to help.

We’ll be talking later this week about how to get involved, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to call, email, or just show up and ask what you can do to help. And if that’s not possible, remember there are all sorts of opportunities online too.

Yesterday Tim Burchett, a Republican member of Congress from Tennessee, attacked Kamala Harris as a DEI hire. Of course, that ignores the fact that she was elected by the people of California, first as their Attorney General and then as their Senator, and then by the people of the entire United States of America as their Vice President. But do go on Congressman.

Burchett has been widely condemned, but we know he won’t be the only one. We saw it with Hillary Clinton and it will be worse here, because Kamala Harris is a Black woman and an Asian woman too, and mean, hateful, frightened people will use who she is—her strength—to make ugly, nasty comments.

Don’t be afraid to push back immediately in the moments when that happens. There is nothing more powerful than saying, “I disagree, and I’m offended by your racist/misogyny/anti-Asian comments.” You do not have to sit by quietly. I say this as a Californian who moved to Alabama after law school in the late 1980s. Back then, we didn’t use the language of privilege and allyship, but it was still easy to know what the right thing to do was. We are living in one of those moments where we must do what is right and not what is easy.

It will be more than explicitly hateful comments. You will remember this from the Clinton race: “She’s cold.” “We’re not ready for a woman president yet.” “There’s just something I don’t like about her.” Don’t take any of that, either. On Threads tonight, there is post after post with people affirming, “I understand the assignment.” Democracy is threatened. Americans are responding. We’ve got this, and we’ve got Kamala Harris’ back.

Tomorrow night, we will hear President Biden speak to the nation in what is certain to be a bittersweet moment. We are fortunate to have his leadership. Whether the timing was intentional or not, his decision to step aside just after the Republican convention ended has led to disarray in the Republican party.

By the way, the timing, with Biden stepping aside before he became the nominee, puts to rest Republican claims that Harris cannot be on the ballot in some states. Biden was only the presumptive nominee, not the named one, and despite different laws and deadlines in different states, the virtual vote Democrats have planned will be accomplished in plenty of time to meet them, especially now that Harris has more than enough delegates to win the nomination pledged to her. Republicans can, and in some states likely will, try to file lawsuits to make things messy or to try to demoralize a newly envigorated Democratic base. But serious election law experts like Marc Elias and Rick Hasen agree their arguments lack merit. Elias said any lawyers who claimed the contrary were “idiots” and Hasen called the arguments “ludicrous.” The Democrat’s lawyers have not been mincing words this week.

On Monday, lawyers for Donald Trump appealed the civil fraud judgment New York Attorney General Letitia James obtained against him in February, the case that concluded the former president and his company had committed business fraud. Tomorrow, the Manhattan District Attorney will respond to Trump’s claim that each of the 34 felony counts a jury convicted him of earlier this year should be dismissed because of presidential immunity—even though the facts of that case revolve around Trump’s hush money payments to a porn star on the eve of the election, before he became president. We should be able to see that pleading later in the week.

These legal events underscore that this presidential race is between the prosecutor and the convicted felon. (And all of the convicted felons around him, like Steve Bannon, who will be released from federal prison shortly before the election only to go back on trial in early December in state court on “We Build the Wall” fraud charges.) The difference couldn't be more stark.

And apropos of last night, when we discussed Trump, Vance, and what it would mean for American women if they win, an Iowa court has ruled the state's six week abortion ban will go into effect on Monday at 8 a.m. local time. When Trump and Vance talk about letting the states make their own laws, this is the kind of law they are talking about.

It’s not just abortion, though. It’s birth control and IVF, too. A friend wrote to me this morning, “As you know, there was an uproar in Birmingham when the state condemned IVF. Many Republican voting women were shocked that their right to have a baby was threatened. They could not understand what was wrong with the procedure or what would happen to their unused fertilized eggs.” She pointed out that the Republican leadership is threatening all families with their policies.

It’s pronounced like “Comma, La.” Thanks to @nycjayjay on Threads for this one

This is the time for civil discourse. We know people trust what they hear from family and friends more than any other message. In the weeks and months ahead, we have an assignment to fulfill. I know we all understand it.

We’re in this together,

Joyce