Portside

Now, Congress must act. Answers were in response to basic questions about attempts by the president and his aides to undermine his inquiry. This corrected the ongoing disinformation campaign conducted by Trump and his attorney general, William Barr.

Democrats have to keep reminding themselves, and America, that they beat Trump and the Republicans in the competition that mattered most - the only truly national competition this fall. The Democratic mandate is not overwhelming. But it is real.

When Ted Warshafsky nominated Julian Bond for vice president, they suddenly found themselves talking about poverty, racism, and war on national TV. It was beautiful.

Party leaders need to make clear that impeachment is always valid when there is evidence of presidential wrongdoing, cover-ups, and corruption of justice. Openly discussing the impeachment power, and clearly stating when and how it must be applied, puts the president on notice.

President Trump’s agenda is disturbingly coherent, and it is based around militarism, austerity, social division, voter suppression, and right-wing authoritarianism.

The Trump-obsessed big media are mostly ignoring it, but Bernie-inspired activists are winning across the country—including in districts that went for Trump in 2016.

 “If we keep control of the Senate in the Republican hands…a nice guy named Mike Enzi from Wyoming is the Senate budget chair and he helps us get these budgets to the president’s desk, gets these tax bills through,” he said.  On the other hand, Ryan warned, “If we lose the Senate, do you know who becomes chair of the Senate Budget Committee? A guy named Bernie Sanders. You ever heard of him?”

If there is to be a political revolution - reactionary Republicans must be removed and cautious Democrats must be replaced with outside-inside activists who understand how to make the connection between movements and policies. Pramila Jayapal is an immigrant-rights advocate who blends movement ideals with legislative skills. She was one of the first congressional candidates this year to earn an endorsement from Bernie Sanders.

“Kaine did meet with union leaders in Madison. But he supported Virginia’s right-to-work laws during his gubernatorial campaign and his four years in office. Even the group that seeks to expand these laws [the National Right to Work Foundation] concedes Kaine did few things that troubled them.”

 At the root of Father Berrigan’s teaching was a faith in the prospect that great masses of people—and, perhaps, a few of their leaders—might yet be awakened from the slumber of inaction before it was too late. He never stopped preaching a gospel of action that risked arrest in order to challenge militarism and inequality.