Delay or Hold Primaries: Can the 2020 Election Be Safeguarded Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Democracy Now!

Published on Mar 18, 2020

Tuesday night’s primary election for the Democratic presidential nomination was marred by chaos, confusion and fears over the spread of coronavirus at polling places as former Vice President Joe Biden consolidated his lead as he won Florida and Illinois by a wide margin and scored a victory in Arizona. We are joined by Vanita Gupta, former head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in the Obama administration, now president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalition. They issued a call with 100 voting rights groups for states to proceed with elections while protecting public health. We are also joined by Ro Khanna, Democratic congressmember from California and co-chair of Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign.

How Republicans are packing federal courts with conservative extremists

Democracy Now!

Published on Mar 18, 2020

Amid headlines flooded with COVID-19 updates, The New York Times released a report detailing how Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been personally asking veteran conservative judges to retire so that President Trump can fill the vacancies before the next election. “Two-thirds of the appellate judges that have been confirmed in the Trump administration are white men — many of them carrying very extreme views against gay marriage, trying to undermine voting protections and voting rights in this country,” says Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and former head of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice during the Obama years. “They’re very young. These people will serve in these positions for a lifetime. Even as we are grappling with the enormous democracy burdens that the pandemic is causing us, let’s not lose sight of what’s happening to our federal courts.”

“It’s Inadequate”: Rep. Ro Khanna Says White House Stimulus Plan Helps Big Business, Not Workers

Democracy Now!

Published on Mar 18, 2020

Amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus at polling places, many Americans stayed home. Nearly one in five households have already experienced a layoff or a reduction in work due to the pandemic. Trump wants to inject more than $1 trillion into the economy and send a $1,000 check to everyone. This comes as the Senate is set to consider a multibillion-dollar package bill passed by the Democrat-led House Monday night that includes significantly weakened paid sick leave measures. We get response from California Congressmember Ro Khanna, who has also co-sponsored a bill for an emergency Earned Income Tax Credit that would give up to $6,000 to everyone who made less than $130,000 last year. His Bay Area district has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and about 7 million residents there have been told to stay home for all but the most crucial outings until April 7