Fifty years ago today, 20,000 people marched through East L.A. to protest the Vietnam War as part of the #ChicanoMoratorium.
The Moratorium shocked the conscience of our nation, exposing the injustices and bigotry experienced by Mexican Americans. latimes.com/projects/chica…
The Moratorium raised a powerful, collective voice of protest and helped America confront the uncomfortable realities of the Chicano experience.
Fifty years later, many of the inequities, as well as the movements to address them, persist today. google.com/amp/s/www.lati…
The courage of activists like those and so many others made America a better nation. They deserve our gratitude and respect—and for history books to tell their stories.
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Joe Manchin’s retirement almost certainly means Democrats will lose the WV Senate seat. You know where they can pick one up this time? In Texas by defeating Ted Cruz next November. Best pickup opportunity on the map this cycle.
For those who roll their eyes at the idea that Texas is winnable… it’s been moving strongly toward Dems in the Trump era. Obama 2012 lost by 16, Hillary by 9, Biden by 5.5. Beto 2018 lost to Cruz by 3 and Dems picked up 2 seats in Congress, 2 in state sen and 12 in state house.
In 2020, Dems & GOP battled to a draw in state legislature & Beto 2022 performed better against Greg Abbot in a much tougher climate for Dems than Lupe Valdez had in 2018 in a great Dem cycle. Plus, GOP picked up just 1 state house seat even after freshly gerrymandering for 2022.
@BetoORourke deserves a lot of gratitude for inspiring and activating Democrats across the state. He has now twice planted the seeds of future victory.
Eight years ago, Abbott won by 20 points.
In 2018, when Democrats had the wind at our back, Abbott won by 13 points.
This time it was 11 points. So, as much as Tuesday’s results don’t feel like progress, they are—slow progress in what was supposed to be a terrible year.
Another way to think about it is this: in a great year for Democrats (2018) Abbott won by 2.5 points more than he did in what was a tough environment for Democrats in 2022.
Why? Because Trump and Trumpism have driven Texans decidedly toward Democrats.
The White House has defended their use of the Trump-era Title 42 policy on the basis of protecting public health.
But as many have pointed out, public health experts have repeatedly spoken out against the policy—calling it inhumane, nonsensical, and politically-motivated.
When Stephen Miller proposed using Title 42 to suspend our asylum system, the CDC strongly pushed back.
Vice President Pence himself had to intervene to pressure the CDC to implement it. Some staff resigned over it. apnews.com/article/4ef0c6…
Public health experts at Doctors of the World have said Title 42 “makes no sense from a public health perspective.”
So far, the Biden admin’s record on refugees and asylum seekers is very disappointing.
Biden is not Trump—and is, in fact, working to undo Trump’s damage.
But that’s not enough. We need proactive leadership, beginning with Afghan refugees and asylum seekers at the border.
The Biden admin has resettled 6,246 refugees this year, the fewest since the program's creation in 1980.
Much of that lands at Trump's feet. However, it was only after intense pressure that Biden raised the refugee cap and sped up admissions—an early campaign promise of his.
At the border, the Biden admin has disappointingly continued Trump's policy of turning away many asylum seekers under Title 42, a policy dubiously put in place under the guise of Covid spread.
History will not look kindly on our nation suspending asylum for more than 16 months.