10 October 22
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America has long faced structural economic crises. Democrats must win on the economy and present a pro-worker agenda
But, as we enter the final weeks of the 2022 midterm elections, I am alarmed to hear the advice that many Democratic candidates are getting from establishment consultants and directors of well-funded Super Pacs that the closing argument of Democrats should focus only on abortion. Cut the 30-second abortion ads and coast to victory.
I disagree. In my view, while the abortion issue must remain on the front burner, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to ignore the state of the economy and allow Republican lies and distortions to go unanswered.
This country has, for decades, faced structural economic crises that have caused the decline of the American middle class. Now is the time for Democrats to take the fight to the reactionary Republican party and expose their anti-worker views on the most important issues facing ordinary Americans. That is both the right thing to do from a policy perspective and good politics.
We have more income and wealth inequality than at any time in the modern history of this country, with three people owning more wealth than the bottom half of our nation. Is there one Republican prepared to raise taxes on billionaires, or do they want to make a bad situation worse by extending Trump’s tax breaks for the rich and repealing the estate tax?
Today, 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and millions work for starvation wages. Is there one Republican in Congress who is prepared to raise the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour?
The United States pays, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Is there one Republican prepared to allow Medicare to immediately begin negotiating prescription drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry and cut the cost of medicine by half?
We have a dysfunctional healthcare system which, despite being the most expensive in the world, allows 85 million Americans to be uninsured or underinsured. Is there one Republican who believes that healthcare is a human right and supports universal coverage?
We remain the only major country on earth not to guarantee time off for moms who have babies or need to take care of sick children.
Is there one Republican who supports at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave?
The list goes on: childcare, housing, home health care, college affordability. On every one of these enormously important issues the Republican party has virtually nothing to say to address the desperate needs of low and moderate income Americans. And what they do propose will most often make a bad situation worse.
Nevertheless, in poll after poll Republicans are more trusted than Democrats to handle the economy – the issue of most importance to people. I believe that if Democrats do not fight back on economic issues and present a strong pro-worker agenda, they could well be in the minority in both the House and the Senate next year.
And it’s not only the long-term structural crises that Democrats must address. It is the outrageous level of corporate greed that we now see every day that is fueling the inflation hurting so many people.
While the price of gas has soared over the last year, the five big oil companies made $59bn in profits during the 2nd quarter of this year alone, and are spending $88bn on stock buybacks and dividends to benefit their wealthy shareholders.
While global food prices soared by over 33% last year and are expected to go up another 23% this year, billionaires in the global food and agri-business industry became $382bn richer during the pandemic.
While we continue to pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, 3 of the largest pharmaceutical companies in America – Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and AbbVie – increased their profits by 90% last year to $54bn.
While 46% of Americans either skipped or delayed the healthcare they need because they could not afford it, the six largest health insurance companies in America last year made over $60bn in profits.
What do Republicans have to say about corporations that are charging Americans outrageously high prices, while enjoying record breaking profits? They talk a lot about inflation. But what are they going to do about it? Does one of them have the courage to consider a windfall, profits tax? Absolutely not.
You can’t win elections unless you have the support of the working class of this country. But you’re not going to have that support unless you make it clear that you’re prepared to take on powerful special interests – and fight for the millions of Americans who are struggling economically. Whether it is extending the $300 a month child tax credit that expired in December that slashed the child poverty rate by over 40%, or increasing social security benefits, or expanding Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision or making childcare affordable, the Democrats must stand with the working class of this country and expose the Republicans for the phonies that they are.
None of what I am suggesting here is “radical”. It is, in fact, extremely popular. It is what the American people want. If we close this critical midterm campaign with a clear, unified vision to meet the needs of working families, to take on corporate greed, and protect a woman’s right to choose, we will begin to rebuild the trust between Democrats in Washington and the working families of this country.
And we’ll win the election.
People receive medical treatment after missile strikes hit Ukraine's capital on Monday morning. (photo: Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
President Vladimir Putin announced in a televised address that his military had launched the strikes as revenge for a blast that damaged the bridge connecting Russia and annexed Crimea over the weekend.
From Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the northeast, missiles tore through rush-hour traffic and into energy facilities, in apparent retaliation for a blast that damaged a key bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula over the weekend.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a televised address that his military had launched a "massive strike" on Ukraine's "energy, military command and communications facilities," telling his security council it was revenge for what he called Kyiv's long track record of "terrorist" actions, including the bridge blast.
The Russian leader also issued a threat.
"If attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory continue, Russia’s responses will be tough and will correspond in scale to the level of threats posed to Russia," he said. "No one should have any doubts about this.”
The blasts came hours after Putin first accused Ukraine of "terrorism" over the huge explosion that severely damaged the bridge connecting Russia and annexed Crimea on Saturday, dealing a strategic and symbolic blow to his campaign. Kyiv has not taken responsibility for the incident, which the Russians said killed at least three people and was caused by a truck bomb.
A series of failures on the battlefield and the chaotic call-up of hundreds of thousands of military reservists has led to growing criticism of the Kremlin at home, with some prominent figures urging escalation in an effort to reverse the course of the conflict.
Ukraine was braced for retribution that soon arrived.
A number of blasts were heard in the center of Kyiv early Monday by NBC News. Smoke was seen rising off buildings, while images and videos verified by NBC News showed incinerated cars and a crater near a playground in a city park. Residents were sent scrambling for shelter in underground subway stations, while air-raid sirens sounded in other major cities across the country.
Klitchko, Kyiv's mayor, said the explosions occurred in the central distinct of Shevchenko, where several key government offices are. He later said that some of the city’s critical infrastructure was hit and that the the threat of new strikes remained.
Kyiv's authorities also warned of possible power and water supply interruptions, and urged people to charge their phones and stock up on water.
Explosions were also reported in cities like Dnipro in central Ukraine, as regional leaders across the nation warned people to seek shelter.
In all, the Ukrainian army said Russians used at least 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones in Monday's attacks. Moscow’s defense ministry shared a video of rockets being launched from a naval vessel and said all objectives of its strikes had been reached.
The attacks prompted immediate condemnation from Kyiv and its allies.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Putin “a terrorist who talks with missiles,” while defense minister Oleksii Reznikov urged the country's Western backers to step up their supply of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems.
U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink tweeted that the embassy’s staff were safe “after another wave of Russian strikes on civilian sites.” Ukraine's European allies reacted with "shock" at Moscow's attacks and reaffirmed their support for Kyiv, while Zelenskyy said the Group of Seven industrial nations will hold an emergency meeting.
Over the weekend Putin appointed a new overall commander of his forces in Ukraine who has a reputation for brutality, while the Russian leader warned last month that he was ready to use nuclear weapons if his country's territorial integrity was threatened.
While it remains to be seen whether Monday's strikes represent a sustained escalation, the Kremlin’s hawks and chief propagandists appeared to rejoice in the attacks.
“And here comes the answer,” said the editor-in-chief of Russia’s state-run RT news channel, Margarita Simonyan, in a post on Telegram, referring to the attack on the Crimean bridge that she added was always an obvious “red line.”
Former President Dmitry Medvedev, one of the most outspoken proponents of the war, said shortly after Putin’s speech acknowledging the strikes: “The first episode has been played. There will be others.”
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who was one of the most prominent Russian voices to criticize the country’s military leaders in recent weeks, said he was now “100% satisfied” with the campaign and urged Zelenskyy to flee while he could.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said, meanwhile, that the two countries will deploy a joint regional military task force, the state-run Belta news agency reported.
Russia has used Belarus as a staging ground for its invasion of Ukraine, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the development could more directly involve Belarus in the war.
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