A conversation about race and 2020.
What do you know about American politics today that you didn’t know on the day Donald Trump was inaugurated?
I think I underestimated the left’s response to Trump. I definitely underestimated the Democratic Party’s response. I get this rap for being pessimistic, but it’s inspiring to see. It’s really inspiring to see.
You can certainly see that movement in how mainstream Democrats talk about race and approach questions of criminal justice. That said, right now Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are two of the leading contenders for the party’s 2020 nomination—both politicians who embraced some version of “tough-on-crime liberalism” earlier in their careers. Is it possible for them to earn the votes of those who value racial justice?
Let me start by stipulating that I’m always gonna be the guy that did not think we would have a black president in my lifetime. You need to take that into consideration when you hear any sort of prognostication from me.
That said, Biden and Kamala are different. Biden is really popular right now among black voters, but it’s worth remembering that Hillary Clinton was really popular among black voters early in ’08, too. And I think Biden has more than just criminal justice baggage when it comes to race.
I do think the implicit point you made about there being a separation between African-American voters and African- American activists is a real thing. I was very concerned about how Obama addressed black audiences during his time as president. But I don’t think it ever hurt him in any sort of demonstrable way. And I think there’s a similar thing with Kamala: The idea of threatening mothers of kids who miss school with jail, under the notion that you ultimately want to help them? That’s really, really chilling.
This story is from the March 18, 2019 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 18, 2019 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Early and Often: David Freedlander - Momentum vs. Machine The Trump and Harris campaigns battle it out for every last vote.
WIth two weeks left to go, the contours of the 2024 presidential election are clear: Both campaigns need voters who usually don’t vote, and Kamala Harris needs to bring the Democratic coalition, including its Trump-curious members, back home.While the Republican side plans to spend the remaining days of the contest trying to lure low-propensity voters to the polls, the Harris team will attempt to persuade voters of color to return to its side and will try to increase numbers among white voters in previously red suburbs.
Drowning in Slop - A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage-and it's only going to get worse.
SLOP started seeping into Neil Clarke's life in late 2022. Something strange was happening at Clarkesworld, the magazine. Clarke had founded in 2006 and built into a pillar of the world of speculative fiction. Submissions were increasing rapidly, but “there was something off about them,” he told me recently. He summarized a typical example: “Usually, it begins with the phrase ‘In the year 2250-something’ and then it goes on to say the Earth’s environment is in collapse and there are only three scientists who can save us. Then it describes them in great detail, each one with its own paragraph. And then—they’ve solved it! You know, it skips a major plot element, and the final scene is a celebration out of the ending of Star Wars.” Clarke said he had received “dozens of this story in various incarnations.”
The City Politic- The Other Eric Adams Scandal The NYPD shot a fare evader, a cop, and two bystanders. He defends it.
On Sunday, September 15, Derell Mickles hopped a turnstile, got asked to leave by cops, then entered the subway again ten minutes later through an emergency exit. This was at the Sutter Avenue L station, out by his mother's house, five stops from the end of the line. Police said they noticed he was holding a folded knife. They followed him up the stairs to the elevated train, asking him 38 times to drop the weapon.
Can the Media Survive?
BIG TECH, Feckless Owners, CORD-CUTTERS, RESTIVE STAFF, Smaller Audiences ... and the Return of PRINT?
Status Update
Hannah Gadsby's fascinatingly untidy tour through life after fame and death.
A Matter of Perspective
A Matter of Perspective Steve McQueen's worst film is still a solid WWII drama.
Creator, Destroyer
A retrospective reveals an architect's vision, optimism, and supreme arrogance.
In Praise of Bad Readers
In a time of war, there is a danger in surveying the world as if it were a novel.
Trust the Kieran Culkin Process
First, he nearly dropped out of Oscar hopeful A Real Pain. Then he convinced Jesse Eisenberg to change the way he directs.
The Funniest Vampires on TV
What We Do in the Shadows is coming to an end. Its idiosyncratic brand of comedy may be too.
