Politics

Jo Freeman writes: The theme was different versions of “Thank God for Donald Trump.” He could do no wrong, including lose the election. If the media said more people and more states voted for Biden, then the election was being stolen. It was photogenic. Flags flourished. T-shirts, hats and posters were plentiful. Many people wore costumes, or turned flags into capes. Only buttons were scarce. (As a button collector, I was looking to add a Trump button to my collection). Everyone was pleasant. When I asked people to pose for a photo, I only got two negative responses – one from a man in a Chicago Proud Boys t-shirt, and another from a woman wearing a Biden-Harris cap who was waving at the marchers from the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Ave.   more »

Jo Freeman writes: As I passed McPherson Sq., one of the two Occupy DC hotspots in 2011-12, I saw several white tents and a stage. Days later I learned that these were put up by Bond Events, a female-owned event production company hired by the People’s Watch Party. PWP is a new coalition of 20 progressive groups which came together to produce an election day party on Black Lives Matter Plaza. The Plaza covers two blocks of 16th St. north of Lafayette Square that were turned into a pedestrian mall in response to the June protests. The DC government painted Black Lives Matter in 35 foot yellow capital letters from K to H Streets and DC’s Mayor officially renamed it on June 5. It has become the protest center of the Capitol. more »

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that in the same year we celebrate the centennial anniversary of women securing the right to vote we also recognize the unprecedented number of women who ran for Congress. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, nearly 650 women ran for seats in the House of Representatives and Senate in 2020, with more than 300 of these candidates making it through the primaries and into the general election. As of press time, 130 women have been elected to serve in the 117th Congress. This number includes the 18 incumbent Senators who were not up for reelection this year, as well as the four Delegates to the House of Representatives reelected from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. However, a number of races have not been called, so the number of women serving in the next Congress is expected to include a record number. more »

"The CDC has advised that large in-person events, particularly in settings where participants do not wear masks or practice social distancing, pose a substantial risk of further contagion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). There is reason to fear that such gatherings can serve as 'superspreader events,' severely undermining efforts to control the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to shed light on these issues by studying the impact of election rallies held by President Donald Trump’s campaign between June 20th and September 30th, 2020. Trump rallies have several distinguishing features that lend themselves to this inquiry. The degree of compliance with guidelines concerning the use of masks and social distancing was low, in part because the Trump campaign downplayed the risk of infection. This feature heightens the risk that a rally could become a 'superspreader event.'” more »