Background Briefing: July 10, 2022

On By gram

 

Inside Trumpworld Civil War Looms in Our Deeply Polarized and Divided Country

We begin with the next American civil war which many in Trumpworld believe is both coming, necessary and inevitable and how to Trump believers, the January 6 insurrection was an act of faith, with Ashli Babbitt emerging as a martyr while whiteness is not only about race but is a spiritual state. We discuss how January 6 was only the beginning of what is brewing in our deeply polarized and divided country inside a world that our guest explored in his travels into red state America within the blue state of California. Joining us is Jeff Sharlet, a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and best-selling author or editor of seven books, including C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy as well as The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, adapted into a Netflix documentary series. The winner of the National Magazine Award for Reporting, the Molly Ivins Prize, and the Outspoken Award, among other honors, he is a Professor in the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College and we discuss his latest article at Vanity Fair, “JANUARY 6 WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.”

 

The Need For the Democrats to Pay Attention to State Legislature Races

Then we examine the need for the Democrats to pay attention to state legislature races since the Republicans control over 60% of state legislatures and the Supreme Court is looking into changing federal election laws to make it possible for Republican state legislatures to gerrymander and suppress votes without the ability of courts to intervene. Joining us to discuss this critical battleground that the Republicans dominate while the Democrats focus on presidential and congressional contests is Gaby Goldstein, the co-founder and Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Sister District, whose mission is to build progressive power in state legislatures. And we discuss her article at Salon, “Progressives: Take the fight to the states, right now. It’s the only way to win.”