It can be difficult, in these times, to maintain a sense of hope--as war,
corruption, lies and injustices large and small loom all around, and outrage
threatens to overwhelm us. You must feel, as I do--some mornings it's hard to
get out of bed and read the papers or watch TV. But in these past weeks, as
millions of us slug away, agitate, organize and mobilize, there have been some
hard-fought victories to celebrate.
1/ The historic decision by the Third
Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturning last year's dangerous FCC
decision promoting even more extreme media consolidation was a victory for
our democracy, culture and communities. The decision was a stinging rebuke to
the FCC's stunning disregard for public
participation in the rule-making process and for the importance of true media
diversity. It gives all of us another chance to work for real media reform.
2/ The decision by a federal court to allow a class-action suit, on behalf of 1.6
million women employees of Wal-Mart
, is a victory for labor and human rights. It is by far the largest workplace-bias
lawsuit in US history and deals another well-deserved blow to Wal-Mart's
efforts to portray itself as a good employer.
3/ The Supreme Court's decisions regarding enemy combatants was a
resounding rejection of the Administration's claim that it is above the law in the
"war" on terror. The decisions were all the more important given the history of
judicial deference to the executive in times of war, and the fact that this same
Court installed Bush in the White House --and is overwhelmingly conservative
and Republican. As our legal correspondent David Cole
observed, the Supremes have "now formally reminded the Administration, it's
President Bush not King George."
4/ It is now virtually certain that
Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for an open US Senate seat in
Illinois, will be the third African-American to serve in the Senate since
Reconstruction.
5/ Bush's credibility crisis is growing. The latest New York Times/CBS
poll says that Bush's job approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his
presidency, while the most recent Washington Post/ABC News poll
shows that by a margin of 52 percent to 39 percent, Kerry is seen as more
honest and trustworthy. And just last week a CNN/USA Today/Gallup
poll found that a majority of Americans for the first time believe that invading
Iraq was a mistake. And every poll shows the right track-wrong track indicator--
the so-called Dow Jones of politics--moving against George W. Around
20 percent more Americans think the country is on the wrong track than those
who think it's on the right one.
6/ According to the Wall Street Journal, "...the American left is seeing
signs of political revival." Among other signs, the
Journal reported that The Nation's circulation has grown
to 160,000, exceeding the subscriber base of longstanding conservative stalwart
National Review.
7/ At its late June convention, the Green Party refused to back Ralph
Nader in his run for the White House--a move that reduces his chance of
being a factor in this November's election.
8/ This past weekend, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 was the top
grossing film in America. It's also already become, in less than one week, the
most popular documentary film of all-time.
9/ Presbyterians select pro-gay leader: A peace activist who supports the
inclusion of gays in the ministry was recently elected to lead the Presbyterian
Church USA for the next two years. Rick Ufford-
Chase, 40, has spent 18 years working on the Mexico border as a
Presbyterian mission worker. He and his wife are also active with Christian Peacemaker Teams, which
sends groups to areas like Iraq and the West Bank.
10/ Conservatives are repudiating Bush. Take the lead item from
syndicated gossip columnist Liz Smith on June 29
: "The very conservative columnist Charley Reese of the Orlando
Sentinel is advising his readers to 'Vote for a Man, Not a Puppet.' Charley
says if we vote for President Bush's re-election, we'll really be voting for 'the
architects of war--Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and the rest of
that cabal of neoconservative ideologues and their corporate backers.' (Why did
he leave John Ashcroft off this list?) Reese now sees George Bush, the man he
joyfully voted for in 2000, as an 'empty suit who is manipulated by the people in
his administration.' Reese adds this damning phrase: 'Bush has the most
dangerously simplistic view of the world of any president in my memory.'"
Bonus item: Al Gore has become a fiery populist oppositionist.
NOTE: We'd like to continue highlighting good news in this space. So please click
here to nominate your
favorite piece of political good news. We'll be publishing reader responses in the
weeks ahead.
Copyright © 2004 The Nation
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