Don’t Count Out Ben Jealous and His Progressive Message for Maryland

Don’t Count Out Ben Jealous and His Progressive Message for Maryland

Don’t Count Out Ben Jealous and His Progressive Message for Maryland

A massive mobilization of an anti-Trump, heavily female, and African American base in a very blue state could lead to a November surprise.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

When much of America was watching Brett M. Kavanaugh’s interview on Fox News on September 24, there was another important broadcast being aired: the Maryland gubernatorial debate, in which Democratic nominee Ben Jealous faced off with incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan.

Ahead of the debate, polls showed Hogan with 64 percent job approval and a 22-point lead in the race. This debate, the only one scheduled when Jealous had requested as many as five, was an opportunity for him to share his story and vision, tying both to the state’s future. At the same time, he had to try to reveal the sheep’s clothing on the wolf who is Hogan.

Hogan has been defined by the mainstream media as a moderate. The Washington Post, for instance, has claimed that Hogan has “governed as a moderate,” and ran a headline that called him “radically normal.”

Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

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