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.
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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.
