|
Progressive state Representative Angie Nixon pulled off a stunning victory in Florida last week, defeating the establishment-backed centrist candidate Alexander Vindman to win the state's Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Vindman, a former Army intelligence officer who testified during Trump's first impeachment trial, raised more than 16 times as much campaign money as Nixon. In November, Nixon will face incumbent Republican Senator Ashley Moody, who was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to fill the seat of Marco Rubio when he resigned to serve as secretary of state. If elected, Nixon, who joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June, would become the only member of the DSA in the Senate.
"I know what it's like to struggle. I don't want anyone to have to struggle the way in which I did," says Nixon, whose campaign has focused on expanding healthcare, childcare and education, as well as tackling the affordability crisis.
|
|
From South Dakota to Alaska, independents are challenging incumbent Republicans and eschewing a Democratic label that Western voters find toxic.
|
|
Progressive California state lawmaker Aisha Wahab made history last week in a special election that will make her the first Afghan American in Congress. Wahab overcame a flood of attack ads from pro-Israel groups to beat her Democratic rival, Melissa Hernandez, in a race to replace disgraced Congressmember Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Wahab tells Democracy Now! she appreciates voters in her district for "seeing through" the "lies that were spread by AIPAC," referring to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She also discusses her history of fighting caste discrimination in California and calls on the United States to engage with the Taliban government of Afghanistan as part of an effort of "steering them in the right direction" on human rights.
|
|
The U.S.-Canada trade war is deepening after talks collapsed without a deal on Friday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the Trump administration of issuing demands that would compromise Canada's sovereignty and undermine key industries. On Saturday, the United States slapped 50% tariffs on around $20 billion worth of imports from Canada, and Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion of U.S. products set to go into effect on September 8.
"Canadians are sick of this," says Avi Lewis, leader of Canada's progressive New Democratic Party. He says that while the Liberal government has correctly identified voters' anger, its policies still favor international investors and the fossil fuel industry rather than truly "Trump-proofing" the economy.
We also speak with trade expert Lori Wallach, who says the U.S.-Canada trade war is pitting Trump's vision of "oligarchic trade grift" against a dead neoliberal consensus represented by Carney. The two countries have balanced trade, and Wallach says the United States is being far more lenient with China despite Beijing's much more serious threat to the U.S. and wider global economy through its "beggar-thy-neighbor" policies.
|
|
