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Bernie Sanders Wins Landslides in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii; Corporate Media Downplays Them
On Saturday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won landslide victories in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, chipping away at front-runner Hillary Clinton’s lead in the race to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the White House. Sanders won at least 71 percent of the vote in each state, including 82 percent in Alaska. "The reason we are doing well is because we are talking about the real issues facing America and we’re telling the truth," said Sanders in a victory speech in Wisconsin. While Saturday may have been the biggest day of the Sanders campaign, the corporate media largely downplayed his victories. We air part of his victory speech.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: On Saturday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won landslide victories in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, chipping away at front-runner Hillary Clinton’s lead in the race to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the White House. Sanders won at least 71 percent of the vote in each state, including 82 percent in Alaska. Sanders gave a victory speech in Madison, Wisconsin, ahead of Wisconsin’s primary on April 5th.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Let me—let me begin by thanking the people of Alaska for giving us a resounding victory tonight. ... I believe that our campaign is the campaign of energy, of momentum, which will lead to a large voter turnout in November and victory. ... All right, are you ready for a news alert? We just won the state of Washington!
AMY GOODMAN: With the three-state sweep, Bernie Sanders was able to chip away at Hillary Clinton’s delegate advantage, but Sanders will still need to pull off big upsets in Wisconsin, New York and California to catch up with Clinton in terms of pledged delegates. On Sunday, Sanders appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press and said this weekend’s big victories in the West have generated momentum for his movement.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: I think we can win the pledged delegates. And I think if we continue the momentum we have right now, we will. And the reason is, I’ll tell you, the issues that we are talking about: a corrupt campaign finance system, the disappearance of the American middle class, the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality, the need to deal boldly with climate change, kids graduating college $50,000 in debt. Chuck, those are the issues that the American people want to hear discussed and want to see acted upon.
AMY GOODMAN: While Saturday may have been the biggest day of the Sanders campaign, the corporate media largely downplayed his victories. We’ll begin today’s show with part of Sanders’ victory speech in Madison, Wisconsin.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: We are doing something very unusual in American politics. And I know my Republican candidates think that what elections are about are attacking each other’s wives or behaving like they were 10-year-olds in a food fight in a cafeteria. And these Republicans, let me tell you, are not just an embarrassment for the American people, they are an embarrassment for sane Republicans. You know, in a democracy, people can differ with each other. We all have friends who differ with us. But the conduct of this Republican process is literally beyond belief. Can you imagine, with all of the crises that this country faces—a disappearing middle class, income and wealth inequality, all of the other problems—what they are spending their time on are attacking each other’s wives? How crazy is that? But the reason we are doing well is because we are talking about the real issues facing America and we’re telling the truth.
And here is the truth. The truth is that no president, not Bernie Sanders or anybody else, can do it alone. We need a political revolution. We need millions of Americans to begin to stand up and fight back and demand a government that represents all of us. Whether you are a conservative Republican or a progressive, nobody believes that we should have a campaign finance system which allows billionaires to buy elections. Democracy means one person, one vote. And whether Governor Scott Walker likes it or not, that is—that is exactly what we are going to bring to every state in this country, including Wisconsin. And I say to Governor Walker and all of the other cowardly Republican governors, if you cannot win or participate in a free and fair election where everybody votes, get out of politics, get a new job!
CROWD: Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: At a time—at a time when this country has one of the lowest voter turnouts of any major country on Earth, the idea that Governor Walker or any other governor would make it harder for people to participate in the political process is beyond comprehension. Together, not only are we going to overturn this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, but we are going to create a situation where everyone in this country 18 years of age or older who is a citizen will have the right to vote, Scott Walker notwithstanding.
When we have, nationally, a situation where the Koch brothers and a handful of other billionaires are—oh, and I forgot the Koch—I hope I didn’t offend the governor. I understand—I understand that he and the Koch brothers are good pals. I didn’t mean to—but when you have the Koch brothers and a handful of billionaires prepared to spend $900 million in this election cycle, that, my friends, is not democracy. That is oligarchy. And we will change that.
I know that our Republican friends and elected officials tremble at the idea of large numbers of Americans participating in the political process. I’ve got bad news for them: That is exactly what is going to happen in this country.
AMY GOODMAN: Bernie Sanders, giving a victory speech in Madison, Wisconsin, after his landslide this weekend, the corporate media hardly paying it any attention, winning all three caucuses, in Alaska, in—as well, in Hawaii and in Washington state. We’ll have more on his campaign in a moment, but when we come back from break, in Women’s History Month, we’ll be speaking with Angela Davis about the race and much more. Stay with us. ... Read More →
Angela Davis on Not Endorsing Any Presidential Candidate: "I Think We Need a New Party"
In a Women’s History Month special, we speak with author, activist and scholar Angela Davis. For more than four decades, Davis has been one of most influential activists and intellectuals in the United States. An icon of the 1970s black liberation movement, Davis’ work around issues of gender, race, class and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations. She is a leading advocate for prison abolition, a position informed by her own experience as a fugitive on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list more than 40 years ago. Davis talks about the "fascist appeal" of Donald Trump and explains why she is not officially endorsing any candidate in this election. "I believe in independent politics," she says. "I still think that we need a new party, a party that is grounded in labor, a party that can speak to all of the issues around racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, what is happening in the world. We don’t yet have that party."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: In this Women’s History Month special, we turn to the author, the activist, the scholar Angela Davis. For more than four decades, she’s been one of the most influential activists and intellectuals in the United States. An icon of the '70s black liberation movement, Angela Davis's work centers around issues of gender, race, class and prisons, and has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations. She’s a leading advocate for prison abolition, a position informed by her own experience as a fugitive on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list more than 40 years ago.
In 1944, Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama. The city would become known as "Bombingham" as a result of so many Ku Klux Klan bombings. In 1963, the Klan blew up the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four girls and injuring 22 others.
I spoke to Angela Davis this month just after Donald Trump initially waffled over his refusal to condemn an endorsement by David Duke, the prominent white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader.
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, it didn’t really surprise me. We’ve seen the development of a kind of a fascist appeal over the time that Donald Trump has been attempting to achieve the Republican nomination. But I can say that it would have been extremely difficult to imagine someone like this having a legitimate claim to the Republican nomination even at the time that—when we thought that it was—it was totally amazing that George W. Bush might eventually become the president of the U.S. But I think this is an indication of the extent to which conservatives and the Republican Party have been creating this base that can, indeed, serve as support for someone like Donald Trump.
AMY GOODMAN: And what the Ku Klux Klan means? It’s hard to ask that question, because you think everybody knows, but I think it’s very important to talk about their historical significance and the violence that they wrought.
ANGELA DAVIS: And, of course, we’re still today witnessing the legacy of the Ku Klux Klan today, which isn’t to say that the Ku Klux Klan has been put to rest. That organization still exists. But the Ku Klux Klan, of course, evokes the racist, terrorist, violent history of—associated with the era following slavery up to the present. It doesn’t seem to me to be a question whether one would disavow the Ku Klux Klan. But, of course, the extent to which Donald Trump was beating around the bush, seemingly in an effort not to alienate those who might support the Klan today, is an indication that he is helping—
AMY GOODMAN: And it was right before Super Tuesday, which had a number of Southern states. And when he came out in the debate to say he was disavowing, that was after Super Tuesday.
ANGELA DAVIS: And it’s interesting, of course, that he won precisely those states below the Mason-Dixon Line that historically have been associated with that kind of violent racism.
AMY GOODMAN: So let’s go from the Republicans to the Democrats. During a recent private Hillary Clinton fundraiser in Charleston, South Carolina, right before the South Carolina primary, a Black Lives Matter activist named Ashley Williams held up a banner reading, quote, "We have to bring them to heel," which was a reference to controversial statements Hillary Clinton made in 1996 about some youth whom she called, quote, "superpredators." Williams then confronted Clinton, saying, quote, "I am not a superpredator."
ASHLEY WILLIAMS: I’m not a superpredator, Hillary Clinton.
HILLARY CLINTON: OK, fine. We’ll talk about it.
ASHLEY WILLIAMS: Can you apologize to black people for mass incarceration?
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, can I talk? OK, and then maybe you can listen to what I say.
ASHLEY WILLIAMS: Yes, yes, absolutely.
HILLARY CLINTON: OK, fine. Thank you very much. There’s a lot of issues, a lot of issues in this campaign. [...]
ASHLEY WILLIAMS: I know that you called black youth superpredators in 1994. Please explain your record. Explain it to us. You owe black people an apology.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, I’ll tell you what, if you will give me a chance to talk, I’ll—I’ll tell you something. You know what? Nobody’s ever asked me before. You’re the first person to ask me, and I’m happy to address it, but you are the first person to ask me, dear. Um, OK, back to the issues.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Hillary Clinton saying, "You were the first person to ask me about this," speaking to Black Lives Matter activist Ashley Williams, who confronted Clinton at a private fundraiser. So Ashley was then escorted away. Williams says a friend contributed $500 so she could attend the private event. The protest was in response to these controversial comments Hillary Clinton made while speaking at Keene College in New Hampshire in 1996.
HILLARY CLINTON: They are often the kinds of kids that are called superpredators—no conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s what she said in 1996. On Super Tuesday, Hillary Clinton was confronted by a young Somali-American woman during a campaign stop at a coffee shop in Minneapolis who asked Clinton about her superpredator comments. The quiet back-and-forth ended with Clinton growing frustrated and telling the young woman, quote, "Well, why don’t you go run for something then?" Angela Davis, if you could respond? There’s so many different things.
ANGELA DAVIS: I think it’s really wonderful that Black Lives Matter activists are participating in this electoral period in this way, forcing candidates to speak on issues about which they might not speak. And, of course, Hillary Clinton should have said, "Well, I was wrong to use the term 'superpredators.' What I know now, I didn’t necessarily know then." There are many ways in which she could have disavowed it. And we know, of course, that the Clinton administration was responsible, at least in part, in large part, for the buildup of what is now called mass incarceration with the passage of the 1994 crime bill. It seems to me that if she’s interested in the votes of not only African Americans and people of color, but of all people who are progressive and attempting to speak out against the racism of overincarceration, she would simply say, "I was wrong then," that "superpredator" is a racially coded term. It’s so interesting that she is—she tends to rely on a kind of universalism that prevents her from acknowledging the extent to which racism is so much a force and an influence in this country.
AMY GOODMAN: And yet, in primary after caucus after primary, when there’s a large African-American population, she wins that vote over Bernie Sanders.
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, of course, if we look at the historical situation, we know that her husband, Bill Clinton, was extremely popular in black communities all over the country and one of the most popular presidents in the—before Obama, perhaps the most popular president in the history of the country, except perhaps Abraham Lincoln.
AMY GOODMAN: What did Toni Morrison call him? Our first black president?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, but she did not exactly say that. What she was referring to was the fact that he did acknowledge black culture in ways that other presidents had not. And in a sense, you can say that there was a conscious appeal to black communities in ways that—I think, that his wife, Hillary Clinton, is not capable of developing. But yeah, I think we find ourselves in a very difficult situation, with Bernie Sanders being the alternative and, of course, Bernie Sanders as—declaring himself a socialist and raising a whole number of absolutely important issues and putting pressure on her. And that’s good. But I think, on the one hand, you have a candidate who is so reluctant to address racism, at one point she said, in response to the slogan "black lives matter," "all lives matter." But, of course, if all lives did matter, then we would not have to say that black lives matter. And on the other hand, you have Bernie Sanders, who engages in a kind of economic reductionism that prevents him from speaking—from developing a vocabulary that allows him to speak in ways that enlighten us about the persistence of racism, racist violence, state violence.
AMY GOODMAN: What would you say Bernie Sanders should say that would satisfy you in how he understood the issue of racial and economic oppression?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, I would think that he might recognize the extent to which capitalism is racial capitalism, as Cedric Robinson pointed out. Capitalism was built on slavery. And throughout the history of capitalism, we see the extent to which racism is intertwined with economic oppression. It seems that he does not have the vocabulary that allows him to acknowledge the role and the influence that racism has played historically. He thinks that economic justice will automatically lead us to racial justice.
AMY GOODMAN: Who are you endorsing?
ANGELA DAVIS: Endorsing? I don’t endorse. But let me say that, well, to be frank, I’ve actually never voted for one of the two-party—two major parties in a presidential election before Barack Obama. I believe in independent politics. I still think that we need a new party, a party that is grounded in labor, a party that can speak to all of the issues around racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, what is happening in the world. We don’t yet have that party. And even as we participate in this electoral process, as it exists today, I think we need to be looking ahead toward a very different kind of political process. At the same time, we put pressure on whoever is running. So I’m actually more interested in helping to develop mass movements that can create the kind of pressure that will force whoever is elected or whoever becomes the candidate to move in more progressive directions. ... Read More →
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Angela Davis on Ferguson, Palestine & the Foundations of a Movement
In a Women’s History Month special, we speak with author, activist and scholar Angela Davis, professor emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her latest book is titled "Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement," a collection of essays, interviews and speeches that highlight the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world. "There are moments when things come together in such a way that new possibilities arrive," Davis says. "When the Ferguson protesters refused to go home after protesting for two or three days, when they insisted on continuing that protest, and when Palestinian activists in Palestine were the first to actually tweet solidarity and support for them, that opened up a whole new realm."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about your new book, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. Talk about this coming together of movements.
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, oftentimes there are historical conjunctures that one cannot necessarily predict, but they’re moments when things come together in such a way that new possibilities arrive. And I think that when the Ferguson protesters refused to go home after protesting for two or three days, when they insisted on continuing that protest, and when they were—when Palestine activists, Palestinian activists in Palestine, were the first to actually tweet solidarity and support for them, that opened up a whole new realm. I don’t know whether many people are aware of the extent to which Palestinian-American activists were involved, from the very outset, in the protest against the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson. But it has been absolutely inspiring to watch the development of young activists. And I have to catch myself when I say the, you know, "youth movements" and "black youth movements." I have to catch myself and recognize that these are the movements of our time. They’re not youth movements per se, because youth have always led radical movements. But it’s very exciting to live during this era. And as I’ve pointed out many times, I think it must be extremely exciting to be young now. But it’s also exciting for those of us who are older to see this promise that has emerged in such powerful ways for the first time since perhaps the ’60s and the ’70s.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela, you talk about the—not so much the intersectionality of identities, but the intersectionality of struggles.
ANGELA DAVIS: And I think that is what is characteristic of the work that young organizers are doing. They recognize that it’s not possible to effectively create radical consciousness by focusing on a single issue. And whereas many of the movements that challenged police killings in the past focused almost in a myopic way on the prosecution of the individual perpetrator, now movements, these movements, are taking on larger questions, such as structural racism, institutional racism, state violence, the connection between terrorism and racism, the extent to which the counter—the so-called counterterrorist ideologies and approaches are transforming the way racism functions, transforming state violence. And so, it’s so exciting to see the facility with which young activists are able to engage with this intersectionality of struggles. It’s about racism, but it’s also about homophobia, and it’s about transphobia, and it’s about addressing ableism. It’s about creating a sense of international solidarity. And the extent to which Palestine has become central to efforts against racism in this country is an indication of how important international solidarity has become.
AMY GOODMAN: You write "On Palestine, G4S, and the Prison-Industrial Complex." Explain what G4S is.
ANGELA DAVIS: G4S is the third-largest private corporation in the world, third only to Wal-Mart and Foxconn. It’s a private security corporation. It engages in the ownership and operation of private prisons, private policing and many other activities related to policing and surveillance and imprisonment. It is, interestingly, the corporation that hires more people on the continent of Africa than any other corporation in the world. So, actually, looking at the work that this corporation does gives us a sense of the extent to which security, security as propounded by those who believe that security can only be achieved by violence, whether structural violence or actual violence, is—that is the position represented by this corporation. And, of course, it has played a major role in upholding the occupation in Palestine. And so, we can say, from Palestine to private prisons all over the world to deportation—this company also provides transportation for the deportation of Mexican immigrants. So, if one looks at that corporation, I think that all of the issues that we are addressing can be seen. In a sense, the private corporations recognize the intersectionality of issues and struggles, and we have to do that, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: You write at the beginning of this essay, which was really a speech that you gave, "As I reflect on the legacies of struggle we associate with Mandela, I cannot help but recall the struggles that helped to forge the victory of his freedom and thus the arena on which South African apartheid was dismantled," as you remembered Ruth First and Joe Slovo and Albertina Sisulu and Govan Mbeki and Oliver Tambo. I mean, what you bring to so much of this is in-depth look at what’s happening here, but globalizing it.
ANGELA DAVIS: And I think that we have to have a global perspective. We need—we used to call it internationalism. And I think we need to create a 21st century internationalism. None of the past struggles in this country, progressive struggles, took place in isolation from what was happening in the rest of this world. And certainly the Africa liberation movements helped to move struggles against racism in this country forward. And I think we need to begin to think in those terms. Palestine represents what, it seems to me, South Africa represented in the 1980s and up until the end of apartheid. So, you know, while we need to focus our attention on what’s happening in Latin America and Asia and Europe—of course, the immigration struggle there, the racism that is so attached to issues of the refugees in Europe—Palestine seems to me that pivot that allows us to enlarge and broaden and extend our consciousness.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela Davis, professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her latest book, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. When we come back, we’ll talk with Angela Davis about President Obama’s trip to Cuba and Assata Shakur. Stay with us.... Read More →
Hands Off Assata Shakur: Angela Davis Calls for Radical Activism to Protect Activist Exiled in Cuba
President Obama concluded his historic visit to Cuba last week as the first sitting U.S. president to visit the island in 88 years. During his trip, Obama met Cuban President Raúl Castro and delivered an address to the Cuban people, the first-ever live address by a sitting U.S. president to the people of Cuba. But one issue not raised during his visit was the fate of Assata Shakur, the legendary figure within the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army who now lives in Cuba, where she has political asylum. Shakur was convicted May 2, 1973, of killing of a New Jersey state trooper during a shootout that left one of her fellow activists dead. She was shot twice by police during the incident and has long proclaimed her innocence. We speak with author and activist Angela Davis, a longtime supporter of Shakur.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: "A Song for Assata" by Common. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. In this Women’s History Month special, we continue our conversation with Angela Davis. Last week, President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in 88 years. During his trip, Obama met with Cuban President Raúl Castro and delivered an address to the Cuban people, the first-ever live address by a sitting U.S. president to the people of Cuba. One issue that was not raised publicly during his visit was the fate of Assata Shakur, the legendary figure within the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army who now lives in Cuba, where she has political asylum.
Assata Shakur was convicted May 2nd, [ 1973 ], of killing a New Jersey state trooper during a shootout that left one of her fellow activists dead. She was shot twice by the police during the incident. In 1979, she managed to escape from jail and later fled to Cuba. She has long proclaimed her innocence. In 1998, Democracy Now! aired her reading an open letter to John Paul II, who was pope at the time, during his trip to Cuba. This is an excerpt.
ASSATA SHAKUR: In 1977 I was convicted in a trial that can only be described as a legal lynching. In 1979 I was able to escape with the aid of some of my fellow comrades. I saw this as a necessary step, not only because I was innocent of the charges against me, but because I knew that [in] the racist legal system in the United States I would receive no justice. I was also afraid that I would be murdered in prison. I later arrived in Cuba where I am currently living in exile as a political refugee.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Assata Shakur speaking in 1998 in an open letter to Pope John Paul. Our guest, Professor Angela Davis, has been a longtime supporter of Assata Shakur. I asked her about Assata’s case and the thawing of U.S.-Cuban relations.
ANGELA DAVIS: I’ve been involved in the campaign to save Assata’s life for all of those decades. And now, of course, as there are new openings with respect to Cuba, we welcome the end of the embargo, the blockade, but at the same time we have to be attentive to what this might mean for Assata, given that there is $2 million reward on her head, that she has been designated as one of 10 most dangerous terrorists in the country.
AMY GOODMAN: And a former Republican presidential candidate, Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, was really leading that charge.
ANGELA DAVIS: Absolutely, absolutely. So I think that now is the time to focus attention on Assata and to—I mean, it’s interesting. We were talking about popular culture today, and I understand there was an episode of the television program—
AMY GOODMAN: Madam Secretary.
ANGELA DAVIS: —Madam Secretary, in which an Assata-like character was approached by the secretary of state, and the secretary of state acknowledged that she had been wrongly convicted. And the issue is resolved by promising to provide the support of the State Department to Assata in a new trial in the U.S.
AMY GOODMAN: Right. And it was part of the process of normalization in Madam Secretary.
ANGELA DAVIS: Exactly.
AMY GOODMAN: Téa Leoni plays Madam Secretary, the secretary of state—
ANGELA DAVIS: Exactly.
AMY GOODMAN: —when she goes down to Cuba. And in that situation, they said that Assata Shakur’s case was instrumental to normalizing relations. And I want to go to a clip of that.
ELIZABETH McCORD: [played by Téa Leoni] There are people who want you to come back to the U.S. to serve your sentence. What if I could ensure that you would be at a minimum-security prison close to your daughter in Connecticut? You have a grandson you haven’t met. You would be eligible for parole in three years.
AFENI RAHIM: [played by L. Scott Caldwell] Wouldn’t that be convenient for you? I simply turn myself over to the feds, and you get whatever it is you want.
ELIZABETH McCORD: Under COINTELPRO, the FBI wiretapped your defense team, and they suppressed forensic evidence that made it clear you didn’t fire the murder weapon. Afeni, based on these findings, Attorney General Cronenberg is offering you a new trial. And we will make sure that these files are splashed across every newspaper in the country.
AMY GOODMAN: That is the CBS drama Madam Secretary doing their own kind of take on a kind of Assata Shakur, who ends up agreeing to come back to the United States, and the secretary of state saying she would get a fair trial and something to do with time served.
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, yeah, Assata has not seen her grandchildren. It’s horrendous, the extent to which the repression associated with the era of the late 1960s and 1970s continues to this day. And we might also mention the fact that vast numbers of people are still behind bars from that era, members of the Black Panther Party—Mondo we Langa, Ed Rice. My co-defendant, Ruchell Magee, has been in prison for over 50 years. So I think that when we put all of these things together, they create a kind of invitation for increased radical activism for trying to resolve these issues that have been decades in the making.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela Davis, professor emeritus at University of California, Santa Cruz. Her latest book is titled Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. ... Read More →
As Sanders Sweeps 3 States, Meet the Young Immigrant Activist Helping Him Mobilize Latinos
On Saturday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won landslide victories in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, chipping away at front-runner Hillary Clinton’s lead in the race to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the White House. Sanders won at least 71 percent of the vote in each state, including 82 percent in Alaska. Sanders will still need to pull off big upsets in Wisconsin, New York and California to catch up with Clinton in terms of pledged delegates. Clinton also maintains a huge lead among superdelegates, members of the Democratic Party establishment who could change their vote at any point. While Saturday may have been the biggest day of the Sanders campaign, the corporate media largely downplayed his victories. We speak with Erika Andiola, press secretary for Latino outreach for the Bernie Sanders campaign and a prominent immigrant rights activist.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn back right now to the race for the White House. Again, on Saturday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won overwhelming victories in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii, chipping away at front-runner Hillary Clinton’s lead in the race to win the Democratic Party nomination for the White House. Sanders won 73 percent of the vote in Washington, 71 percent in Hawaii, 82 percent in Alaska—all three caucuses. Clinton now has 1,243 pledged delegates to Sanders’ 975, so they’re about three—less than 300 delegates apart. In addition, Clinton’s secured support from an overwhelming number of unelected superdelegates made up from the party establishment, though they could change their allegiance at any point.
Joining us now is Erika Andiola, press secretary for Latino outreach for the Bernie Sanders campaign. She’s a prominent immigrant rights activist from Arizona, though she’s based here in New York through the election.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Thank you for having me.
AMY GOODMAN: We had a clip of you on our show in Colorado after Bernie Sanders’ win. Can you talk about the significance of this landslide this weekend? The corporate media hardly paid attention.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Of course.
AMY GOODMAN: But it was a sweep, a three-state sweep.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Mm-hmm.
AMY GOODMAN: And they were, all three, caucuses. Why does Bernie Sanders do so well in these caucus contests?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Of course. Well, see, Bernie, of course, we see in the media, when we had Arizona, when we had the previous elections, that we saw that, you know, there was already this narrative that Bernie was done—right?—that the campaign was over. Many in D.C. were asking him to drop out. Bernie has said, "We’re going to continue until June. We want to—we’re still going to fight for the nomination." And Washington was one of those key states that we wanted to see how we’re going to do there. And we thought we were going to do very well, and we absolutely did, not only in Washington, but we also did in Alaska and Hawaii, and, I think, gives us amazing momentum not only for our campaign, but for our supporters to continue and to push forward until the end.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, in Washington state, party officials estimated more than 200,000—
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Turnout was amazing.
AMY GOODMAN: —people participated, which was close to the record set in 2008.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Absolutely. The turnout was absolutely amazing. We were getting reports of, you know, people filling up the caucuses. And one of the things that is really, really amazing about our own supporters is that, you know, Bernie’s supporters are very, very pumped up. You know, they’re very excited about going out to caucus. And it’s a lot of young people, it’s a lot of new voters. And I think, for us, you know, that really gives us an advantage at caucuses, which—it helps. Right? It’s not only people going to cast their ballot; it’s people going in there to rally, to go in one side of your candidate and to really make a difference on how, you know, we can turn out that specific precinct.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the significance of what happened in your state of Arizona?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Mm-hmm.
AMY GOODMAN: You had people waiting on line for, say, five hours. Many people ended up leaving, older people, and it turning out—the massive cutback on polling places in—well, in the largest city, Phoenix, is in Maricopa County, 200 to—down to 60. They said they were saving money?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Mm-hmm. It was very unfortunate, I think, for us, I mean, not only as a campaign. I think—we don’t know what would have happened if it was different, right? But I think, for us, and Bernie said it, you know, it really is a form of voter suppression. It is a form of really, you know, disenfranchising so many voters that are so excited to go out. It was a high—a very, very high turnout, and we ended up seeing 2,000-people lines still around midnight.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go for a moment to Bernie Sanders talking about Arizona.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Of course.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: In the United States of America, democracy is the foundation of our way of life. People should not have to wait five hours to vote. And what happened yesterday in Arizona is a disgrace. I hope that every state in this country learns from that and learns how to put together a proper election, where people can come in and vote in a timely manner and then go back to work.
AMY GOODMAN: Erika Andiola, your response to what he said?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: No, it is definitely unfortunate, I think, for us. I mean, I’m from Arizona. I really—I really care about the fact that our people are excited about voting. And we do have a general election coming up. And we’re hoping, and we’re—you know, we’re putting out there this message that "Don’t be discouraged. I know you waited for five hours. But this is about fighting back and making sure that we do have voters who are there, who are able to do this faster, not five hours."
AMY GOODMAN: You’re a well-known immigrant rights activist, not just in Arizona, but all over the country. You were undocumented. Your house—you and your mom—was raided. Your mother and your brother were both taken by ICE?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: That’s right.
AMY GOODMAN: And you had to fight to have them released?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: That’s correct.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about that happening in 2013 and how you ended up working for Bernie Sanders.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Yeah, I mean, it was definitely an eye-opener for me. It was—I’ve been organizing immigrant rights, you know, immigrant rights community for a while now, for a couple of years. But I think that year, it was definitely—you know, it came home, right? ICE came to my own home. And I really realized that, you know, it is definitely—I have DACA now, but my family is still vulnerable, and millions of families across the country are still vulnerable. And I think, for us, is—you know, how can we make sure that we keep families together? And I think one of the amazing parts about working for Bernie was how open he was to see two DREAMers—that’s me and another, César Vargas, who’s from here, from New York—who he was open to bring us and asked us, "How do we make a good platform? How do we make sure that our immigration platform is a correct one to keep families together?" And we have the best platform right now to make sure that we do that.
AMY GOODMAN: Earlier this month, we spoke to Dolores Huerta, the civil rights activist, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America. She has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, criticized Bernie Sanders’ record on immigration reform.
DOLORES HUERTA: In terms of the Latino community, we are completely in support of Hillary, simply because Bernie just hasn’t been there for the Latino community. You know, he had a really good opportunity in 2007, when Senator Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Senator Durbin from Illinois—when they proposed a good immigration reform bill. And we had all of the momentum behind us at that time, because we had had all of these marches all over the country for immigration reform. And Bernie, unfortunately, came out against that bill.
AMY GOODMAN: Dolores Huerta. Can you respond to this, Erika Andiola?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Absolutely. It’s unfortunate that they don’t put this—the entire story out there. And the fact is that this 2007 bill was one of the bills that, you know, yes, a lot of people worked very hard for, but at the end of the day they did put an amendment there that literally allowed for workers, migrant workers, to be able to be exploited. And one of the things that Bernie has fought for, for so many years, is making sure that workers, whether migrant, whether undocumented or documented, are treated the way they’re supposed to be treated, in the right, you know, human—as humans, we have the right to make sure that we are paid the fair wages, that we’re not under slavery conditions. And he said, "If this happens, I’m not going to vote for something like that." He was backed up by LULAC, by, you know, many organizations who do support migrant rights, workers.
And for us, that’s exactly a reason why, because in 2013 he came back again, the bill was much better, he voted for it. And not only that, he has called many, many times to make sure that families continue to be together. I guess that our plan is making sure that when he gets elected, not only do we pass—continue to push for immigration reform, but that he stops deportations right away, that he stops the raids. And he has asked President Obama over and over again, "Please stop the raids." You know, don’t do what basically was done in my own home, which is just not right, and we need to stop that.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you’re here in New York. You have flown in. The next major races are Wisconsin, California and New York, here, on April 19th. What are your plans? These are absolutely key for Bernie Sanders’ success.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: You know, for us, it’s continuing to excite the community to go out and vote. And here in New York and also in Wisconsin—Wisconsin is going to be a very, very key state for us. And one of the things that we do know is that it is an open primary. It is a state where we—you know, people can actually register on the spot, so they can go and register to vote there. And for us, turnout is very important. We know that when there is a high turnout, there is a big possibility of us winning the state. And so we are making sure that we’re mobilizing. We have thousands of volunteers across the state. We also have thousands of volunteers across the country who are calling in to different states that are key for us. And that has definitely been, you know, what has pushed Bernie Sanders forward until June. And, you know, we’re going to—we’re not going to stop. It doesn’t matter what pundits, it doesn’t matter what, you know, the establishment tell us. We’re going to continue until we win.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you say when people say, well, he won in white states, like, for example, they say Washington state?
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Right. Well, look, in Washington, we were—we went into Yakima, is one of the—about 45 percent to 50 percent of the community there is Latino—very diverse county. Bernie had a rally there. We had 7,000 people turn out. We ended up winning the county by 75 percent or 76 percent. It was amazing turnout. It was also great support that we had. And it’s a very diverse community. And so, you know, it’s unfortunate that there is this narrative now out there. You know, first Alaska was the most diverse state; now it’s not the most diverse state. You know, the reality is that Latinos—
AMY GOODMAN: We have to leave it there.
ERIKA ANDIOLA: Of course.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you for being with us, Erika Andiola. ... Read More →
Headlines:Pakistan: Attack on Park Kills At Least 70, Many of Them ChildrenIn Pakistan, a Taliban splinter group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a crowded amusement park in Lahore that killed at least 70 people, many of them children, and wounded at least 300. The attack in Pakistan’s second largest city came as members of the minority Christian community gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday. A spokesperson for the attackers said they targeted Christians, but most of those killed were actually Muslim. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to ramp up efforts to "wipe [terrorists] from this country." The Pakistani army has arrested a number of people in multiple raids.
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Pakistan
Iraq: Bombing at Soccer Stadium Kills At Least 41
In Iraq, a suicide bombing at a soccer stadium near Baghdad killed at least 41 people and injured 105. ISIS took responsibility for the attack, which came as a local mayor handed out trophies to players after a tournament; the mayor is reportedly among the dead. Many of those killed were young boys between the ages of 10 and 16.
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Iraq
Islamic State
Syrian Forces Retake Ancient City of Palmyra from ISIS
Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian airstrikes have reportedly retaken the ancient city of Palmyra, dealing a major blowing to ISIS forces that seized the city last year and blew up its temples. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the news.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "We are encouraged and fortunate that Syrian government forces have been able to retrieve—or defeat ISIS from Palmyra and is now able to preserve and protect these human common asset—cultural asset. And I’m also encouraged by the announcement that they (Syria’s government) will try to not only preserve and protect, they will try to restore."
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Syria
Islamic State
Pentagon: U.S. Special Forces Killed Top ISIS Commander in Syria
The Pentagon says U.S. special operations forces in eastern Syria have killed a topISIS commander. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter described the commander, known as Hajji Imam, as ISIS’s top financier, but released few details about his killing. The New York Times, citing an unnamed official, said U.S. forces were following the commander’s vehicle in helicopters, planning to capture him, but changed their plan for unknown reasons and killed him instead.
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Syria
Islamic State
Brussels Attacks: Far-Right Protesters Storm Memorial; Arrests Made in 4 Countries
In Brussels, Belgium, police fired water cannons at far-right demonstrators who stormed a memorial for victims of last week’s deadly attacks, chanting nationalist slogans and making Nazi salutes. The tensions came as Belgian authorities carried out new raids Sunday following Tuesday’s attacks on the Brussels Airport and subway that killed at least 31 people, including four Americans. Three men arrested in the raids have been charged with terrorism-related offenses after a number were charged over the weekend, including Faisal Cheffou, who unconfirmed reports say is suspected of being the third man shown in footage from the Brussels Airport, next to two men who blew themselves up. Over the weekend, authorities in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands also arrested suspects in the attacks in Brussels and the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.
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Islamic State
Yemen: Tens of Thousands Protest U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Offensive on 1st Anniversary
In Yemen, tens of thousands took to the streets to protest the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led offensive against Houthi rebels on the first anniversary of the campaign. The protests were said to be the largest in Yemen since the 2011 demonstrations forced the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led intervention began last March, more than 6,200 people have been killed in Yemen, about half of them civilians.
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Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Yemen: U.S. Airstrikes Kill 14 Accused al-Qaeda Militants
Meanwhile, the U.S. launched air attacks on al-Qaeda in southern Yemen, killing 14 people described by local sources as suspected militants.
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Yemen
Sanders Sweeps Alaska, Hawaii and Washington in Landslide Victories
Back in the United States, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won overwhelming victories in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii Saturday, chipping away at front-runner Hillary Clinton’s lead in the race to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the White House. Sanders won 73 percent of the vote in Washington, 71 percent in Hawaii and 82 percent in Alaska. He spoke in Madison, Wisconsin.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "Let me begin by thanking the people of Alaska for giving us a resounding victory tonight. ... I believe that our campaign is the campaign of energy, of momentum, which will lead to a large voter turnout in November and victory. ... All right, are you ready for a news alert? We just won the state of Washington!"
We’ll have more on Sanders’ victories after headlines.
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Bernie Sanders
Hillary Clinton
Cruz Accuses Trump's "Henchmen" of Fabricating Tabloid Story on His "Affairs"
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Texas Senator Ted Cruz has accused Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and his "henchmen" of fabricating a story in the National Enquirer tabloid that claimed Cruz had a series of extramarital affairs. Cruz singled out Trump’s friend and former adviser Roger Stone, the only person quoted by name in the National Enquirer story.
Sen. Ted Cruz: "And I would note that Mr. Stone is a man who has 50 years of dirty tricks behind him. He’s a man for whom a term was coined for copulating with a rodent. Well, let me be clear: Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him. And this garbage does not belong in politics."
The accusations came after Trump and Cruz hurled barbs over each other’s wives. The spat began when an anti-Trump super PAC ran an ad featuring a photo of Melania Trump during a nude photo shoot with the text "Meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz." Trump fired back on Twitter threatening to "spill the beans" on Cruz’s wife and retweeting a photo of Melania next to an unflattering picture of Heidi Cruz. Cruz called Trump a "sniveling coward."
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Donald Trump
Republican Party
Mexico: Easter Revelers Burn Effigies of Donald Trump
In Mexico, people burned effigies of Donald Trump as part of an Easter ritual. Hundreds gathered in Mexico City to cheer on the incineration, which comes as part of a Holy Week tradition where effigies are burned representing Judas, who, according to the Bible, betrayed Jesus Christ. Artist Leonardo Felipe Linares, who made the Trump effigy, explained its significance.
Leonardo Felipe Linares: "If we talk strictly about Holy Week and the burning of Judas, we’re burning the traitor, Judas, the traitor. And Donald Trump is practically the same, right? A traitor, who knows very well that the working force of the United States is the Latino people. And that’s why he is burned, as well."
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Mexico
Donald Trump
Vermont: Brick Thrown Through Window of Activist Building with "Black Lives Matter" Sign
In what activists say is a growing trend of racist hate fueled by the 2016 presidential campaign, unknown attackers in Burlington, Vermont, threw a brick through a window of a community center with a "Black Lives Matter" sign displayed in the window. The building houses organizations that work for migrant and workers’ rights. Racial justice organizer Senowa Mize-Fox condemned the attack late last week.
Senowa Mize-Fox: "It’s sad to me that I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not surprised that these acts of hate continue to happen, that racially motivated attacks, in a community that prides itself on being progressive and liberal, continue to happen."
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Vermont
Black Lives Matter
Florida, Indiana Governors Sign Sweeping Anti-Choice Bills
Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed a sweeping anti-choice bill that, among other measures, prohibits Medicaid and other public funds from going to clinics that also perform abortions. Planned Parenthood has warned the bill could end birth control, cancer screenings and other services for thousands of low-income Floridians. Nearly half of states have attempted to cut money for Planned Parenthood since last summer, when an anti-choice group released deceptively edited videos to falsely accuse Planned Parenthood of profiting off fetal tissue. The new Florida law also requires abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital or clinics to have a transfer agreement there. Governor Scott signed it the same day a federal judge struck down an admitting privileges law in Alabama, saying it would have a "enormous" impact, closing the only clinics in Alabama’s three largest cities. Meanwhile, a day earlier, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a measure that, beyond requiring admitting privileges for abortion providers, also mandates burial or cremation for fetuses and makes Indiana the second state to ban abortions due to fetal disability.
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Abortion
Florida
Indiana
California Lawmakers Reach Deal to Raise Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour by 2022
In California, lawmakers have reached a tentative deal to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022. The hike would come gradually over the next six years, beginning with an increase to $10.50 next year. If approved, it would make California the first state to adopt a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
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California
Honduras: Suspect Arrested in Killing of COPINH Activist Nelson García
And Honduran authorities say they have arrested a suspect in the killing of Nelson García, an activist and colleague of assassinated environmentalist Berta Cáceres. Earlier this month, less than two weeks after Cáceres was gunned down at her home, García was shot to death after returning home from helping indigenous people displaced in a mass eviction by Honduran security forces. He was a member ofCOPINH, the indigenous organization co-founded by Berta Cáceres. The suspect in García’s murder has been identified as Didier Enrique "Electric" Ramírez.
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Honduras
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