We’re at a ‘Which Side Are You On?’ Moment

We’re at a ‘Which Side Are You On?’ Moment

We’re at a ‘Which Side Are You On?’ Moment

Randi Weingarten on unions and politics, Mark Hertsgaard on climate, and David Cole on Kavanaugh.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

In Oklahoma and West Virgina and Missouri, teachers have led amazingly successful battles against Republican budget cutting and tax breaks for the wealthy. Although the Supreme Court’s Janus decision sought to cripple the ability of public-sector unions to engage in politics, recent polls show that unions are more popular than ever. Randi Weingarten comments on the big picture of unions and politics—she’s president of the American Federation of Teachers, with 1.7 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide.

Also, at the California Global Climate Action Summit, in San Francisco next week, all the world’s major nations will be represented, except for our own government. Mark Hertsgaard reports on how California, under Governor Jerry Brown, has taken the lead in fighting climate change—and how climate activists have organized at the upcoming summit to demand that the governor end oil and gas drilling and phase out oil and gas production. Mark wrote the cover story for The Nation’s special issue on climate politics.

Plus: Some questions for Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, from David Cole. The legal director of the ACLU and legal-affairs correspondent for The Nation says some questions—about current cases—are inappropriate for Democrats to ask in the upcoming confirmation hearings; but there are others—on Kavanaugh’s legal philosophy, and on his past statements and decisions—that he should be required to answer.

 

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x