Well, a lot can change in a week or so. With Vice President Kamala Harris now standing in as the presumptive Democratic nominee, we’ll have an opportunity to look more deeply at how her candidacy might change not only the presidential race, but the policies at stake in it.
This week in OtherWords, Paul Armentano charts Harris’s evolution on marijuana, from an opponent of legalization as a city district attorney to a strong supporter as U.S. senator. In Harris, Paul notes, Americans now have their first major party presidential candidate who’s expressed support for legalizing and regulating the plant. Will other politicians catch up?
Meanwhile, Dedrick Asante-Muhammad shares some new findings on the lack of diversity among the Senate staff who do some of the most important, but often unseen, work in the country. Noting that the Senate was the national launching pad for both Harris and former President Barack Obama, Dedrick says inclusiveness among Senate staff is just as important as among members.
Also this week, LeeAnn Hall takes stock of some of the summer’s climate disasters and argues that public transit could rapidly cut climate-changing emissions — and benefit our communities in far more direct ways besides. And Rakeen Mabud foreshadows the giant tax fight awaiting the next president in 2025. It’s an opportunity, she says, to crack down on corporate price gounging, fund investments for working people, and help Americans get some of their hard-earned money back.
New This Week…
Our Tax Code Rewards Corporate Price Gouging. Next Year, We Can Change That. | Rakeen Mabud
The Trump tax cuts set off a wave of corporate profiteering that never “trickled down” to the rest of us. Soon we’ll get a chance to fix that.
The First Major Presidential Candidate to Support Marijuana Legalization | Paul Armentano
Like most Americans, Kamala Harris has evolved on marijuana.
Public Transit, Our Bulwark Against the Climate Crisis | LeeAnn Hall
This summer, climate disasters are all around us. With bold investments in transit, we can rapidly cut emissions — and make life better for all of us.
Senate Pathways to Power: We Need Leaders Who Look Like America | Dedrick Asante-Muhammad
Americans of color, particularly Black and Latino Americans, are badly underrepresented in Senate staffing roles. We need to fix that.
Cartoon: Kamala Vs. The Dragon | Khalil Bendib
Can Kamala Harris slay Project 2025?
In Case You Missed It…
The U.S. Must Stop Arming Israel | Farrah Hassen
Congress should listen to the American people, not an Israeli prime minister who may be guilty of war crimes.
AI Probably Won’t Take Your Job, But Might Make It Worse | A.J. Schumann and Omar Ocampo
AI hasn’t shown that it can replace many workers — only that it can spy on them. Fortunately, workers are fighting back.
Semiconductor Jobs Are Coming. Here’s How to Make Them Good. | Sarah Anderson and Natalia Renta
We need stronger guardrails to make sure companies don’t blow our tax dollars on stock buybacks and sky-high CEO pay.
Project 2025’s Plan to Gut Medicare and Medicaid | Sonali Kolhatkar
Conservatives are planning to slash the health care plans that millions of low-income and senior Americans rely on.
