Ep. 211: Racism is a Weapon of the Rich That's Being Used Against All of Us

Ian Haney Lopez is The Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at the University of California, Berkeley and author many articles and numerous books including White by Law and his most recent Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class. Lopez is also a Senior Fellow at Demos in addition to being the Director of The Haas Institute's Racial Politics project. 

Professor Lopez and Chauncey discuss how racial demagoguery dominates the Republican Party, the many ways that racism hurts white folks, and ways that the very rich and other plutocrats use racism as a tool to divide and distract so that they can steal from the American people. Professor Lopez also shares a new way of thinking about the relationship between race and class in America--one which he thinks can help create a better and more healthy democracy...and yes, help the Democrats defeat the Republican Party and Donald Trump.

The second guest on this week's episode is James Stern. He is the producer of the new film Old Man and the Gun which stars Sissy Spacek and Robert Redford. Stern is also the producer and director of the new documentary American Chaos where he traveled throughout Trumplandia talking to the Great Leader's political cult members. Stern shares his thoughts on why Trump's supporters are so devoted to him, the strategic errors that the Democrats keep making, and how apathy and disgust with American democracy is the long-term threat posed by Trumpism.

During this week's podcast Chauncey urges caution about the so-called "blue wave" that many Democrats are expecting in tomorrow's midterm elections. Chauncey is also very concerned that through trickery and other means that the Republicans may actually end up winning many more contests during the midterms than most observers expect and how that will leave the Democrats even more disheartened and discombobulated. And to find some perspective Chauncey shares the wisdom of Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his much overlooked speech he delivered at the "Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom" on May 17, 1957.

SELECTED LINKS OF INTEREST FOR THIS EPISODE OF THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW  

• Martin Luther King’s Call to ‘Give Us the Ballot’ Is As Relevant Today As It Was in 1957
• Michael Moore Slams Nancy Pelosi for "Predicting" Democrats will Win Midterm Elections
• The answer to GOP dog whistles? Democrats should talk more about race, not less
• Democrats hold 7 point advantage ahead of midterms as Trump's base comes back home: NBC-WSJ poll
• Kemp's office launches probe of Georgia Democratic Party ahead of historic election
• Number of Georgia Voters Purged by Brian Kemp Continues to Climb
• Democracy Now: Palast Sues Georgia’s Brian Kemp for Purging 340,000 Voters

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS WEEK'S SHOW YOU MAY LIKE THESE EPISODES OF THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW AS WELL 

Ep. 188: Timothy Snyder on How Donald Trump is Hurting White People in Order to Stay in Power

Ep. 180: The Racial Wealth Gap is a Threat to American Prosperity

Ep. 174: Yascha Mounk on the Rise of Trump and the Decline of Western Democracies

Ep. 171: Carol Anderson Explains White Rage and the Rise of Donald Trump

Ep. 132: Sheldon Solomon Explains How Death Anxieties and Existential Angst Helped to Elect Donald Trump

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

Leave a voicemail for The Chauncey DeVega Show:

(262) 864-0154

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow