WHAT'S BREWING
RIGHT-WING MEDIA IS ALREADY HURLING RACIST, MISOGYNIST FIRE AT HARRIS Within minutes of Biden’s announcement that Kamala Harris would be his running mate, prominent right-wing voices started pushing the narrative that Harris is the one who’s really in charge. It was a deliberate prelude to launch misogynistic and racist gutter attacks that the right has been unable to make against Biden. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted: “Might as well switch the hashtag to #HarrisBiden2020.” Tucker Carlson claimed that Harris would deny COVID-19 vaccines to people who aren't a "certain color." A Trump adviser's bid to compare Harris to Marge Simpson went somewhat awry, however. [HuffPost]
CORPORATE AMERICA'S INVESTMENTS IN CLEAN ENERGY FELL 30% SO FAR THIS YEAR Corporate deals to buy clean electricity decreased by nearly 30% in the U.S. this year as the pandemic’s economic shockwave widened, highlighting the need for dramatic government intervention to cut planet-heating emissions from the power grid. Between January and July, U.S. companies signed deals to buy just 4.3 gigawatts of clean electricity, down from 6 gigawatts during the same period in 2019. [HuffPost]
THE DISMANTLING OF ABORTION RIGHTS HAS ALREADY BEGUN Earlier this summer, reproductive rights groups were relieved when Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the Supreme Court’s liberal justices to find that a Louisiana law that would have left the state with a single abortion clinic was unconstitutional. But it wasn’t all good news. Roberts, who wrote a separate concurring opinion, left the door open for states to enact other onerous anti-abortion laws that could harm patients. And it’s already happening: On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled to allow four previously blocked abortion restrictions to go into effect in Arkansas. [HuffPost]
STATES NEED TO FIGURE OUT ABSENTEE VOTING STAT Absentee voting has been the norm for primary elections during the pandemic as states have loosened rules and voters have sought a safe way to participate in elections. In at least 24 state primaries this year, a majority of the votes were cast by absentee ballot. How states handle this massive increase in voting by mail will be vital to a successful general election. Trump is already trying to undermine faith in both absentee voting and the outcome of the presidential election. So it’s important for states to preempt any problems that the president may lie about in November. [HuffPost]
HOW THE SOUTH BOTCHED SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTREACH ON COVID-19 “I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” the man on the phone stammered in Spanish, his voice cracking. “I’m asking you, please. Whatever you can ... I’m desperate for me and my family ... Please help us.” María Cruz was already stretched thin. On that June morning, the community organizer had two laptops open and a phone ringing every few minutes with new callers seeking COVID-19 information in Spanish. Her employer, the nonprofit Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, set up the hotline to supplement the lack of translated public health materials in a state with a Latino population of nearly 200,000. [HuffPost]
EVERY 'SQUAD' MEMBER WON HER PRIMARY With IIhan Omar’s race over, all four members of the “Squad” of progressive first-term members of the House have won their primaries, and are all but officially headed back to Washington next year. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York handily dispatched a well-funded challenger in June, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan defeated hers earlier this month. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, is unopposed in her Sept. 1 primary ― as well as the general election in November. Trump, meanwhile, applauded racist QAnon crackpot Marjorie Taylor Greene for her Georgia GOP congressional win. [HuffPost] | 
