The News Not Noise Letter: Purrs and Prejudice
On cat memes and vitriolic nativism. Plus: evaluating the debate, where voting has started, and DeSantis’s “election police.”
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Here are your headlines:
Voting Begins: Alabama today became the first state to send out absentee ballots, meaning the 2024 presidential election is officially underway. Pennsylvania will become the first state to begin in-person voting on Monday, Sept. 16, and many other states are rolling out early voting in the coming weeks. Check your state’s early voting dates here.
Debate Fallout: The campaigns have released new battleground state ads today. Harris’s goes through her policy proposals, combatting claims that she’s been light on details. Trump’s ad attacks Harris over inflation.
Polling: Post-debate snap polls by CNN, YouGov, and others show majorities believe Harris won the debate, but so far the race is unchanged.
Fundraising: The Harris campaign says it raised $47 million from 600,000 donors in the 24 hours after the debate. The Trump campaign has not released new fundraising figures.
Swift Voters: Taylor Swift’s instagram endorsement of Harris prompted nearly 406,000 visits to vote.gov.
Analysis: By now, you’ve probably seen the reporting that Harris didn’t seal the deal with undecided voters because they want more policy detail. I’m…undecided… whether that’s the real reason they’re hold outs. But the real impact of the debate is in what you’re not hearing: a barrage of claims that Harris is unfit for the presidency, or too weak, too angry, too tough, or unlikable. That’s because her performance was forceful and confident – but also gracious and warm, a hat trick for a woman candidate. It means she remains an option for swing voters, so her campaign can work to seal the deal in the next 52 days. Meanwhile, Trump’s allies accuse ABC News of anti-Trump bias – including for using a blue set and the words “we the people” – but when you’re attacking the refs, you’re not winning.
Changing Demographics: This week, new studies highlight two important changing dynamics in US demographics:
Liberal Ladies: Young women are moving left. A new Gallup analysis finds that 40% of young women aged 18-29 now identify as politically liberal, up from 28% two decades ago. This leftward shift reflects their politics overall and positions on specific issues like abortion, healthcare, and labor unions. Gallup also found young men identifying with more liberal policy positions – but this trend is smaller and slower. In recent years, the gender gap among young people has jumped to 15 points. TL;DR: young people are becoming more liberal, but more young women are moving left.
Millennials Less Religious: 27% of Americans now identify as “religiously unaffiliated,” up from 21% a decade ago. That’s according to the latest Public Religion Research Institute census. 36% of people aged 18-29 identify as religiously unaffiliated. Next, 34% of Millennials and younger Gen Xers – Americans aged 30-49 – are religiously unaffiliated, up from 23% in 2013. Religious affiliation has fallen across all age groups. Also: 6% of the US population belongs to non-Christian religions. And for the first time, white Christians do not make up the majority of Americans; they constitute 41% of the population, down from 57% in 2006.
Boeing Strike: Here’s a Boeing crisis that doesn’t involve airplane parts falling off mid-air. 33,000 Boeing workers are on strike for the first time in 16 years. They rejected a proposed deal with 25% wage increases over four years and a new starting wage of $21, which, one worker pointed out, is on par with a local burger chain’s pay. The last time Boeing workers struck, it cost the company $100 million per day. This has ripple effects on suppliers and businesses across the US. Boeing estimates the company contributes $79 billion to the US economy every year.
Mammogram Update: Good news for women’s health: the FDA implemented a new rule this week that will require mammogram screenings to include information on breast density. Many women over age 40 have dense breast tissue, which can make it harder for mammograms to detect signs of breast cancer. Now, doctors will be required to tell women about their breast density, explain what it means, and help them determine whether follow-up testing using different technology (ultrasound, MRI, etc.) makes sense for them. If your next mammogram is confusing – it’s ok to ask questions.
DeSantis vs. Petitioners: In Florida, Gov Ron DeSantis is using state power to try to silence voters on the issue of abortion. Reproductive rights activists gathered nearly one million signatures to get an initiative on the Florida ballot that will create a constitutional amendment expanding and protecting abortion access. Although those signatures have been verified by local boards and certified by the Secretary of State, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is deploying “election police” to “investigate” those signatures. DeSantis also directed the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration to publish a webpage that criticizes the proposed amendment, called on state elected officials to publicly oppose the ballot measure, misleadingly manipulated the language that will appear on ballots, and launched a PAC aimed at countering the referendum. Opponents say DeSantis is unlawfully “influencing” voters.
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What’s Happening in Springfield, Ohio?
Today at a press conference, former President Trump vowed to conduct “large deportations from Springfield, Ohio” and send Haitian immigrants “back to Venezuela.” JD Vance fanned the flames, saying – with no evidence – “communicable diseases like HIV and TB have skyrocketed in this small Ohio town. This is what Kamala Harris’s border policies have done.” The duo’s virulent anti-immigrant rhetoric and conspiracy-mongering has already had real, dangerous consequences.
During Tuesday’s debate, Trump spouted a baseless conspiracy theory claiming Haitian immigrants ate residents’ pet cats in Springfield, Ohio. Since then, several bomb threats have forced Springfield to evacuate its city hall, multiple schools, and other buildings. Springfield’s mayor said the threats “used hateful language” and denounced politicians who “misrepresent our community,” saying it’s “very sad and hard to handle.”