Shocker: Redistricting is shortchanging young progressive people of color

And the kids go marching on

Welcome to a premium Wednesday edition of Progress Report.

In tonight’s issue, we’ll look at a redistricting battle that could trigger the next Democratic Party civil war, update you on a campaign we’ve been following, and touch on a positive story that’s largely gone ignored by the national media.

We’ll be back with another premium edition of the newsletter tomorrow, too. That’ll be three premium newsletters this week!

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The prevailing media narrative is that the country is in the midst of a feverish takeover by violent right-wing zealots, but what looks like a mass fascist coup is really more of a small faction of extremists and their shameless political enablers taking advantage of quirks in our broken pseudo-democratic system than it is any broadly popular movement.

Polling on issues like abortion rights and taxing the wealthy offer some statistical reassurance that we aren’t quite as broken as it seems, but the human brain better understands visceral anecdotes than numbers, charts, and graphs. And as we continue to experience unspeakable acts of evil, like the racist terrorist attack that killed 10 people in Buffalo, it can again be hard to buy into the idea that we aren’t irrevocably fucked.

As a longtime reporter myself, I know that outrage sells and fear keeps people glued to the screen. And I think it’s essential that reporters continue to expose the extremists that are seizing power and the awful consequences that so many are already suffering as a result — that’s a big part of this newsletter’s mandate, too. But far too often, the reasons for hope and rays of light are so overshadowed by coverage of the angry right-wing lunatics that the good stories pass like night, with little acknowledgment.

For example: Did you know that for the past two weeks, high school students around the country have been organizing walkouts, pickets, and marches in protest of the imminent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? It’s true!

Kids all across the nation have taken action, with and without their teachers’ and school administrators’ permission. The protests are not slowing, either.