Six years later, Morris is getting “the hell out” of country music citing an industry that celebrates people “proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic”. Morris’s experience as a white woman, outspoken on issues of racial equality, LGBTQ+ rights and abortion, is just the latest in a series of instances where liberal country artists are struggling to feel at home in Nashville. Black country singers and journalists are being called racial slurs by fans and openly LGBTQ+ performers are having to back out of performances.
Twenty years after the tidal wave of misogyny faced by The (then Dixie) Chicks and the progress suggested by their 2016 performance with BeyoncĂ© at the Country Music Awards, Morris’s damning indictment of Nashville’s culture begs the question as to whether a woman, LGBTQ+ singer or artist of color can succeed in country music, especially if they speak out and go against prevailing political norms.
Country music isn’t known as a good ol’ boys’ club for nothing. Gender issues are “historic to the genre”, says Dr Jada Watson, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa. “There are women who preceded Maren like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn who often wrote songs about more progressive ideals of what it means to be a woman.” The problem is that country music’s once broad church seems to be closing its doors to progressive voices.
Nowhere is this more evident than on the airwaves. If you turn on a country radio station right now, chances are that you’ll hear a (white) man singing. As Keith Hill, one of the most powerful country radio executives, said in 2015: “If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out.” While Hill’s comments sparked a national conversation about how to tackle the format’s gender issues, there’s been no meaningful change.
In 2022, female country artists received just 11% of all airplay. The situation is even more dire for women of colour and LGBTQ+ artists who earned less than 1% of all airplay last year. As Dr Watson puts it, white women in country music are “told from the very beginning that there’s one spot they’re all competing for, whether on a label, in a writer’s room or on a tour. They are used against each other in a way that allows white men to stay in control. So as long as white women are made to compete for scraps, most won’t be looking for opportunities to create space for LGBTQ+ artists or women of colour.”
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
In a statement to CNN published Monday, Kelly delivered a scathing criticism of former President Trump while confirming reporting in The Atlantic in 2020 that detailed the comments he made during his presidency.
The Atlantic reported that Trump privately made damning statements against U.S. service and veterans, such as the late Sen. John McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, and former President George H.W. Bush, a former Navy pilot who was shot down in World War II. During a visit to France in 2018 for the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I, Trump also reportedly called Marines who died at Belleau Wood “suckers” and fallen soldiers at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery “losers.”
Butler has served as president of EMILY’s List, an organization that works to elect pro-choice Democratic women, since 2021.
She previously worked as the director of public policy and campaigns in North America for Airbnb, a strategist and partner at political consulting firm SCRB Strategies, and a senior advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign. She also has a long and involved history with the labor movement, having served as the president of home-care workers union SEIU Local 2015 for more than a decade.
Today, Laphonza Butler was sworn-in to the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away last week at 90. Ms. Butler, who previously served as president of Emily’s List, is also a labor leader, political strategist, and an advocate for women and working people. She is now the sole Black woman serving in Congress as a U.S. senator, the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate, the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress in American history, and the second Black woman to represent California in the Senate following Vice President Kamala Harris.
LDF President & Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement in response:
“We applaud Governor Newsom for his historic appointment of Laphonza Butler to represent California in the U.S. Senate. We also congratulate Senator Butler on this momentous achievement in a career that has been distinguished by leadership, advocacy, and public service. She is one of only three Black women to have served as a senator in the U.S. Congress and the only Black LGBTQ+ woman to do so. These historic distinctions underscore the continued importance of embracing and empowering a diversity of perspectives at key decision-making tables. We are especially encouraged by Senator Butler’s labor credentials and her work on the behalf of women and girls, whose rights to bodily autonomy in the current national landscape continue to require sustained defense. We look forward to the contributions Ms. Butler will make in the U.S. Senate on behalf of the communities she has long served but who have never been fully represented in the halls of Congress.”
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
SACRAMENTO – California Legislative Women’s Caucus Chair Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Vice Chair Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) today applauded Gov. Gavin Newsom’s selection of Laphonza Butler to be California’s new U.S. senator, replacing the late Dianne Feinstein.
“We commend Gov. Newsom for his choice of Laphonza Butler to be California’s new U.S. Senator, filling out the remaining term of the legendary Sen. Feinstein. Dianne Feinstein was a true trailblazer for women in politics, and so it’s fitting that her successor, Laphonza Butler, will also break barriers as the first out woman of color to serve in either house, Senate or Congress. For now, Butler will also be the only Black woman U.S. Senator and the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate.
“For the past few years, Butler has been a brilliant leader of Emily’s List, the nation’s largest political action committee promoting women into elected office. She was also the first mother and woman of color to be president of the pro-choice organization.
“As a mom and former labor leader, who headed up California’s largest union, SEIU Local 2015, representing hundreds of thousands of long-term care workers, Butler is a steadfast champion of women and girls and working-class families. She’s an excellent choice to represent California in Washington, D.C., and we’re confident that she will not only fiercely protect the rights of women and girls but also help build a better nation for all.”
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NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson released the following statement congratulating Butler and commending Newsom:
"The NAACP is proud to congratulate Laphonza Butler on her well deserved appointment to serve as the first Black, openly LGBTQ+ Senator. It is only right that a Black woman who has paved the way for countless others to lead is now given an opportunity to lead herself. The NAACP commends Governor Newsom for taking steps to fill the gaps in representation that currently exist within our Senate. We look forward to supporting the future Senator as she makes strides in the halls of Congress. One thing is clear - Black women are supreme."
“There are no conditions related to the Governor’s appointment of Senator-designate Butler. That decision is entirely hers,” the spokesperson said.
Butler is replacing Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), a trailblazer for women in politics who died last week, leaving Newsom to pick her replacement.
For the first time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives voted to oust its own leader Tuesday after a motion by far-right Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to vacate the appointment of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's speakership passed with eight GOP votes and the support of every Democrat present.
The 216-210 vote to remove McCarthy (R-Calif.) came after his allies failed to come up with enough votes to table the motion to vacate.
In addition to Gaetz, the Republicans who voted for the motion to vacate were: Reps. Andy Biggs (Az.), Ken Buck (Col.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Az.), Bob Good (La.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), and Matt Rosendale (Mt.).
Those lawmakers have accused McCarthy of being insufficiently conservative. They were incensed by his deal with the White House to raise the debt limit earlier this year and have demanded the House make even deeper cuts to social safety net programs than the deal contained.
The pro-democracy group Stand Up America said in a statement that "today’s vote to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker shows how intent ultra-MAGA Republicans are on sowing chaos and dysfunction, rather than actually governing on behalf of the American people."
While the media has presented the crisis as a conflict of personalities, Tuesday’s vote is reflection of deep divisions within the ruling class itself. Gaetz and roughly a dozen other far-right Republicans opposed the CR because it lacked social spending cuts and further appropriations for the border police.
In an interview on Newsmax following the vote, Gaetz, speaking for a faction of finance capital, rejected accusations that without a speaker the government would be thrown into “chaos” and reiterated that McCarthy was stripped of the speaker’s gavel because of his refusal to enact sufficiently draconian spending cuts.
“Chaos is the dollar losing its status as the global reserve currency. Chaos is the greatest nation in the world sitting on top of $33 trillion debt. Chaos is accepting Biden budgets that will lead to $2 trillion annual deficits...forever,” said Gaetz.
Following his
ouster, McCarthy told a closed-door meeting of House Republicans that he
would not seek reelection as speaker. At a subsequent Tuesday evening
news conference he said, “I will not run for speaker again... I’ll have
the conference pick somebody else.”
Republican Patrick McHenry of
North Carolina is currently serving as the interim speaker. McHenry
said the House would not meet again until next Tuesday, with the aim of
holding a vote for the new speaker on Wednesday, October 11. Several
names have been floated by Republican representatives as possible
candidates to replace McCarthy, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise
(Louisiana), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minnesota), Kevin Hearn (Oklahoma)
and even Donald Trump.
While it is unclear who, if anyone, will be the speaker in the immediate future, what is clear is that Tuesday’s vote marks an inflection point in the ongoing US political crisis, which has not subsided more than two-and-a-half years after Trump’s failed coup. The ousting of McCarthy sets the stage for even more explosive political convulsions and a further shift to the right by the entire political establishment.
President Biden has recorded his first positive poll rating in five months in a new Rasmussen Reports survey, which found 49 percent of Americans approve of his conduct in office while 48 percent disapprove.
Iraq National Day
On behalf of the Government and the people of the United States of America, I extend to Prime Minister Sudani and the Iraqi people our sincere congratulations as you celebrate your independence.
The 360-degree strategic partnership that exists between our two countries continues to advance our shared values as we work together to address global challenges like tackling climate change, promoting economic development, advancing human rights, protecting the environment, and ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS. We continue to strengthen people-to-people ties that form the basis of our partnership.
This is a day to reflect on and be proud of Iraq’s achievements and the perseverance of its people. For over 91 years, Iraq has endeavored through adversity to foster a more inclusive and equitable society for its citizens and for future generations of Iraqis.
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