A Conversation with Ian Haney Lopez About How the Republican Party Uses Racial Demagoguery and Dog Whistle Politics to Destroy the Middle Class and Hurt All Americans

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.This week’s podcast with Ian Haney Lopez can be listened to or downloaded here.