11/02/22 11/02/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> water to power, the legislature remains bitter to the ctor of a sovereigand indendent ukraine and we are working so ukraine can -- amy: as the biden administration vows military aid for ukraine, we host a debate on the biden administration's response to the

war and u.s. policy toward russia. we will speak with ray mcgovern former cia analyst who , a specialized in the soviet union, as well as matt duss, former bernie sanders advisor and now with the carnegie endowment for international peace. we will speak with mary kay henry, president of seiu, the service employees international union. >> working people are taking acti and speaking out and demanding a voice on the job and in our democracy stop on the job through a union and in our democracy to develop box. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace repo. i'm amy goodman. russia has announced it is rejoining a deal allowing for grain shipments from ukraine's ports.

this comes just four days after russia withdrew from the deal sparking fears it could worsen the global hunger crisis. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan said the renewed deal would prioritize grain shipments to somalia, djibouti, sudan, and other african nations. russia said it rejoined to the deal after ukraine agreed not to use the sea corridor to attack russian forces. water and power have been restored to much of kyiv folling a seri of russia attacks onkraine's infrastructure. scheduled blackoutare ongoing due to a srtage of electricity. meanwhile, russia has expanded a mandatory evacuation order for ukrainians living in parts of occupied kherson ahead of what is expected to be a major battle . the founder of one of russia's largest banks has given up his russian citizenship. in a statement on instagram, the billionaire oleg tinkov called russia a fascist country and denounced it for "killing innocent people daily."

in news from israel, benjamin netanyahu appears on the cusp of becoming israel's prime minister again, 16 months after being ousted from office. exit polls in the israeli election suggest netanyahu's likud party and its far right allies gained enough votes to form a parliamentary majority. if netanyahu succeeds, a key member of his government will likely be itamar ben-gvir, an ultra-nationalist lawmaker who openly supports the ethnic cleansing of palestinians. in 2007, he was convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization. netanyahu served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and then again from 2009 to 2021. he is currently on trial for corruption. in brazil, defeated far-right president bolsonaro made his first public statements tuesday, two days after he lost the presidential election to leftist former president luiz inacio lula da silva. bolsonaro neither conceded nor

contested the election results. but after he spoke, his chief-of-staff said the transition to a new administration would start. bolsonaro also urged his supporters to stop disruptive protests, thoughany continued to block streets and major highways on tuesdanight. south korea is accusing north korea of firing a missile into south koreans waters for the first time since the nations were divided in the 1950's. this came as north korea launched a total of at least 23 missiles into the sea today. south korea responded by firing three missiles into waters off north korea. this all came as the united states and south korea were carrying out or exercises involving hundreds of warplanes and thousands of troops. on tuesday, north korea warned the u.s. and south korea would pay "the most horrible price in history" if the war games continued. in arizona, a federal judge imposed a restraining order on members of the far-right, trump-supporting group clean

elections usa, including barring the open carry of firearms and wearing of body armor close to ballot boxes. the move comes as armed individuals have been seen intimidating voters and taking photos or videos at ballot drop boxes were polling sites. the justice department warned tuesday that "vigilante ballot security efforts" likely violate the voting rights act. in more voting news, the pennsylvania supreme court sided with rublicans tuesday and ruled il-in ballots without a written date on their ter envelope could not bcounted. the aclu of pennsylvania condemned the decision, saying, "no one should be disenfranchised for an irrelevant technicity." pennsylvania is home to two closely watched races, with a tight senate race between

democrat john fetterman and republican mehmet oz. the state's democratic attorney general josh shapiro meanwhile is running against right-wing state senator doug mastriano, a 2020 election denier. he chartered buses to the insurrection january 6 2021. in michigan, republican congressmember liz cheney campaigned for incumbent democratic congressmember elissa slotkin. cheney told the crowd she has never stumped for a democrat before but that "we all must stand and defend the republic." earlier yesterday, cheney said in an interview she supported ohio democrat tim ryan in senate race against trump-supporting jd vance. cheney was largely shunned from the republican party after coming out against trump, voting to impeach him and taking part in the house committee investigating the january 6 insurrection. she lost her august primary against the trump-backed harriet hageman. meanwhile, president biden travel to florida yesterday and warned voters republicans would cut medire and social security if they win the elections.

chief justice john roberts temporarily blocked the treasury department from handing over donald trump's tax records to the house ways and means committee. the house committee has until november 10 to respond to trump's latest appeal. if republicans take the house of representatives in the midterms, it's likely the demand for records will expire and will not be further pursued once the new congress is seated. also tuesday, the supreme court refused to block a georgia gnd jury subpoena for senator lindsey graham to testify about trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. fulton county district attorney fani willis says graham caed georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger after the election and asked about "reexamining certain absentee ballots to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former president donald trump." nbc news is reporting the biden administration is considering expanding operations at the u.s. military base at guantánamo bay,

cuba, to hold haitians who are caught at sea trying to reach the united states. this comes as haiti is facing a growing political and humanitarian crisis. in the 1990's, the united states used guantanamo to hold as many as 12,000 haitians who fled the haiti following the u.s.-backed 1991 coup. in the mediterranean, the greek coast guard says they haveound 11 survivors after a boat capsized in rough watersff the greek coast. dozens of others remain missing. the survivors are nationals of egypt, afghanistan, and iran. a separate search and reue operation continues for another shipwreck, which had aozen people on board. four palestinians have been rescued and one person was found dead. 15 nobel literature laureates have signed on to a letter to world leaders ahead of this month's u.n. climate summit asking them to "devote part of your agenda to the many thousands of political prisoners held in egypt's prisons -- most urgently, the egyptian-british writer and philosopher, alaa abd

el-fattah, now six months into a hunger strike and at risk of death." the nobel laureates are the majority of living nobel laureates since 1986. meanwhile, egyptian authorities released indian climate activist ajit rajagopal earlier this week after detaining him as he undertook a "march for our planet" on foot from cairo to sharm el-sheikh, where cop27 is being held. this is rajagopal describing his detention. >> not informed of the charges against me, how i could help them in the process. i did not get food from them, even water. amy: an egyptian human rights group says at least 67 people have been arrested over the past week and a half as part of a

crackdown ahead of the climate summit. in britain, campaigners with the group just stop oil blocked the gates to downing street, home to the office and residence of the prime minister, as some glued their hands to the street during an act of civil disobedience tuesday. a day earlier, activists sprayed orange paint onto four buildings in central london -- the bank of england, the home office, the mi5 domestic intelligence agency, and the headquarters of news corp. the protests capped a month of action aimed at disrupting daily life to demand immediate action on the climate crisis. >> criminal inaction on the climate crisis. the u.n. says you need to act. the ipcc say you need to act. the world bank also you need to act and the government has nothing. what does it do? it issues new fossil fuel licenses. amy: back in the u.s. in houston, texas, 28-year-old rapper takeoff was killed early tuesday in a shooting outside of a bowling alley. his record label said he was the

victim of a stray bullet. takeoff, born kirshnik khari ball, was one third of atlanta-based supergroup migos, known for such hits as "versace" and "bad and boujee." there have been over 370 homicides in houston in 2022. early data suggests over 80% of these involved guns. in labor news, workers at a starbucks/amazon go store in new york city have filed a petition for a union election with starbucks workers united. employees say they work two jobs but only get paid for one since they're both acting as baristas for starbucks and stocking shelves and tracking inventory for amazon's convenience store. meanwhile, unionized workers at the starbucks roastery in new york city are in the second week of a strike over unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, including a bed bug infestation and mold in the ice machines. in related news, the national labor relations board says starbucks broke the law when it closed an ithaca store in

upstate new york as retaliation against unionizing workers. the nlrb says starbucks should reopen the store and compensate workers for lost wages. and in tulsa, oklahoma, investigators searching for victims of the 1921 greenwood massacre have discovered another 17 bodies buried in a mass grave in a local cemetery. it is believed 300 african americans were killed and 1000 injured when a white mob descended upon and destroyed the black neighborhood known as "black wall street." none of the white supremacists were ever arrested in connection with the 1921 violence, which included aerial bombardment with dynamite and incendiaries on the 35-block community. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, the biden administration vows more military aid for ukraine. we host a debate on the u.s. response to the war and u.s. policy toward russia.

we will speak with ray mcgovern, former cia analyst specialized and it the soviet union, as well as former bernie sanders advisor matt duss, ukrainian-american who is not a fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now! co-host juan gonzalez in new brunswick, new jersey. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: we begin today's show looking at the war in ukraine. russia has announced it is rejoining a deal allowing for grain shipments from ukraine's ports. this comes just four days after russia withdrew from the deal , sparking fears it could worsen the global hunger crisis. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan said the renewed deal would prioritize grain shipments

to somalia, djibouti, sudan, and other african nations. russia said it rejoined to the deal after ukraine agreed not to use the sea corridor to attack ruian forces. meanwhile, "the new york times" is reporting senior russia mitary leaders have had high-level dcussions about how tactical wpons cou be used in the warn ukrain that is tactical nuclear weapons. the article was based on unnamed u.s. officials who said ey have sn no evince that the russians were moving nuclear weapons into place or making preparations for a nuclear strike. last month, president biden described the war in ukraine as the first time the world has seen a direct threat of the use of a nuclear weapon since the cuban missile crisis 60 years ago. in a speech to democratic donors, biden said, "we're trying to figure out what is putin's off-ramp?" well, today we host a debate on

the u.s. response to russia's invasion and u.s. policy toward russia. we are joined by two guests. in washington, d.c., matt duss is a former foreign policy adviser to senator bernie sanders, ukrainian-american who is a visiting scholar at the carnegie endowment for international peace. and in raleigh, north carolina, we are joined by ray mcgovern, former senior cia analyst. his 27-year career as a cia analyst includes serving as chief of the soviet foreign policy branch and daily preparer/briefer of the president's daily brief. at the time it was george h.w. bush. he is co-founder of veteran intelligence professionals for sanity. we welcome you both to democracy now! ray mcgovern, let's begin with you. why don't you lay out what you think the u.s. policy should be toward russia now in dealing with the ukraine war.

>> amy, i think we need to go back and figure out how this all started in order to figure out how to end it. in word, you quoted a new "new york times" story this morning about russian tactical nuclear missiles and senior russian military officials discussing this. the source described by "then your tums" was multiple u.s. officials -- by "the york times" was multiple u.s. officials. i sang multiple u. officials must some of the same authors of this piece, warned as seven times at the end of july and one article that there were sure to be weapons of mass destruction in iraq. i guess we have to say "the new york times" has lost his credibility on these issues more so since they backed off the story saying putin last week

said there's no need for us to use tactical nuclear missiles and we never threatened to do so, and putin happens to be right on that. the last thing i will say here is that the notion that the russians are desperate is erroneous. it is contrived. the russians aren't losing. the russians are not going to lose because they can't afford to. when i say this, i mean putin sees an existential threat from not only ukraine becoming part of nato, but nato using the placements for so-called anti-ballistic missiles in romania and poland already there to put an increase missiles to put in hypersonic missiles which putin warned himself last december would give him between seven and 10 minutes or if hypersonic missiles, five minutes to decide in a word

whether to blow up the rest of the world. katrina vented who will said in an op-ed just last week, we have to empathize with anyone even hated russians. just thinking this through, and i will close with this, inking about how many americans hate russia. i think back to the south pacific. you have got to be carefully taught. ♪ you've got to be taught to hate and fear ♪ ♪ it has got to be drowned in your dear little ear you've got to be taught the russians to hate in order to remain part of the fourth estate you've got to -- ♪

i made at the last two lines but that is what it is. we have had six years of ununded hati russians. i mentioned russia-gate. for the fourth of state, we do a al service by saying, we were wrong about that. e russia did not hack into the dnc and they did not do all of those other dastardly things they were accused of. let those 35 russian diplomats comeback in and let's talk to each other. let's work this out. there is no reason we can't make a deal. juan: i would like to bring in matt duss on this issue. matt, as a foreign policy adviser to bernie sanders, famously and advocate for peace not war, what is your perspective on war war how this can end? and also the issue of how it began? >> thank you for having me, first of all. i would say the easiest way for

this war to end would be for vladimir putin to end his invasion and withdrawal russian troops from ukrainian territory. as far as how this war began, there certainly a lot of things we could bring in to describe the deteriorating u.s.-russian relationship over the past decades and longer, but just to focus on this issue of nato, which was brought up earlier, certainly, vladimir putin has brought up the concern about nato. this is not something just he has brought up. other russian officials have brought it up in the past. i think it is fair to say some of the steps that were taken with regard to nato could have been done different leak, but this idea that vladimir putin had to wage this war because he sees an existential threat from nato i think has been completely discredited by events. let's remember, finland and sweden announced their decision to join nato some months ago. finland shares in 800 mile

border with russia. the response from the russian government was basically, no big deal. i would suggest if nato was really contributing to the sins of existential threat here, we might have seen a bit of a different response to finland joining nato. juan: i would like to ask you, matt, in terms of that, though, clearly, there is a far different relationship between ukraine and russia than there is between finland and russia. clearly, russia historically sees ukraine as the entry point to previous invasions and attack on its country whether it is napoleon in the 19th century or hitler in the 20th century. your sense of pun's view of special relationship that has existed between ukraine and russia? >> i think that is fair to bring

up. clearly, there is a different historical relationship between russia and ukraine. putin himself has described his view of that relationship which is ukrainian's don't really exist, there simply russians. certainly, ukrainians disagree with that. i think most of the people in the world would disagree with that. ukraine is a different country. ukraine has a different culture, a different history. there is a historical relationship with russia, but i think this also gets to what one of putin's real goals the alleged threat from nato encroachment but it is to erase ukrainians as an independent political entity. i think we see various steps he is taking to make that vision real, including the kidnapping, essentially, of thousands of ukrainian children, transporting them into russia, putting them with new families and a

violation -- a gross violation of international humanitarian law with regards to occupied territory. putin himself has given us i think a much better understanding of his real goals and grievances in launching this war. amy: i want to go to general mike mullen. in october, the former chair of the joint chiefs of staff appeared on abc "this week" calling for talks to end the war. >> it also speaks to the need i think to get to the table. i am a little concerned about the language which we are about at the top, if you will. president biden's language at the top of the language scale, if you will. i think we need to back off got a little bit and do everything we possibly can to try and get to the table to resolve this thing. amy: i want to get both of your responses on this beginning with

matt duss, the former foreign policy advisor to bernie sanders. clearly, there is a major debate going on right now within the progressive community of elected officials in congress. you had this letter that was released and withdrawn within a day that called for continued military support for ukraine but at the same time, pushing for negotiations as we have seen germany call for and france call for. and that was released, but withdrawn by pramila jayapal, the head of the congressional progressive caucus. we introduced -- interviewed ro khanna who said it should be the position and not withdrawn. if you could explain why they would have withdrawn this. you bernie sanders himself, a senator, but he did say he supported the withdrawal of the

letter. he said the russian invasion of ukraine has to be resisted, that the letter should have been withdrawn. he said, i don't agree with that. they don't agree with that, apparently come around the issue of urging president biden to negotiate an end to the war with vladimir putin. explain what this battle is about. then i would like to get ray mcgovern's response as well. >> about the letter, in general terms, it is right to support diplomacy. i recently sat in an interview, the u.s. is bringing its superior military intelligence capabilities to bear on ukraine's behalf. it is also appropriate for the united states to bring its superior diplomatic capability's to bear on ukraine's behalf post of the question is when the time is right for that high-level diplomacy. no one wants to see the united states -- or i was i i don't want to see and certainly many

americans and ukrainians don't what to see the united states simply negotiating the end to this war with russia over the heads of the ukrainians. it is their country that has been invaded. they are the ones who are fighting and dying to defend their country. so i think we want to avoid depression -- impressionist is too great powers giving up the spoils. i think that is part of the concern you saw from even some of the signers of the letter which i would remind folks was written in june or july and signed in june or july and then released with little warning to some of the signers. i don't want to get into the details of that t i wod agree diplomacy is good. i think everyone understds at some point there will need to be a negotiation to bring this war to a close, but i think the tension within the progressive community comes to when and how that diplomacy actually takes

place. amy: ray mcgovern? >> amy, i was distraught. it was scandalous that within 36 hours those progressive democrats gave up. the suggestion was eminently sensible. who could be against talks? you know, there is an opportunity coming up where presidents are to meet in indonesia. there would be an opportunity. obama's czar for arms control has suggested we start with these intermediate ranged nuclear missiles and start to deal on a technical level. but the notion we should not talk, you know, i have just been focusing on the cuban missile crisis exactly 60 years ago. how did that get resolved?

by talks. and by a modicum of trust. let me explain. they took a very serious position. he said, here is a quarantine -- he called it of quarantine, it was really a blockade, illegal. here's my invasion force in key west and here i am going to threaten nuclear weapons. that is what he did. khrushchev said, look, we are going to back off but we need something. he said, ok, i promise not to invade cuba. khrushchev said, ok. on the side, they did this little deal on turkey. that was because these were negotiations by teletype in those days. but why we can't have that kind of thing now with people saying you're giving into the russians is beyond me. with respect to the finish, let me say a word about that. matt only quoted the first part

of russia's response to the finnish application to join nato. putin said, we have been dealing with the finns for a lot of years. as long as no nato infrastructure goes into finland, we've got no problem. what does that mean? these little holes in the ground that could accommodate missiles like the tomahawk and hypersonic missiles which can finish -- can reach them and five or six minutes. that is what they are afraid of and that is what they consider to be there existential threat. just a final word here comparing the cuban missile crisis and the ukraine crisis. now, does anyone say to john kennedy, look, mr. president, you're overreacting, this is unprovoked all of these measures you are taking, some of them illegal, blockade.

that is unprovoked. did anybody say that? no. why? putting missiles within five minutes, six minutes of moscow or the icbm force in the western part of russia, that is provocation, folks. putin has been warning about that for 7, 8, 9 years. the dean of the realistic school of political science said eight years ago that the crisis in ukraine is the west's fault. there is lots more evidence now. he was right then and he is right now. what does that mean? that means we have to deal with the fact that putin is in the same position that john kennedy was 60 years ago. he sees an existential threat --

lines of communication and supply. russia can't lose this either military or politically. it is going to keep going as far as it has to. if i'm ours come in -- himars come in, it is going have to go farther north and west. it is a matter of geography. if you're going to put in himars or worse,? he will dictate. talks are necessary. talks are really -- they're very

delicate because there's very little trust. has to be a modicum of trust as there was in 1962 on the cuban missile crisis. juan: i would like to ask matt and possibly ray also to respond to europe is suffering much more as a result of their continuation of this war, both in terms of having to redirect his energy sources, much higher inflation that exists here in the united states right now, and there are some of you that europe was dragged into this. more by the united states in terms of the way it approached russia and putin in terms of ukraine. your response to that and to whether there are differences between how europe sees this war and united states? >> initially there were.

we saw the reports that european leaders are actually quite skeptical. as publicly were ukrainian leaders of the prospect of a russian invasion stop the united states continued to say the intelligence showed russia was preparing for innovation come at that the pieces were being moved into place for this invasion and they turned out to be right. mr. mcgovern earlier brought the iraq war, wmd's debacle. the biden administration is quite aware of that record and i think they have been very careful in the importance of rebuilding u.s. credibility when it comes to making these kinds of claims. i think to their credit, the claims -- the intelligence they have made public all along the way has been affirmed repeatedly. with regard to the europeans, i think there were a lot of

european countries, particularly germany, that had a vision of cooperation with vladimir putin -- certainly on the issue of energy. but i think european leaders, based on observing putin's own behavior, have come around to the u.s. view that the threat that putin poses and what this invasion of ukraine could really mean, not just for europe, but for the world. certainly, they're the ones facing much more immediate difficulty with regard to energy and food insecurity. the global south, as amy mentioned early on with regard to the agreement over grain exports, this is a really good deal that is happening because certainly countries in the global south are bearing the brunt of this global food crisis as well. but one last point here, mr. mcgovern brought up the comment about this war being the u.s.'s fault. i know him.

he is not the pope, however. he has a view. i think there are many eminent scholars who know russia much better than john does have a very different view of how we got here. again, i think those issue should be taken into account and i would point people to what vladimir putin himself has said is the reason for this invasion repeatedly, both in the written word and in speeches. and that in part is to reestablish what he believes to be russia's historical rights, historical control of what he believes to be a kind of russian imperial. that is not to say diplomacy is not necessary. it is necessary. i believe there is diplomacy ongoing right now, perhaps not at the high level that some would like to see, but we know the u.s. defense secretary austin has a line open with russian defense minister. they have talked multiple times. there is contacts and talks

going on at lower levels. these are the kinds of things that could lead to greater talks at higher levels at sometime down the future, but i think the disagreement is when does that time come when is most appropriate? juan: ray mcgovern, if you could respond? also, this issue of europe and energy and russia, the blowing up of the nord stream 1 and 2 pipelines with the western press remarkably uninterested in trying to investigate what actually happened there and the ludicrous claims, in my view, that russia would blow up its own $10 million project of supplying energy to europe. >> there you go, juan. most americans will be prepared to believe that and i would submit that is a direct result of six years worth of

brainwashing, ok? with respect to what putin has said, matt is free to quote putin, but not erroneously. putin spoke precily what the invasion was. he said it was militarization and -- demilitarization and did not vacation of ukraine. there was no indication he sent an f troops in. they have been reluctant to shell the cities until now. you have to kind of really not do what i call a giuliani theorem. you recall what he said to that arizona legislator about corruption. on the phone he said there's a lot of corruption, we have to look at it because it is corrupt.

the legislator said, my god, sure, we will look at it. what is the evidence? and giuliani famously said, well, we have lots of theories, no evidence. i would suggest to matt that he has a nice theory there that putin wants to take over ukraine and putin wants to take over the rest of europe like other people say. there is no evidence of that. with respect to the west germans, west europeans, in particular the germans, i spent five years in germany. some of them are my best friends, right? they are so subservient to the united states. 77 years after the war it is hard for me to believe they won't stand up on their own two feet. it is very clear to me when the u.s. or its allies, u.k., blow up nord stream 1 and tubing.

hello post german industry is going to go -- german people are going to go -- german people, will the act any different than they did in 1933 to stand up on their own t wo legs? the majority of german citizens feel straightaway that this -- this is unnecessary. i daresay they may follow many of the others who by the tens of thousands already are in the streets. i just hope they see their way to standing on their own two feet and say, look, we put up with a lot of stuff. but when he blew up those pipelines, we're going to freeze. also, industry is going kaput, so would you lay off? we will stain on our own two feet and make a deal with the russians. there are ripper hordes the germans are already talking

about a deal on energy, on gas supply when those pipelines were sabotaged. it is a real sad story in europe and it is going to be sadder as the months go by. not only that, but as the ice covers those fields in ukraine, russian forces are going to go forward. there is a hint in putin's latest speech that edessa could be negotiated about. people ought to read his speeches. people ought to read through the q&a. if edessa can easily -- a russian city. if it can fall to the russians, well, maybe they will be able to negotiate on that and say, look, we will make a deal here.

let's talk and let's work out something where we stopped and ukraine persists in a smaller way but the war is over and ukrainians stop died by the thousands. amy: let's get matt duss' response about that and also juan's question about nord stream. newsweek reported by inset if russian base, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of ukraine again there will no longer be a nord stream 2. we will bring an end to it, charles had our journalist asked biden how he could do that since germany was in control of the project. the president replied, i promise you, we will be able to do it. if you could talk about both nord stream and the rest of what ray mcgovern just said. >> to address nord stream first, whether present clear limit is nord stream 2 would not be brought online. the project would be halted. i don't think that was a threat, despite the tendency of some to try and interpret a threat that the u.s. would blow up nord

stream tubing. there is no evidence the united states was responsible for that. as for some of these other claims about what putin really wants, i feel like we are getting into bizarre territory. to claim putin wasn't trying to take over kyiv, listen, the russians landed strike teams outside kyiv with the goal of toppling the ukrainian government. these troops were not just there to go camping, ok? the plan clearly was to land forces inside kyiv to take control of the government. clearly, russia miscalculated. they did not send enough troops. they did not have solid enough supply lines to support these troops. but then to turn around and point to russia's poor planning as somehow evidence that putin's goals were much more modest, i think is just untenable. i did not claim putin once to take over all of europe. i pointed out putin himself claimed he wanted to reestablish what he calls russia's historic

right. i don't want to overstate that but i do want to point people to things putin has written and set about this which give a good idea of his own goals. amy: we want to thank you very much for joining us. there is a lot there. we want to thank matt does come ukrainian american visiting scholar at the carnegie and down it, former foreign policy advisor to senator bernie sanders. and ray mcgovern, former say analyst speaking just us from raleigh, north carolina. matt, from washington, d.c. next up with the midterm elections just days away, we speak with mary kay henry, president of seiu, the service employees international union, that workers organizing on the job and at the ballot box. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. in the final days before tuesday's midterm election, we look at how working people are organizing both on the job and at the ballot box. this is 32 bj seiu member lenore rallying members before heading out to canvass voters in new york. >> it may be your first time knocking on doors today. why is the unit involved in politics? why are they only worried about things on the job? the reality is, what happens in affects our jobs. minimum wage -- it helps us in bargaining. we have sick days, it helps us in bargaining. politics has any impact. amy: t u.s. labor movement has gained traction in the past year with successful organizing drives at the first amazon

warehouse and apple store, along with some 250 starbucks stores, and many others. polls show more than 70% of americans support labor unions. democrats in congress have proposed the protecting the right to organize act, known as the pro act, to make it easier for workers to unionize. the bill faces defeat if republicans take control of the senate. this is the democratic candidate for u.s. senate in wisconsin lt. governor mandela barnes talking to a roundtable of seiu union members about his republican opponent. >> this is a persowho in o second debate said he destine see a reason to raise the minimum wage. this is coming from one of the most wealthy people in our society, one of the most wealthy members of the united states senate. he does not see a need for people's wages to increased of although, his wealth doubled in the last 12 years. his wealth has doubled and he is hell-bent on making everyone else's life worse. amy: for more, we are joined by mary kay henry, international president of the service employees international union, which represents millions of

workers in healthcare, public and property services, and has a campaign to mobilize some 4 million infrequent voters of color in states like wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, georgia, and arizona. mary kay, welcome back to democracy now! can you talk about why this midterm election is so crucial for organized labor and what you're doi about it? >> because working people everywhere have had it. enough is enough. there were joining together to use their power, to take low-wage poverty jobs at amazon warehouse and starbucks stores and all the places you just mentioned, and joining tother in demanding union from their employer and demanding elected officials support them in t demand to tackle the worst economic and racial inequality in our time. that is why i was proud to be with della barnes that

roundtable and then march all of the nonunion workers that are organizing in milwaukee with our members to the early vote site at the pfizer forum so that people could kick off the early voting that is happening now in milwaukee. juan: mary kay henry, one of the big issues that republicans used to attack democrats is over immigration, claiming democrats are for open borders and seeking to create divisions within the working class over immigration. yet here we see in reports today that canada is dramatically increasing its welcome at for immigration because it feels it needs more workers in canada? your sense of how the labor market should do with the attacks on immigration from the republicans? >> well, the key thing we're

doing right now is motivating immigrant families to participate in getting their family, friends, neighbors and mixed status families out to vote. we are making sure the issue of immigration is front and center in the selection, that roundtables that mandela was part of last week in wisconsin, we had an immigrant worker talk about their experience and get him to commit to fight for a full path to legalization for every immigrant in this country. and i think we have continue to tell the stories of the immigrant workers that are holding up this economy and why it is necessary for us to have an immigration policy that is fair and humane. juan: i wanted to ask you also about the long-term prospects for growth in organized labor in the united states. there been some say that while the percentage of unionization of american workers has continued to drop dramatically,

that many units continue to have much better financial positions, largely because over the years that continue to increase dues for the member so they're still financially healthy but many are not dedicating percentage of their money organizing new workers. i think john sweeney when he first came head of the cio said it should be about 30% of union revenue should be dedicated to organizing. how do you see that happening? the seiu has been in the forefront of organizing but some of the other unions in organized labor movement, their commitment to organizing new workers and ashley putting money into those organize fronts? >> i think there are some encouraging development on that front. twa just made a huge breakthrough with microsoft in the gaining decision -- division and got microsoft on record as being willing to respect the

rights of workers so they organized hundreds of workers in the gaming division and now the entire company. the uaw has pledged a major campaign on electric vehicles because of the infrastructure money and the inflation reduction act money. we are working in coalition with the unite here as cwa on airport workers. there are many laboring our nations reports after our nation just put millions of dollars in those companies, just posted record profits. we need the power of the labor moment to put a check on runaway corporate profits at the hands of american taxpayers. and then there is lots of great organizing that we're doing with the national domestic workers association and the home care and childcare sectors in the economy. so i think the increased command

by working people for the ability to join together and barking a better life on the job and in their community is going to get more unions investing in the ability and having workers back to make that possible. amy: starbucks reported in headlines that workers at amazon go store in new york city have filed a petition for union election with starbucks workers united. there are 258 starbucks -- organized starbucks stores today. there were none a year ago. and in related news, the national labor relations board says starbucks broke the law when it closed in ithaca, new york, store in retaliation against unionizing workers. the nlrb said starbucks should reopen the store and compensate workers for lost wages. now, workers united, the amazon union, is an affiliate of seiu.

the starbucks workers united is affiliate of seiu? >> yes. amy: can you respond to this latest news and the significance of the starbuc organizing efforts? >> i think the courage of these people to walk to the antiunion campaign that starbucks has waged againsthem is incredible. we are proud to have the backs of these baristas and help extend organizing and key states and it a country because starbucks needs tonderstand it maybe 250 stores today, but it is going to close to 1000 in a couple of months. they have to make a choice, are they going to respect the workers on the job and come to their senses and set a national bargaining table with these workers or are they going to force fight after fight in a store after store and a state after state? this is the choice that starbucks has answered yes to

any other parts of the world, and they need to do it here in the united states of america. juan: mary kay henry, in terms of the election, there are obviously many american workers who basically see both parties, democrats and republicans, caured by corporate elites. how does the labor movement deal with the fact there are within the democratic party so many corporate elites who want to constantly move the party in more centrist direction and therefore create the possibility of disaffected workers to be recruited into the republican party -- or in support of the republican candidate? >> i think a key when we do that is we put our members and organizing workers on the front lines of endorsing candidates,

and forcing candidates to look our members in the eye and talk about what they're going to do to uproot systemic racism and confront corporate power in the economy and in our democracy. and when we do that, we get candidates that are willing to fight with us. like mandela barnes in wisconsin, governor sisolak in nevada just pledged to raise $15 wages for our home care members and waive the numbers meant rate and help us organize 14,000 homecare workers in that state. those are indications of candidates that are willing to pick a side. and that has been one of the battle cries that are members and organizing leaders have had throughout this midterm election, which is, which side are you on? we have got to make our votes a demand and not show support for candidates that are with us one day and against us the next. it is critical that working people root out that corporate

democrat in this party and force air candidates to represent the vast majority of working people in this country. amy: mary kay henry, minimum-wage increases are on the ballot in nebraska and nevada, washington, d.c., two california cities in southern california will vote on whether to raise the base wage for nurses to $25 an hour. illinois, voters will choose whether to include the right to collectively bargain the state constitution. it is not just voting for candidates, it is voting on issues like these around the country when people go to the polls. if you could comment on this. and bernie sanders' criticism of candidates not focusing more on what the democratic party can do for workers? >> i think that minimum-wage efforts all around the cities and states you just described is a huge step forward and is part of the win the fight for 15 and

putting wages as part of the conversation and it is country, be -- we fully backed those efforts. i think you're right. it is a way to put the economy and wages and work at the center of our politics and make sure that people understand that what we have been hearing on the doors from those 4 million infrequent voters and from our 2 million members and then millions more we are trying to organize is that cost-of-living is our number one issue. candido tackle price gouging corporations that have profiteer of this pandemic and hold them accountable, especially when they get taxpayer dollars to create good jobs. they need to be good union jobs. amy: we want to thank you so much for joining us. mary kay henry is the international president of the service employees international union, seiu.

that does it for our show. november 8 on election night, democracy now! will be airing a three-hour election night special. we will be broadcasting live starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern. you can go to our website demo

united states. i think they are wanting to clearly send a message to the united states, japan and south korea taking this one south korea and the united states are conducting military drills to send that message. it seems relaunches is a possibility when you think about the unit that launches missiles it is not a single unit. there are multiple units. even if the latest armaments are there, each unit needs to have the opportunity to make launches in order b