How Dangerous is Donald Trump to American Democracy? New Tom Edsall Column in the NY Times Explores in Depth
Today’s must-read (which concludes with a quotation from our new 24 for ’24 report).
Really Troubling Findings About Democracy and the Potential for Violence in New Poll of the Opinions of Both Democrats and Republicans
Playbook’s summary of the new poll:
New polling from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics shows an intensely divided country in which partisan rancor has grown so deep that many Americans support authoritarian or unconstitutional proposals. To wit,… Continue reading
“Third Party Candidates Shouldn’t Get Their Hopes Up”
Andy Craig offers a thorough explanation of why a random third party run is unlikely to be successful, even if the candidate has name recognition and some popularity. Think Joe Manchin or Larry Hogan. Craig could have gone further: It… Continue reading
““I Don’t Think They Care”: Virginia Is Slow-Walking the Fix to a Wrongful Voter Purge”
Bolts Magazine: While Virginia officials have admitted to improperly removing some people from voter rolls, they are taking their sweet time in fixing their mistake. This despite the fact that the next election is just THREE WEEKS away. The… Continue reading
Poland’s Partisans Choose Country over Party
Ian Bassin and Ben Raderstorf (Protect Democracy) offer an interesting analysis of Poland’s recent election in which the pro-democracy forces pulled off a surprise victory. How? They abided by the “important pro-democracy maxim: don’t let the coalition fracture.”
The authors… Continue reading
“Black Voters Have New Power in Mississippi. Can They Elect a Democrat?”
N.Y. Times explores potential implications of excising two relics of the state’s 1890 disenfranchising constitution. The 2023 election will proceed without a geographic support threshold for statewide offices and with the votes of felons, if they can be registered and… Continue reading
“Jordan falls short of speakership on first vote”
Washington Post and pretty much everyone else is reporting that Representative Jordan received 200 votes in the first round, well short of the 217 he needs. (Democrat Jeffries received 212). The drama will continue.
Text of Trump Gag Order in Election Interference Case
This just in:
All interested parties in this matter, including the parties and their counsel, are prohibited from making any public statements, or directing others to make any public statements, that target (1) the Special Counsel prosecuting this case… Continue reading
Voters “get talked to, but not talked with.”
The newest episode of Our Body Politic also has an excellent interview with Los Angeles City Council Member Nithya Raman about politics in Los Angeles. Raman describes, among other things, a kind of retail, door-to-door politics that involves both listening… Continue reading
“A Legal Fight Over Whether Governors Can Deny Thousands the Vote”
NY Times: Three states give their governors unfettered discretion when it comes to restoring the voting rights of felons. Two are being sued under the First Amendment. At the heart of these cases is whether a governor’s discretion to… Continue reading
“Judge imposes gag order on Donald Trump in D.C. trial”
Politico: Judge Tanya Chutkan has imposed a gag order preventing Donald J. Trump from attacking witnesses, special prosecutor Jack Smith, or the court on social media or in his rally speeches. As reported, the order appears to be centered… Continue reading
Louisiana Bans Private Elections Funding
Bolts:
Voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 1, a measure that will block Louisiana’s election offices from receiving private grants from outside organizations.
A non-profit with ties to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated hundreds of millions of dollars in 2020 to… Continue reading
Republicans Advantage in House Fading
The Morning analyzes how redistricting for Congress is shaping up after the rounds of litigation. Its conclusion: The Republican Party’s advantage is fading.
“If everything goes Democrats’ way, roughly 10 House seats could become meaningfully easier to win. Next year,… Continue reading
Watch Archived Video of My Conversation with Joan Biskupic on “The Roberts Court and American Democracy” for the Safeguarding Democracy Project
You can watch here: