Voting Rights

Senators at a For the People Act press conference

Is Performative Progress the Best Democrats Can Do on Voting Rights? Is Performative Progress the Best Democrats Can Do on Voting Rights?

So far, it seems like it. The apparent game plan requires patience, but that’s in short supply among progressives right now.

Jun 23, 2021 / Joan Walsh

March for Our Lives

Want to Increase Election Turnout? Lower the Voting Age to 16. Want to Increase Election Turnout? Lower the Voting Age to 16.

Andrew Yang had a really good idea: Let 16- and 17-year-olds vote. No matter who wins the mayoral race, the idea should be amplified.

Jun 22, 2021 / John Nichols

Stacey Abrams

What Republicans Mean When They Say ‘Stacey Abrams’ What Republicans Mean When They Say ‘Stacey Abrams’

Mitch McConnell torpedoed Joe Manchin’s voting rights compromise because it was endorsed by the Black Georgia leader. Get it?

Jun 17, 2021 / Joan Walsh

Ballot Box

ALEC’s Corporate Funders Are Complicit in State-Based Assaults on Voting Rights and Democracy ALEC’s Corporate Funders Are Complicit in State-Based Assaults on Voting Rights and Democracy

More than 300 voting rights groups and their allies demand that corporations cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Jun 17, 2021 / John Nichols

U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) (R) and Joe Manchin (D-WV)

Are Dems Incapable of Defending Democracy? Or Just Unwilling? Are Dems Incapable of Defending Democracy? Or Just Unwilling?

Bolstering voting rights is both urgent and popular. Yet for all his talk of “existential crisis,” Biden hasn’t turned up the heat on Manchin or Sinema.

Jun 14, 2021 / Column / Jeet Heer

Joe Manchin committee hearing

Joe Manchin Cares More About ‘Bipartisanship’ Than Fighting Jim Crow Joe Manchin Cares More About ‘Bipartisanship’ Than Fighting Jim Crow

The senator says he won’t back a crucial voting rights bill because it’s too “partisan.” What he means is that white conservatives don’t like it.

Jun 8, 2021 / Elie Mystal

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

Sinema’s Position on the Filibuster Echoes Goldwater’s Case Against Civil Rights Sinema’s Position on the Filibuster Echoes Goldwater’s Case Against Civil Rights

Her claim that the Senate must change “behavior,” not “rules,” calls to mind her Arizona predecessor’s argument that fighting racism required changing “hearts,” not laws.

Jun 4, 2021 / Joan Walsh

Michael Flynn

Pro-Trump Crackpots’ Talk Gets More Dangerous. Should We Worry? Pro-Trump Crackpots’ Talk Gets More Dangerous. Should We Worry?

The GOP’s antidemocracy agenda gets clearer by the day. Is Joe Manchin paying attention?

Jun 1, 2021 / Joan Walsh

Capitol building

The Party of White Grievance Has Never Cared About Democracy The Party of White Grievance Has Never Cared About Democracy

From the Democrats of the Civil War era to the Republicans of the Trump years, the white party has always posed the greatest threat to our political system.

May 26, 2021 / Steve Phillips

Black Lives Matter

Republican Cancel Culture: State Laws to Suppress Activism Republican Cancel Culture: State Laws to Suppress Activism

Republicans in 33 states have introduced bills to make protesting a crime.

May 19, 2021 / David Cole

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