Prime
HR1/S1, the big democracy protection bill Democrats are trying to get through Congress this year, is an absolutely critical piece of legislation. It has three main components: 1) expanding and protecting access to voting 2) clamping down on partisan gerrymandering and 3) campaign finance reform. A portion of campaign finance reform creates a federal public financing system.
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Where Things Stand: Gun Lobby Suit Successfully Blocked Assault Weapon Ban In Boulder Earlier This Month
And 10 days later: A mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado.
In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglass massacre in 2018, the city of Boulder passed landmark legislation banning the possession of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines within the municipality. The city law was challenged with aggressive legal action from gun-rights activists, including the Colorado State Shooting Association and the local chapter of the National Rifle Association.
Another Month, Another Israeli Election
Both the politics and the existence of Israel have long been matters of great fascination and importance to me. But my interest, engagement, commitment has ebbed as the country’s politics have become not only more right wing but more consistently absurd over the last decade. The animating question of Israeli politics is no longer the Arab-Israeli conflict, questions of political economy or religion but overwhelmingly the question of one man: Benjamin Netanyahu. He entirely dominates what is called the ‘national camp’ and two or perhaps three of the country’s other parties are right wing parties which are founded around their principal’s personal disputes with Netanyahu. Every few months there’s another election. When Netanyahu wins he becomes Prime Minister. When Netanyahu loses he also becomes Prime Minister. Why pay attention?
Where Things Stand: They Both Hyped Disinfo About A Stolen Election. Now They Might Be Senators
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) made speculation about his impending bid for retiring Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-AL) seat official last night with a speech that not-so-subtly revealed that the “Big Lie” would be a crucial pillar of his campaign.
Voter Advocates Pressure Biz Community To Push Back On Restrictive Proposals
Americans and the Culture of Kings
My take on the British monarchy is one of general indifference. They’re quaint. They’ve inspired countless costume dramas I’ve enjoyed immensely. I even have some small element of nostalgia for them in the same way I do for dragons or jousting tournaments. But mostly I don’t care about them in any way. But I’ve been struck by the recent efflorescence of pro-monarchism on the American right, something that seems to flow in this particular case downstream from hostility to Meghan Markle, but is yet part of something larger. In the midst of the Markle drama, Trump immigration czar Stephen Miller hopped on to Twitter to defend the monarchy as a symbol of national service and praise the royals he met during President Trump’s state visit as “unfailingly gracious and deeply committed to preserving the traditions and heritage of the UK.” (emphasis added). A week later The National Review published An American Defense of Britain’s Constitutional Monarchy.