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Happy Thursday! A couple quick updates before diving into our most recent work: If you missed our webinar “Setting the Stacked Court in Stone?” last month, you can now stream the recording on CMD’s YouTube page. CMD’s Executive Director Arn Pearson appeared on Rising Up with Sonali to discuss CMD’s major report on election deniers holding office in key swing states. You can watch the interview here And, if you’re in Madison next week, please join us on Tuesday evening for a special screening of “Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy” at Madison’s historic Barrymore Theater! After the screening, we’ll be joined by historian and CMD board member Nancy MacLean for a short discussion. Now, on to the rest of the news! | |
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Here’s the Latest From CMD | |
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A Constitutional Convention Would Supercharge Project 2025 Several groups affiliated with ALEC have been waging a well-funded campaign to call a convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to amend our Constitution. The Heritage Foundation, the prime force driving Project 2025, has strongly endorsed the effort to call an Article V convention. Read the full article here. | |
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Climate Clarity: The Biggest Problems, The Best Solution After reporting from every UN climate conference since the one in Peru in 2014, I have come to realize that the climate problems we face and their solutions have crystallized for me in the following way. Read the full article here. | |
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Koch-Funded Lawfare Group Sues Biden Admin To Protect Vaccine Skepticism A corporate-aligned litigation outfit with deep ties to right-wing petrochemical billionaire Charles Koch is once again suing key officials and agencies within the Biden administration for their alleged role in influencing content moderation decisions made by social media companies. Read the full article here. | |
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Super PAC Spending on Montana Senate Race Breaks Records Montana is a must-win state for both parties in the 2024 general election for the U.S Senate, and it is shaping up to be the most expensive in U.S. history in terms of the cost per vote. Read the full article here. | |
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Project 2025 Architects Weaponize State Superintendents in Culture War Republican attorneys general and conservative state superintendents held a press conference in late June where they condemned the Department of Education’s amendments to Title IX, which expand protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and modify how colleges and universities respond to reports of sexual harassment and assault. Read the full article here. | |
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Turning Point Turns Into a Trump Field Operation When Donald Trump took the stage at the Turning Point USA's Believers’ Summit in July, he kicked off a three-day event in Florida centered on urging the 3,300 Christians in attendance “to rise in unity and embrace biblical truth [and] the biblical principle of readiness and obedience.” Read the full article here. | |
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An Ex-Con Promoted Campaign Software at ALEC’s Annual Meeting Just before the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual meeting in July, a former Oklahoma legislator and convicted felon reached out to ALEC state chairs to market a campaign data management platform favored by the Republican National Committee. Read the full article here. | |
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Our research has recently been cited by or featured in the following publications: - WBUR: “Lawyer Marc Elias defeated most of Trump's 2020 election lawsuits. Now there are even more”
- Popular Info: “How Republicans could subvert the 2024 election”
- Brookings: “Counting the votes in 2024—What you need to know about certification”
- The Hill: “Lawmakers fear ‘chaos’ if Trump-Harris race goes to the wire”
- Common Dreams: “Beware Trump’s Election Deniers Sitting on Election Boards!”
- The Guardian: “Leonard Leo-linked group attacking efforts to educate judges on climate”
- Democracy 21: “Trump’s Election Deniers In Action”
- Reporting Right: “Top Story: Reporting on Election Deniers”
- The Guardian: “Revealed: how the fossil fuel industry helps spread anti-protest laws across the US”
- Rising Up with Sonali: “How to Protect U.S. Democracy from Trump’s Fake Electors”
- National Education Policy Center: “Stunning New Report on Who Is Funding the Culture Wars to Undermine Support for Public Schooling”
- Kawsachun News: “Trump Loyalists Take Over Election Boards in Key States: Shocking Analysis Reveals”
- Truthout: “Report: GOP “Election Deniers” Are in Position to Disrupt the 2024 Vote Tally”
- Yes! Magazine: “Trump’s Fake Electors Eye 2024 Election Theft”
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That’s all for now! Hope you have a great rest of your week. Thank you for following our investigations and for your continued support! Team CMD | |
