Stirewalt: The contradictions of paranoid nationalism

"Suspicion of authority is an old and important part of American conservatism. But so too is respect for righteous authority and tradition. Ongoing efforts on the right wing to discourage Americans from getting vaccinated against coronavirus and to overturn the certified results of an election held nine months ago tell me that things have gotten pretty badly out of whack between those competing impulses of suspicion and tradition." —Chris Stirewalt in The Dispatch

Chris Stirewalt is a contributing editor of The Dispatch and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

MORE: Marjorie Taylor Greene suggests Southerners could 'welcome' Biden's 'police state friends' with guns —NBC News

NYT Ed Board: Cuomo must resign

"What this report lays out...are credible accusations that can't be looked past. As [New York Attorney General Letitia] James said on Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo's alleged conduct 'corrodes the very fabric and character of our state government and shines light on injustice that can be present at the highest levels of government.' If Mr. Cuomo cares for the well-being of the state and its citizens as much as he has said he does over the years, he needs to do the right thing and step down." —The New York Times

MORE: Former Cuomo staffer who accused governor of groping files criminal complaint —CNBC

Waldman: Time is running out to stop gerrymandering

"August 16 is a big day for democracy. But it might not be a good day for democracy. That's when the Census Bureau releases the data that states will use in the redistricting process. The maps they draw will be used for the next 10 years. And in many states, what that means is the gerrymandering barbecue is about to begin. The unchecked partisan and racial gerrymandering that we expect to see won't just tilt for one party—it will also serve to squelch the voices of people of color." —Michael Waldman on Brennan Center for Justice

Michael Waldman is president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. He is the author of "The Fight to Vote" and previously served as director of speechwriting for former President Bill Clinton.

MORE: Census data will arrive next week, setting up redistricting fight —The New York Times

French: The shocking decline of Hong Kong

"The political culture of the city has been transformed with breathtaking speed in the past year, as the local government, under orders from Beijing, has cracked down on dissent to a degree that was once almost unimaginable. ... Hong Kong's new national security law, meanwhile, weakens due process protections; dramatically broadens police powers of search, seizure, and freezing of assets; and permits the indictment of suspects for anti-state activities, including speech, even when conducted far away from China." —Howard French in World Politics Review

Howard French is a foreign correspondent and global affairs writer and the author of "Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power."

MORE: Hong Kong residents extended temporary safe haven in U.S. amid China crackdown —CNN

Mulroy: A voting fix that gives everyone a chance

"By eliminating the 'don't throw away your vote on an unknown' dynamic, ranked-choice voting tends to assist outsider, non-establishment candidates—not always enough for them to win, but enough to get them in the game. In New York, it did that and more." —Steven Mulroy on RealClearPolitics

Steven Mulroy is a University of Memphis law professor, a former Voting Section lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and the author of "Rethinking U.S. Election Law: Unskewing the System."

MORE: Senate Dems plot new paths on voting reform, sidestepping filibuster —Politico

Rosenberg: We're politicians' bosses—not their fans

"[C]heering from the stands is different from practicing citizenship. A fan's job is to admire and defend the object of his affection. A citizen's role is to judge the public servants they employ. By converting his base into fans, rather than mere voters, Trump made it difficult—if not impossible—for anyone to challenge his hold on his admirers. Across the political spectrum, it's long past time for Americans to rediscover some self-respect and to adjust the terms of our relationships with public figures." —Alyssa Rosenberg in The Washington Post

Alyssa Rosenberg is a Washington Post columnist who writes about the intersection of culture and politics.

MORE: The full picture of Trump's attempted coup is only starting to emerge —CNN

Sarat & Aftergut: Last week offered real hope for democracy

"[O]ur country has survived the traumas of Civil War, Jim Crow, the Father Coughlins and Charles Lindberghs who would have aligned us with Nazi Germany, and the Sen. Joseph McCarthys who would have imposed his orthodoxy on our political thought. Last week's developments offer a glimmer of hope that we will survive Trump too. To do so, Congress must act to protect the vote and preserve the integrity of our elections. The key for citizens is never to shy away from facing the brutal truth of our current difficulties, while not allowing it to rob us of faith." —Austin Sarat & Dennis Aftergut in The Hill

Austin Sarat is an author and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, currently of counsel at the Renne Public Law Group in San Francisco.

MORE: Infrastructure deal builds hope of bipartisanship —The Seattle Times

A long-lost book returns

The people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 were a loud and focused angry mob. I saw it, America saw it, the world saw that mob. All because of a narcissist who has been a lifelong self-serving individual, never caring what damage he has done, as long as his con is working. The "stop the steal" stolen election is just that—a con. It is making his bank account grow. Given his current financial peril, separate from the legal peril, he needs to keep the con going. —Donna C., California

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