A clarifying election

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Elections are nothing if not clarifying. The results of this week's elections sent a clear message to Democrats: moderate and get doable things done. After a relatively successful spring, Democrats overshot and ended up mired in intraparty battles. That's not uncommon where large-scale legislation is concerned, but for the average voter, who wants to see progress, it's a major turnoff. If Democrats want to win back—or at least reassure—the moderate and independent voters who helped elect Joe Biden last year, there are some steps they need to take immediately. First, the House should pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, regardless of the status of the reconciliation bill. That could happen as soon as today. Second, modify the Senate filibuster to allow pro-democracy legislation—including the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act—to pass with a simple majority. Lastly, move the Jan. 6 probe forward swiftly and take proportionate punitive action against all
involved. There are myriad other issues to address as well—the border, the supply chain, climate, inflation, and so on—but these three items can and should take priority to give the country a good shot in the arm. No pun intended. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

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** Wolf: America's electoral correction
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"This is a more moderate and centrist country than activists on either the right or left let on, and Donald Trump fever may be breaking. The system is working. Here's one thing everybody can be happy about: The election results, for the most part, are not being questioned. That may have a lot to do with Republicans doing well. But the results should prove to them that Trump's voter fraud myth is in fact a myth." —Zachary Wolf on ([link removed]) CNN ([link removed])

Zachary Wolf is a senior political analyst at
CNN.

MORE: Justice Department sues Texas over new voting law, targeting restrictions on mail-in ballots and voter assistance —The Texas Tribune ([link removed])


** Taylor: Inside the fight for the GOP's soul
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"It's much too soon to write a eulogy for the Party of Lincoln. A nucleus of conservative leaders is still working to steer the Republican Party away from vitriol and violence and back to its roots—to a common foundation built around reverence for free minds, free markets, and free people. And new conservative candidates are entering races around the country with a similar message." —Miles Taylor in ([link removed]) Deseret News ([link removed])

Miles Taylor is the co-founder of the Renew America Movement, the former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security, and the author of
The New York Times bestselling memoir "A Warning."

MORE: Kimberly Wehle: Good Republicans in government may be Democracy's last hope —The Hill ([link removed])


** Longwell & Parker: Biden needs to talk to America
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"Voters [in 2020] weren't looking for procedural normality, but for rhetorical normality. In our hundreds of hours of focus groups leading up to the election, Trump's reliance on acting officials and his abuse of the pardon power hardly ever came up. His tweets came up reliably. Voters didn't choose Biden over Trump because they thought he'd be a better manager. They chose him because they wanted him to be a better leader." —Sarah Longwell & Benajmin Parker in ([link removed]) The xxxxxx ([link removed])

Sarah Longwell is the publisher of
The xxxxxx. Benjamin Parker is a senior editor at The xxxxxx.

MORE: The calamity facing Joe Biden and the Democrats —The Economist ([link removed])


** Zhang: Time for a pandemic reset
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"On the ground, the U.S. is now running an uncontrolled experiment with every strategy all at once. COVID-19 policies differ wildly by state, county, university, workplace, and school district. And because of polarization, they have also settled into the most illogical pattern possible: The least vaccinated communities have some of the laxest restrictions, while highly vaccinated communities—which is to say those most protected from COVID-19—tend to have some of the most aggressive measures aimed at driving down cases. 'We're sleepwalking into policy because we're not setting goals,' says Joseph Allen, a Harvard professor of public health. We will never get the risk of COVID-19 down to absolute zero, and we need to define a level of risk we can live with." —Sarah Zhang in ([link removed]) The Atlantic
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Sarah Zhang is a staff writer at The Atlantic.

MORE: Biden sets COVID-19 vaccine rules for businesses —Reuters ([link removed])
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** Goldberg: Our social media problem
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"There are many reasons Facebook and the social media companies that came after it are implicated in democratic breakdown, communal violence around the world, and cold civil war in America. They are engines for spreading disinformation and algorithmic jet fuel for conspiracy theories. They reward people for expressing anger and contempt with the same sort of dopamine hit you get from playing slot machines. As the recent Facebook leaks reveal, Mark Zuckerberg has made many immoral and despicable decisions. But even if he were a good and selfless person, Facebook would still probably be socially destructive, just as most other big social media platforms are." —Michelle Goldberg in ([link removed]) The New York Times ([link removed])

Michelle Goldberg is an author and a
New York Times opinion columnist.

MORE: Farhad Manjoo: Okay, but what should we actually do about Facebook? I asked the experts —The New York Times ([link removed])


** Craig: A permanent end to the peaceful transition?
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"If Trump runs again, a near certainty, and the 2024 election result is close, the country could face a constitutional crisis with a potential for political violence that would make 2020 look tame. The best way to thwart that outcome is to be prepared for the legal and constitutional vulnerabilities that the Trump team is likely to target—and address them in advance. American presidential elections require an intricate series of steps from the local level all the way up to a joint session of Congress. Each step requires officials to scrupulously follow their legal obligations. Although courts can intervene and stop bad actors at lower levels early in the process, that becomes increasingly harder at higher levels at later stages." —Andy Craig on ([link removed]) The Unpopulist ([link removed])

Andy Craig is a staff writer at the Cato Institute and a former campaign staffer for Gov. Gary Johnson.

MORE: Jan. 6 committee chair said he has signed about 20 new subpoenas that are going out 'soon' —CNN ([link removed])


** Von Drehle: Build Back Bipartisanship
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"In the last remaining purple districts, people understand that a truly representative government is one that struggles to reflect the entire population. No party or faction wins all the time. No platform or agenda is entirely adopted. No one is shocked to lose an election. No one gets overconfident when they win. Here, we scratch our heads over a Republican Party lost in a fever dream of election fraud that never happened, and cringe as Washington Democrats form a circular firing squad over a pie-in-the-sky agenda that they never had the votes to pass. We fear that a year from now we'll reach another Election Day to find, again, little to like from either Team Red or Team Blue. There's a better way, if only Americans could embrace it. The color purple." —David Von Drehle in ([link removed]) The Washington Post
([link removed])

David Von Drehle is a
Washington Post columnist focusing on national affairs and politics.

MORE: House leaders press Democrats to back budget, infrastructure bills —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])

The Topline always synthesizes the big stories in a way that makes the point very clearly, and I love how you share reader comments. I also fully support your love of the Constitution and respect for rule of law. —Rosie G., Washington

I am concerned about gerrymandering. It is being used by Democrats and Republicans to suppress the will of the people. A law needs to be passed to correct this. —Linda S., Texas

What is the difference between a ballot committee and a political committee, and why does the FEC think it's okay to have foreign influence over the former? —Taylor J., Idaho

Trump claims credit for the Republican victories on Tuesday. He doesn't deserve it, but he claims it. If he continues to assign the victories to himself long enough, and loudly enough, it won't be long before the Republican Party actually gives him the attention and credit he seeks. The 2022 candidates will line up and bend over. "Thank you, sir! May I have another?" —Jim S., Texas
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