Democracy fights back

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Today, the House passed the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act, which, if enacted, would represent the largest expansion of the social safety net in decades. One Democrat and all Republicans voted against it. The vote didn't come without some partisan theatrics. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delayed the vote with what amounted to a one-man filibuster. In a floor speech that lasted eight hours and 32 minutes, McCarthy criticized the bill as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats more broadly. So goes the House. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it's likely to be significantly revised, based on moderates' well-founded concerns about funding the massive bill. We'll be keeping an eye on it. In the spirit of accentuating the positive, there were some signs of hope this week that American democracy is making a comeback. The infrastructure bill was signed, and both Paul Gosar and Steve Bannon were held accountable for their actions. In other words, bipartisanship,
civility, and the rule of law might be on the ropes, but they're still hanging in there. Have a great weekend, everyone! —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

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** Lawrence: Is infrastructure the last gasp of bipartisan deal-making?
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"Imagine living in a country where you can get death threats for voting to upgrade bridges, roads, ports, airports, and internet connections. Oh wait. We do live in that country. America has turned into a place where it's risky to look out for the people you represent in Congress, who may be in dire need of clean water or a power grid that doesn't collapse in a storm. It's risky to give a political 'win' to a president from the other party. Some of your own leaders and colleagues have it in for you. They're ready to get you kicked off committees or contested in a primary, or post your phone numbers on Twitter—and let their inflamed supporters take it from there." —Jill Lawrence in ([link removed]) USA Today ([link removed])

Jill Lawrence is a columnist for
USA Today and the author of "The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock."

MORE: House postpones vote on social spending bill after McCarthy delays with hours-long speech —National Review ([link removed])


** Ssentongo & McCall-Hosenfeld: Violence on the rise
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"Early in the pandemic, gun sales in the United States surged, with more than 20% of these purchases by first-time buyers. And access to firearms is a well-established risk factor for gun-related suicide and homicide. This sharp increase in firearm purchases raises serious concerns, since the combination of increased stress, social disruption, and isolation during the pandemic created a perfect storm of conditions that could contribute to increased gun violence." —Paddy Ssentongo & Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld in ([link removed]) The Conversation ([link removed])

Paddy Ssentongo is an assistant research professor of neural engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Jennifer McCall-Hosenfeld is an associate professor of medicine at Pennsylvania State University.

MORE: Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of all counts of homicide, reckless endangerment —USA Today ([link removed])


** Applebaum: Autocracy knocking at the door
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"Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does geopolitics. If America removes the promotion of democracy from its foreign policy, if America ceases to interest itself in the fate of other democracies and democratic movements, then autocracies will quickly take our place as sources of influence, funding, and ideas. If Americans, together with our allies, fail to fight the habits and practices of autocracy abroad, we will encounter them at home; indeed, they are already here." —Anne Applebaum in ([link removed]) The Atlantic ([link removed])

Anne Applebaum is a senior fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the author of "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism."

MORE: Wisconsin Republicans push to take over the state's elections —The New York Times ([link removed])


** Kwon: Why disinfo is so effective
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"The ultimate power of disinformation is found more in the ideas and memories that a given society is vulnerable to and how prone it is to fueling the rumor mill than it is in the people perpetrating the disinformation or the techniques they use. … To counter the disinformation industry wherever it emerges, governments, media, and the public need to understand not just the who and the how, but also the what—a society's controversial ideologies and collective memories. These are the most valuable currency in the disinformation marketplace." —K. Hazel Kwon in ([link removed]) The Conversation ([link removed])

K. Hazel Kwon is an associate professor of journalism and digital audiences at Arizona State University.

MORE: Two Iranians charged with spreading election disinformation, threatening people to vote for Trump —CNBC ([link removed])
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** Schmidt: The reforms we need most before 2024
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"There is a way to reroute and get ourselves back on a healthier road for our democracy. That road requires reforming the Electoral Count Act of 1887. The Electoral Count Act is not particularly clear and has a couple of loopholes. The last thing we need is ambiguity in our election systems. The Electoral Count Act can be reformed with a few steps, including creating a higher threshold for electoral vote challenges, clarifying that only state-certified electoral votes are counted on Jan. 6, and that the vice president's role is truly ceremonial, and he or she has no power to choose noncertified electors over certified ones." —Lynn Schmidt in ([link removed]) St. Louis Post-Dispatch ([link removed])

Lynn Schmidt is a member of the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board and a Renew America Movement fellow.

MORE: Texts show Kimberly Guilfoyle bragged about raising millions for rally that fueled Capitol riot —ProPublica ([link removed])


** Fowler & Fowler: Making districts fair to voters, not parties
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"Elections should hold public officials accountable by rewarding or sanctioning legislators' performance. Outlawing gerrymandering addresses one piece of the problem of safe seats that impedes representation. But without other reforms, fairness to parties will have limited impact as long as residential sorting of citizens into homogeneous communities stifles electoral competition." —Linda Fowler & Chris Fowler in ([link removed]) The Conversation ([link removed])

Linda Fowler is a professor of government at Dartmouth College. Chris Fowler is an associate professor of geography and demography at Pennsylvania State University.

MORE: Wisconsin governor vetoes redistricting maps, calls them 'gerrymandering 2.0' —The Hill ([link removed])


** Dent: The center is where it's at
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"Winning swing voters requires candidates to show some restraint; exercising considered judgment that at times is nuanced and measured will yield electoral benefits. These qualities or characteristics won't necessarily please the shrillest voices of a party's base, but they will appeal to voters who prefer the center lane." —Charlie Dent on ([link removed]) CNN ([link removed])

Charlie Dent formerly represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Ethics Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

MORE: Jacqueline Salit: Virginia's results are no mystery, if you know your election history —The Fulcrum ([link removed])

The Republican Party has lost its moral compass and has been hijacked by the Kevin McCarthys, Paul Gosars, Marjorie Taylor Greenes, Jim Jordans, and Lauren Boeberts, just to name a few. It was disturbing to see that only two Republicans voted to 'censure' the lunatic Paul Gosar. It is even more disturbing to see how many Republicans would not support the Jan. 6 commission. Then, when the infrastructure bill was passed, the 13 Republicans who supported it received death threats from the 'crazies' and the Republican caucus—who condemned them for supporting a plan that Bush, Obama, and Trump all tried to get passed for the betterment of the entire country's future. That was the icing on the cake. I think it is safe to say that the Republican Party that many of us supported from Bush going back through recent history is dead on arrival. Can anyone tell me what the Republicans stand for today other than obstructionism and kowtowing to Trump and his misguided, misinformed supporters? —Lee A.,
Utah
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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