Stapleton: What the Summit for Democracy must accomplish

"A global democratic alliance must speak with a clear, unequivocal voice. No nation can accomplish the summit's objectives alone. This will require a team effort and a comprehensive approach for the next several decades. Progress may be slow, but impatience must be rejected. A sustained and committed effort will showcase a steely determination to succeed. This kind of resilience will strengthen democratic movements on every continent. An unshakeable resolve will be incredibly powerful." —John Stapleton in The Hill

John Stapleton is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the managing editor at the International Republican Institute. He is a former senior professional staff member at the Foreign Affairs Committee and senior adviser at the Committee on Homeland Security in the U.S. House of Representatives.

MORE: U.S. invites Taiwan to its democracy summit; China angered —Reuters

Mead: Russia's Ukraine strategy 

"China and Russia don't like or trust each other very much, and should they succeed in marginalizing the U.S., they would quickly fall out. But for now their mutual distrust turns them both against the U.S. as they compete to seize enough spoils from the declining American order to position themselves for the future. As the West weakens, for example, Mr. Putin is raising the stakes in Ukraine and the Black Sea partly because he can, and partly because he needs to grab everything on the table to prepare for the day when Russia and China face off." —Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal

Walter Russell Mead is the global view columnist at The Wall Street Journal, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at Hudson Institute, and the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College. 

MORE: Russia and Ukraine stage military drills, as tensions escalate —Reuters

Tufekci: The single most important lesson of COVID-19

"We need a new public spirit: more people willing to recognize things aren't going to get better unless we fight for it. It's not easy, but we have nothing to lose but a lot of wooden-headedness and the next catastrophic failure. If this path could be taken, we already have everything we need—wealth, science, technology, know-how. It might not mean the end of pandemics, but it could mean there's not another one like this." —Zeynep Tufekci in The New York Times

Zeynep Tufekci is a New York Times opinion columnist, an associate professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, and the author of "Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest."

MORE: U.S. COVID-19 infections rise as Americans prepare for Thanksgiving —ABC News

Rubin: Stop calling it 'polarization'

"While it's true that the country is more deeply divided along partisan lines than it has been in the past, it is wrong to suggest a symmetrical devolution into irrational hatred. The polarization argument too often treats both sides as equally worthy of blame, characterizing the problem as a sort of free-floating affliction (e.g., 'lack of trust'). This blurs the distinction between a Democratic Party that is marginally more progressive in policy positions than it was a decade ago, and a Republican Party that routinely lies, courts violence, and seeks to define America as a White Christian nation." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at The Washington Post. 

MORE: Jury awards millions in damages for Unite the Right violence in Charlottesville —The Boston Globe

Balz: If Americans hate gerrymandering, why doesn't anyone fix it?

"Gerrymandering is the root of much that is wrong in politics, or so many Americans believe. But left in the hands of politicians—politicians of either major party—the opportunity to use the process of drawing congressional and legislative district lines for partisan gain is irresistible. … With the balance of power in Congress shifting every few elections, the high-minded calls for a less partisan approach to redistricting are being lost this year. For politicians in both parties and for their rank-and-file loyalists, maintaining or gaining that power is seen as more important than ever—and certainly more important than how maps are drawn." —Dan Balz in The Washington Post

Dan Balz is the chief Washington Post correspondent covering national politics, the presidency, and Congress.

MORE: Joshua Douglas: Why gerrymandering needs to land in state courts —Politico

More Voice DC: RCV brings choice and civility

"The benefits of ranked-choice voting are just as diverse as the candidates who are empowered to run under this system. Candidates are incentivized to campaign positively to appeal to the supporters of other candidates as a backup preference. Data shows that in all jurisdictions that use RCV—including New York City, Minneapolis, and San Francisco—voter turnout is modestly increasing, and races are more dynamic and genial with genuine policy debates supplanting negative campaign tactics." —More Voice DC on Yahoo! Finance

More Voice DC seeks to engage Washingtonians in the political process and ensure that residents of the District are educated about how to effectively use their voice.

MORE: Ranked-choice voting survived its biggest election season yet —The Pew Charitable Trusts

Robertson: Much work ahead for the world's democracies

"At his inaugural address Biden used the word democracy five times in his introduction, and 11 times during his whole speech. It was at the forefront of his mind as he spoke at the spot where, just two weeks earlier, the United States' first attempted coup had unfolded. Looking out on Washington's flag-strewn Mall, his words broadcast into millions of living rooms and autocrats' offices around the world, Biden warned: 'We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile.' It has become even clearer since then that democracy's trials are far from over, both in the United States and around the world. Now, leaders must convert their well-meaning words into actions." —Nic Robertson on CNN

Nic Robertson is the international diplomatic editor at CNN.

MORE: Judge orders two lawyers who filed suit challenging 2020 election to pay hefty fees: 'They need to take responsibility' —The Washington Post

As one would unfortunately expect, Republican members of Congress who are the most enthusiastic guzzlers of Trump's Kool-Aid refer to the GOP House members who voted in favor of the infrastructure bill as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), yet if you sign up for their e-mails...as I have...you learn the facts are totally different. 

These are true conservatives: alarmed by what they see as excessive spending by the Biden Administration as well as what they perceive as erosions of personal liberty, and they're not shy about calling out the president who won their vote this one time. 

RINOS? No, there should be an acronym for those members of Congress who place loyalty to one man in Mar-A-Lago ahead of service to their constituents:

CULT (Can't Understand Loving Trump). —Jim V., New York

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is concerned about budget deficits. So should we all be. Republicans have traditionally said that spending needs to be responsibly budgeted. I just had my roof replaced. That was infrastructure that I had to pay for. If I had to pay for my new roof, why does anyone expect that national infrastructure spending should be any different? 

According to the IRS, the gap between taxes owed, and taxes collected is billions of dollars per year. I have to live within my means. The U.S. economy and government are much more complex, but the principle of budgeting for expenses is the same. Cutting taxes while running deficits, and not repairing bridges, while at the same time underfunding the IRS, as the GOP has pushed for in recent years, only exacerbates our problems. Why should tax cheats get a free ride? 

My opinion is that everyone should pay taxes. There is no free lunch. The vast majority of taxes are paid by the higher earners who file legitimate tax returns. If the GOP is actually serious about dealing with deficit spending, they should support President Biden's efforts at reinvigorating the IRS. If they oppose them, they should admit to the citizens who are unfairly bearing too much of our tax burden, that they are on the side of tax cheaters. —Bill M., Pennsylvania

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.