'The attack on our democracy is real'

It feels like it’s become a cliche, but this is an important week for democracy. Why? Because Congress is (again) debating voting reform, and just possibly, they may have found an area of bipartisan agreement, albeit a narrow one. The 135-year-old Electoral Count Act is a popular target, and coalitions on both sides of Congress agree it needs some tweaks. We’ll keep you posted if there are any breakthroughs. Speaking of elections, our guest for this week’s RAM Chat knows a little something about vote counting. We’ll be joined on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 2pm ET, by Bill Gates, Chair of the Maricopa Co., Arizona, Board of Supervisors. Gates, a Republican, has pushed back against the Big Lie and the sham “audit” conducted by the Arizona Senate. His office released a report earlier this month slamming the audit, and laying out in great detail how the election was won by President Biden fair and square. He’ll discuss his report and where we go from here to ensure the integrity of our elections. Please join us at the Renew America Movement homepage, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. See you then! —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

• Russia moves troops to Belarus for joint exercises near Ukraine border —The Guardian

• U.S. aims sanctions at pro-Russian separatists as Blinken plans Ukraine, Russia meetings —The Wall Street Journal

• Details emerge about suspected gunman in Texas synagogue hostage standoff —CBS News

• AT&T delays launching 5G near some airports after airlines ask Biden to intervene —CNN

• Arizona rally: Trump claims COVID-19 treatment is anti-White —Insider

Protecting the count

While Martin Luther King, Jr., Day came and went without any voting reforms, a growing group of influential lawmakers from both chambers of Congress is coalescing around the idea of changing how Congress tallies Electoral College votes—by reforming the 1887 Electoral Count Act. In fact, it might be the only chance of passing any election reform in the fiercely divided Capitol. On the House side, Rep. Jim Banks, who leads the 158-member Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, said, “It's a muddled, flawed [act], and Congress must clarify the essential process of certifying elections.” 

Meanwhile, in the Senate, a bipartisan group of about a dozen members is working on a similar proposal that can pass the Senate. Most reformers agree on two key changes: raising the threshold for objections beyond just a single senator and representative, and clarifying the role of the vice president as merely ceremonial. Voting reform is, of course, grabbing the biggest headlines this week, but there's other notable activity on the Hill as well… —Yahoo! News

• Public health. Renewer Sen. Lisa Murkowski has joined Sens. Cory Booker, Susan Collins, and Tina Smith to introduce the bipartisan Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act, which would reinforce and expand the public health workforce amidst significant shortages. “By opening up doors for loan repayment assistance, expanding eligibility requirements, and ensuring greater equity among geographic regions, we can help ensure all Americans have greater access to the care they need and deserve,” Murkowski said. —Insider NJ

• Veterans’ benefits. Renewer Rep. Cindy Axne has proposed the Student Work-Study Modernization Act, which would allow part-time student veterans to access Department of Veterans Affairs work-study programs, so they can balance completing their certification or degree with work and family obligations. Currently, work-study programs are only available for full-time student veterans. “As somebody who went back to school as an adult to get a degree for me, I understand the pressures those families face with kids and other jobs," Axne said. "Let's give those families a break—and that’s what that bill does.” —KMA Land

• Congressional stock trading. While it’s never easy to get Congress to police itself, Renewer Rep. Abigail Spanberger and co-lead Rep. Chip Roy have managed to build a bipartisan coalition around legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading stock. The issue gained traction across the ideological spectrum after several stock-trading controversies came to light during the pandemic. Now, Sen. Jon Ossoff has introduced a similar bill with Renewer Sen. Mark Kelly, giving Spanberger and Roy a Senate champion to move the needle on the year-old House legislation. —The Washington Post

MORE: Rep. Susan Wild: Congress must focus on the economy in 2022 —The Morning Call

McManus: It’s not too late for a bipartisan solution on voting

“It will be tempting for all sides to spend the coming week scoring partisan points and apportioning blame. But our elections still need to be protected. Better to walk away from the wreckage and get back to work.” —Doyle McManus in Olean Times Herald

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

MORE: The crazy, and true, story of how America got the Electoral Count Act —The xxxxxx

Trump’s not the boss of them anymore

And they want to make sure he stays out of the White House for good. Around three dozen former Trump Administration officials held a conference call last week to discuss how they can help fend off the ex-president’s efforts to erode the democratic process. Former Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor helped lead the call, which included former White House staffers Gen. John Kelly, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Anthony Scaramucci; former DHS officials Olivia Troye and Elizabeth Neumann; and former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs, among others. They discussed ideas ranging from “shining a light” on Trump’s corporate contributors to targeting for defeat candidates Trump has endorsed for state and local races. “We all agreed passionately that letters and statements don’t mean anything,” Taylor said. "The two operative words are ‘electoral effects.’ How can we have tangible electoral effects against the extremist candidates that have been endorsed by Trump?” Stay tuned. —CNN

MORE: U.S. shifted from Democratic preference to Republican in 2021 —The Hill

RCV coming to San Jose?

An election reform organization called Better Elections San Jose is educating officials in San Jose, California, about the benefits of ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates by choice in elections. If the city’s voters adopt the election format, San Jose would join a growing list of cities and states, including New York City and Maine, that have switched to RCV in recent years. RCV would eliminate primary elections, increasing the number of candidates in the general election. Sam Gordon, co-founder of Better Elections San Jose, believes if a city of the size of San Jose adopts RCV, it will encourage other cities—and potentially states—to follow. “I think there’s a really strong chance that in a little while we could have ranked-choice voting across this country,” Gordon said. —San Jose Spotlight

MORE: Election overhaul in Alaska aimed at reducing partisanship —Los Angeles Times

Nichols: Nice people, bad citizens

“[T]here is such a thing as being a bad citizen, even among people we might otherwise think of as good neighbors. When we disengage from society and ignore our civic obligations, we are bad citizens. When we listen only to those with whom we already agree and believe anyone else is wrong as a matter of first principles, we are bad citizens. When we insist on one standard of treatment from the government and the law for ourselves and for people whom we happen to like, and a different standard for others, we are bad citizens. When we continually blame the world around us for our nation’s troubles while refusing to consider whether we’ve had any part in them, we are bad citizens. And when we only do what’s best for ourselves, we are not citizens at all, but rather we become mercenaries, loose in the ship of state and plundering the hold, with no interest in our direction and no regard for our eventual survival.” —Tom Nichols in Deseret News

Tom Nichols is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and is the author of “The Death of Expertise.”

MORE: Distrust in political, media, and business leaders sweeps the globe —Axios

Braw: The best weapon in the global fight for democracy? Us

“In the long term, recognition of the need to act collectively against gray-zone aggression might help serve as a force for unity. Americans may not want to bowl together again, but how about working together to keep themselves, their families, their companies’ production and sales, and the country safe? Call me optimistic, but perhaps defending against this new category of threats could one day play the role of yesterday’s bowling leagues in bringing a divided people together.” —Elisabeth Braw on Politico

Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at AEI and the author of “The Defender’s Dilemma: Identifying and Deterring Gray-Zone Aggression.”

MORE: Why did Russia escalate its gray zone conflict in Ukraine? —Lawfare

Thanks to Bill T. from Arizona for drawing the connection between 9/11 and 1/6. I hadn't seen that before, but now I do. And I see some other connections. Both 9/11 and 1/6 were organized attacks on our seat of government, thwarted ultimately by brave Americans. Both attacks were inspired by trust-fund kids who never had to fill out a job application in their lives. Both those kids used their inherited wealth to channel their deep psychic anger into criminal behavior. Both attracted large cults of angry followers. Both portrayed themselves as tough guys in videos. Both flaunted laws and evaded justice for decades. SEAL Team Six ended the career of one of them. Who will end the career of the other? —Tim P., New Mexico

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff, the Renew America Movement, or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.