Europe’s crisis of democracy

Did you know that The Topline is a project of the Renew America Foundation (RAF)? As the 501(c)(3) sister organization of the Renew America Movement, RAF seeks to strengthen democratic ideals and norms and advance innovative reforms—without regard to party affiliation or ideology. We engage and inform Americans across the political spectrum who share a commitment to the principles of self-government, Constitutional checks and balances, rule of law, civil dialogue, and honest and honorable leadership. Americans like you! We are proud to present The Topline to you at no subscription cost and with no advertising. As a nonprofit organization, we are entirely dependent on the generosity of our donors. If you enjoy The Topline, we kindly ask that you consider making a donation to support our work. As always, donations are entirely voluntary, and The Topline will continue to be a free publication. Thank you for being a part of our community! —Miles Taylor, Executive Director, Renew America Movement

• 16 wounded in Brooklyn subway by gunman in gas mask —New York Daily News

• NY Lt. Gov. Benjamin arrested in campaign finance scheme —The New York Times

• U.S. inflation up 8.5% in past year, highest since 1981 —The Buffalo News

• Biden issues new federal rule aimed at privately made ‘ghost guns’ without serial numbers —PBS Newshour

• Philadelphia becomes first major U.S. city to reinstate indoor mask mandate as Covid cases rise —CNN

Is the face of France about to change?

With a brutal war still raging in Ukraine, it's hard to argue that any threat to Europe could be bigger than Russia right now. But a less immediate crisis that’s smoldering in the background could ultimately serve as a force multiplier for Vladimir Putin. In the first round of the French national election, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen scored strong-enough numbers to force a runoff election between her and French President Emmanuel Macron. Her past friendliness with Putin and the financial backing she has received from Russia did not dissuade voters who bought into her populist economic message. Like the election of Donald Trump and Brexit, the French election could be a game-changer, coming at a particularly fraught time for Europe. Round two takes place on April 24. —Politico

• Wolves at the gate. Or in the yard, in this case. In Hungary’s recent election, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was re-elected, securing not only four more years in power but a two-thirds supermajority, thus enabling his ruling party, Fidesz, to unilaterally amend the country’s constitution. Orbán has overseen the steady destruction of Hungary’s democracy, transforming the EU country into what some scholars refer to as a “soft” or “competitive” autocracy, in which elections are held but the opposition’s ability to compete in them is severely undermined. —Yasmeen Serhan in The Atlantic

• Why should Americans care? Any threat to democracy is a global concern, but the turns in Hungary and now potentially France are especially concerning. “In a NATO strengthened by the reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hungary represents a very weak reed. This is a problem for the United States as well,” says former Undersecretary of State J. Brian Atwood. “Orban’s drift over time toward corrupt autocratic power and xenophobic populism is a case study of how democracies can be perverted. There are lessons there for American democracy as well,” he added. —The Hill

• Nerves on edge. If Macron falters in the runoff, that would put the Putin-sympathetic, European far-right at the helm of the EU and have immense repercussions for the bloc. Other European leaders worry that Le Pen’s coming to power would potentially damage the democratic values, commercial rules, and overall functioning of the bloc. And critically, it would likely threaten the EU’s common front and sanctions in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Stay tuned. —Associated Press

MORE: How many people live in a political democracy today? —Visual Capitalist

Ellis: The biggest threat to our democracy is us

“Many Ukrainians, no doubt, did not think their democratic way of life was in jeopardy of being annihilated. No doubt, many thought that despite the protests and the infighting with Russian insurgents, their country was still pretty secure. How quickly things can deteriorate. How quickly divisive words can turn into divisive battles and all-out war. What we see happening in Ukraine and the threats to other democracies, should motivate and inspire us to fight for and protect our democracy. To make it better, work to enable it to live up to all of its potential and promise. Who among us really wants the alternative?” —Janice Ellis in Colorado Newsline

Janice Ellis is a writer who analyzes educational, political, social, and economic issues. She is the author of “From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream.”

MORE: Jennifer Rubin: Four lessons from France on how to defend democracy —The Washington Post

Focus on the insurrection investigation 

Renewer Rep. Liz Cheney said on Sunday that the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has enough evidence to refer Donald Trump for criminal charges. Rep. Elaine Luria, a fellow Renewer and committee member, predicted the upcoming public hearings will change minds when Americans are presented with the scheme “in its entirety” and understand “how much of a concerted, deliberate effort there was, and how many people at high levels of government were involved in trying to implement a plot that was going to change the outcome of the election.” Luria said it’s been jarring to learn how close the plotters came to success. “The most concerning part to me,” she said, “is to know how close we were to a different outcome, if a few people had not been in the right place and done the right thing.” —New York Magazine

• “We need to do a call on this today.” A newly revealed tranche of communications shows that Trump’s allies went even further in their attempts to get the federal government to help reverse the 2020 election results than previously known. Arizona State Rep. Mark Finchem made a request of “a full spectrum forensic examination” of voting machines to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Christmas Eve 2020. Finchem is now running for Arizona Secretary of State and has been endorsed by Trump. —Politico

• Still up to no good. As recently as March 16, just four weeks ago, John Eastman—the lawyer who drafted a plan for Trump to cling to power by falsely claiming that former Vice President Mike Pence could reject legitimate electors—was part of a group of Trump allies who met for two hours behind closed doors with Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. They reportedly pressured him to nullify the 2020 election and reclaim the electors awarded to Joe Biden, a move experts say is legally impossible. Eastman has been subpoenaed by the House committee, but has so far failed to comply. —ABC News

• Is the Trump fever about to break? Eh. Polls for 2024 would suggest the answer is no, but RAM advisor Susan Del Percio points to another, more visual indicator to argue that it is. She says the dwindling number of attendees at recent Trump rallies shows that conservatives "want to move on." She explained, “Yes, [Trump] can bring out those people, but those crowds are getting smaller, and people aren't buying into it… They don't want to talk about the Big Lie. The people of this country don't want to hear about it anymore." Fingers crossed on that. —Newsweek

MORE: Trump and Ukraine: Former advisers revisit what happened —The New York Times

Amid ‘Groomergate,’ being principled takes courage

By Olivia Troye

There’s a long-standing trend on social media to admonish posters who thank lawmakers for taking politically risky votes. “That’s their job,” the argument goes. “It’s what we pay them to do.” In normal times, I’m inclined to agree, but the times we’re living in are far from normal. So while we shouldn’t have to shower our leaders with slobbery appreciation every time they do something right, there are occasions when recognizing a politician’s courage is more than appropriate.

Last week was a perfect example. When Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney announced that they would vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, it took a degree of political courage—not because of the electoral ramifications, though those certainly apply, but because of the nature of today’s GOP. A perceived controversial vote in this dystopian excuse for a political party doesn’t earn someone begrudging respect or even rational criticism for their independence. Instead it leads to ostracization, scurrilous accusations, and threats.

Call it “groomergate.” If you caught any of the confirmation hearings for Jackson, you couldn’t miss the grotesque dog-whistling by the likes of Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, and other Republican senators. Their goal was to exploit QAnon conspiracy theories about pedophilia in order to label Judge Jackson as lenient toward sexual predators who target children. And, sadly, this disgusting disinformation campaign has taken root. According to an Economist/YouGov poll, 49% of Republicans say it is “definitely” or “probably” true that top Democrats are or were involved in elite child sex-trafficking rings. And if you harbor any lingering doubts as to what some Republicans believe, take a look at the comments in response to Sen. Romney’s tweet supporting Jackson.

It’s not just the rank and file. Vile slurs against Collins, Murkowski, and Romney were launched like grenades by their fellow Republican lawmakers as well. Perhaps the most vicious came from, not surprisingly, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called the trio “pro-pedophile.” And Greene is just one cacophonous voice in a whole GOP chorus, whose entirely baseless chants about pedophilia have gone unchecked by Republican leadership. Kevin McCarthy, the flaccid House Minority Leader, has utterly failed at reining in his conference in its race to the bottom. 

The question then becomes, where does it end? These aren’t standard political theatrics. The GOP is quite literally playing with fire in a polarized environment in which conspiracy theorists have already shown that, for them, violence is not beyond the pale. If we can’t have good faith disagreements in politics without resorting to accusing opponents of being “groomers,” then guess what, folks? We can’t have a democratic republic.

I fear what it will take to finally put a stop to this dangerous, conspiracy-enabling behavior. Since the GOP has demonstrated time and again that it will not police its own, my greatest hope remains the American voter and the opportunity we have in November to end this inexorable slide into incivility and barbarism. Until then, there will be no accountability for scoundrels like Marjorie Taylor Greene—only condemnation for leaders who are willing to put partisanship aside and make decisions based on careful consideration of the facts. In other words, those who courageously do their job. Some thanks.

Olivia Troye served as homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence. She is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Renew America Movement.

MORE: Jonathan Haidt: Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid —The Atlantic

Congratulations to Ketanji Brown Jackson on being confirmed to the Supreme Court. It is unfortunate that so many Republican senators could not sustain her nomination. Instead, several of the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted themselves as shallow individuals, with questioning on pedophilia, and then a dumb question from Sen. Marsha Blackburn asking Jackson to define a woman.

Sen. Mike Lee said the process was too rushed and he could therefore not vote for her—as if Amy Coney Barrett wasn’t a rush job. Come on, Mike, just tell us you are a sycophant versus your lame excuse to cast a ‘no’ vote. Every member of BYU’s law school faculty came out and endorsed her, which happens to be Lee’s alma mater. Sen. Mitt Romney embodies everything that is right with our country, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her ilk embody all that is wrong. —Lee A., Utah

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 Renew America Foundation.