‘America is at an inflection point’

President Biden delivered a controversial speech (depending on your perspective) in Philadelphia last night, and we're learning more today from the Justice Department about those stolen documents seized (or not) from Mar-a-Lago. We have more on those developments below. Another big story this week? Democrat Mary Peltola defeated Republican Sarah Palin in the special election for Alaska’s vacant House seat. Peltola will become the state’s first indigenous member of Congress. Her victory was a big upset over former Gov. Palin, and observers attribute the win in part to ranked-choice voting, which was used for the first time in Alaska. RCV ensures that no candidate wins without the approval of a majority of voters. Learn more about it from FairVote here. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton didn't like the Alaska outcome, tweeting that RCV is “a scam to rig elections.” Rubbish. Alas, some partisans have taken to calling into question the results of any election they lose, so we strongly recommend that you consider the source. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

• The pandemic erased two decades of progress in math and reading —The New York Times

• Ex-NYPD officer who assaulted D.C. officer on Jan. 6 gets record 10-year sentence —NBC News

• U.S. charges Oath Keepers lawyer with Jan. 6 conspiracy, obstruction —U.S. News & World Report

• Trump says he would issue full pardons and government apology to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 —The Washington Post

• 50 bipartisan House members raise concerns about proposed nuclear agreement with Iran —The Hill

Inspiring…or alienating?

Americans seemed to hear what they wanted to hear in President Biden’s speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last night. “As I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise,” he said to open the 25-minute address. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the foundations of our very republic.” Biden threaded the needle carefully, directing his criticism at “MAGA Republicans,” not “mainstream Republicans” or the “majority of Republicans.” Nevertheless, it was unusually direct for Biden, leaving Republicans outraged and many others to speculate about what it might portend for the country.

• “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution, they do not believe in the rule of law, they do not recognize the will of the people.” Biden declared that MAGA Republicans “refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state … to [empower] election deniers to undermine democracy itself.” He’s not wrong on that.

• “You can't be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They're incompatible.” Biden also condemned the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and accused Republicans of condoning, or inciting, political violence with their attacks on FBI agents who have searched Trump’s home seeking stolen classified documents. Fact check: True.

• “Folks, it’s within our power, it’s in our hands, yours and mine, to stop the assault on American democracy.” It wasn't all dark. Biden reminded Americans that there’s a choice: “to move forward or to move backwards, to build a future or obsess about the past, to be a nation of hope and unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness.” What happens next will be up to the American people. —The Philadelphia Inquirer

MORE: Jonathan Zimmerman: Should Liz Cheney be Biden’s running mate in 2024? —The Philadelphia Inquirer

Focus on the Trump investigations 

A detailed inventory of the materials seized at Mar-a-Lago, filed earlier this week, was unsealed today, and it has created even more questions in the ongoing probe. Along with highly classified government documents, the FBI agents who searched Donald Trump’s Florida estate found dozens of empty folders marked classified but with nothing inside and no explanation of what documents might have been in there—or where they have gone. The agents also found more than 10,000 other government documents kept by Trump with no classification marked. —Associated Press

• Who handled the documents? Possibly a lawyer without clearance. Six days before the Justice Department subpoenaed the materials, Trump attorney Alina Habba told a New York State court that she conducted a “diligent” search of Trump’s private residence and office at Mar-a-Lago at the direction of the ex-president. She was looking for records in response to a subpoena issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating the Trump Organization. Did she come in contact with any classified government documents? That remains unknown. —Politico

• Hurry up and wait. If you’re expecting a perp walk imminently, don’t hold your breath. Federal prosecutors are likely to wait until after the November election to announce any potential charges against Trump. Under long-standing department policy, prosecutors are barred from taking investigative steps or filing charges that could affect an election or help a candidate or party, traditionally 60 days before an election. This year, that would be by Sept. 10, which makes it unlikely anything would be announced until after Nov. 8. —Bloomberg

• The Jan. 6 latest. Separately, there are developments in the investigation of the Capitol insurrection. The House select committee investigating the attack is asking former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to sit for an interview, claiming he advised the Trump team in the days after the former president’s loss in the 2020 election. They might want to give Ginni Thomas a call too. The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas not only pressed lawmakers in Arizona to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, as previously reported, but also in Wisconsin. Jan. 6 hearings are expected to resume this month. Stay tuned. —The Hill

MORE: Glenn Gerstell: The Mar-a-Lago case is about our national security, not politics —The Washington Post

Schmidt: Why accountability is so difficult to come by

“The combination of gerrymandering, noncompetitive districts, hyper-polarization, dark money, and the lack of accountability has created a stew of political dysfunction. Competitive congressional districts have been steadily declining for decades and are only getting worse. The Cook Political Report estimates that less than 8% of congressional districts will be competitive come November. I suspect the lack of competitive districts leaves an overwhelming majority of Americans feeling that their votes don’t matter, while parties and candidates feel they don’t need to work to earn anybody’s votes.” —Lynn Schmidt in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lynn Schmidt is a columnist and member of the editorial board at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a former fellow at the Renew America Movement.

MORE: The ‘Good Government Trilemma’: Why it’s so hard to have democracy, accountability, and big government all at once —Reason

Our Own Responsibility for the Future

By Peter Groome

For most of my life, I have been a political passerby. I registered as a Republican in my 20’s without much conviction. The biggest consequence of this decision was the kind of direct mail I received. Over the years, I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats. Character — the who would you rather have a beer with test — has always been the most important criteria for me.

My interest in politics grew during the 2016 presidential campaign. I watched in dismay how Donald Trump, with so many clear liabilities and flaws, tore through a crowded primary field. I recoiled from the elitism and institutionalism projected by Hillary Clinton. In the end, I easily chose Clinton over Trump, but for me it was a calculation of selecting the lesser of two poor choices. I had no interest in having a beer with either.

At this moment of my modest political awakening, I got a call from a friend who expressed his similar dismay. But he, unlike me, had an idea of what to do about it. He wanted to start a new political party that would offer an alternative for the growing number of people, like us, who were feeling politically homeless. The idea made sense on a practical level — if the two current options got us here, why shouldn’t there be a new choice? His passion was convincing, but what about the dismal record of “third parties” and the general view that they were nothing more than “spoilers”? We both recognized it was a long shot, but if not now, when? Plus, if I could do something to help move the needle in a more positive direction, I was ready to get off the sidelines.

There were three of us to start. Party-building via e-mail. An electronic exchange of ideas for what a new alternative party should be all about. Developing principles rooted in dignity, liberty, and entrepreneurship. We made a lot of progress in a few short months. Over time, we met others who were onto a similar idea. We joined with them and attended their convention in Philadelphia in February of ‘17. The Philadelphia meeting built real momentum, sharpened our focus on who we were and who we wanted to become, and inspired a new name for the group — SAM (the Serve America Movement).

In the ensuing four years, despite some dead ends and do-overs, we formed SAM NY, achieved official party status in that state, and launched three more chapters in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Texas. During this period, the relative tremors that first inspired SAM became full blown earthquakes. Maybe the idea of a new party rooted in “truth, tolerance, and transparency” wasn’t such a long shot after all.

Not even the most cynical or prescient of us back then could have predicted the depth and breadth of the current American divide; one that is only made worse by the inflexibility and zero-sum game approach of America’s two major parties.

The fall of ’21 became the next pivot opportunity for SAM. Feeling the urgency of the increasing stress on our democracy, friendly affiliations with two other democracy-reform organizations quickly moved toward serious conversations about the benefits of coming together as one. Through these conversations it became clear that our ideological differences were a strength and that we could achieve more together than apart.

On July 27th of this year, we announced the news of the merger between SAM, the Renew America Movement, and the Forward Party. In part, the announcement read, “We are uniting from across the political spectrum to create the launchpad for a transformational American political party under one name: Forward. This will be a political home for the majority of Americans who want to move past the era of divisiveness and do-nothing politicians — so that our government starts working again.”

The announcement struck an immediate chord and generated intense interest and debate in the media and on social media. While the range of reactions to this news was vast, the common ground in all of it was passion. Passionate support and passionate dissent. The intense and immediate response to something new in the political arena seemed to be a raw reflection of just how partisan and tribal our politics have become. Those in support looking for a new and better way forward. Those in dissent looking to double down on their side and reject anything but.

On the day after the announcement, I submitted a post to LinkedIn that anticipated the ensuing public debate, “Market disruption is never a straight line, but the conditions are ripe for this idea — underperforming ‘competition’, ‘consumer’ demand (over 60% of Americans want something new), and ‘market’ opportunity (over 500k elected officials in this country with the majority of races uncontested). Disruption. Innovation. Competition. It’s not just for business anymore…”

The future of American politics is clearly in doubt. Exactly how and when the new Forward Party will start reforming our system for the better remains to be seen as well. But, I’ve never been more convinced that introducing real competition and choice into a system that has taken such great steps to prevent it is the most hopeful and worthwhile way to make meaningful change.

We need a complete mindset reboot that opens a new path to positive, constructive and hopeful civic engagement. We need a renewed openness from people from across the ideological spectrum to come together, work together, build together and do what President John F. Kennedy once asked all Americans to do:

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

Peter Groome is a member of the Forward Leadership Circle and a former board member of the Serve America Movement (SAM Party).

MORE: Political parties: Can Forward force U.S. two-party system to adapt? —The Christian Science Monitor

If we are a nation of laws, if no one is above the law, if our laws are not subject to politics, then the decision to indict a former president is simple. It is only difficult if one allows politics and political parties to play a role in the decision. It makes no difference that it would set a precedent to do so, because it also would set a precedent not to do so. The fact that a former president has never been indicted is because a former president has never committed crimes worthy of an indictment. It's not rocket science.

Laws are supposed to be objective and not subjective. Threatening violence, as Sen. Graham has done if Mr. Trump is prosecuted, is supposedly a crime, and he, too, should be held accountable. If people are not prosecuted because doing so may cause riots and violence, then we have already lost our democracy and our nation. That way of thinking is exactly what bullies on the playground and dictators of nations count on. When people back down, they grow stronger and worse. Our laws, and the enforcement of those laws, are supposed to be THE answer to such threats and such crimes. The very place we are in now as a nation is because some people have not been held accountable for their actions. —Bill T., Arizona

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 Renew America Foundation.