Is the tide turning?

Ask just about any American if the country is in a good place right now, and the answer will be a resounding “no!” President Biden admitted as much in his recent speech at Independence Hall. There is plenty of blame to go around, but one thing is clear: if the existing system brought us here, it stands to reason that it’s not likely to get us out. The fact is, the two-party system is failing us. I know one party is the much bigger threat at this moment. I’m not both-sidesing or equivocating here. But until there are other choices, millions of voters feel that they have to sacrifice policy for principle—or principle for policy. Why? It simply doesn’t make sense to go on that way in a country of 330 million people. The problem is even worse when it comes to governing—congressional stalemates, disregard for democratic norms, refusal to compromise, putting electoral outcomes ahead of legislative accomplishment. We can complain about these things all we want, but until we actually try to change them, we’re just screaming into the void. Only a party outside the dueling system has any hope of breaking through decades of spite and partisan baggage and helping those within the two-party system who actually give a damn to move the country forward. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

• King Charles III addresses a mourning Great Britain after holding first audience with new PM —The Guardian

• DOJ to appeal special master ruling, arguing classified documents aren't Trump's 'personal records' —NBC News

• Zelensky claims significant gains in northeastern Ukraine as key city retaken —CNN

• Steve Bannon charged with money laundering, conspiracy —Politico

• County official charged with murder of Las Vegas journalist —The Washington Post

• New Mexico official who participated in Jan. 6 riot removed from office —The Washington Post

• Oath Keepers members list includes military, law enforcement, politicians —Axios

• Two kids injured in Uvalde Memorial Park shooting —Austin American-Statesman

• Computer experts urge Georgia to replace voting machines following breach —Associated Press

• Liberals push Biden on marijuana reform ahead of midterm momentum —The Hill

What are Americans thinking?

We cannot fail to acknowledge the passing of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday. The Queen served the United Kingdom admirably for an astonishing 70 years, and was an ever-present symbol of duty and fortitude for the West over those tumultuous decades. May she rest in peace.

Across the pond, the question remains whether we rebellious former colonists can be united again. A series of polls released this week aims to find out what's on the minds of Americans 60 days out from the midterm election on Nov. 8. —The Hill

• This is good. Days after President Biden gave a fiery speech calling Donald Trump and his most extreme supporters a threat to democracy, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found a majority of Americans agree. Fifty-eight percent of respondents in the two-day poll—including one in four Republicans—said Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement undermines America's democratic foundations. —Reuters

• This is also good. While Trump continues to suggest he will run for president in 2024, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows voters in the middle overwhelmingly don't want him. Sixty-seven percent of independents said they do not want the ex-president to run again, while just 28% said they do. In 2020, Trump lost independents and the election. He fared better with them in 2016, but lost them throughout his presidency and afterward—and has never regained them. —NPR

• But this is just plain ugly. In the same poll, 27% of all respondents—including 61% of Republicans—indicated they want Trump to run for president even if he is charged with a crime. It bears noting that the poll was conducted amid the fallout from the FBI’s seizing classified documents from Trump’s Florida estate. Earlier this week, it was revealed that some of the materials may have included sensitive information about a foreign nation’s nuclear capacity. —Mediaite

MORE: Republican candidates are doing much worse than they should —The Economist

Raidt: It's up to people, not politicians, to fix American democracy 

"[D]efending democracy is a job for the public—not the politicians. Given the entrenched powers and formidable forces stacked in favor of the status quo, the fundamental reform needed to refresh American democracy rides on a united and committed citizenry demanding it. The long and difficult road begins with marshaling a clear understanding about the underpinnings of national derangement syndrome. It’s the system, stupid!” —John Raidt in The Hill

John Raidt is a former senior staffer to the late Sen. John McCain, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and author of “Politics Inc.: America’s Troubled Democracy and How to Fix It.”

MORE: Could Utah lay a roadmap for third-party and independent candidates? —NBC News

Rubin: McMullin shows how to fight Trump sycophancy 

“[U.S. Senate candidate Evan] McMullin is running on a high-minded message of unity in defense of democracy and finding ‘common sense’ solutions to problems. That he is competitive in a state such as Utah is a remarkable sign that traditional conservatives—after weeks of watching the House Jan. 6 select committee’s hearings and hearing about Trump’s apparent purloining of top-secret documents—might be tiring of the anti-democratic vitriol. If McMullin pulls off a shocking upset, or even comes close to beating an incumbent Republican in Utah, his campaign will provide a way forward for a coalition to displace the MAGA forces with principled patriotic Republicans.” —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

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

MORE: McMullin says he is the true conservative at SLC campaign rally —Deseret News

‘That's why you got to do it secretly’

At a training call for poll workers in Wayne County, Michigan, ahead of the state’s primary election last month, the presumption that Democrats rig elections permeated the discussion. So what was the Wayne County GOP’s recommendation? Cheat. Trainers warned poll workers and volunteer observers about “bad stuff happening” during the election, and openly encouraged them to ignore local election rules barring cell phones and pens from polling places and vote-counting centers. The supposed goal of violating the election rules was to find evidence of Democrats doing the same. “Instead of causing a bunch of scenes and things like that, just write it down,” said Wayne County GOP Chair Cheryl Constantino. “Just kind of be like spies and…let me know what's going on.” 🤦‍♀️ —CNN

MORE: Michigan Republicans sue to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election —Democracy Docket

Last: ‘Semi-fascist’ seems about right, no?

“Trump called the democratically-elected American president an ‘enemy of the state’ and then gushed about how smart the Chinese and Russian dictators are. About how ruling ‘with an iron fist’ is ‘smart.’ … Trump has been seeking to undermine elections in America for a solid decade. He called on people to march for a ‘revolution’ following Romney’s 2012 defeat. And also to ‘fight like hell’ because America ‘is not a democracy.’” —Jonathan V. Last in The xxxxxx

Jonathan V. Last is a writer and editor at The xxxxxx.

MORE: Trump posted private photo with Pa. troopers without authorization —PA Patriot-News

Troiano: Ranked-choice voting gains momentum

“More states can and should pursue Alaska-style reform. As mentioned above, Nevadans have an up-or-down vote on a ‘top-five’ (instead of -four) this November. A bipartisan nucleus of state lawmakers supports similar reforms in Wisconsin. States with sizable concentrations of Republican voters, such as Utah and Virginia, have pilot programs for RCV at the local level. In fact, Virginia’s state GOP has embraced RCV for primary contests, a variation that will help produce more representative candidates.” —Nick Troiano in The UnPopulist

Nick Troiano is executive director of Unite America and a former independent candidate for Congress.

MORE: Lamont endorsed by minor CT party after pledge for election reform —The CT Mirror

“The Queen’s reign can’t be summed up by a list of policies or accomplishments, but rather by the woman herself: her character, steadfastness, and the values she embodied, including her sense of duty and service. In Britain those things still matter, but her passing reminds us how fragile they are, and how much we have lost.” —Charlie Sykes, Editor-in-Chief of The xxxxxx, on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II

Does Rudy Giuliani think he is a football star from a small town in Texas?

Immediately after September 11, 2001, it was as if Rudy Giuliani had scored the winning touchdown in the final seconds of the state championship game against Lubbock North. He never had to pay for a drink or a haircut. Strangers shook his hand and thanked him. And as the years passed, he really believed his heroics on that tragic day would protect him for the rest of his life, make him not only golden, but immortal.

On an episode of the quintessential television program about dysfunctional Manhattanites, Seinfeld, a handsome former baseball player says to himself in a moment of supposed self-reflection: 

"I'm Keith Hernandez!"

Perhaps, as he sits alone in his apartment, nursing a cigar and a drink, Rudy Giuliani looks at walls covered with framed newspaper front pages and magazine covers featuring his name and face, and rather than fearing disgrace, disbarment, and imprisonment, chuckles to himself and says: 

"I'm Rudy Giuliani!" —Jim V., New York

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.