No, Virginia, the election wasn’t stolen

Today, we’re happy to welcome back “Book Corner” with Mary Anna Mancuso to The Topline after a few months’ hiatus. Make sure to check it out in this issue and share your suggestions for a future read with Mary Anna. We’re also bringing back the ever-popular reader question of the week. There’s been a lot of discussion in Topline and across media lately about voter reforms like ranked-choice voting, open primaries, final-five voting, and others. All of these reforms are intended to reduce hyperpartisanship, give independent candidates a chance (i.e., no “spoiler effect”), and produce electoral results that better reflect voter choices. Critics say these reforms are too confusing and too much work to implement. What do you think? Do you like these reforms? Which ones? Why? Do you live in a state or municipality that has adopted an innovative voting reform? How has it worked out? What concerns, if any, do you have about any of these proposed solutions? Let us know what you think. Have a great weekend! —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

• Putin, recommitting to war, illegally claims annexation of Ukrainian regions —The Washington Post

• House passes government funding to avert shutdown —CNN

• House approves merger antitrust bill giving states more muscle —Reuters

• House passes bill addressing mental health concerns among students, families, educators —The Hill

• Hurricane Ian targets Carolinas after 21 deaths reported in Florida —Reuters

Ginni Thomas, election denier

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, testified yesterday before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. During the interview, Thomas repeated baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, putting her in the same illustrious group that includes the My Pillow guy, disgraced attorney Lin Wood, and the ex-president himself. Thomas has called Biden's win “the greatest Heist of our History” and urged Trump not to concede, saying, “It takes time for the army who is gathering for his back.” She also encouraged Arizona state lawmakers to reverse Trump's election loss there by choosing electors themselves. —USA Today

• “An iron-clad rule in our home.” Thomas denied that Justice Thomas knew about her problematic texts with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. She said her husband is "uninterested in politics," and according to her opening statement, she does “not discuss with him my day-to-day work in politics, the topics I am working on, who I am calling, emailing, texting, or meeting." Thomas corresponded via text message with Meadows and others in the days following the 2020 election, urging them to overturn the election results. —CBS News

• What’s going on with Electoral Count Act reform? The House and Senate are each working on a bill that would reform the Electoral Count Act and help prevent a repeat of Jan. 6. The Senate version already has the backing of 11 Republican senators, including House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, meaning it will likely pass. But the bill also highlights fractures in the Trumpified GOP. Sen. Ted Cruz says the legislation would interfere with Congress’ authority to root out voter fraud. Sen. Josh Hawley says he doesn’t see a reason to change the decades-old act. Nope, no reason at all, Josh. —Katie Couric Media

• In the can…and then some. Once again, federal Judge Aileen Cannon has gone above and beyond for Trump, this time overruling the special master she appointed in the case of the stolen classified documents. Judge Raymond Dearie ordered Trump’s attorneys to prove their accusations against the FBI by submitting a list of items that Trump claims the agency planted at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Cannon has rejected that requirement, ruling that Trump's legal team does not have to comply with Dearie’s demand. —CBS News

MORE: Thomas Zimmer: Jan. 6 changed America. Here are two directions the country could go now —The Guardian

Last: On the verge of Cold War II?

“As a matter of statecraft, [Russia’s Ukrainian annexation] pushes Russia’s confrontation with the West into a place from which there is no climbdown. When these regions were only occupied, then you could have had a resolution to the war that left their status somewhat ambiguous, or kicked the can down the road for a few years. The West could have normalized relations with Russia, and Russia could have left open the possibility that, at some indefinite point in the future, perhaps these regions would decide to become part of their territory. Putting the annexation in writing and declaring that these regions are now part of the Motherland leaves no room for ambiguity. Either the West will accept Russia’s right to annex its neighbors, or not.” —Jonathan V. Last in The xxxxxx

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

MORE: U.S. announces ‘severe’ Russia sanctions over annexation in Ukraine —Al Jazeera

Spanberger tells Dem leaders what she really thinks 

Virginia Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger didn't mince words today. As the House leaves Washington ahead of the midterm elections, Spanberger criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not taking a vote on the Combatting Financial Conflicts of Interest in Government Act. The bill would ban government officials, as well as their spouses and dependent children, from trading or owning investments in securities, commodities, futures, cryptocurrency, or other digital assets.

• The bill was introduced by the House Administration Committee this week, and has gained momentum in recent months, amid reports of members of Congress violating conflict of interest laws. The committee, led by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, began working on the legislation after Pelosi backed the effort earlier this year and directed the panel to work on policy recommendations. 

• Built to fail? Spanberger claims the committee deliberately crafted a bill that would be unpopular in the chamber because of its wide-ranging provisions. Further, she said, “Our bipartisan reform coalition was then subjected to repeated delay tactics, hand-waving gestures, and blatant instances of Lucy pulling the football.” 

• “This moment marks a failure of House leadership—and it’s yet another example of why I believe that the Democratic Party needs new leaders in the halls of Capitol Hill, as I have long made known,” Spanberger said. She also vowed to “be dogged in my efforts to ban members of Congress from using the privilege of their position to profit” in the coming months. “I look forward to working with both my Democratic and Republican colleagues to get these reforms done,” she added. —The Hill

MORE: House postpones stock-trading vote —The New York Times

Del Savio: Forward makes a splash in Houston

“We’re making history. We are forging a path Forward Together. We are people from all walks of life joined together with a purpose and with passion. We are all Americans brought together by the love of our country, the love of our neighbors, and the courage to step away from the two-party system and all the negativity that comes with it. We are the future.” —Laura Del Savio on Forward Thinking

Laura Del Savio is the senior communications strategist at the Forward Party.

MORE: Retiring Texas Rep. Larson’s last word on politics —Houston Chronicle

This month’s read is: “Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II” by Liza Mundy

There are plenty of stories of heroism surrounding the brave American soldiers during World War II, but the story I didn’t know was that of the quiet heroism of women who worked as cryptographers to help the U.S. and its allies win the war. Author Liza Mundy shines a light on the untold stories of these women who answered the call to serve their country, knowing they were unable to tell anyone what they were doing. 

If you’re an American history-lover, as I am, and are looking to learn more about the contributions of women during the war, I HIGHLY recommend “Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II” by Liza Mundy. Mundy organizes and tells the story in such an effective and compelling way, I could not put the book down. The sacrifices made by these women and the incredible work they did for our country were not lost on me. As a student of history, Mundy’s book was a wealth of knowledge and is a great addition to the arsenal of American history reads lining my bookshelves. —Mary Anna Mancuso, Political Strategist

Have you read this? Share your thoughts with me on Twitter @MaryAnnaMancuso

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Our republic is a representative democracy. Let that sink in. America is a representative democracy—a republic (if we can keep it). We elect our representatives to make decisions about our laws, and a president to oversee and manage things, but they are held in check by our Constitution as interpreted by our judicial system. The people get to choose in regular intervals whether to keep these representatives or to replace them. We may not have the problematic features of a direct democracy, but a representative democracy is a high form of democracy.

It is important to know this, to champion this, and to trumpet this fact that we are a representative democracy, not only for those of us able to vote now, but so children growing up can realize that they have a voice in our country’s future and should take that seriously instead of eroding their dreams with cynical assertions that make them question the viability of our nation and its future as a democratic bastion of hope, not only for ourselves, but for the world.

Too often we fail our current generation and potentially weaken generations to come by our infighting and nitpicking, our parsing of words for political purposes, and our inability to work together to find solutions and compromise for the greater good. But words do matter. So when someone says, “America is not and has never been a democracy,” it demands a response filled with hope that points to the higher ideals that we should be championing for ourselves, for our society, and for our children. —Bob D., Idaho

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.