National politics

It's time for all liberty-loving Americans to fire up their outrage engine in anticipation of the Supreme Court either overturning Roe v. Wade entirely, or eviscerating it so that abortion rights exist only in name only. That's the takeaway after today's astoundingly dreadful hearing on a Mississippi law that denies an abortion later than 15 weeks after a woman's last menstrual period. Observers came away feeling that almost certainly that law will be upheld.  This is a big deal. For almost fifty years, since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, the test for when an abortion can happen has…

There are times when it makes sense to ignore the political mess that is Washington, DC. This isn't one of them. Today may have marked a milestone in how our democracy died -- not through a violent coup, but through two Democratic senators refusing to do away with the Republican filibuster of the Freedom to Vote Act. This is the replacement for the considerably more expansive voting rights act that started off as the first bill introduced in both the House and Senate, indicating how important it was to congressional Democrats. However, Senator Manchin of West Virginia, who often sounds…

Just when I thought the dysfunction in Congress couldn't get any worse, it has. And not by a little, by a lot. What's grabbed the part of my brain that is prone to panic is another fight over raising the debt ceiling. That's the ridiculous century-old law that requires Congress to vote on paying for the federal debt that already has been incurred. The usual way of describing it is agreeing to pay for the credit card charges you've already made. For almost all people, that's a non-choice. Of course, we pay for what's already been put on our credit…

If you'd like to know where you'd find a political home if the United States had six political parties, take the 20-question quiz in a New York Times opinion piece, "Quiz: If America Had Six Parties, Which Would You Belong To?" I ended up in the New Liberal Party. Based on a survey of 5,000 voters who answered the same 20 questions, here's the estimate of where the American electorate would end up if we had these six parties. The first three are left-leaning. The next three are right-leaning. Progressive Party -- 14%New Liberal Party -- 26%American Labor Party --…

I've got a question for anyone who favors the recently-enacted Texas law that allows private citizens to seek $10,000 in civil court from anyone who provides an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, aids someone in getting an abortion, or even intends to seek an abortion. Why do you think this law is a good idea? Before you answer, "Because it bans almost all abortions in Texas," consider the implications of what you're saying. There's no doubt that the law is unconstitutional. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is legal in all 50 states until a fetus can…

Today could mark the beginning of the end for abortions in much of the United States. This is horrible news for the majority of Americans who support a woman's right to choose.  But the fervent anti-abortion minority are rejoicing in a Texas law going into effect which effectively bans abortions, since the law forbids the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women even know they're pregnant. Providers said the ban — which relies on private citizens to sue people who help women get forbidden abortions — effectively eliminates the guarantee in Roe v. Wade and subsequent…

I love books that take a broad view of American politics and find something good, and something bad, in each of the main currents of our modern political life. That's why I'm enjoying George Packer's "Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal" so much.  Because I'm a progressive, I found his critique of the liberal political narratives -- Smart America and Just America -- to be more interesting than his critique of the conservative political narratives, Free America and Real America. Most of what I'm sharing in this blog post are excerpts from Packer's take on the Just America…

This wasn't a good day for American democracy. In fact, the past four-plus years -- ever since Trump was elected -- have all been bad days for our democracy. Today Senate Republicans filibustered a bipartisan commission that would have looked into the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, making recommendations to prevent something similar from ever happening again. The commission was carefully modeled on the 9/11 commission. Equal number of Democrats and Republicans. Subpoenas would require at least one Republican vote. Everything that Republicans had asked for, they got.  But Trump didn't want anyone looking into the insurrection, because he…

Atlanta, Georgia -- eight dead. Boulder, Colorado -- ten dead.  It's an all-too-familiar ritual, counting how many have been killed in the latest round of mass shootings that are unique to the United States. There's no doubt why our country has so many more mass shootings than comparable countries. We have way more guns than they do.  A 2017 New York Times story tallied up the mass shooting death toll in various countries from 1966 to 2012. When the world looks at the United States, it sees a land of exceptions: a time-tested if noisy democracy, a crusader in foreign…

Today I finished reading "Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy," by Adam Jentleson -- who was the former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid. The kill switch is the Senate filibuster. It allows a minority of senators, 41, to block legislation, since 60 votes are needed to end a filibuster in the 100-member Senate. No longer is it necessary for someone filibustering to stand on the Senate floor and keep talking until their voice (or bladder) gives out. Now, Jentleson says, all a Senator has to do is indicate that…