Rubin: GOP defends corporate speech...unless it supports voting rights

"Republicans sought to suppress voting by invoking the Big Lie of voter fraud and 'irregularities,' which was repeatedly debunked in more than 60 court cases brought against election results. Now, when businesses oppose those efforts and exercise their First Amendment rights, which Republicans ordinarily consider 'fundamental' and worthy of protection, they seek to use the power of the government to punish those whose speech they dislike." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

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

MORE: The truth about Georgia's voter law —The Atlantic

Zelizer: Will the GOP dump Matt Gaetz?

"The Gaetz scandal will be another test to see how far Republicans are willing to go to protect their own. Over the past four-and-a-half years, we have repeatedly witnessed how the immense power of partisanship within the GOP overwhelms its moral concerns—despite the party's widespread support among evangelical Christians. As long as Gaetz is considered valuable to the party—and a major player among Trump supporters—it is a safe bet that the modern GOP will stand by his side until the bitter end." —Julian Zelizer on CNN

Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author of "Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party."

MORE: Matt Gaetz reportedly sent $900 to an ally now accused of sex trafficking who gave the money to young women —Insider

Ackerman & Schoen: The future depends on reform now

"Our current system offers no stable solutions and no consensus of ideas, which is why younger voters across the country in particular want to see more unaffiliated candidates. We must act on these political and electoral reforms, while maintaining those rules that encourage bipartisanship, to make our democracy one that is truly by and for the people." —Peter Ackerman & Douglas Schoen in The Hill

Peter Ackerman is the founder of Americans Elect. Douglas Schoen is a consultant who served as adviser to former President Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

MORE: Eric Carlson: I'm a conservative. Here's why I support the For the People Act —The Fulcrum

Kreiss & McGregor: It's bigger than social media

"Instead of nonpartisan and apolitical approaches to polarization and tech reform, Facebook and the broader community of researchers, reformers, policymakers, and journalists concerned with social media and democracy should focus their attention on the threats posed by anti-democratic extremism and the destabilizing effects of racial inequality. White supremacy not only prevented our country from becoming a truly multiracial democracy until the 1960s, it has proven to be destabilizing and destructive to democracy." —Daniel Kreiss & Shannon McGregor in WIRED

Daniel Kreiss is the Edgar Thomas Cato Distinguished Associate Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and a principal researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill. Shannon McGregor is an assistant professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and a senior researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill.

MORE: White supremacists, extremists may use Chauvin trial to further their agendas: DHS —ABC News

Feldman: Gerrymandering may head back to SCOTUS

"The For the People Act's bold anti-gerrymandering initiative will face judicial hurdles if it is enacted. The Supreme Court will have the ultimate say. With more conservatives than liberals on the bench, the court could very well strike it down. That would leave us with the same partisan gerrymandering problem that plagues our democracy now more than ever." —Noah Feldman in The Frederick News-Post

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg columnist and host of the podcast "Deep Background." He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

MORE: Voting restrictions aren't the primary threat to U.S. democracy —New York Magazine

Scott: Disinfo is still a top threat to democracy

"Hearings held by the House of Representatives on March 25 focusing on the role Facebook, Twitter, and Google played in the Jan. 6 insurrection did not yield definitive conclusions. However, they did suggest bipartisan support for holding the companies accountable for the spread of disinformation. The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building...has brought forth an uncomfortable reality: Disinformation in all of its insidious forms is an existential threat to civil society and democratic ideals." —Thomas Scott in MinnPost

Thomas Scott is an adjunct professor of social sciences at Metropolitan State University and a professor of education at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

MORE: U.S. intelligence report warns of increased offensive cyber, disinformation around the world —CyberScoop

Benson: Is there a solution to the GOP problem?

"For thousands of conservatives, Jan. 6 served as the start of a conservative exodus of sorts. In the days that followed the insurrection, at least 140,000 Republicans in 25 states changed their party affiliations, and it's likely tens of thousands more did the same in other states without readily available data. Without some serious reason to do so, a shift of that degree is very unusual, political scientists say. While the shift is a relatively small percentage of the party as a whole, it illustrates a growing problem for the GOP." —Samuel Benson in Deseret News

Samuel Benson is an opinion writer at Deseret News.

MORE: Peggy Noonan: The Republican Party is at a low point, but the two-party system is too vital to abandon —The Wall Street Journal

"[Our republic] needs honest, civic-minded, and competent citizens willing to step up and dedicate a few years to public service and then step down." It's funny, Dave M. This is exactly what they were teaching in school in the 1960s. It was the civic duty of all citizens. Somewhere along the line, it became a career path for the wealthy. —Tom A., Oregon

The other day, I was having an online discussion about the popular claim that the United States is a republic, not a democracy. I tried pointing out that we are a democratic republic, and if we take away democracy, what makes us different from countries like the People's Republic of China? No one answered that question, and I'm not as knowledgeable as many of the usual commenters, so I'm still wondering. I was then told that we are a constitutional republic, and democracy is mob rule and the precursor to communism. My answer was basically, "WHAT!?!?"

The problem I'm having is that I can't keep up with all of the fancy arguments these people are circulating. They aren't trying to communicate. They seem to be saying things that people like me can't respond to and then taking our confusion as proof that they won the argument. I'm grateful for The Topline for helping me sort things out, but I'm in agreement that social media should be more regulated somehow. —Amanda, Idaho

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