Americans have different ideas about SCOTUS reform 

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Former President George W. Bush's ode to immigration in The Washington Post this weekend calls to mind a more positive take on immigration that most Americans shared not so long ago—the idea that immigrants strengthen America, not detract from it. For some Americans, that ideal has fallen by the wayside in recent years. A big part of the problem has been Congress' failure to enact immigration reform to address the very real issues at the border, which have been allowed to fester. Unfortunately, in certain quarters of American society, that failure has led to the scapegoating of all immigrants, a trend that some lawmakers and media figures have leaned into. There was a time when Republicans sought the votes of newcomers as passionately as Democrats do—and they often won them. Some still do. Others have decided it's more politically expedient to demonize migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers than to someday try to win their votes. Long term, that's a losing bet for everyone. —Melissa Amour,
Managing Editor

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** Not so fast...
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Americans are not necessarily on board with Democrats' plan to expand the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, according to an Ipsos poll for Reuters released yesterday. Only 38% of respondents support expanding the size of the court, while 42% oppose it, and a full 20% aren't sure. Some Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation last week to expand the high court, but party leadership, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been cool to the idea. ([link removed])
* — A majority of Americans agree on something. The poll shows that 63% of respondents want to end lifetime appointments for justices, by imposing term or age limits. Another 22% said they oppose any limits, and the rest did not express an opinion. ([link removed])
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* — No confidence? The poll also found that only 49% of Americans have a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of confidence in decisions made by Supreme Court justices. By comparison, 43% of respondents expressed a similar trust in the White House, and 32% said the same of Congress. ([link removed])
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* — Next steps. President Biden has formed a bipartisan committee to look at the merits of potential reforms to the court. While Congress has the power to change the number of justices who sit on the court, legal scholars believe it would likely require a constitutional amendment to end lifetime appointments. —Reuters ([link removed])

MORE: President Biden's Supreme Court commission is already facing headwinds —USA Today ([link removed])


** Bush: Immigration is our defining asset. It must be reformed
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"We should never forget that the desire to live in the United States—a worldwide and as powerful an aspiration as ever—is an affirmation of our country and what we stand for. Over the years, our instincts have always tended toward fairness and generosity. The reward has been generations of grateful, hard-working, self-reliant, patriotic Americans who came here by choice. If we trust those instincts in the current debate, then bipartisan reform is possible. And we will again see immigration for what it is: not a problem and source of discord, but a great and defining asset of the United States." —George W. Bush in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States.

MORE: After outcry, White House says Biden will lift refugee cap in May —Associated Press ([link removed])


** A Senate plan for student debt
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As pressure mounts on the White House to take action on student debt, Sens. Mitt Romney and Kyrsten Sinema have introduced a bipartisan bill to help tackle the $1.7 trillion problem. The Earn to Learn Act would allow low-income students to pay for college-related expenses through an $8-to-$1 college-matched savings program. The bill is based on an Arizona program that has helped many students in the state graduate debt-free over the past decade. Meanwhile, with some Democrats pushing to eliminate all current student loan debt, President Biden is gathering information to determine if he can do so via executive order instead of going through Congress. —The Hill ([link removed])

MORE: Student loan debt forgiveness in 2021? Pressure grows for Biden to forgive debt —CNET ([link removed])


** 'His life hangs in the balance'
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Supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have called for mass demonstrations to demand his release amid fears about his deteriorating medical condition. Navalny has been on a hunger strike for almost three weeks and is in critical condition. The protests, called for April 21 across Russia, would fall on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly. "It's like an answer to Putin," says Andrei Kolesnikov, an expert on Russian domestic policy at the Carnegie Moscow Center. "You say something to the nation and then we also send a message to the nation as well." —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])

MORE: National security adviser says White House is looking at options if Navalny dies in Russian custody —CNN ([link removed])
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** Kruse: America First has a dark history
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"History isn't predictive, of course. But if the America First Caucus wants to argue what history has shown us, then let's not ignore what it has shown us about their own arguments. We need to remember the dangerous ends and drastic horrors such arguments led us to before and might well lead us to again." —Kevin Kruse on ([link removed]) MSNBC ([link removed])

Kevin Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University. He is the author of "White Flight," "One Nation Under God," and "Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974."

MORE: Rep. Greene tries to distance herself from 'America First Caucus' document denounced as racist —The Washington Post ([link removed])


** Focus on voting reform
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In North Carolina, the state's most robust democracy reform bill in history is making its way through the legislature. The Fix Our Democracy Act aims to remove the influence of big-money donors from politics and protect voting access, allowing voters to hold elected officials accountable. The bill would also put redistricting power in the hands of a citizen commission staffed by regular North Carolinians. —The News & Observer ([link removed])
* — Michigan. Michigan Democrats have promised that any bills that attempt to place new restrictions on voting won't get past Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. But GOP lawmakers, who hold majorities in both chambers but not enough to override a veto, have a unique option that could allow them to enact sweeping changes to elections. A ballot initiative with signatures totaling at least 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial race can be passed with a veto-proof simple majority in each chamber. —NBC News ([link removed])
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* — Wisconsin. Disability rights advocates are worried that a series of bills proposed by Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature will increase the difficulty faced by the state’s disabled voters. One would require a photo ID for indefinitely confined voters and eliminate their ability to receive absentee ballots permanently. Another would require those under 65 to get a doctor to confirm their status. A third law requires administrators of care facilities to let residents’ families know when absentee voting is being conducted. —WUWM ([link removed])
*
* — Multiple states. In Georgia, faith leaders are asking corporate executives to condemn laws restricting voting access or face a boycott. In Arizona and Texas, clergy have assembled outside the state capitols to decry what they view as voter-suppression measures targeting Black and Hispanic people. Similar initiatives have been undertaken in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and elsewhere as multifaith coalitions of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim groups perceive a threat to voting rights that warrants their intervention. —ABC News ([link removed])

MORE: Eric Carlson: I'm a conservative, but support the For the People Act —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ([link removed])


** Waldman: How far will the anti-democracy movement go?
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"Everywhere you look, Republicans are defining democracy as a threat to be defeated. They're attempting not only to suppress Democratic votes but to seize control from local election officials who can't be relied on to favor the GOP. The most popular Fox News host tells viewers night after night that there's a nefarious plot afoot to 'replace' true (i.e., White) Americans with 'Third World' immigrants who after becoming citizens will prove their unworthiness by voting for Democrats." —Paul Waldman in The Washington Post ([link removed])

Paul Waldman is a political columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: One America News Network producer says 'majority' of employees didn't believe reports on voter fraud claims —Yahoo! News ([link removed])

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