Kamala Harris to lead voting rights charge

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In a culture in which nearly everything is hyped up for maximum drama, it's natural to wonder if some issue is being overblown or is really what it seems. That sort of critical thinking serves us well as we scan the landscape for news that truly deserves our attention and concern. The problem is that being overly dismissive can occasionally be as dangerous as falling for everything. Take the new voter laws being passed around the country. When we hear that they gravely imperil American democracy, the skeptic inside all of us might believe that's hyperbolic. In some cases, that's probably true. States like Kentucky and Nevada have advanced bipartisan reforms that have expanded access and improved the voting experience. In other states, like Georgia and Florida, whose laws have been widely criticized, the voting rights community took action to eliminate some of the worst provisions in their respective bills before passage. On the other side of the spectrum, however, are the kinds of changes
Max Boot discusses in his commentary below. These deserve greater scrutiny—and alarm—as they signal that a growing number of Republicans favor a system that would allow partisans to overturn an election result they don't like. As with most things, the whole story is more nuanced than it may seem. —Mindy Finn

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** The White House enters the arena
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Democrats at the state and federal levels have been urging more engagement from the executive branch in the battle over new voting restrictions being advanced in numerous states. Yesterday, President Biden waded further into the fray, referring to the laws as an "assault" on democracy. Biden also announced that he has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the charge in protect voting rights, saying, "With her leadership and your support, we're going to overcome again, I promise you, but it's going to take a hell of a lot of work." ([link removed])
* — A tall order. Biden renewed his calls for the Senate to pass the sweeping For The People Act. Harris will face some big challenges where that's concerned. Namely, Democrats lack the votes to avert a Republican filibuster. Harris may have an easier time gaining enough support for the narrower John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, but even that possibility remains murky. —Politico ([link removed])
*
* — Throwing potshots. Biden also expressed uncharacteristic frustration with fellow Democrats in the Senate—particularly a pair of unnamed senators—for stalling efforts to pass the For The People Act, which has already cleared the House. He accused the two, widely understood to be moderates Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, of aligning too closely with Republicans. ([link removed])
*
* — Manchin is the man. That is, he's the man who might have the final say on the future of American democracy. Democratic leaders and activists are urgently pressuring him to support the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently announced that his chamber will vote on it this month. So far, the bill has been co-sponsored by every Democratic senator except one—Manchin. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: American democracy is about to show if it can save itself —CNN ([link removed])


** Goldberg: The great populist sellout
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"Definitions of populism vary, but for our purposes it's best understood as the politics of the mob. The defining emotion of populism and mobs alike is passion and the invincible twin convictions that 'we' are right and that 'we' have been wronged by 'them.' ... Populism is often immune to reason and contemptuous of debate." —Jonah Goldberg in ([link removed]) Los Angeles Times ([link removed])

Jonah Goldberg is the editor-in-chief of
The Dispatch and a Los Angeles Times columnist. He holds the Asness Chair in Applied Liberty at the American Enterprise Institute and was previously the senior editor at National Review.

MORE: RNC threatens to advise candidates against participating in presidential debates —CBS News ([link removed])


** 'This was not a riot. This was a massacre'
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Yesterday, President Biden became the first president to visit Tulsa, Okla., specifically to commemorate the Tulsa Race Massacre, the destruction of 35 square blocks of Black-owned businesses and homes by a White mob on May 31-June 1, 1921. As many as 300 people died. The three living survivors joined Biden for a memorial event at the Greenwood Cutural Center. During his 40-minute speech, the president expressed the need to honestly address America's history and linked the racist rage that fueled the massacre a century ago to more recent events, such as the White supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., four years ago. "Hate is never defeated," Biden said. "It only hides." —Tulsa World ([link removed])

MORE: 2022's war over racism —Axios ([link removed])


** Harris to head south
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Kamala Harris' first international trip as vice president will take place next week with a visit to Guatemala and Mexico. In March, Harris was tasked with leading the Biden Administration's diplomatic efforts with the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico to help stem the flow of migration at the U.S.'s southern border. Since then, she has held virtual bilateral meetings with the presidents of Guatemala and Mexico, pledged humanitarian funding to the Northern Triangle countries, and announced that 12 U.S. companies have made commitments to promote economic opportunity in the region. Harris will meet with the presidents of the two nations and check in with organizers on the ground. Stay tuned. —CBS News ([link removed])

MORE: Biden aims to rebuild and expand legal immigration —The New York Times ([link removed])
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** Bergen: What happened to Michael Flynn?
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"Those who served with Flynn in Afghanistan and Iraq are mystified why he has now embraced a QAnon worldview. But you don't have to be a veteran to know it is a danger for the republic for a senior, retired officer to be undermining democracy in this fashion. Flynn is also playing with fire on a personal level. As a retired flag officer, he is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice." —Peter Bergen on ([link removed]) CNN ([link removed])

Peter Bergen is a vice president at New America, a professor of practice at Arizona State University, and the author of "Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos."

MORE: Charges after U.S. Capitol insurrection roil far-right groups —Associated Press ([link removed])


** Focus on NM special election
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Democrat Melanie Stansbury defeated Republican Mark Moores yesterday in the special election to represent New Mexico's 1st congressional district. The House seat was vacated earlier this year when former congresswoman Deb Haaland was confirmed as President Biden's Interior secretary. Stansbury's victory grows the Democrats' thin majority in the House to nine seats. ([link removed])
* — Though Biden won the Democratic-leaning district by 23 points in November, the race was widely seen as a potential litmus test for the strength of the party heading into the 2022 campaign cycle. ([link removed])
*
* — Stansbury was selected to run by New Mexico Democratic officials in April over Latina and Native American candidates. State law allows for state parties to pick their nominees instead of conducting primary elections. ([link removed])
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* — Moores, who serves in New Mexico's state legislature with Stansbury, campaigned heavily on crime and law-and-order issues. Republicans are likely to focus on those issues ahead of the 2022 midterms, when oddsmakers expect the party to win back control of the House. —Axios ([link removed])

MORE: What the New Mexico 1st special election can—and can't—tell us about 2022 —FiveThirtyEight ([link removed])


** Boot: The 2024 nightmare scenario
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"Many congressional Republicans will refuse to certify a 2024 Democratic win in swing states. If Republicans control Congress, they could deny the Democrats an Electoral College majority and throw the election to the House—where each state delegation, regardless of population, would cast one ballot. Given that Republicans already control a majority of state delegations, they could override the election outcome. If that happens, it would spell the end of American democracy." —Max Boot in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Max Boot is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

MORE: More than 100 scholars issue warning that American democracy is in danger, call for federal reforms —Forbes ([link removed])

Excellent thoughts, Jim V. of New York. Of course, that would take honesty, courage, and integrity—three things apparently not allowed by the Republican Party anymore. —Tom A., Oregon

Inscribed in the Cox Corridors of the United States Capitol Building are the words of Rufus Choate: "We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution." That building physically honors and extols our faith that government by the consent of the people is what secures the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Like how the rights of individuals have been violated throughout this nation's history, the sanctity of the Capitol has been violated since its foundation—either physically during the War of 1812 or morally through the passage of unjust laws. These struggles and challenges, however, should embolden us in pursuing our principles. This is not a partisan-driven necessity, but a nationwide obligation. Continued decadence and political expedience would mean that Jan. 6 is simply a prelude for far worse, in the same manner that the sack of Rome was over a millennium ago. —Leonard C., Texas
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** 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 Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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