Charlottesville removes its contentious statues

[link removed]
With so much negativity in our reporting on the current state of the Republican Party—by necessity, unfortunately—we enjoy the opportunity to highlight positive stories from the political right. Whether it's a notable Republican taking a stand for truth, a lawmaker collaborating on meaningful bipartisan legislation, or a GOP candidate running in the "sane lane," we're on it. Today's hopeful tidbit comes from the Value In Electing Women Political Action Committee, a conservative PAC founded in 1997 that has raised more than $20 million for Republican female candidates since 2010. VIEW PAC will not, however, be supporting two freshman Republican congresswomen—Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert—in their respective campaigns for re-election. "Our women have fought too hard for too long to be respected and taken seriously as legislators, policymakers, and thought leaders," said VIEW PAC Executive Director Julie Conway. "We cannot let this work be erased by individuals who chose to
be shameless self-promoters and carnival barkers." She continued, "There is too much at stake and too many true public servants to allow the noise of the few to overshadow the work of the many." Thank you, Ms. Conway. We couldn't agree more. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

NEW TO THE TOPLINE? SUBSCRIBE NOW ([link removed])
Love THE TOPLINE? Help us spread the word and earn TOPLINE rewards here ([link removed]) .
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fstanduprepublic.com%2Fthetopline071221 Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fstanduprepublic.com%2Fthetopline071221)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])


** Symbolism in Charlottesville
------------------------------------------------------------

It was a big weekend for statue removals in the university town of Charlottesville, Va., the site of a deadly white supremacist march in 2017 that resulted in the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer. Gone are Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. Also removed was a statue of Revolutionary War Gen. George Rogers Clark that was deemed to be offensive to Native Americans. Clark was depicted riding a horse toward three unarmed Native Americans as two frontiersmen waited behind him, one of them in the act of raising his rifle. The pedestal declared in engraved letters, "Conqueror of the Northwest." ([link removed])
* — The statues were commissioned in the early 20th century, when state legislators were working to pass racial purity laws that cemented segregation, and Charlottesville's Ku Klux Klan membership was spiking. Activists say the statues were meant to reinforce racist beliefs and policies of the White majority of that time period. ([link removed])
*
* — Another statue removal was a little more surprising. It honored Lewis and Clark's expedition to the Pacific, showing Meriwether Lewis and William Clark standing and staring into the distance as Sacagawea crouched at their side. A plan to move the statue was made in 2019. It was only moved now because of cost and convenience. ([link removed])
*
* — No comparison intended. Charlottesville City Council member Lloyd Snook said he regrets that the rapid-fire removals this weekend are causing some to link Lewis and Clark with Lee and Jackson. Unlike the latter two, Lewis and Clark should not be remembered for racist acts, he noted. "It's unfortunate for history that they will end up getting lumped together," Snook said. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Philadelphia bystanders ran the Patriot Front out of town. It won't be the last time —NBC News ([link removed])


** O'Grady: Cubans stand up to their communist regime
------------------------------------------------------------

"Cubans poured into the streets Sunday to protest the government's handling of the Covid crisis. As the virus races across Cuba, independent lawyers, medical professionals, and civil-society groups on the island have begged Havana to allow international humanitarian aid to reach people directly. The regime refuses. Now the crisis is near cataclysmic proportions." —Mary Anastasia O'Grady in ([link removed]) The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])

Mary Anastasia O'Grady writes "The Americas," a weekly column on politics, economics, and business in Latin America and Canada for
The Wall Street Journal.

MORE: Biden backs anti-government protests in Cuba —Axios ([link removed])


** 'It's almost frightening'
------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's top pandemic adviser, said it was "horrifying" to see people cheering at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend because the government has not been able to get more of the country vaccinated against COVID-19. "They are cheering about someone saying that it's a good thing for people not to try and save their lives," Fauci said. The rate of vaccinations has slowed in the U.S., and less than half of all Americans, 47.9%, are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, 42 states saw an increase in cases last week from the week before. Only Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and West Virginia saw a decline. —USA Today ([link removed])

MORE: Pfizer to meet with health officials to discuss Covid vaccine booster —NBC News ([link removed])


** Bringing new meaning to 'fake news'
------------------------------------------------------------

A Southern California man arrested on Friday faces an assortment of federal charges in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol—including impersonating a member of the media. Matthew Thomas Purse was photographed inside the Capitol wearing a tactical vest and black helmet marked with the word "press," according to a criminal complaint. Video footage shows him entering the building while carrying a long black pole with what appears to be a recording device at the end, and then proceeding to the Rotunda. Purse claims he was in the building as "part of a legitimate news organization," but there is no evidence that he has legitimate press credentials or is affiliated with any news organization, according to the FBI. — ([link removed]) NBC News ([link removed])

MORE: 'So, so angry': Reporters who survived the Capitol riot are still struggling —Vice News ([link removed])
[link removed]'s%20amazing!%20Check%20it%20out: [link removed] EARN TOPLINE REWARDS ON TWITTER ([link removed]'s%20amazing!%20Check%20it%20out: [link removed])


** Collinson: Why we still have to talk about the 'former guy'
------------------------------------------------------------

"Trump is not just popular at CPAC where the crowd greeted his speech with glee. That his populist extremism is now being implemented by GOP governors across states he won shows his enduring power. So do the countrywide efforts by Republican state lawmakers to restrict voting based on his lies about a stolen election. Trump's capacity to orchestrate the behavior of Republicans is almost as intact as it was when he was sitting in the Oval Office—his derailing of a bipartisan, independent probe of the Jan. 6 outrage is proof of that. All these are reasons why Trump cannot be just disregarded." —Stephen Collinson on ([link removed]) CNN ([link removed])

Stephen Collinson is a CNN political analyst.

MORE: Governors' races see flood of pro-Trump candidates —The Hill ([link removed])


** Focus on voting rights
------------------------------------------------------------

Dispirited by a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month diminishing the power of the Voting Rights Act, congressional Democrats are quietly working to build durable voting legislation that could withstand a court challenge. They are holding a marathon series of low-key "field hearings" to prepare for votes on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which could come to the House floor in September. The bill would allow courts and the Department of Justice to once again police changes to voting rules in places with a history of electoral discrimination against minorities. Stay tuned. —Associated Press ([link removed])
* — Louisiana. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican lawmakers have agreed to rework Louisiana's method for selecting its next voting system. The new process, worked out in a bill by State Senate GOP leader Sharon Hewitt, adds layers of legislative oversight and technical analysis, allows for more public input, and requires an auditable paper trail for the voting system, which can be chosen by Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, who oversees elections in the state. —U.S. News & World Report ([link removed])
*
* — Pennsylvania. Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano initiated the first steps this week of an Arizona-like "forensic investigation" of both the 2020 general election and the 2021 primary election in Pennsylvania. He says the effort is "necessary" because millions of residents harbor serious doubts about the accuracy of the results, and "there is nothing to fear if there is nothing to hide." Attorney General Josh Shapiro has advised counties to ignore the "fishing expedition" that's simply a continued effort "to pay homage to former President Trump and further spread misinformation about our elections." —The Progress News ([link removed])
*
* — Texas. New voting restrictions in Texas moved a step closer to becoming law this weekend after two committees advanced the legislation in a special session, setting up a floor vote in the coming days on a GOP proposal that civil rights leaders say would hurt communities of color. A previous effort by Texas Republicans to pass the legislation was foiled by state Democrats, who staged a dramatic walkout, denying the Republican-majority legislature a quorum and forcing them to adjourn without voting on the measure. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Perry Bacon, Jr.: The Biden Administration needs to take democracy issues much more seriously —The Washington Post ([link removed])


** Wiley: Ranked-choice voting is the future of democracy
------------------------------------------------------------

"Make no mistake, the [New York City primary] election was unprecedented: From COVID-19 to the first June primary (it's usually in September) and an inept Board of Elections (BOE) riddled with cronyism, it was a painful primary. From refusing to hire experts to help administer the new computer system for RCV, to the lunacy of sharing results without having counted all ballots, the BOE deserves castigation and badly needs reform. ... But alarm bells over RCV miss the point. Making it easier to vote, educating voters, and encouraging a new pipeline of diverse candidates who are not beholden to powerful interests are the tools that will guarantee our democracy." —Maya Wiley in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Maya Wiley is a civil rights lawyer and a former candidate for mayor of New York City.

MORE: What can Alaska learn from New York City on ranked-choice voting? —Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])

I have been thinking about the talk about gerrymandering. How about making every elected nonpartisan? —John C., Florida

I would have written: There is no shame in crossing party lines to vote for a unifying CANDIDATE when the other option is an anti-democracy extremist. —Howard S., expatriot
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT TODAY'S STORIES ([link removed])


** 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.
------------------------------------------------------------
Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
CARE ABOUT DEMOCRACY? SHARE SOME DEMOCRACY.
If you love THE TOPLINE, share it with your friends and reap the rewards—from a shoutout in an issue of TL, to exclusive swag, to a call with Evan and Mindy.
[link removed]
Your Dashboard has everything you need to easily share THE TOPLINE
and track your progress.
VISIT YOUR DASHBOARD NOW TO GET STARTED ([link removed])

============================================================
** ([link removed])
The Topline is a project of the Stand Up Republic Foundation.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.

700 Pennsylvania Ave SE · Washington, DC 20003-2493 · USA