Texas has, , the harshest voting rules of any state in the country. Now the Republican-controlled state government is working to make voting even harder — pushing legislation, similar to , that appears designed to suppress votes in Democratic-leaning areas of the increasingly purple state.One of the two big bills, SB 7, has already passed the Texas Senate. The other, HB 6, has been approved for a floor vote by the House Elections Committee. Together, these bills contain a series of provisions that seem likely to suppress voter turnout.The Senate bill imposes new rules limiting precinct...…Texas has, , the harshest voting rules of any state in the country. Now the Republican-controlled state government is working to make voting even harder — pushing legislation, similar to , that appears designed to suppress votes in Democratic-leaning areas of the increasingly purple state.One of the two big bills, SB 7, has already passed the Texas Senate. The other, HB 6, has been approved for a floor vote by the House Elections Committee. Together, these bills contain a series of provisions that seem likely to suppress voter turnout.The Senate bill imposes new rules limiting precinct...WW…

The debate over whether Georgia’s law really suppresses voting reveals just how imperiled American democracy is.Georgia’s new election law SB 202, which many experts decried as , was compared to Jim Crow by . Now some observers are pushing back, arguing the bill falls well short of a democratic apocalyptic.In , Nate Cohn concluded that “the law’s voting provisions are unlikely to significantly affect turnout or Democratic chances.” Slate’s Will Saletan notes that some provisions really are troubling, but that the bill also contains good provisions and that critics have “” their concerns. ,...…The debate over whether Georgia’s law really suppresses voting reveals just how imperiled American democracy is.Georgia’s new election law SB 202, which many experts decried as , was compared to Jim Crow by . Now some observers are pushing back, arguing the bill falls well short of a democratic apocalyptic.In , Nate Cohn concluded that “the law’s voting provisions are unlikely to significantly affect turnout or Democratic chances.” Slate’s Will Saletan notes that some provisions really are troubling, but that the bill also contains good provisions and that critics have “” their concerns. ,...WW…

New research quantifies the health of democracy at the state level — and Republican-governed states tend to perform much worse.In late March, Georgia passed a restrictive new voting law that, in effect, to put partisan operatives in charge of disqualifying ballots in Democratic-leaning precincts. The law is one of at least from GOP lawmakers in state legislatures around the country for increasing partisan influence over electoral administration — and one of that would curtail voting rights in one way or another.New political science research suggests this wave of attempts to restrict the...…New research quantifies the health of democracy at the state level — and Republican-governed states tend to perform much worse.In late March, Georgia passed a restrictive new voting law that, in effect, to put partisan operatives in charge of disqualifying ballots in Democratic-leaning precincts. The law is one of at least from GOP lawmakers in state legislatures around the country for increasing partisan influence over electoral administration — and one of that would curtail voting rights in one way or another.New political science research suggests this wave of attempts to restrict the...WW…

against American democracy is often subtle, expressing itself through without a full-throated acknowledgment of what lawmakers are actually doing. But sometimes, the mask slips — and someone in the conservative movement openly tells you what’s really going on.One such slippage took place last week when the American Mind — a publication of the Claremont Institute, an influential conservative think tank based in California — published arguing that the country has already been destroyed by internal enemies.“Most people living in the United States today — certainly more than half — are not...…against American democracy is often subtle, expressing itself through without a full-throated acknowledgment of what lawmakers are actually doing. But sometimes, the mask slips — and someone in the conservative movement openly tells you what’s really going on.One such slippage took place last week when the American Mind — a publication of the Claremont Institute, an influential conservative think tank based in California — published arguing that the country has already been destroyed by internal enemies.“Most people living in the United States today — certainly more than half — are not...WW…

“It’s been a tool used overwhelmingly by racists,” says Kevin Kruse, a historian of race and American politics at Princeton University.The question of what to do about the filibuster — the once-arcane Senate rule that creates a de facto 60-vote threshold for major legislation — is arguably the most important topic in Washington, DC, right now. It is the main thing blocking Senate Democrats from approving President Joe Biden’s sweeping policy agenda on party lines; as such, it has become a subject of fierce partisan (and intraparty) dispute.Most recently, this debate has centered on racism...…“It’s been a tool used overwhelmingly by racists,” says Kevin Kruse, a historian of race and American politics at Princeton University.The question of what to do about the filibuster — the once-arcane Senate rule that creates a de facto 60-vote threshold for major legislation — is arguably the most important topic in Washington, DC, right now. It is the main thing blocking Senate Democrats from approving President Joe Biden’s sweeping policy agenda on party lines; as such, it has become a subject of fierce partisan (and intraparty) dispute.Most recently, this debate has centered on racism...WW…

The very worst provisions enable partisan Republicans to seize control of election boards in Democratic counties.Georgia’s , signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday night, is a small-d democrat’s nightmare.The bill, known as SB 202, gives state-level officials the authority to usurp the powers of county election boards — allowing the Republican-dominated state government to potentially . It criminalizes the provision of food and water to voters waiting in line, in a state where lines are notoriously long in heavily nonwhite precincts. It requires ID for absentee ballots and limits...…The very worst provisions enable partisan Republicans to seize control of election boards in Democratic counties.Georgia’s , signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday night, is a small-d democrat’s nightmare.The bill, known as SB 202, gives state-level officials the authority to usurp the powers of county election boards — allowing the Republican-dominated state government to potentially . It criminalizes the provision of food and water to voters waiting in line, in a state where lines are notoriously long in heavily nonwhite precincts. It requires ID for absentee ballots and limits...WW…

Republicans have systematically undermined a key democratic constituency. Fighting back requires a kind of hardball Democrats aren’t typically willing to play.Last week’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill proved that Democrats are .But another bill, , poses a different kind of test for the party: Just how willing are Democrats to use their newfound power to reshape the foundations of American politics in their favor?The PRO Act, passed by the House last Tuesday and currently languishing in the Senate, would be the most significant pro-labor legislation passed since the New Deal. Its most...…Republicans have systematically undermined a key democratic constituency. Fighting back requires a kind of hardball Democrats aren’t typically willing to play.Last week’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill proved that Democrats are .But another bill, , poses a different kind of test for the party: Just how willing are Democrats to use their newfound power to reshape the foundations of American politics in their favor?The PRO Act, passed by the House last Tuesday and currently languishing in the Senate, would be the most significant pro-labor legislation passed since the New Deal. Its most...WW…

The Republican Party is the biggest threat to American democracy today. It is a radical, obstructionist faction that has become hostile to the most basic democratic norm: that the other side should get to wield power when it wins elections.A few years ago, these statements may have sounded like partisan Democratic hyperbole. But in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and Trump’s acquittal in the Senate on the charge of inciting it, they seem more a plain description of where we’re at as a country.But how deep does the GOP’s problem with democracy run, really? How did things get...…The Republican Party is the biggest threat to American democracy today. It is a radical, obstructionist faction that has become hostile to the most basic democratic norm: that the other side should get to wield power when it wins elections.A few years ago, these statements may have sounded like partisan Democratic hyperbole. But in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and Trump’s acquittal in the Senate on the charge of inciting it, they seem more a plain description of where we’re at as a country.But how deep does the GOP’s problem with democracy run, really? How did things get...WW…

Why conspiracy theorists always end up pointing the finger at Jews — and why that’s a problem for the GOP.Let’s get this out of the way: First-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s claim that the 2018 California wildfires were , is objectively ridiculous. It’s okay to laugh about it.And yet it is, at the same time, kind of horrifying. It’s the latest in a long line of conspiracies about the Rothschild family, and those conspiracies are always, at root, anti-Semitic: , people have used claims that this one particular wealthy family controls the world to cast aspersions on Jews in...…Why conspiracy theorists always end up pointing the finger at Jews — and why that’s a problem for the GOP.Let’s get this out of the way: First-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s claim that the 2018 California wildfires were , is objectively ridiculous. It’s okay to laugh about it.And yet it is, at the same time, kind of horrifying. It’s the latest in a long line of conspiracies about the Rothschild family, and those conspiracies are always, at root, anti-Semitic: , people have used claims that this one particular wealthy family controls the world to cast aspersions on Jews in...WW…

In David Brooks’s new column, he asks the American elite if they’re the baddies. But he’s actually telling them a comforting fiction. The question of why Donald Trump manages to maintain such a grip on the Republican base, to the point where he can remain a nationally viable candidate despite all of his misdeeds and legal woes, is one of the most important issues in American politics. It’s a subject that has been explored extensively, with the best evidence converging on the same general story: Trump is the avatar of a kind of resentful reactionary politics, one uncomfortable with a...…In David Brooks’s new column, he asks the American elite if they’re the baddies. But he’s actually telling them a comforting fiction. The question of why Donald Trump manages to maintain such a grip on the Republican base, to the point where he can remain a nationally viable candidate despite all of his misdeeds and legal woes, is one of the most important issues in American politics. It’s a subject that has been explored extensively, with the best evidence converging on the same general story: Trump is the avatar of a kind of resentful reactionary politics, one uncomfortable with a...WW…