America holds onto an undemocratic assumption from its founding: that some people deserve more power than others.

… There is a homegrown ideology of reaction in the United States, inextricably tied to our system of slavery. And while the racial content of that ideology has attenuated over time, the basic framework remains: fear of rival political majorities; of demographic “replacement”; of a government that threatens privilege and […] Read more »

2020 Redistricting: An Early Look

Key Points • The Supreme Court’s recent decision to stay out of adjudicating gerrymandering doesn’t necessarily change anything because the court had never put limits on partisan redistricting in the first place.• Republicans are still slated to control the drawing of many more districts than Democrats following the 2020 census, […] Read more »

Trump Lost the Citizenship Debate, but He’s Still Corroding Our Politics

Does Donald Trump present a threat to American democracy, or is the system restraining him? As last week’s debate over the Census citizenship question illustrates, the answer is often both. That’s why it’s so difficult to reach a consensus about the nature and magnitude of the danger he poses. CONT. […] Read more »

If the Supreme Court Won’t Prevent Gerrymandering, Who Will?

Progressives have long looked to federal courts to guard the rights of racial minorities and dissenters. But that protection is weakening. Faced with the enormous injustice of partisan gerrymandering, the Supreme Court last month permitted politicians drawing election district maps to discriminate by party and even potentially mask their racial […] Read more »