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Election Countdown, with guest Issac Saul of Tangle News

Scott Klug was a 32-year Democratic member of Congress from Wisconsin. Despite winning his four elections by an average of 63 percent, he stayed true to his term limit pledge and retired.

During his time in Congress, Klug had the third most independent voting record of any Wisconsin lawmaker in the last 50 years. In September 2023, he launched a podcast, “Lost in the Middle,” to shine a spotlight on the oft ignored political center.

“The podcast was born,” Klug told Madison Magazine, “out of the sentiment that a wide swath of the American public, myself included, can’t figure out how in the hell we got to this place. And more importantly, is there a way for us out of it.”

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Amxious woman waiting to vote

The right tools can transform anxiety about the unknown into constructive action.

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Scenario planning for election outcomes: Finding agency in uncertainty

Solomon is faculty in the Stanford University's design school and a creator of civic futures programs likeVote by Design,The Futures Happening, andThe Team.

As we move closer to the election, it's tempting to oscillate between obsessive news consumption and complete disengagement. Both responses are understandable — they're deeply rooted in our evolutionary biology.

Our brains are wired for a "fight or flight" response to uncertainty, a mechanism that served our ancestors well when facing immediate physical threats. But in today's complex and polarized political landscape, this instinctive defensive posture can leave us perpetually anxious and reactive, rather than thoughtfully prepared.

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US Capitol

Each branch of government needs to get serious about restoring the public's trust.

Andrey Denisyuk/Getty Images

We need a government that works

Frazier is an assistant professor at the Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University and a Tarbell fellow.

The first — and really only — order of business for the government is to solve problems beyond the grasp of a single person or a small community. In exchange for that service, we the people surrender some of our income and liberty. This grand bargain breaks down when the government decides it’s got other things to do besides take care of everything from our sewage to our space debris.

The longer the government falls short of our expectations, the more likely the people will be to opt out of their own obligations, such as voting. This dangerous tit-for-tat is hard to reverse. A less effective government sparks a less dutiful public, which makes it harder for the government to perform, and so on.

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Road sign that says "Tariffs just ahead"
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In swing states, R’s and D’s oppose big tariff increases

Kull is program director of the Program for Public Consultation. Lewitus is a research analyst at Voice of the People.

As major proposals to change U.S. trade policy have come into the discourse, a new public consultation survey finds bipartisan majorities of Americans in six swing states, as well as nationally, support the United States maintaining low tariffs with other countries so long as they abide by agreed-upon rules. At the same time, bipartisan majorities approve of the increased tariffs that have been imposed on China in response to its alleged violations of international trade rules.

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