Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
Emma Petty Addams is the executive director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, whose mission is to inspire women of faith to be ambassadors of peace who transcend partisanship and courageously advocate for ethical government.
“One of the missions of [Mormon Women for Ethical Government] is to empower everyday women of our faith to proactively use our voices in the public sphere as we improve our communities,” Addams said. “We are grateful for this opportunity to join in prayer across a diversity of faiths to remember those who are suffering and to bless our nation at this time.”
MWEG’s follows a series of foundational principles and practices to ensure continuity of its mission and vision:
- The Six Principles of Peacemaking
- The Four Core Attributes (Faithful. Nonpartisan. Peaceful. Proactive).
- Faithful: MWEG will never oppose any stance taken by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nor criticize the church or its leadership. “We also recognize God’s hand in the formation of MWEG and continue to seek God’s guidance in all we do,” the group writes. “We believe in, exercise faith in, and seek to reflect in our own lives the example of Jesus Christ.”
- Nonpartisan: MWEG is open to members of all political parties who agree to abide by the group’s principles and guidelines. MWEG does not endorse candidates or take partisan positions.
- Peaceful: In addition to following the Six Principles of Peacemaking, MWEG is committed to civil discourse, healing the partisan divide, and “genuine honor and respect for every other human being that emerges from an acknowledgement that we are all children of the same God and, hence, sisters and brothers.”
- Proactive: MWEG is a watchdog for ethical government and wil act “after appropriate and prayerful discussion, research, and strategizing.”
- Focusing on ethics, including the use of “for Ethical Government” in the group’s name.
- Closing in observance of the Sabbath.
- Commitment to a “cooperative, synergistic organizational model.”
- Being “a space for the schooling, growth, and development of God’s daughters” by having only women members.
I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Emma for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series. Watch to learn the full extent of her remarkable work and perhaps you’ll become more civically engaged as well.
David L Nevins interviews Emma Addamswww.youtube.com
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
McConnell and Platner both feel entitled
The two men could not be more different. One, a Republican, octogenarian, seven-term Southern senator, the other a progressive, millennial Maine oysterman who’s never spent a day in elected office.
But Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky who’s been MIA for the past few weeks and Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who’s facing calls to drop out of his race against Sen. Susan Collins, apparently do have something in common: an outsized sense of entitlement.
McConnell, who is 84 and not running for reelection, has been hospitalized for three weeks, and yet we still don’t fully know what he was admitted for or what his condition is. Per CNN, “his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’ ”
While several legislators have said they’ve talked to him and insist he sounds strong, others have said they are completely in the dark. One MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, posted ”High level source close to the White House tells me ‘Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.’ ”
Meanwhile, up in Maine, Platner has been artfully dodging calls from his own party to drop out of his race after several allegations of misconduct from women, including a sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, came to light. While Platner, who has managed to survive a Nazi-tattoo scandal, a sexting scandal, and several old tweets scandals, denies the allegations, he has not quit.
High-profile Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom had unsuccessfully hand-selected Maine Gov. Janet Mills to face Collins instead of Platner, have urged Platner to drop out, while other Dems have accused him of trying to influence the picking of his replacement.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a statement Tuesday, which said in part:
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate nor in determining what this process looks like.”
Both incidents show a deep lack of accountability to voters, who in one case deserve to know whether their senator is capable of performing his duties, and in another deserve a candidate who isn’t being accused of crimes, bigotry and deception.
The offensive and odious entitlement of both McConnell and Platner stands out not because it is particularly unique among today’s political class. Tom Kean, the New Jersey GOP congressman, missed more than 100 votes, only sharing after a three-month mystery absence that he was dealing with depression.
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose a hospitalization for prostate cancer surgery, flouting the established rules for Cabinet members and senior U.S. officials.
From Biden’s insistence on running for reelection despite his obvious cognitive and political weaknesses to Trump’s brazen flouting of laws and norms, few politicians seem to appreciate that their public service job comes with responsibilities to constituents, including transparency and honesty.
But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. But that’s no excuse. If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that character and accountability do, in fact, matter. And when we, the voters, stop caring about it, well, so do they.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.