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Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act Decision Will Fuel the “Disuniting” of the United States and the Unraveling of American Democracy

Trump’s Denaturalization Push and the Erosion of Legal Immigration

Trump’s Denaturalization Push and the Erosion of Legal Immigration

Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

Judicial Courage?

Judicial Courage?

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sitting with his hands folded in front of him.

Why the Decision Not to Prosecute Jerome Powell Damages Democracy

State races matter, even during a presidential election

Opinion

Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts State House

ak_phuong/Getty Images
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJan 26, 2024
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Lala Wu is the co-founder and executive director of Sister District, an organization that works to build enduring progressive power in state legislatures. She joined the “Politics Is Everything” podcast to discuss how state races will continue to be important during the presidential election cycle and why the battle for redistricting will take center stage.

State legislatures are where the most impactful laws are enacted, such as abortion policies. They’re also critical because in most states, the legislatures control redistricting. Building progressive power is about winning elections, passing legislation, and then telling the story about legislative successes so that voters want to keep you in power and continue the work.

The Politics Is Everything podcast, produced by the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, focuses on the wide range of challenges facing democracy, including extreme partisanship, civic unrest and political equity.

Remember to check out The Democracy Group Podcast Fellowship, where passionate individuals, especially college and high school students, can learn to launch their podcasts. Apply at democracygroup.org/fellowship. The fellowship is sponsored by the Bridge Alliance, which operates The Fulcrum.


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Trump Is Protecting Insurrectionists But Not Your Kids

An analysis of gun violence, political extremism, Islamophobia, and community resilience in America after the San Diego Islamic Center shooting.

GemaIbarra / Getty Images

Trump Is Protecting Insurrectionists But Not Your Kids

Last Monday, two teenage gunmen opened fire outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, murdering three Muslim men. Unfortunately, this is the type of horror Americans have been conditioned to expect. After years of political stagnation on gun safety and ongoing hateful acts of violence, our president has signaled once again to children, to the Muslim community, and to everyone else: he does not care if you get shot.

Gun violence has been on the rise in the United States for too long. Perhaps the most harrowing consequence is that gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children. Whether from school shootings, homicides, suicides, or accidents, the gun-death rate for children is nearly five in every 100,000. In fact, the number of domestic deaths due to gun violence is about as many as U.S. military deaths in every war since World War I combined. More children have been lost to gun violence since 2020 than troops lost since 9/11. Yet even with such a striking death toll—and one affecting children no less—happening on our own soil, Vice President J.D. Vance calls it a “fact of life.”

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The dome of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., stands tall against a blue sky with the American flag waving proudly

Congress faces growing pressure to pass redistricting reform as lawmakers debate banning gerrymandering, independent commissions, and mid-decade map changes amid renewed national controversy over fair elections.

Getty Images, aire images

Congress's Missed Opportunities on Redistricting Reform

On April 29, Issue One posted an image on Facebook and Instagram: CONGRESS CAN FIX THIS WITH THREE SIMPLE STEPS:

  1. Establish Clear National Criteria for Fair Maps
  2. Require Independent Redistricting Commissions in Every State
  3. Ban Mid-Decade Redistricting.

Issue One added below: “… but it needs 60 Senate votes to do it.”

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Open Letter to Justice Roberts: Partisan Gerrymandering Is Unconstitutional
beige concrete building under blue sky during daytime
Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash

Open Letter to Justice Roberts: Partisan Gerrymandering Is Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court, in holding that partisan gerrymandering is permissible—unless it "goes too far"—stated that the argument made against this practice based on the Court's "one person, one vote" doctrine didn't work because the cases that developed that doctrine were about ensuring that each vote had an equal weight. The Court reasoned that after redistricting, each vote still has equal weight.

I would respectfully disagree. After admittedly partisan redistricting, each vote does not have an equal weight. The purpose of partisan gerrymandering is typically to create a "safe" seat—to group citizens so that the dominant political party has a clear majority of the voters. It's the transformation of a contested seat or even a seat safe for the other party into a safe seat for the party doing the redistricting.

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Tourists gather at Mather Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, enjoying panoramic views of the iconic natural wonder

National Park Service budget cuts are reshaping America’s public lands through underfunding and neglect. Explore how declining park staffing, deferred maintenance, and political inaction threaten national parks, local economies, and public trust in government.

Getty Images, miroslav_1

They Won’t Close the Parks. They’ll Just Let Them Fail.

This summer, before dawn, the Liu family from Buffalo will load up their SUV, coffee in hand, bound for a long-planned trip out west. The Grand Canyon has been on their list for years, something to do before the kids get too old and schedules get too tight. They expect crowds. They expect long lines at the entrance. That is part of the deal. In recent years, national parks have drawn more than 325 million visits annually, near record highs.

What they do not expect are shuttered visitor centers and closed trails, not because of weather but because there are not enough staff to maintain them. What they do not see is the budget decision in Washington that made those trade-offs, quietly, indirectly, and without much debate.

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