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Trump Never Intended To Be Just

Trump Never Intended To Be Just

‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’: Longer Renewal Times Are Making DACA Recipients Deportable

‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’: Longer Renewal Times Are Making DACA Recipients Deportable

Plumes of smoke rise over the oil depot tanks hit by joint Israel-U.S.

Russia is Winning the War in Iran. Earth is Losing

The White House's Lawn.

Trump’s UFC Birthday Bash Dwarfs Flag Day’s Meaning and History

​Reporters and members of the media raise their hand to ask a question to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump’s 15 Attacks on Press Freedom Mark an Unprecedented Crisis

Video: How Congress should approach energy policy going forward

Video: How Congress should approach energy policy going forwardplay icon
How Congress Should Approach Energy Policy Going Forward
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJul 25, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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From social media to cable news, all the American public sees from our leaders are partisan attacks and hyperbolic rhetoric, but that's not the way it has to be. To prove it, Former Members of Congress (FMC) and the Fulcrum have joined forces to bring you Congress at a Crossroads.

The monthly video series brings together Former Members of both parties to discuss the structural issues in today's Congress, as well as the hottest political issues. They won't always agree, but they will always treat each other with respect and civility.

This month, our host, FMC CEO, Pete Weichlein sat down with Former Members Gene Green (D-TX) and John Shimkus (R-IL) to discuss the recent Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA, how Congress should handle energy policy going forward, and what energy and climate legislation might come out of a Republican majority, if the House flips.


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Anti-gerrymandering sign
Governance & Legislation

Florida’s New Map and the Shrinking Window for Accountability

How America Redraws Belonging
Community

How America Redraws Belonging

Illustration of Sojourner Truth after a Photograph
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Sojourner’s Truth

Nevada pro-democracy groups condemn SAVE Act
Elections

Nevada pro-democracy groups condemn SAVE Act

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Democrats Don’t Get Why They’ve Lost Most Working Class Voters

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at an event hosted by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in Orono, Maine, on May 24, 2026.

AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Democrats Don’t Get Why They’ve Lost Most Working Class Voters

Since 2016, when Donald Trump shattered the Democrats’ blue wall by winning working-class voters across the Midwest, a cottage industry has sprung up on the left dedicated to answering a single question: How can Democrats win back the working class?

The answers come in different forms. Sometimes it is veteran Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders – barnstorming red districts, railing against oligarchy and corporate greed.

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​The Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Alabama, was the scene of violent clashes as Martin Luther King led a march from Selma to Montgomery.

Following the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling, MBA students explore Selma's civil rights history and the urgent lessons of democratic leadership.

Getty Images, Kirkikis

What We Owe Democracy

The day before we flew to Alabama to lead a civil rights and leadership trek with 30 MBA students, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a case we were watching closely in light of our upcoming trip. Writing for the majority, Justice Alito substantially narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ruling that states may draw congressional district lines on partisan grounds even when the practical effect, and many argue the intention, is to dilute Black voting power. Justice Kagan, in dissent, called it the completion of the majority’s “demolition” of the Act.

It was with this backdrop that our students stood with us on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama—the very place that birthed the Voting Rights Act, where the courageous actions of a small group of people helped, as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. so famously put it, “bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.”

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The Best Utility Is a Public Utility
black and white electric meter
Photo by Jon Moore on Unsplash

The Best Utility Is a Public Utility

Utilities are boring until the power goes out. US Census data shows that one in three households struggles to pay their energy bills, resulting in millions of electricity shut-offs each year. Poor management by electric companies leads to more outages and wildfires. At the same time, many of us feel that we have little say in energy decisions that affect us. In Utah, the recent approval of a data center twice the size of Manhattan has left residents struggling with the real cost of growing electricity demand—on the environment and on our wallets.

Often overlooked in the conversation about cost is the fact that most of our utility sector is run for profit. There is a better way. I’m a public power organizer in New York’s Hudson Valley, and people like me from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, are fighting to take control of our investor-owned utilities and turn them public. Making electricity not-for-profit and community-owned means lower bills for customers and more say in our shared resources.

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Vote Badge with Rising Social Media Like Icons and Hearts – Digital Engagement and Online Voting
J Studios / Getty Images

Democratic Autopsy and AI

After every defeat, organizations conduct autopsies. The good ones are honest, like NASA’s Rogers Commission report after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. In addition to identifying the infamous O-rings as the proximal culprit, it looked at organizational culture, communication failures, normalization of risk, management pressures, and institutional blind spots. The best ones are uncomfortable, and make a serious effort to understand “why did we mess this up so badly?” I’ve personally seen both good “autopsies” and bad ones throughout my decades of experience in true life-or-death realms: the SEAL Teams and as an Emergency Medicine physician.

Following the 2024 election, the Democratic National Committee produced a lengthy report titled Build to Win. Build to Last. Yet it is not a serious document because it does nothing to prepare for the unstoppable and very near future staring us right in the face. It is nearly 200 pages long and attempts to explain what went wrong and how the party should prepare for the future. It discusses organizing, communications, coalition building, fundraising, digital strategy, and voter outreach. It is filled with references to data, analytics, and technology.

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