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Kentuckians and their senior senator diverge on democracy reform, poll finds

Perhaps Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not as invulnerable as he sometimes seems, especially when it comes to the politics of opposing the "democracy reform" movement.

Kentucky, where McConnell is asking for a seventh term next year, seems none too happy with him at the moment. A survey out Monday from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling found the most powerful Republican in Congress is underwater back home: 39 percent approve of his job performance and 51 percent do not. The same poll, by contrast, showed a 55 percent approval rating in the state for President Trump.


McConnell has vowed to prevent any Senate consideration of HR 1, the comprehensive political process overhaul that Democrats labeled their top legislative priority after reclaiming control of the House and pushing it through that chamber this winter. More regulation of money in politics is at the heart of the bill, something McConnell once mocked as ranking up there with "static cling" in the minds of voters.

But the poll (commissioned by the campaign finance advocacy group End Citizens United) found 23 percent of Kentuckians choosing "ending political corruption" as the most important issue facing the country. Only lowering the cost of health care and drugs finished higher, at 25 percent. And 71 percent of those polled said they supported the concepts embodied in HR 1.

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The Fragile Ceasefire in Gaza

A view of destruction as Palestinians, who returned to the city following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, struggle to survive among ruins of destroyed buildings during cold weather in Jabalia, Gaza on January 23, 2025.

Getty Images / Anadolu

The Fragile Ceasefire in Gaza

Ceasefire agreements are like modern constitutions. They are fragile, loaded with idealistic promises, and too easily ignored. Both are also crucial to the realization of long-term regional peace. Indeed, ceasefires prevent the violence that is frequently the fuel for instability, while constitutions provide the structure and the guardrails that are equally vital to regional harmony.

More than ever, we need both right now in the Middle East.

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Money Makes the World Go Round Roundtable

The Committee on House Administration meets on the 15th anniversary of the SCOTUS decision on Citizens United v. FEC.

Medill News Service / Samanta Habashy

Money Makes the World Go Round Roundtable

WASHINGTON – On the 15th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and one day after President Trump’s inauguration, House Democrats made one thing certain: money determines politics, not the other way around.

“One of the terrible things about Citizens United is people feel that they're powerless, that they have no hope,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Ma.).

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Top-Two Primaries Under the Microscope

The United States Supreme Court.

Getty Images / Rudy Sulgan

Top-Two Primaries Under the Microscope

Fourteen years ago, after the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the popular blanket primary system, Californians voted to replace the deeply unpopular closed primary that replaced it with a top-two system. Since then, Democratic Party insiders, Republican Party insiders, minor political parties, and many national reform and good government groups, have tried (and failed) to deep-six the system because the public overwhelmingly supports it (over 60% every year it’s polled).

Now, three minor political parties, who opposed the reform from the start and have unsuccessfully sued previously, are once again trying to overturn it. The Peace and Freedom Party, the Green Party, and the Libertarian Party have teamed up to file a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Their brief repeats the same argument that the courts have previously rejected—that the top-two system discriminates against parties and deprives voters of choice by not guaranteeing every party a place on the November ballot.

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Independents as peacemakers

Group of people waving small American flags at sunset.

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Independents as peacemakers

In the years ahead, independents, as candidates and as citizens, should emerge as peacemakers. Even with a new administration in Washington, independents must work on a long-term strategy for themselves and for the country.

The peacemaker model stands in stark contrast to what might be called the marriage counselor model. Independent voters, on the marriage counselor model, could elect independent candidates for office or convince elected politicians to become independents in order to secure the leverage needed to force the parties to compromise with each other. On this model, independents, say six in the Senate, would be like marriage counselors because their chief function would be to put pressure on both parties to make deals, especially when it comes to major policy bills that require 60 votes in the Senate.

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