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Organizing for collective impact & the democracy principle

Welcome to The Fulcrum’s daily weekday e-newsletter where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk, and act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives.


Organizing for collective impact: Prepared for anything, more effective at everything

On March 31, 2022, not long after Russia invaded Ukraine, attendees at a Unite America Brewer Fellows reception were asked to discuss how partner nations were able to respond so quickly and effectively to help Ukraine. The conclusion was that the relationships that had been formed between Ukraine and partner nations through joint capacity building and rehearsed interoperability enabled them to be prepared for the invasion.

The question then is how can these lessons learned from Ukraine be applied to promoting democracy and civic health in the U.S.?

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Democracy means more than just holding elections

Democracy means more than just holding elections. And, “the people” are more than just voters. Yet, “we, the people,” have allowed our role as popular sovereigns to be reduced to benchwarmers.

Democracy is supposed to be a system through which “the people” exercise power. That power appears to have been lost. We have effectively made “the people” the equivalent of designated hitters -- we participate sparingly (every two years); give our best go at having an impact (casting votes in elections decided by other factors--namely, money); and, spend the rest of our time cheering for our respective teams.

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Video: The number that will shape Republican politics in 2023

Winning just nine more House seats than Democrats in the 2022 midterms means the Republican caucus has very little room for error.

Watch.

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Israel Strikes Iran. Will the U.S. Remain on the Sidelines?

Rescue teams work at damaged buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran.

(Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Israel Strikes Iran. Will the U.S. Remain on the Sidelines?

"I want to thank President Trump for his leadership in confronting Iran's nuclear weapons program. He has made clear time and again that Iran cannot have a nuclear enrichment program," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address soon after launching Operation Rising Lion, an attack on Iran.

Netanyahu said that Israel targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country’s ballistic missile program, as well as top nuclear scientists and officials, in Friday's strike.

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A Stunning Verdict: A Shared Vision of Justice Unites Americans

A gavel and handcuffs.

Getty Images, -Oxford-

A Stunning Verdict: A Shared Vision of Justice Unites Americans

America’s political landscape is deeply divided. The shouting matches, the name-calling, the constant finger-pointing—it's easy to feel like unity is a pipe dream. But every so often, something remarkable happens. Something that cuts through the noise and reminds us that, despite our differences, we might still agree on some of the most important things.

That’s exactly what occurred when a group of unlikely allies—staunch conservatives and progressive advocates—came together to craft a new declaration of principles for criminal justice policy.

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Abortion at the Dinner Table

A doctor and patient holding hands.

Getty Images, thianchai sitthikongsak

Abortion at the Dinner Table

It was New Year's Eve 2021, six months before Roe v. Wade was overturned, and I was sitting at my parents' dinner table in La Lima, Honduras, about to have one of the most appallingly memorable nights in my life. The fact was that I, a Latina immigrant from Honduras working in New Orleans, had just had an abortion in the same city, one that marked my life in countless ways. I was quick to address the elephant in the room, my abortion in the face of a deeply Catholic culture, riddled with machismo, and in a country that criminalizes abortions. The table was silent for a moment. Around me were my family and my partner at the time. My mother broke down in tears:

“Mataste a mi nieto.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn on May 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn on May 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Congress Bill Spotlight: National Garden of American Heroes, As Trump Proposed

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.

What do Kobe Bryant, Dr. Seuss, Walt Disney, Alex Trebek, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in common?

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