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Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Redistricting

Redistricting

Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on stage

Luke Combs, politics and healing our nation's divide

Voter registration

The SAVE Act: Addressing a Non-Existent Problem at the Cost of Voter Access?

Donald Trump

Congress Bill Spotlight: Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act

A fictional, fanciful sign depicts the results of voter suppression through the unfair, partisan manipulation of district lines (gerrymandering).

The worst congressional gerrymanders of the 2020s

Podcast: What brings the Far Left and the Far Right together?

Podcast: What brings the Far Left and the Far Right together?
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumSep 03, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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On this episode of Renew Democracy Initiative’s “Winter is Here” podcast, CNN Senior Political Analyst John Avlon joins the show to discuss what inspiration we can draw from Ukraine’s fight for its survival and what we can learn from Abraham Lincoln about defending liberalism as we square off against political extremism.

Avlon is the former editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast from 2013 to 2018. He is also the author of several books including, most recently, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace.

https://renewdemocracy.substack.com

Latest news

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on April 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Governance & Legislation

Federal AI Advisory Committee Disbanded Under Trump’s Executive Order

The President Must Affirm His Commitment to the Constitution
Ethics & Leadership

The President Must Affirm His Commitment to the Constitution

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The DOGE and Executive Power

White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The DOGE and Executive Power

The DOGE is not the first effort to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in government. It is the first to receive such vociferous disdain along what appears to be purely political lines. Most presidents have made efforts in these areas, some more substantial than others, with limited success. Here are some modern examples.

In 1982, President Reagan used an executive order to establish a private sector task force to identify inefficiencies in government spending (commonly called the Grace Commission). The final report included 2,478 recommendations to reduce wasteful government practices, estimated savings of $429 billion over the first three years and $6.8 trillion between 1985 and 2000. Most of the savings required legislative changes, and Congress ignored most of those proposals.

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Money in politics
Super PACs tied to major parties misled voters, complaint alleges
erhui1979/Getty Images

Is It Possible To Reverse Course on the Corruptive Influence of Money in American Politics?

A $288 Billion Dollar Proto-Presidency?

The 2024 presidential election saw Elon Musk spend over a quarter of a billion to elect President Trump, which is exactly $288 million according to The Washington Post report of the final tally of campaign spending on January 31, 2025. Did that staggering campaign contribution buy the billionaire the right to attend cabinet meetings and stand beside the President in the Oval Office and at other events? Did those millions buy a Proto-Presidency, complete with the opportunity to run a department aggressively dismantling government and radically changing what government does for ordinary Americans while personally benefiting from government contracts? Professor Lawrence Lessig argues that ‘Musk is the clearest example of the corrupting influence of money in politics.’ According to a recent PEW study, 72% of Americans agree that money is the number one corrupting influence in politics. So, what can be done? Are we too far down this road to make meaningful change, or are there options?

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Progressives Have Religious Freedom Too
person standing while reading ook
Photo by Tyler Callahan on Unsplash

Progressives Have Religious Freedom Too

At the end of March, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case about religious freedom. In late April, it heard two more. By summer, the Court could decide to give religious employers another tax break, let religious parents excuse their children from classes that mention queer people, and give religious charter schools access to public funding.

Religious freedom in these cases is about conservatives’ religious right to be exempt from certain laws and taxes. They give a Supreme Court dominated by Republican appointees a chance to carve three new religion-shaped holes in American law.

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