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Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)

Texas Republicans’ Effort To Make a Safe House Seat May Backfire

The Sleeping Giant Woke Up. Trump is Asleep.

The Sleeping Giant Woke Up. Trump is Asleep.

Children's books on a shelf.

Darius Williams Went Viral. Fixing the Literacy Crisis Won’t.

Dolly Parton performs on stage, holding a white, bedazzled guitar.

Dolly Parton and the America We Keep Forgetting We Can Be

aerial view of an AI data center.

Why Communities Nationwide Are Halting AI Data Centers

What you need to know about the Voting Rights Advancement Act

The Fulcrum Digest
By The Fulcrum DigestAug 23, 2021
The Fulcrum Digest
The Fulcrum is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
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News

The Voting Rights Advancement Act will be voted on soon. Here's what to know.

Sara Swann

As the House returns from recess this week, Democrats will make their latest push for a major upgrade to voting rights protections nationally.

The long-awaited John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was introduced by Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama last week, and House Democratic leaders say a vote on the bill is imminent.

Voting rights advocates believe the VRAA would provide critical protections for minority voters at a time when many states are enacting new limits on voting access. But like the For the People Act, it's unclear how the VRAA will overcome a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

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Debate

Why colleges should invest in civic engagement

Higher education institutions are in a unique position to engage young people, but civic engagement is often seen as beyond the purview of colleges and universities. This is a massive missed opportunity, for both higher ed institutions and our democracy, argues Rachel Konowitz, co-founder and chief operating officer of Motivote.

Podcast: America's foreign policy challenges are evolving rapidly

The takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan; a more aggressive China and Russia; and a newly-elected hardline president in Iran are all major challenges facing President Joe Biden and his administration. On this episode of Let's Find Common Ground, Ned Temko, who writes the weekly international affairs column "Patterns" for The Christian Science Monitor, and Scott Peterson, the Monitor's Middle East bureau chief, discuss the challenges and implications of America's foreign policy.

Community

We the People's Forum: How Can We Fix America's Immigration System?

Join Braver Angels tonight for a fascinating conversation with two immigrants and friends who have much in common -- but also differing perspectives on immigration. During Discussion, anyone with direct experience on this issue may comment, and anyone may ask a question.


Latest news

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Rule of Law

When Sexual Assault Becomes An Occupational Hazard

Women walks by voting booths.
Democracy

Surging Socialists a Warning for Democrats

A gavel.
Democracy

Judicial Independence: The Cornerstone of America’s Democracy

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THE POLITICS OF EXCLUSION: When Abuse of Power Pushes Communities Out of the American Story

An opinion essay traces America's cycle of welcoming immigrants and communities of color for labor, then excluding them once they gain power.

Westend61/Getty Images

THE POLITICS OF EXCLUSION: When Abuse of Power Pushes Communities Out of the American Story

The politics of exclusion is the deliberate use of power to push certain communities out of the American story through fear, cruelty, erasure, and unequal treatment. It is what happens when leaders abandon constitutional ideals and replace them with grievance, retaliation, and division.

The late John McCain warned that we weaken our greatness when we confuse patriotism with tribalism. Liz Cheney cautioned that no one should support a leader who uses fear and division to hold onto power. Adam Kinzinger called it authoritarianism. Mitt Romney said plainly, “He has caused fear and division.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez observed that “the cruelty is the point,” and the late John Lewis reminded us that “democracy is not a state; it is an act.” Together, these voices describe the elephant in the room. America is confronting a pattern bigger than corruption and bigger than authoritarian drift. It is the social, racial, and moral dimension of democratic erosion — lying, cheating, cruelty, intimidation, erasure, and exclusion masquerading as patriotism.

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Senators Criticize Trump Administration’s Demands to Access Health Data as a Condition for Lifesaving Aid
Roberto “Bear” Guerra/ProPublica. Source image: Getty Images

Senators Criticize Trump Administration’s Demands to Access Health Data as a Condition for Lifesaving Aid

What Happened: Citing reporting by ProPublica, eight Democratic U.S. senators have criticized the Trump administration’s demands to access the health data of millions of people as a condition of giving lifesaving aid to other countries. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators, including minority leader Chuck Schumer, said the U.S. demands were “unprecedented and at odds with U.S. policy concerning the data of American citizens.”

The inquiry into the administration’s approach to foreign health data referred to a ProPublica story published in June about agreements the U.S. struck with African countries — and the risks they posed to people there. Experts told ProPublica that the deals are vague and lack language used in most data-sharing agreements to adequately limit what information is collected and how it can be used. As a result, they said, there is an increased risk that individuals’ personal data could be exposed, misused or commercialized without their consent.

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Illustration of US Capitol

Illustration of US Capitol

Illustration provided

Are States and Localities Required to Cooperate with ICE?

Polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is doing its job, with outrage stoked by a surge in immigration arrests across the country and multiple killings by federal immigration officials. In many places, residents are against their state and local officials cooperating with immigration authorities. And many local law enforcement leaders argue that cooperating with federal immigration enforcement operations undermines public safety by taking resources away from local priorities and eroding communities’ trust in law enforcement.

Trump administration officials have repeatedly argued that states and localities are legally obligated to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. They have also warned that state and local laws limiting cooperation with ICE will be met with harsh crackdowns.

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A hand casting a vote in a ballot box for an election

A hand casting a vote in a ballot box for an election in the Kentucky, USA

Getty Images

Kentucky’s Independent Voters Are Growing. Why Are They Still Shut Out?

Kentucky’s political establishment has just been handed a number it should not be able to ignore.

In July, more Kentucky voters registered as independent or “other” than registered as Republicans and Democrats combined. More than 8,500 Kentuckians registered to vote, and the “other” category grew by 2,530 voters, compared with 2,483 new Republicans and a decline of 32 Democrats.

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