Roundup

Is American Tolerance for Political Violence on the Rise?

by Bernard Avishai

Things get dicier when these attitudes bleed into opinions about the legitimacy of a government led by the other side. Only forty-four per cent of Trumpists said that they’d regard a Joe Biden victory as legitimate.

What Modern Voter Suppression Looks Like In Florida

by Julio Capó Jr. and Melba V. Pearson

"The result of legal maneuvering in Florida is a 21st-century version of Jim Crow, now matured into James Crow Esq. The intent — to restrict minority community access to the ballot box — is the same, but the methods of voter suppression have become more sophisticated."

The Election Is a Morality Play in Which Biden Must Defeat Not Only Trump but Trumpism

by Jelani Cobb

"Science is increasingly worried that the virus will become endemic, a permanent part of our lives going forward. We should hold the same concern about the anarchic forces of Trumpism."

Good TV Demands Results on Election Night, But that’s Bad for Democracy

by Kathryn Cramer Brownell

Election night 2020 promises to test whether the media has learned from failures of the past. 

Whether Biden Wins or Loses, Texas is Now a Political Battleground

by James Henson

"Ironically, the return of real competition to Texas politics stems from the very thing that originally opened the door for Republicans: the political and cultural changes tied to the growing diversity that fractured the old Texas Democratic Party."

Whatever Happens this Week, our Democracy and Open Society are in Critical Condition

by Jim Sleeper

The biggest threat to American democracy is the right's compulsion to identify internal enemies. Centrist champions of unbridled free speech handed them a weapon by inventing and exaggerating the threat posed by "cancel culture." 

Monstrous Men: The Medusa #MeToo Monument Has an Oedipal Complex

by Erin Thompson and Sonja Drimmer

A New York statue of Medusa erected as a monument to the #MeToo movement of identifying sexual abusers of women is in fact yet another instance of fighting among male artists using women's bodies as symbolic weapons. It also garbles the myth of Medusa, draining it of its relevance to #MeToo.

Want to See Black Women Making History? Look to Congress

by Ashley D. Farmer

The success of "The Squad" in changing the image of Congressional leadership reflects the legacy of women like Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman elected to the Texas state senate on the way to a seat in Congress. 

The Secret Power of White Supremacy — and How Anti-Racists Can Take It Back

by Cord J. Whitaker

The far right has long used chivalric language to advocate for white supremacy and the forcible defense of social hierarchy. A medievalist explains why their perception of history is wrong and how to respond. 

This Year’s Elections Will Decide Whether America Witnesses A Third Reconstruction

by David A. Love

The United States has twice attempted to reorganize the nation's politics and institutions around principles of equality, and failed. A third reconstruction is needed to realize the promise of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

The Dossier That Destroyed Frank Wilkinson’s Dream of Public Housing in LA

by Eric Nusbaum

Frank Wilkinson's advocacy for racially integrated public housing in Los Angeles set off a red-baiting campaign that landed him in prison. 

Meeting Gorbachev, Fleeing Imelda

by Astrid S. Tuminez

The contrasting political fortunes of Mikhail Gorbachev and Imelda Marcos offer a warning that public-spirited leadership is not always rewarded as much as naked personal ambition. 

Why this Conservative Voted for Biden and You Should Too: Trump is a Morally Defective Man

by Tom Nichols

What we can do is stem the pandemic and recover from the recession. We can shore up our tattered alliances. But none of this will happen — and nothing else will matter — if we lose the moral core of our identity as a democracy.

What Happens if Neither Trump Nor Biden Concedes?

by Daniel Larsen

America’s electoral machinery, for all its oddities and flaws, offers greater systemic safeguards than other democracies, however those safeguards may be tested.

This Election, Black Women Are Leading the Way—Again

by Keisha N. Blain

Black women are continuing a long history of fighting to secure political rights in the face of efforts to deny them the vote. 

My Party is Destroying Itself on the Altar of Trump

by Benjamin L. Ginsberg

"Proof of systematic fraud has become the Loch Ness Monster of the Republican Party. People have spent a lot of time looking for it, but it doesn’t exist."

Letters From An American, October 31,2020

by Heather Cox Richardson

Although efforts to suppress votes and limit participation are causing fear, they are evidence of the strength of democracy and the desperation of a party that feels it can't win fairly. 

Is History Now Our Judge?

by L.D. Burnett

"Warning someone that they will face the judgment of history and the shame of opprobrium seems much more rational than warning them that they will face the judgment of God and the fires of hell."

The History of Hmong Americans Explains why they Might Decide the Election

by Melissa Borja

Hmong refugees were resettled in the United States after participating as US allies in military operations in Laos. American policy of dispersing refugees in small groups away from coastal areas created Hmong communities in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. 

The All-In-The-Family Approach To Political Attacks Has A Long History

by Nicole Hemmer

The right-wing media has developed reliable scripts for attacking opponents through their family members, but it's not always possible to make the connection stick.