It's the democracy, stupid

Jill Lawrence is an opinion writer for The Bulwark and author of the book, The Art of the Political Deal. In the course of a full career paying attention to our politics, she has covered Washington for the AP and of USA Today, and as managing editor at the National Journal. Plus, she’s becoming a regular visitor to our WCPT 820AM show!

During our recent conversation, we discussed GOP culture- war politics and Jill’s smart take-aways from the E. Jean Carroll trial and the so called Trump “town-hall” on CNN.

I hope you’ll give it a listen!

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The on-going attack on books, libraries and higher ed was the focus of my recent WCPT 820AM conversation with Jeremy Young, Senior Manager of PEN America’s Free Expression and Education Program. I hope you’ll give it a listen and then go here to learn more about how you can support PEN America: https://pen.org/

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Anderson Clayton is Chair of the NC Dems. At 25 she is the youngest state party leader in the country, and someone who has the sense and the energy to fight for rural as well as urban votes.  Recently on WCPT 820AM, I had a chance to talk to Anderson about:

* Her journey into political organizing

* The latest political issues in North Carolina including the party switch by State Senator Trisha Cotham from Democrat to Republican; the recent anti-abortion legislation/ veto/ veto override; the flip flop by the North Carolina State Surpeme Court on redistricting and more.

* How two other State party chairs who are frequent guests on my show- Ben Wikler of Wisconsin Dems and Lavora Barnes of Michigan Dems- are mentoring Anderson in her new role.

You can learn more about NC Democrats here:

https://www.ncdp.org/

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Lavora Barnes leads the Michigan Democrats. She first took the position when the GOP controlled the governor’s office and the state legislature. Today, Democrats have a trifecta in the state, and are moving to gain seats in counties and municipalities from the edge of Lake Superior to border with Ohio. Recently in a WCPT 820AM conversation, I talked with Lavora about many things including her recent re-election as party chair plus:

* The stark differences between Democrats and Republicans especially when it comes to:

* Values

* Approaches to governing

* Role of politics

* The remarkable leadership in Michigan particularly by women.

* What has happened to the the Michigan GOP and how did it so badly lose its way?

* What other states can learn from the Democrat’s success in Michigan.

* We’ve seen some victories in Wisconsin, though they are not yet out of their gerrymandered nightmare. We might see a victory in Ohio as MAGA efforts to limit citizen input into Constitutional changes are running into strong opposition. The shock of Tennessee and Montana, where the GOP just tosses out legislators the don’t like, might not wake up enough people in those states, but it sure is motivating people in other states.

* How not since the Civil War has one party been determined to pass legislation that great majorities of the country dislike, and to impose upon the rest of us.

* Our shared vision for America- one where we become humanity’s first truly multi-racial, multi-faith democracy, where power is actually shared by us all, and where we make governing decisions that lift everyone. 

* And: The President. We talked about the great jobJoe Biden has done and how Democrats will surely be going to be fully on board supporting the Biden/Harris ticket in 2024.

You can learn more about Michigan Democrats and how to help their efforts here:

https://michigandems.com/

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Mark Maxwell reports on politics and government as the political editor for KSDK in St. Louis. He is a great reporter and sharp observer of American politics. 

In our recent conversation, we talked about the difference between governing and politics, and how the two impact each other. Mark is in a great place to talk about the differences in outcomes between blue states like Illinois and red ones like Missouri especially when it comes to:

* Law and order – ousting prosecutor, but also gun violence

* Book bans, abortion, social order,

* Democracy and voting

You can see Mark’s smart political coverage on KSDK including his weekly talk show, The Record, which focused on Missouri and Illinois politics.

Also: there’s more coverage on the Missouri statehouse exploits here from Heartland Signal: https://heartlandsignal.com/2023/04/11/missouri-house-republicans-vote-to-defund-libraries/

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Per Democracy Docket: This week “the Ohio House is voting on a resolution that would restrict voters' ability to amend the state constitution. The resolution would raise the threshold to pass citizen-led ballot measures from 50% to 60%.” This is effort is designed to thwart voter efforts to restore abortion rights & end gerrymandering through state-wide referendums.

Protests at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on May 10, 2023. Photo credit: David Pepper.

That Republican effort is being financed by Illinois Billionaire Richard Uihlein and it’s part of an on-going attack on Democracy in Ohio. David Pepper has been shining a bright light on what’s happening in Ohio and other states through his advocacy efforts and his remarkable book Laboratories of Autocracy. I’m using that book in a class I teach at DePaul, and the students like it a lot. If you haven’t read it, read it. It’s powerful and very clear about the challenges we face. You should also follow David here on substack and social media. His Ted-talk like “white board” explainers are terrific.

In this recent WCPT820-AM conversation, I talked with David about the collapse of governing outcomes- everything from corrupt contracts for fake private schools, to failed infrastructure and nearly abandoned towns. And the connection between those outcomes and politicians who cannot be held accountable by elections.

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Like many, I am worried about Iowa and Iowans. It feels like a formerly generous, conservative sensible and state had become radically untethered from reality and is now full-on MAGA- with all its cruelty and its disregard for the actual effects of policies that are made for FOX News sound-bites. In this conversation, Iowa Starting Line Senior Editor Ty Rushing talked about recent moves on a series of hot topics including:

* Guns in Schools

* Kids in factories

* Attacks on accountability- what just happened to the state auditor?

* Attacks on women’s reproductive rights

* Attacks on LGBTQ people

For more Iowa coverage, you should check out the Iowa Starting Line, a part of Courier Newsroom.

At a time when rumors, lies and misinformation fly far faster around social media than actual facts, Iowa Starting Line is working to keep Iowans informed with important context on the stories that impact your life.

We work to cut through the online disinformation and half-truths to provide quality coverage from credible sources by our experienced team of Iowa-based editors and reporters. Our local journalists care deeply about these issues because we call this state our home.

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Dan Shafer, Wisconsin Political Columnist

Here’s a link to Dan’s substack. Sign up to stay on top of everything Wisconsin politics.

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Earlier in March, I talked with Beth Lewis, a teacher and now the director of Save Our Schools Arizona, and was, frankly stunned by what she told me. (The link to that conversation is below.) The attack on public education is so thorough and thoroughly subversive that I knew I needed to better understand its origins and its connections to other ideas animating the autocratic right.  That brought me to Jennifer Berkshire. 

Jennifer Berkshire writes about education and politics. She created and co-hosts a podcast “Have You Heard” about education policy. And she teaches at both Boston College UMass Amherst. She’s the author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School. You can find her on twitter at @BisforBerkshire.

Education policy expert & author Jennifer Berkshire

Here’s the link to my recent conversation with Beth Lewis of Save Our Schools Arizona:

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-Read more about the voucer disaster in Arizona in this opinion piece by Beth Lewis in the Arizona Capitol Times:

Nation watches as Arizona’s universal ESA voucher fiasco fails

https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2023/02/06/nation-watches-as-arizonas-universal-esa-voucher-fiasco-fails/

-Find out more about Arizona Save Our Schools and how you can help at: https://sosarizona.org/learn-more/.

Follow on twitter at @AZBethLewis and @arizona_sos

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