Weekend reader comments.
August 6, 2022
To celebrate a good week for Democrats and Joe Biden, I am opening the comments section to all readers. Although Democrats must successfully navigate a “vote‑a-rama” to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, it will be the second major bill to pass in a week (including the PACT Act for veterans). The defeat of the anti-choice Kansas constitutional amendment provided a boost to morale and protected the rights of women in Kansas. Friday brought a strong jobs report as gas prices began to fall (to the shock and dismay of the entertainers on the Fox “news” channel).
Let’s catch our breath, take a moment to reflect, and recharge our batteries as we turn the corner to the midterms.
A few points to prompt discussion:
The Electoral Count Act.
In yesterday’s newsletter, I referred readers to a WaPo op-ed by Professor Tribe et al. on suggested reforms to the Electoral Count Act. I noted the article was behind a paywall. Professor Tribe wrote to suggest that readers would be interested in his “no‑paywall piece in which the three of us do an even deeper and more focused dive in Slate into the biggest flaw in the proposed bipartisan reform?” The article is here: Tribe, Chemerinsky, and Aftergut in Slate, The Big, Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Another Jan. 6 Has One Potentially Fatal Flaw.
The above article is important and timely. It discusses the need for the Electoral Count Act to address the “independent state legislature” theory. The authors explain that Article II gives Congress the authority to enact laws to “determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes.” Combining that authority with the “Necessary and Proper” clause,
Congress [could] state explicitly that no device enacted by any state legislature may override the way the state’s people have decided to designate the candidate of their choice. For good measure, Congress could state that the Constitution’s provision guaranteeing a “republican form of government” would be violated by conducting an election and then disregarding votes cast in that election based on alleged fraud in the absence of proof established in a court of law.
As I wrote yesterday, let’s hope that congressional staff members are paying close attention to the recommendations by Tribe, Chemerinsky, and Aftergut. If you think this proposal makes sense, please urge your Senators and Representative to support the recommendations in the article.
Republican Senators whine about having to do their job.
Senate Republicans are so upset that Democrats may pass the Inflation Reduction Act that they have promised to put Democrats through “hell” in their efforts to pass the bill. See The Hill, Republicans vow ‘hell’ for Democrats over economic bill.
How, exactly, do Republicans plan to put Democrats through “hell”? Answer: By making them vote on proposed amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act. Hmm . . . voting on the Senate floor on proposed legislation. That doesn’t sound like “hell”—that sounds like “doing your job.” If Republicans think that doing the people’s business in the luxury of air-conditioned Senate chambers is “hell,” they really are out of touch.
Seriously, though, Democrats are awaiting a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian before engaging in a 48-hour gauntlet of Republican “poison pill” amendments. When the dust has cleared, the bill will have passed, and Republicans will be on record as opposing lower drug prices for seniors on Medicare. Add that blunder to the string of self-destructive, anger-driven mistakes that Republicans are making in advance of the midterms.
Concluding Thoughts.
In my note at the top of the Comments section, I have included a link to a tutorial on canvassing (courtesy of 31st Street Swing Left). After a week of discussing the effectiveness of postcards and letters, we cannot forget that canvassing is also important. If you are curious about canvassing, I urge you to watch the video. Although canvassing requires stamina and (sometimes) a thick skin, it is the quintessential democratic experience: Citizens discussing issues that affect the common good. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Have a good weekend, everyone!
From reader James Shelton: One of the main things we do at 31st Street Swing Left is canvassing. Canvassing is a major comparative advantage of Democrats, but in my view we do not nearly make as much of it as we should. One of the biggest issues is that training, such as it is, is generally highly deficient. Optimal training should have a number of components, but surprisingly, there are just no good overall training videos out there that we can find at least. So we have developed our own in conjunction with a sister organization in PA, called Turn PA Blue. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8SzuTKD8BA
Thank you Robert, for once again calling our attention to important information and prompting us to action. Following is an email I sent to my senator, Susan Collins, that was prompted by your newsletter this morning. I will also be sharing this letter with our two statewide papers, the Bangor Daily News and the Portland Press Herald.
Dear Senator Collins:
I am a Maine voter who often disagrees with your actions in Congress. However, your efforts to reform the Electoral Count Act have my complete support. I am writing only to ask that you seriously consider one crucial improvement to your draft legislation to close a loophole that, if left open, could become the cause of considerable electoral mischief in the 2024 election and beyond.
For your consideration I extract from “The Big, Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Another Jan. 6 Has One Potentially Fatal Flaw” (published yesterday in Slate by Laurence Tribe, Dennis Aftergut, and Erwin Chemerinsky) what I believe is its core finding and recommendation for improvement:
“ Sen. Angus King of Maine asked (in a Senate Rules Committee hearing) a question putting his finger on it, but the responses were unsatisfactory. King inquired about a fringe legal theory that the Supreme Court will be considering in a case to be argued this fall. King expressed concern about the “independent state legislature theory” that the reactionary court majority may adopt. He asked whether it might undercut what the ECRA seeks to achieve.
Under an extreme version of this theory, state legislatures can purportedly decide whatever they want in presidential elections, without court review or concern for the majority vote, even after the ballots have been cast.
(Congress has the constitutional authority to) state explicitly (in the ECRA) that no device enacted by any state legislature may override the way the state’s people have decided to designate the candidate of their choice. For good measure, Congress could state that the Constitution’s provision guaranteeing a “republican form of government” would be violated by conducting an election and then disregarding votes cast in that election based on alleged fraud in the absence of proof established in a court of law.”
I hope and trust that you and Senator Manchin will take steps to close this loophole before irreparable harm can be done by those intent on using the levers of government to undo our democracy.
Thank you sincerely for you consideration,
Michael McMillen
Harborside, ME 04642