Jan. 6 insurrection
Biden in Jan. 6 speech decries ‘web of lies’ created by Trump about 2020 election
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday warned of the dangers of a collapse of American democracy, standing in a historic chamber in the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by an angry mob of pro-Trump supporters who attempted to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. “We are in the battle for the soul […]
The ‘sore loser effect’: Rejecting election results can destabilize democracy, drive terrorism
By James Piazza, Penn State An attendee at an October 2021 political rally hosted by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk asked: “How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?” The attendee was referring to the baseless allegation that Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. presidential election and that he unfairly denied […]
‘We thought that we would die’: Lawmakers probe painful Jan. 6 memories
Democrats in Congress marked the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday recounting the terror they experienced first-hand — and argued that it gives them even more reason to pursue voting rights legislation. They remembered the desperate scramble to hang on to the boxes that held the presidential vote tally, the rush […]
Here’s what’s happening in D.C. on the Jan. 6 anniversary
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Thursday in the heart of the U.S. Capitol to mark the first anniversary of the insurrection there. One year ago, former President Donald Trump incited a mob of his supporters, and encouraged them to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the […]
Schumer says U.S. Senate to consider changing the filibuster if voting rights stalls
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on Monday that the Senate is prepared to debate changes in the filibuster if Republicans continue to block the advancement of voting rights legislation. In a sternly worded letter to other senators, the New York Democrat set a deadline of Jan. 17 for the chamber to consider revising the […]
Candidates fighting 2020 misinformation run to administer local elections
As a chemist and immigrant from Vietnam, Linh Nguyen never thought she could have a role in U.S. politics. But then Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 and he “unknowingly inspired minority leaders, women of color like me, to be more actively engaged in politics,” she said. She joined the nonpartisan League of Women […]
Bullying ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ political minority has no right to tread on the rights of others
Don’t tread on me. Leave my liberty, my choice, my freedom to do whatever I damn well please alone. But I can tread on you. No vax for me means I can infect you. Zero gun control for me makes you unsafe in a country where mass shootings are routine. My belief about abortion cancels […]
A Christmas letter to the undiscovered country
Phil, You’ve been away for a good long while so here’s a Christmas letter to catch you up on all the news you’ve missed. So much has changed. Time steals like a shadow over the living, rendering us all Henry Adams at history’s eclipse. There’s much I want to share, because you could have helped […]
How an election denier’s fan club got its start in the states
WASHINGTON — The suddenly famous election denier behind the circulation of a PowerPoint filled with plans to overturn the 2020 election has a long history of election subversion attempts in multiple states. Retired Army Col. Phil Waldron also has close ties to former President Donald Trump’s legal team and served as one of its key […]
House Republicans slam treatment of Jan. 6 defendants held at D.C. jail
WASHINGTON — Four House Republicans held a Tuesday press conference to complain about the poor conditions at a District of Columbia jail housing inmates charged with violence in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But a District of Columbia advocate for prison reform in an interview said that jail and another […]
America needs two functioning political parties to survive as a democracy
What might the demise of a little-known language usage organization in the United Kingdom indicate for the future of the Republican Party? A hint might be found in the near-unanimous vote of House Republicans to support Arizona Representative and former dentist Paul Gosar for his vile conduct in posting a cartoon showing him murdering a […]
Where, oh where have the old-school conservatives gone?
In an exceedingly weird dream the other night, I became a conservative. Small “c” old-school conservative, the guy who distrusts rapid change, reveres custom and tradition, and fears anything that threatens to erode the foundations of government and society. As that newly minted conservative, I beheld with alarm and chagrin what had become of politics […]