Editorial

By LEE H. HAMILTON I’ve been in and around politics for a long time, and not once, ever, have I encountered a candidate who said he or she might not accept the results of an election. Until now. Certainly, in close-fought races candidates might ask for a recount. But once the precinct workers and town and city clerks and secretaries of state have checked and re-checked and certified, we consider the matter settled. We accept and abide by the results — at least until the next election. This year, we can’t take that for … [Read more...] about Let’s be clear about democracy

Confusion reigned when the Michigan Supreme Court determined that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s use of executive orders was unconstitutional last week. What did this mean for mask rules? For business closures and capacity requirements? Reporting outbreaks and nursing home visits? Unfortunately the disappearance of executive orders did not disappear COVID-19. Michigan cases are rising again, similar to rates we had in May. We see the court’s rationale in its decision, but we don’t want to see public health — or transparency about … [Read more...] about Rules may change but the threat stays the same

For many progressive opinion-makers, the only way to save the Supreme Court is to destroy it. They believe the best response to the Republican-held Senate confirming a Trump nominee to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court is to pack the Court if Democrats win in November. Holding out the court-packing threat, they argue, also might give Republicans second thoughts about filling the vacancy. For the Democrats, court-packing would be a murder-suicide. It would end the Supreme Court as we know it, and almost … [Read more...] about No, the Democrats won’t pack the Court

Let’s make some wobbly assumptions and look to the future. Suppose the country survives the onslaught of lies — or “alternative facts,” as Kellyanne Conway (remember her?) used to call the stream-of-conscious gibberish Donald Trump tweets and screams at rallies — and Joe Biden wins the election. Then we get past all of Trump’s post-election chicanery or something even more serious and Biden is declared the winner. At the time of the election, the Trump presidency would have more than two months to go. That is plenty of time for … [Read more...] about Rose Garden pardons

When President Barack Obama nominated a qualified federal judge to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, this editorial board wrote that the president has done his job and it is time that the Senate do its job. What was our guiding principle then remains our guiding principle now. Just as we thought that Judge Merrick Garland deserved a full hearing and a timely vote, the same can be said of Amy Coney Barrett, for whom the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin confirmation hearings on Oct. 12, a pace that could … [Read more...] about Senate is right to move swiftly to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court

Constitutional revolution is going mainstream. If the Republican Senate confirms a Trump appointee to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat right before or after the election, progressives say Democrats, if they sweep in November, should retaliate by packing the Supreme Court. None of this comes out of the blue. The left is disenchanted with our country, and especially its governing institutions, which it believes are shot through with racism and deeply undemocratic. Democrats have gone from assuming a few years … [Read more...] about Ideological vengeance

By Lee H. Hamilton It probably feels like the 2020 elections have been going on for years, and in a sense they have. Ever since Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, the political world has been girding for this moment. But more Americans than you might expect have only just begun paying attention, now that we’re in the final weeks of the campaigns. So, this seems an opportune time to look at where things stand—including some basic information that might have gotten lost in all the shouting. For instance, most people know … [Read more...] about The Basics of the Election

The October surprise happened in September, but it was certainly a jarring surprise. Normally in a presidential race, it will be engineered by supporters of one candidate against the other. But unless we learn differently, the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg came when her health finally collapsed after years of fighting off cancers. Shortly before she succumbed, she dictated a statement: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed. ” But in the ways of Washington, the beauty of … [Read more...] about Ginsberg impact, TBD

It undermines how she moved the law We join the nation in mourning the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her life of service to our country and its laws has rightly inspired millions who see this mighty woman as a representative of the best of America. But even as we begin mourning her passing and the celebration of her life, it seems important to stop and note who Ruth Bader Ginsburg truly was to America and to the underlying concept of America as a nation ruled not by the whims of monarchs and tyrants but by the laws made … [Read more...] about Don’t call Ruth Bader Ginsburg a revolutionary

There’s a giant scheme afoot to disenfranchise voters in November — it’s called mail-in balloting. Mail-in voting has, like many things in our politics, taken on the aspect of tribal warfare — if President Donald Trump is vociferously against it, Democrats must be vociferously for it, and vice versa. Absentee voting is unquestionably less secure than in-person voting, but there’s no evidence of widespread fraud. Nor is there evidence that, at least prior to this campaign, mail-in voting has favored Democrats, as the president … [Read more...] about Democrats should worry about mail-in voting