National

A Hard Truth for Progressives

Joe Biden’s sizable electoral and popular vote win over Donald Trump has sparked exuberance among Democrats. A commander-in-chief that proved to be divisive, indifferent, and tone-deaf has left the White House. Yet, this happiness among Democrats will be short-lived, as the infighting seen during the primaries will resume shortly. Progressives now feel they have done […]

Trump Acquitted: For Country or for Party?

Following the Capitol insurrection on January 6, former President Donald Trump has come under intense scrutiny for inciting the riots in the nation’s capital. Shortly after the attack—which left many injured and five dead—House Democrats delivered a second article of impeachment in an unprecedented display of disdain. The Democrats attempted to establish that Trump was […]

The Ethical Role of Media in Election Reporting

During presidential election cycles, many Americans spend weeks with their eyes trained on their television screens. News stations are often the first place voters look to for election updates, as it is customary for the Associated Press (AP) to provide networks with projections before polls close. Election night coverage in 2020 garnered an estimated fifty-seven […]

No Taxation Without Representation: DC Statehood is Long Overdue

It’s time to add a fifty-first star to the American flag. As the capital city of the United States, Washington, DC, has historically been controlled by the federal government instead of its own residents. Article I of the Constitution grants Congress legislative authority over its seat of government. For most of the nineteenth century, DC […]

Can Democrats Win Mississippi?

Note: The original version of this piece, as well as the one featured in our Spring 2021 magazine, stated that the MSDP’s voter suppression hotline received hundreds of thousands of calls. The hotline actually received hundreds of calls.

The GOP Abandoning Trump Is Not Praiseworthy. It’s Self-Preservation.

In the months since President Trump lost re-election, a number of Republican leaders have moved to detach themselves from Trump and Trumpism. More may follow in the coming months. But that does not mean they should be praised. Lawmakers have only started to distance themselves from Trump’s sect of the party as his danger—or at […]

Debunking Originalism: How Objectivity Promotes Judicial Bias

Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings revived the debate between originalism and living constitutionalism. The former espouses that judges ought to interpret the literal text of the Constitution according to what the words meant when they were promulgated. The latter suggests that the Framers intentionally used loose language to allow for future interpretation, and that […]

In Response to “On Guns and Liberty”

Last January, Max Willner-Giwerc, a student whom I feel lucky to count as a friend, published “On Guns and Liberty.”  Willner-Giwerc’s broad argument against legal firearm ownership was well-founded, well-reasoned, and cited reputable sources. He argues that guns create a public sense of fear and deny victims of gun violence the freedom to live, while […]

The Case for Community-Owned Baseball

Photo by Rick Burtzel The national pastime needs national control. Major League Baseball operates as a monopoly, enables stubborn and avaricious owners, and allows teams to take advantage of their host cities. While the NBA and NHL implemented a centralized “bubble” as a COVID-19 safety measure in 2020, MLB allowed teams to play within their […]