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 […]
In Response to “American Theocracy and the War on Christmas”
When those of us interested in politics look to history for support, we must be wary of reductionism. Though it may be advantageous for headlines to make eye-catching claims, history is much more nuanced. In “American Theocracy and the War on Christmas,” Alex Jarecki reduces the complex relationship of religion and politics in America to […]
The Republican Party Is a Fascist Cult
All Republicans bear the blame for this assault on democracy.
Universal Basic Income Is Not Sound Policy (Yet)
In the US, Universal Basic Income (UBI) has become ever salient as the public grows more fearful of mass job displacement. The policy is a type of social security that guarantees a fixed amount of income to citizens. Andrew Yang drew attention to the idea during this year’s Democratic presidential primary through the “Freedom Dividend,” […]
Why Democrats Underperformed on Election Night
Progressive politics are sabotaging the Democratic Party.