Politics | Voter.org

How Jason Aldean Explains Donald Trump (And Vice Versa)

July 28, 2023 Donald, Trump, Jason, Aldean, Versa, vice, Explains0 comment

The commercial success of the country star Jason Aldean’s ode to small-town vigilantism helps explain the persistence of Donald Trump’s grip on red America. Aldean’s combative new song, “Try That in a Small Town,” offers a musical riff on the same core message that Trump has articulated since his entry into politics: that America as conservatives understand it is under such extraordinary assault from the multicultural, urbanized modern left that any means necessary is justified to repel the threat. In Aldean’s lyrics and the video he made of his song,…

What Happened When Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs

July 24, 2023 Hard, Happened, Oregon, drugs', Decriminalized0 comment

This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here. Updated at 11:25 a.m. ET on July 20, 2023 Three years ago, while the nation’s attention was on the 2020 presidential election, voters in Oregon took a dramatic step back from America’s long-running War on Drugs. By a 17-point margin, Oregonians approved Ballot Measure 110, which eliminated criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of any drug, including cocaine, heroin,…

The Long-Shot Candidate Who Has the White House Worried

July 20, 2023 longshot, worried, candidate, House, White0 comment

Pull up a sticky green lawn chair, everyone. It’s time for another round of Mounting Democratic Jitters, cherished summer pastime from Wilmington to the West Wing. Today’s installment: Cornel West, unlikely MAGA accessory. West, the famed academic and civil-rights activist, is a Green Party candidate for president. He probably will not win. Not a single state or, in all likelihood, a single electoral vote. But he remains a persistent object of concern around the president these days. I’ve talked with many of these White House worrywarts, along with their counterparts…

Why Trump Might Just Roll to the Presidential Nomination

July 16, 2023 Presidential, just, Nomination, might, Roll, Trump0 comment

This should be a window of widening opportunity and optimism for the Republicans chasing Donald Trump, the commanding front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential race. Instead, this is a time of mounting uncertainty and unease. Rather than undermine Trump’s campaign, his indictment last week for mishandling classified documents has underscored how narrow a path is available for the candidates hoping to deny him the nomination. What should have been a moment of political danger for Trump instead has become another stage for him to demonstrate his dominance within the party.…

A Radical Idea for Fixing Polarization

July 12, 2023 polarization, Idea, 'Radical, Fixing0 comment

For most Americans, voting for a member of Congress is one of their simplest civic duties. Every two years, they pick the candidate they like best—usually the same one they chose last time—and whoever gets the most votes will represent them and a few hundred thousand of their neighbors in the House of Representatives. In nearly every case, the winner is a Republican or Democrat, and whichever party captures the most seats secures a governing majority. That basic process has defined congressional elections for much of the past century. But…

Biden’s ‘Big Build’

July 8, 2023 Build, 'Big, Biden's0 comment

When President Joe Biden visits South Carolina to tout a new solar-energy-manufacturing facility today, he will underscore a striking pattern: Some of the biggest winners from his economic agenda have been Republican-leaning places whose political leaders have consistently opposed his initiatives. Centered on a trio of bills Biden signed in his first two years, the president’s economic program has triggered what could become the most concentrated burst of public and private investment since the 1960s. The twin bills Biden signed in 2022 to promote more domestic production of clean energy…