The Monthly’s Presidential Accomplishment Index on CNN

The Month-to-month’s Presidential Accomplishment Index on CNN

The Washington Month-to-month’s April/Could/June print situation, that includes our Presidential Accomplishment Index evaluating the coverage data of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, is injecting some desperately wanted perspective into the media’s protection of the 2024 marketing campaign.

Yesterday, Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris talked to Jake Tapper on his present “The Lead with Jake Tapper” about our complete evaluation. You may try the interview on CNN.com or Tapper’s Instagram feed.

As GOP Splinters on Part 702, Dems Ought to Unite

I’ve written just a few instances for the Month-to-month about how the warrantless surveillance allowed underneath Part 702 of the Overseas Intelligence Surveillance Act is critical and efficient and doesn’t trample on the privateness rights of Individuals.

In March 2023, I made The Case for Maintaining Enhanced Surveillance Authority. Final December, I famous If Conservatives Care Concerning the Border So A lot, They Shouldn’t Wreck Part 702.

It was once that left-wing members of Congress, with lengthy reminiscences of how civil rights and anti-war activists have been focused by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program underneath J. Edgar Hoover, have been the first opponents of surveillance powers.

However Hoover is useless, and conspiracy theorizing on the best may be very a lot alive. So now Donald Trump and his minions are those main the combat to hamstring the FBI, whom they baselessly accuse of abusing its powers to oppose Trump.

Yesterday, 19 hypocritical, supposedly border-obsessed conservatives within the Home sunk a procedural vote, stopping ground consideration of an extension of this system earlier than authorization expires subsequent Friday.

(As I write this, the Speaker Mike Johnson’s workplace is telling congressional reporters that the Home will take one other procedural vote later in the present day, after decreasing the size of the Part 702 reauthorization invoice from 5 years to 2.)

With Republicans in disarray but once more, Democrats ought to unite to assist get Part 702 reauthorized. But just a few Democrats proceed to accomplice with far-right Republican and push unwarranted paranoia of federal legislation enforcement companies within the course of.

Right now within the Month-to-month, I clarify why Democrats ought to defend Part 702 as an alternative of validating far-right conspiracies.

The White Rural Rage Controversy

Again in February, the Month-to-month revealed an excerpt from the brand new guide White Rural Rage by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman.

Within the excerpt, the authors argued that rural voters largely vote for Republican politicians, although Republican politicians don’t return the favor with insurance policies that profit rural voters. Schaller and Waldman proposed creating “a brand new rural political motion” to raised wield energy and power the 2 main events to court docket the agricultural vote.

Since then, the guide turned a nationwide bestseller, but additionally attracted fierce criticism from rural students—most notably in The Atlantic and Politico—who declare the guide caricatures rural whites as violent, authoritarian, and racist.

Right now, Schaller and Waldman revealed a response to their critics in The New Republic.

No matter your view on the guide, I believe you’ll discover for those who learn the excerpt, and all the following exchanges, you’re going to be extra knowledgeable in regards to the plight of rural America.

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