by jpitney | Jan 15, 2021 | Civil Rights, Race
The Tulsa World reports that Senator. James Lankford apologized to Black Tulsans on Thursday for not recognizing that his involvement in questioning presidential election results would offend them. Ok
by jpitney | Jan 15, 2021 | Biden, Civility, Lincoln, Rhetroric
Michael Gerson at The Washington Post: How can Biden shape a rhetoric of unity and inclusion in a nation that cannot agree on democratic values, and does not agree on truth itself? He might begin by reading Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural. Lincoln drew a hard line...
by jpitney | Jan 14, 2021 | Biden, civic virtue, Civility, Polarization, Public Opinion
From the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Despite deep political polarization and levels of civil and political unrest not seen in a generation, American voters are cautiously optimistic about the future of our politics, according to the most recent...
by jpitney | Jan 13, 2021 | Congress, Impeachment, Presidency
Wyoming Congresswoman and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) released the following statement ahead of votes in the House this week: “On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy...
by jpitney | Jan 12, 2021 | Congress, House of Representatives, Impeachment
Louis Jacobson at PolitiFact: “The House makes up new rules almost weekly, using special rule resolutions reported by the Rules Committee and adopted by the House to fast-track matters outside the regular order,” said Donald R. Wolfensberger, director of...
by jpitney | Jan 11, 2021 | Congress, Crime, Oversight
Amelia Strauss and Daniel Schuman at First Branch Forecast: With an abundance of resources, how is it possible the [Capitol Police] department wasn’t prepared for [Wednesday’s] events? The answer could be, in part, insufficient accountability mechanisms. The...
by jpitney | Jan 9, 2021 | Civility, Congress, Mass Media, Polarization
Michael S. Johnson at New GOP Forum: Congress, as it has been frightfully clear for some time needs reform. Begin with the stark reality that the institution is highly vulnerable to violent occupation, guarded by a 2,000-person police force that let down its guard...
by jpitney | Jan 8, 2021 | Congress, Crime, Police
Marc Santora, Megan Specia and Mike Baker at NYT: A United States Capitol Police officer died on Thursday night from injuries sustained “while physically engaging” with pro-Trump rioters who descended on the U.S. Capitol the day before, the fifth fatality linked to...
by jpitney | Jan 7, 2021 | Congress, Crime, Presidency
From Senator Mitt Romney: We gather today due to a selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection, incited...
