Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

If you feel like the news is coming at you too fast to keep up with, Scott and I discussed lawsuits in Alaska and California, among other topics. Here’s a quick way for you to get on top of some of the most important news events today, with one of my favorite independent journalists, Scott MacFarlane. We’re in this together, Joyce Share

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"The rule of law is one of those phrases that rolls off lawyers’ tongues" The current mess forced me to confront the meaning of "the rule of law". What I came up with was indeed the simple comparison to "the rule of the king". But another reflection was to consider "the rule BY law" as opposed to the rule by men.

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Spending time with Cliff Albright was the balm my soul needed right now. He’s optimistic, but it’s grounded in realism and understanding what’s happening on the ground. Coalition isn’t easy, he points out, especially when it’s a big tent with hundreds of groups from the civil rights community, the immigrant community, labor, and more; activists, lawyers, and an army of the willing who care about the future of our country.

Cliff Albright is one of the co-founders of the Black Voters Matter Fund, which builds community and organizational capacity related to Black voting power. After the Supreme Court decided Callais and red states began gerrymandering, he became a powerful voice, bringing activists from across the country to the Deep South to fight back and focus the nation’s attention on the injustice that was occurring. No one has his finger on the pulse of the South like Cliff.

A lot happened today. That means tonight’s column is long, and I encourage you to read it in pieces if that helps you get through it, because there’s no way to sugarcoat this: We live in an America where a would-be authoritarian is trying to solidify his hold on the country ahead of midterm elections in which his party is expected to do poorly and we cannot afford to look away. But do find a way to digest this material without overwhelming yourself.

My friend Ami Fields-Meyer joined us live tonight to explain what is happening as citizens push back against autocracy in Brazil and Serbia, and as Israel gears up for its election Tuesday. He characterizes Trump and his international cronies as “Greater MAGA,” a phrase Josh Marshall at the Talking Points Memo coined.

We first met Ami Fields-Meyer when his book, On Courage: How to Be a Dissident in an Age of Fear, came out earlier this year. Ami is a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation and a former senior policy advisor at the White House. He views democracy issues through a broad lens, both internationally and domestically.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot going on tonight, so we’ll jump straight in: The Arch The National Capital Planning Commission, which Trump has filled with supporters, has added an agenda item to its scheduled November 5 meeting. That item is Trump’s vanity arch, and it looks like the Commission will approve the project despite ongoing litigation. On Thursday, the Trump Administration notified Judge Tanya Chutkan that construction or demolition could “commence immediately” once notice is published.