Democracy Lives to Fight Another Day
Take a breather as we roll into the end of 2022, because the year ahead is going to keep all of us on our toes to defend democracy. Again.
YES! Article archive
Democracy
What the Whiteness Story of America Denies
Conservatives fuming over critical race theory fail to recognize a fundamental truth about the United States: Diversity is our strength.
Helping Dreamers Fulfill Their Dreams
The federal program that allows undocumented migrants to remain if they grew up in the U.S. falls short in many ways. Several organizations are stepping in to fill those gaps.
Reckoning With Right-Wing Violence
When one of the nation’s two political parties no longer believes in the democratic process, what happens to democracy?
How Women of Color Have Built Political Capital in Elections
She the People Executive Director Aimee Allison explains how women of color are both running for office and voting in ways that demand to be seen and heard.
The Most Important Midterm Election
There are some positive signs heading into Election Day. But there are just as many indicating a far grimmer outcome.
Assessing the True Extent of Poverty in the Richest Nation on Earth
To address the problems of our “surprisingly impoverished democracy” in the midterm elections, Liz Theoharis argues that policymakers would have to take seriously the realities of tens of millions of poor and low-income people.
Getting Voters the Truth in a Whirlwind of Lies
In Arizona, voter groups reach out to Latino citizens to combat misinformation spread by election-denier candidates.
Insults May Not Lead to Votes After All
Name-calling in politics grabs headlines, but voters don’t like it—and it could backfire in the 2022 midterm elections.
In the Wake of Yet Another Hurricane, Puerto Rico Needs Real and Equitable Investment
This crisis is political as much as environmental. Solutions require justice.
Can a Third Party Be the Charm for Polarized Politics?
Outsider parties can have an effect on electoral outcomes aside from being labeled spoilers. But they almost never change the two-party dynamic.
The Normalization of Right-Wing Violence
The GOP has steadily conditioned its base to accept threats and violence as political discourse. That was on full display after the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago.
The Rise of Indigenous Candidates Raises Awareness of Key Issues
Indigenous values helped shape American democracy, and now they’re helping increase Native representation.
The Voters Who Could Decide Close Elections in 2022
In addition to casting critical votes, Natives are winning local, state, and national offices.
The Political Power of Pro-Choice Protests
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, protests remind the Left how political change happens.
The Danger of Normalizing Trump’s Enablers
Testifying against Trump in the Jan. 6 Committee hearings should not absolve his enablers of the harm they helped him inflict.
The Supreme Court’s Crisis of Legitimacy
The Supreme Court has demonstrated that the highest law of the land is whatever they feel like saying it is. What do we do when the court and other institutions are widely seen as illegitimate?
What Would It Mean to Codify Roe Into Law?
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, advocates and politicians are calling on states and congress to codify Roe. But what does this actually mean for abortion rights?
Contextualizing the Jan. 6 Hearings
According to political analyst John Nichols, the House Select Committee hearings remind us that Trump was at the center of an attempted coup and, at the very least, that ought to make him ineligible for future elections.
Tell Better Stories to Win Public Opinion (and Elections)
The antidote to a false narrative on the right is to create a better one on the left to counter it.
Women Against the Bomb: Mothers of the Revolution
A new documentary interviews “Greenham Common Women”—tough, dedicated protesters in the struggle against nuclear weapons and nuclear war.
Joe Biden and the Politics of Black Womanhood
Joe Biden's nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson is historic, but we need to be mindful of all the cultural factors at play, and not let this moment devolve into tokenism.
Can We Make an Alien Nation Familiar Again?
The decline of civil society has been well-documented, but its political turn poses a unique danger for the U.S.
Why Binary Thinking on Russia’s Invasion Is a Losing Strategy
The idea that we have to either support military action and sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, or “do nothing,” is a false binary.
How Ukrainian Civilians Are Resisting Military Force
Unarmed Ukrainians changing road signs, blocking tanks, and confronting the Russian military are showing their bravery and strategic brilliance.
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