A compendium of the best reporting and commentary surrounding the pivotal 2024 elections in the United States. You won't find horse race coverage here, or the standard "both sides" BS that passes so often for political journalism. What you will find are links, with brief commentary, to work that I believe advances the conversation we should be having about America's – and the world's – future. Remember: Everything is at stake this year. (Unfortunately, some of the work I point to is behind paywalls.)
About that debate:
Yeah, it was a big deal. I don't like "hot takes" but there are so many that some of them had to be worth recommending.
For 100 gobsmacking minutes, the Californian who would be America’s first female president was all of us, as the split screen showed Harris’ highly expressive face ranging from bemused puzzlement to barely suppressed laughter to blinking eyeballs of shock, as the 45th president of the United States dourly ranted about made-up “migrant crime” statistics or falsely claimed Democratic states allow doctors to murder newborn babies. Harris dominated the screen with her look of utter pathos — a kind of sorrow and pity for both the mental state of her 78-year-old opponent, but also, in a way, for the nation that has come to this bizarre moment in our history.
This one, IMO, captures what happened in the most optimistic way, in Bunch's trademark style. Debates don't win or lose elections; the Biden-Trump fallout was a one-of-a-kind situation. And most debates have been more like dual press conferences than actual confrontations on the issues. But personality – especially that ineffable quality called gravitas – does matter, and as a results debates matter. Again, we won't know what impact this debate had until much later, and eight weeks remain in the campaign, an eternity in this bonkers political year.
But drill down deeper and the news is not so great. The percentage of viewers who felt Trump was better on the economy actually widened after they watched the debate. Despite Trump’s exaggerations and lies, debate watchers also gave Trump a 23-point advantage over Harris on whom they trusted to handle immigration. Most tellingly, just 4 percent said the debate had changed their minds about who to vote for.
This cautionary piece captures my own (not major) misgivings about the debate. YMMV.
No presidential candidate before Donald Trump has ever lied with this kind of frequency.
The ABC moderators called out three of Trump's dozens of lies during the debate. CNN's Dale does it better, though he doesn't have to do it in real time – keeping track of the entire Trump fire hose of deceit. There are stabs at this from other news organizations – always "balancing" the overwhelming Trump falsehoods with fine-print pushback on the relatively tiny number of Harris' false claims. (Dale counted "at least" 35 from Trump and one from Harris.) I wish she would stick to nailing Trump for what he's actually said and done – there's infinite material to work from – but to imagine that the candidates are in any remote way comparable in this regard is a right-wing fantasy that you are supposed to believe is reality. Not in this universe.
The ordinance, which Amarilloans are set to vote on this November after the council declined to pass it earlier this summer, would allow almost any person to file a civil lawsuit against people who “aid or abet” abortion and reap $10,000 in damages, similar to the state’s bounty hunter-style Senate Bill 8. The broad ordinance could apply to anyone who provides funding to someone who passes through the city to receive out-of-state abortion care or who drives an abortion-seeking patient to their appointment on the city’s roads.
This story from the Texas Observer is a local one, with national implications. It gives you deep insight into just how far abortion foes will go to prevent women from controlling their own lives. The city of Amarillo, governed by right-wing activists in a state that is governed by people equally contemptuous of women's rights, is inviting third parties to sue anyone who helps – in any remote way – a woman seeking an abortion. This is a profound abuse of the legal system. Maybe it'll be overruled, or maybe not in these judicial-extremist times. National elections have local consequences – and deeply grotesque consequences like the ones in Amarillo. But the local could spread widely if this travesty prevails.
Parents of dead child call out some awful, awful people
Extremists whose goal is to terrify America – notably including Vance and Trump – are using the death of an 11-year-old as a political tool. They are contemptible. His parents have responded to the their vile behavior with the contempt it deserves – and with a plea to be better. (I guess there's always hope.) Please have a listen to this powerful message, which I'm gratified to see going viral, from a grieving family. Then please pass it around, especially to the Trump cultists in your family and social/job circles. They, more than anyone, need to be clear on what kind of people they're supporting.
Voting is just part of democracy, but it's the essential place to start. Make sure you're registered. Doublecheck in the fall, well before Election Day, because in some states Republican officials are removing people, mostly those who tend to vote for Democrats, from voting rolls.
Please send your suggestions
I spend a lot of time looking for essential coverage, and hope you'll help me by letting me know about the good stuff you find. Let me know.
Will Bunch
Robert Kuttner
Daniel Dale
Jonathan V. Last
Mary Tuma
