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Sunday, July 16, 2017, 2:23 PM

In the morning on Sunday, the President was up early and tweeting from his golf course in New Jersey, clearly thinking once again that on weekends, idle hands on social media are the devil's workshop. Here was one of his tweets:

"With all of its phony unnamed sources & highly slanted & even fraudulent reporting, ?#Fake News is DISTORTING DEMOCRACY in our country!"

Well, somebody is sure doing that these days.

But there were no unnamed sources relevant this week to reporting about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russians, nothing slanted in the legitimate questions raised about a meeting that apparently had enough Russians attending to form a pickup basketball team; nothing fraudulent about the facts of this particular story. So with this story, nothing was distorted, certainly not democracy.

Ten busted in $125M Medicare, Medicaid scheme in Brooklyn, Queens

But there is democracy at work in this country. It is the kind that is still supposed to inspire us all. It is the kind that is supposed to give us the standing with the rest of the world that we've always had, and not just because of a proud, free press acting like a free press even under unprecedented attack, from a President who believes he's the one under attack, and with good reason.

You want to see and hear our democracy? All you have to do is watch the current fight against the Republican Party's shameful attack on Medicaid with its bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and all the falsehoods fronting that bill, starting with the ones told this past week by Vice President Mike Pence. These people continue to act as if being able to declare victory in health care matters and that serving their own agenda is more important than the people they were elected to serve.

These are the "Pretty Little Liars" of American governance, just not pretty or little. Just all grown up, and very much in power.

Here is what Pence said the other day, with a straight face, as he addressed Sen. Mitch McConnell's health care bill, once again put on hold, this time because of Sen. John McCain's surgery:

President Trump tweets support for 'innocent' Donald Jr.

"Let me be clear: President Trump and I believe the Senate health care bill strengthens and secures Medicaid for the neediest in our society."

Pence must believe that the 80% of Republicans who continue to blindly support everything this administration does and everything its representatives say really are rank suckers. Even he can't possibly believe that this Senate's health care bill "strengthens and secures" Medicaid for this country's most at-risk citizens. Not only is what Pence said untrue, it's demonstrably untrue.

But you know how this goes: These people think they can say anything, in broad daylight, and get away with it, at least in their America, the one where people believe what they want to believe. Don't believe the Congressional Budget Office, that is the pushback coming out of the White House. Don't believe all the American governors who have stood up and spoken out against this bill. Believe us.

You appropriately keep returning to the Marx Brothers for wisdom on subjects like these. Consider the movie "Duck Soup," in which Chico Marx's character Chicolini says, "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"

GOP leaders postpone health bill as McCain suffers blood clot

No one, not at any point in this process, has suggested that the ACA doesn't need improvements. No one in his or her right mind would suggest that the costs of Medicaid in this country aren't a runaway fiscal train. But it is another demonstrable Republican lie that Barack Obama's vision for affordable health care in America has been a failure. No. It is McConnell's plan that is a failure, even before it comes to a vote. Now career hacks like Sen. Ted Cruz actually try to make it worse. It's why big insurance companies called out Cruz this week, and showed more courage in the process than the majority of a Republican Senate.

Somehow, though, you're supposed to think it's the Congressional Budget Office that is more fake news. Why? Because the CBO offers inconvenient truths, righteously and honestly projecting that this Senate bill will cut Medicaid by 25% over the next 10 years, and more than that over the next 20, and leave 20 million or more without health care if it becomes law.

It is not just governors who call out McConnell's bill for the clear and present danger that it is, by the way. It is a great Senator out of Connecticut, Chris Murphy, who fights tirelessly against this bill on the floor of the Senate and everywhere else. Murphy is as much the voice of democracy as anybody we have. Not distorting democracy. Ennobling it.

"In the most powerful, affluent country in the world, no one should die or go bankrupt because they got sick," Murphy told me Saturday. "The Republican health care plan threatens to do both I'm fighting this bill with every ounce I've got."

LUPICA: McConnell is currently one of Washington's most dangerous

Don't believe guys who think they're running Duck Soup America. Don't believe them. Believe Chris Murphy

The rest is here:
LUPICA: Democracy can be seen and heard in the fight against the GOP's health care bill - New York Daily News

When judges handle these cases, they increasingly divide along party lines. Consider the litigation over North Carolinas law. A Republican-appointed federal judge upheld it, and then three Democratic-appointed judges struck down key parts. Before Mr. Trump appointed a conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, the short-handed court divided 4-4 along party lines on whether to stay the appeals court ruling. The court then denied review, but in an unusual statement Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. explained that the denial was on technical grounds, not on the merits. Taking this cue, North Carolina is already at work on a new voter ID law. There is every reason to believe that courts will continue dividing along party lines in these cases and that Republican-dominated courts are unlikely to save voters from new efforts to make it harder to register and to vote.

On top of these domestic problems, there is the external threat. According to a report by the F.B.I., the C.I.A. and the N.S.A., Russia engaged in a concerted effort to undermine the election process in 2016 by leaking stolen documents, hacking voting systems and disseminating fake news. Attempted Russian cyberattacks on voter databases were widespread, with hacking hitting systems in up to 39 states. According to a report in Time magazine, hackers successfully changed voter data in a county database in one state, although the database was corrected before the election.

By 2020, cyberattacks could try to alter or erase voter registration databases, bring down our power grids or transportation infrastructure, or do something else to interfere with actual voting on Election Day. The next hacks could include malicious, false information interspersed with accurate stolen files; public confidence in the fairness of our electoral process could decrease further, even if the hacks are unsuccessful, as incendiary and unsupported claims about voter fraud, cheating and altered vote totals spread via social media.

The courts cannot save us from any of this. Nor can we expect leadership from the executive branch, Congress or polarized state legislatures. The president has caused confidence in our election system to deteriorate with his outrageous claims about voter fraud and his Election Integrity commission. Mr. Trumps Justice Department has already made inquiries into whether states can do more to purge inactive voters from voter lists.

Meanwhile, House Republicans are moving to abolish the United States Election Assistance Commission, a bipartisan federal agency that serves as a clearinghouse for information about best voting practices and certifies the security of voting machines. Does that sound like a good idea right now?

Faced with this vacuum, nongovernmental organizations need to take the lead on fostering cooperation across various levels of government and among political parties. The efforts of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (a bipartisan group President Barack Obama appointed to study problems with the 2012 elections), the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Bipartisan Policy Center and others show that this kind of work can be effective. Led by Pew, red as well as blue states have adopted online voter registration and voluntarily cooperated to clean voter rolls in a way that is careful enough to avoid inadvertent disenfranchisement.

The next urgent area of cooperation must be election cybersecurity. Faced with a serious, imminent threat, Democrats and Republicans should have every reason to work together. Unfortunately, Pew has announced plans to cease its work in election administration at this crucial time, and it is not clear who can step up to take its place.

The future is scary. Public confidence in the fairness of the election process is already largely driven by who wins and who loses. State and local election officials need to overcome partisanship and resistance in areas where they can cooperate, and we need to support organizations that foster that. It may not sound sexy, but our democracy is counting on them.

Richard L. Hasen is a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown.

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A version of this op-ed appears in print on July 16, 2017, on Page SR4 of the New York edition with the headline: Dont Let Our Democracy Collapse.

Original post:
Don't Let Our Democracy Collapse - New York Times

Sophy Ridge, Sky News Presenter

Political journalists are having a field day. At a time when Parliament is usually slowing down ahead of the summer recess, a constant feed of news, leaks and gossip is fuelling the Westminster machine.

For members of the press, this is like chomping on a steak after months of starvation.

The pre-election Theresa May regime was the most controlled media environment that I can remember during 10 years as a Westminster journalist. Access was closely guarded by the Prime Minister's two territorial Chiefs of Staff and press officers were too frightened to step out of line.

While Theresa May was riding high in the polls, her Cabinet were muted and obedient. Success commands loyalty.

To get a sense of how much has changed, just look at this weekend's Sunday Times story about comments Chancellor Philip Hammond allegedly made in Cabinet about public sector workers being overpaid.

Usually what happens in Cabinet stays in Cabinet, but political editor Tim Shipman was told about the alleged remarks by five different sources. FIVE. Just let that sink in.

In my opinion, leaks get a bad rap and are actually a sign of a functioning democracy. Rather than policy being decided behind closed doors and only carefully filtered out to the public after being stripped of any controversy or nuance, it's much better for us to know the truth about what our elected representatives do and think.

As a result the Government losing its majority in last month's election is leading to a more open form of politics - and that's not the only reason the result might be good for democracy.

With the authority of No 10 and the Prime Minister diminished, this truly is a backbencher's parliament.

We have already seen concrete examples of lowly MPs shaping government policy, such as Labour's Stella Creasy on abortion access for women travelling from Northern Ireland.

Without the cushion of a comfortable majority, Theresa May was forced to make concessions or face losing a crucial parliamentary vote. Plans to axe free school meals and hold a vote on fox hunting have also been scrapped.

With Brexit looming, there will be many, many more battles to come with backbench MPs invigorated by their new importance.

The controlling forces of No 10 will always be wary of chaos.

But a Government forced to listen, compromise and consider other viewpoints - particularly when it is open to full media scrutiny - is a good thing for our democracy. We should welcome it.

Previously on Sky Views: Greg Milam - Why case of Charlie Gard resonates in US

Read the original:
Sky Views: Leaks and chaos are good for democracy - Sky News

DES MOINES A hopeful Bernie Sanders called on Iowans to join the political movement for a vibrant American democracy rather than succumb to the greed of the billionaire class.

Much of the Vermont independent senators 50-minute keynote address to more an 1,100 people at the annual convention of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement on Saturday in Des Moines echoed the themes of his campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

Let me thank all of you for your determination to revitalize American democracy, Sanders began.

Let me thank all of you for your efforts to create a government in America and state by state that represents all of the people and not just the 1 percent.

In many ways, not much has changed since that February night when he came within tenths of a percentage point from winning Iowas first-in-the-nation caucuses.

The fight for health care for all and to bring down the cost of prescription medicine, to lower student debt, to preserve family farms, to take on corporate agriculture, and to rein in the power of wealthy campaign donors and secretive super PACs continues, he said.

As the congressional debate on health care comes to a head, Sanders said the nation is at a pivotal moment.

If we dont get our act together, if people all over this country do not stand up, there is a real likelihood the trend toward oligarchy will only intensify, Sanders said.

The trend for having a handful for billionaire families with unlimited resources controlling our political process will only get worse. The trend toward a handful of conglomerates owning and controlling our economy will only get worse.

The challenge for citizen groups such as ICCI is to ensure that one vote dominates the political system, not billionaires buying elections, Sanders said.

Sanders devoted several minutes to Iowans who voted for Trump, who said he would stand up for the working class, take on the establishment and Wall Street, and that his administration would provide health care for all.

Im sorry to tell you Donald Trump lied, Sanders said.

Trump has brought more billionaires into his administration than any other president, Sanders said, and selected a chief economic adviser from Wall Street. Now the president is supporting the most anti-working-class legislation ever presented in modern history of this country a disastrous health care bill.

Sanders called on Iowas U.S. senators, both Republican, to oppose the GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with legislation that could jeopardize coverage of pre-existing medical conditions and cut Medicaid, which provides about two-thirds of the funding for people in nursing homes.

I say to Sen. Grassley and Sen. Ernst, please, please take a hard look at what this disastrous legislation will do to the people of Iowa and the people of America, he said. I beg them, please vote no.

As bad as things may appear at the moment Sanders, who did not address whether he will run for president in 2020, expressed hope for democracy and the future of the nation.

After campaigning in 48 states, including Iowa, where he did more than 100 events, Sanders is convinced there is an extraordinary level of beauty and decency, not just here in Iowa, but all over this country.

Of course, there are racists and sexists and homophobes you can see them on TV every night. But they are not the majority of the American people, he said. The majority are hardworking and concerned about their children and grandchildren.

I see the decency in our people, he said at the end of a question-and answer session, and our job is bringing our people together and not allowing ourselves to be divided up. To think big, not small. To ask why not? rather than simply listen to the billionaires who think we should cut Social Security and health care.

Thats why Im optimistic. Because we are a beautiful country with beautiful people.

Sanders will be in Iowa City to promote his book, Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution, at 7 p.m. Aug. 31 at Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa. Tickets are available through the Hancher Box Office.

Read more:
Sanders still hopeful for 'vibrant American democracy' - Mason City Globe Gazette

NEW DELHI: Reaching out to the Opposition on the eve of the monsoon session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed some of the concerns of various political parties and spoke out against cow vigilantes who indulge in violence in the name of cow protection and said state governments should take the strictest action in such matters.

Speaking at the all-party meeting convened by the government, the prime minister sought the support of the Opposition in smooth conduct of business in both the Houses. He asserted that all political parties stood united to ensure the nations safety and security.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury had raised the issue of lynchings in various parts of the country during the meeting, while Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed concern over the situation in Kashmir.

Azad reiterated his charge that the government has closed all doors and windows and this was leading to political suffocation in Jammu and Kashmir. He asked the government to at least open a ventilator so that people could breathe easy.

Alluding to the corruption cases against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family members, Modi said legal action should be taken against corrupt leaders and gave a call to all parties for action. The PM also thanked all parties for their support to goods and services tax.

Reforms like preponing of budget session of Parliament by a month would lead to a balanced nature of capital expenditure profile in this financial year, he said. Already 30% of total expenditure and 49% expenditure in infrastructure sector has taken place before the monsoon has started, which is a huge achievement and would bring fiscal prudence in capital expenditure in future.

Go here to see the original:
Preserve democracy, ensure smooth session: PM to opposition - Economic Times