Martha McSally’s bailout proposal for the travel industry, explained

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) has a plan to bolster the American economy: Direct thousands of dollars in subsidies for families to go on vacation, but only if they’re reasonably affluent.

Meet the American Tax Rebate and Incentive Program Act, or the American TRIP Act, which McSally says “will help boost domestic travel and jumpstart the comeback of our hotels, entertainment sectors, local tourism agencies, and the thousands of businesses that make Arizona one of the best places in the world to visit” by encouraging Americans to “safely get out of their homes and discover or rediscover Arizona along with …

Progressive Black candidates swept key races on Tuesday

In the 2018 midterms, the most successful candidates were women. In 2020, a year shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic and nationwide protests against police brutality, Black candidates are proving they’re the ones to watch — winning a spate of key races on Tuesday night.

In New York and Virginia, young, progressive candidates of color swept races against powerful incumbents and in open competitions alike. In Kentucky, where a key Senate primary is too close to call, Black progressive candidate Charles Booker is still locked in a competitive race with Marine Corps veteran Amy McGrath.

“In 2018, Dem voters showed …

The court decision dismissing charges against Michael Flynn is astonishingly bad

Judge Neomi Rao’s opinion in In re: Michael T. Flynn is simply astonishing.

It involves the Justice Department’s surprising decision to drop charges against one of President Trump’s former top aides — nearly three years after that aide plead guilty to lying to the FBI. And Rao’s opinion takes extraordinary liberties with the law.

Her opinion asserts jurisdiction over a case that Rao’s court has no right to hear. It relies on a rarely invoked process that the Supreme Court described as a “drastic and extraordinary remedy” that’s “reserved for really extraordinary causes.” And it keeps a trial …

Why Senate Democrats just tanked the Republican police reform bill

Senate Democrats have officially rejected Republicans’ police reform bill, tanking the legislation, which needed 60 votes to advance, in a 55-45 vote on Wednesday. In a letter earlier this week, Democrats noted that the bill — which does little to ensure legal accountability in cases of police misconduct — fell far short of the policies they’re interested in implementing.

“This bill is not salvageable and we need bipartisan talks to get to a constructive starting point,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker said in the letter. For now, the two parties have yet to …

Why Senate Democrats just tanked the Republican police reform bill

Senate Democrats have officially rejected Republicans’ police reform bill, tanking the legislation, which needed 60 votes to advance, in a 55-45 vote on Wednesday. In a letter earlier this week, Democrats noted that the bill — which does little to ensure legal accountability in cases of police misconduct — fell far short of the policies they’re interested in implementing.

“This bill is not salvageable and we need bipartisan talks to get to a constructive starting point,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker said in the letter. For now, the two parties have yet to …

In praise of polarization

Polarization, party sorting, and identity politics are central villains of our time. Politicians lament them. Pundits loathe them. Book after book has been written blaming them for society’s ills, from the decline of reason to the electoral travails of the Democratic Party to the death of American democracy.

But the past month of sustained, mass activism against police brutality offers evidence for the defense — that sorting around identity can be inclusive, that polarization can be productive.

The historically multiethnic nature of the Black Lives Matter protests, and the rapid change in polling around racial issues, is partly the …