Wheeling, West Virginia Correspondent — Institutional credibility is a structural problem now, and it was structural here long before it was structural nationally. A president can stop making it worse. He can reduce the pressure on agencies and platforms to police speech. He can't make a newsroom cover something it doesn't want to cover. Trump … Continue reading Trust in media, technology platforms, and government institutions has fallen further during this campaign. Does the next president have any realistic ability to improve that trust, or has institutional credibility become a structural problem beyond one administration?
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The confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has intensified debate over the Court’s future direction. How significant should the Court’s composition be in voters’ decisions, and what are the realistic stakes for the next four years?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — The Court's composition matters for regulation, religious liberty, the Second Amendment, and above all for the scope of administrative power, which is the question that touches the most law and gets the least attention. Barrett's confirmation is a durable consequence of this term and it's already accomplished. Voters who care … Continue reading The confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has intensified debate over the Court’s future direction. How significant should the Court’s composition be in voters’ decisions, and what are the realistic stakes for the next four years?
The economy remains under severe pandemic pressure, with high unemployment in some sectors and large federal interventions. What are the most important differences in the candidates’ plans for recovery, jobs, and the long-term fiscal consequences of continued stimulus?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent — The core differences are the speed of reopening, the scale of further support, and how seriously each treats the long-term debt path, which is to say not very seriously in either case. Trump's pressure to reopen and his pre-pandemic labor market give him the stronger claim on recovery and jobs. Biden's … Continue reading The economy remains under severe pandemic pressure, with high unemployment in some sectors and large federal interventions. What are the most important differences in the candidates’ plans for recovery, jobs, and the long-term fiscal consequences of continued stimulus?
Law and order became a central issue after the unrest of 2020. What concrete differences exist between the candidates on policing, prosecution of rioters, and federal support for cities, and which approach is more likely to restore order without overreach?
Wheeling, West Virginia Correspondent — Cities that tolerated sustained disorder saw businesses and residents leave, and the businesses that left were frequently the ones that had the least ability to absorb it. The President's position has been consistent: back the police, prosecute rioters, and use federal resources when a city won't maintain order. Biden's campaign … Continue reading Law and order became a central issue after the unrest of 2020. What concrete differences exist between the candidates on policing, prosecution of rioters, and federal support for cities, and which approach is more likely to restore order without overreach?
Record numbers of mail-in and absentee ballots have raised both access and integrity concerns. Do the current voting procedures strengthen or weaken public confidence in the outcome, and is major reform of election administration now required regardless of who wins?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — Expanded mail voting increased convenience and increased the opportunities for dispute, because the rules changed late and verification standards vary enormously between states and sometimes between counties. Public confidence has clearly suffered, and I'd note it has suffered on both sides in different registers. The emphasis on verification, chain of … Continue reading Record numbers of mail-in and absentee ballots have raised both access and integrity concerns. Do the current voting procedures strengthen or weaken public confidence in the outcome, and is major reform of election administration now required regardless of who wins?
Thinking Outside the Boxe Endorses Donald J. Trump for Re-Election
NOTE TO OUR READERS: In a presidential election year, we put the same questions about the candidates to every correspondent. Each answers individually, in their own voice, and those answers are published as given. The correspondents then reach a collective decision by consensus, and that decision is Thinking Outside the Boxe's endorsement. The endorsement belongs … Continue reading Thinking Outside the Boxe Endorses Donald J. Trump for Re-Election
Is the renewed push for D.C. statehood a representation argument that should be settled on the merits, or a mid-cycle attempt to add Senate seats by statute?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — Taxation without a House vote is an argument I can hear. Two senators from a federal city, created by statute, in a presidential year, is a different argument wearing the first one's coat. The merits version would look like a constitutional process — an amendment that retires the Twenty-third, a … Continue reading Is the renewed push for D.C. statehood a representation argument that should be settled on the merits, or a mid-cycle attempt to add Senate seats by statute?
Should states expand no-excuse mail balloting for November on pandemic grounds, or treat late changes to election mechanics as a confidence risk that outweighs access arguments?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — Access is a real word. So is a rulebook that moved after the primary posters went up. A pandemic justifies more absentee options for people who can show a reason and a simpler process for people who already had the right. It doesn't justify a July invention of universal mail in … Continue reading Should states expand no-excuse mail balloting for November on pandemic grounds, or treat late changes to election mechanics as a confidence risk that outweighs access arguments?
After weeks of unrest and federal deployments to protect courthouses and monuments, should the use of federal officers in cities that refuse to hold a riot line be normalized, or reserved as an exceptional remedy?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — A courthouse is not a suggestion and a monument is not a comment box. When a city won't hold a line around either, somebody else does or the line is a rumor. Normalize is the wrong word if it means federal patrols standing in as municipal police. Exceptional is the … Continue reading After weeks of unrest and federal deployments to protect courthouses and monuments, should the use of federal officers in cities that refuse to hold a riot line be normalized, or reserved as an exceptional remedy?
Should the impeachment process be reserved for clear criminal conduct, or is it a legitimate political tool for checking executive power?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent — The constitutional text and the early history treat impeachment as a political remedy for serious abuses of power rather than as a criminal trial. Restricting it to indictable crimes would narrow a check designed to be broader. Using it as a routine instrument for policy disagreement drains its legitimacy and … Continue reading Should the impeachment process be reserved for clear criminal conduct, or is it a legitimate political tool for checking executive power?
