'He responded with cynicism and demagoguery'

'Trump's NABJ interview illuminated his failure to lead on race'

The Dallas Morning News editorial board

Donald Trump "either fundamentally misunderstands the complexity of our national racial struggle" or "treats it with contempt and disregard," says The Dallas Morning News editorial board. He "shows no recognition that people of mixed heritage," like Kamala Harris, "can and often do embrace both parts of their history, often in complex ways." If Trump had "called out her politics from the stage Wednesday, we might have nodded along at certain points. But that isn't what he did." 

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'Term limits for the Supreme Court would end our independent judiciary'

Mitch McConnell at The Washington Post 

The "Biden-Harris administration has defied lawful orders and undermined judicial authority," says Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Biden's push for Supreme Court reform is "merely an extension of this liberal frustration at an independent judiciary that follows the Constitution and applies the laws as written." Biden "fails to contend with the separate, equally dangerous blow it would deal to the Senate's power of advice and consent." There is "no substitute for an independent judiciary." 

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'Can I afford college? High tuition costs squeeze out middle-class students like me.'

Christine Schueckler at USA Today

The "bulk of financial assistance is provided to students from low-income families," but "these efforts have forgotten the middle class," says Christine Schueckler. Many families "make too much money to qualify for significant financial aid or grants, but don't make enough to pay the high out-of-pocket costs of college." Tuition programs "ought to acknowledge that the skyrocketing price of college doesn't affect only those living in poverty," but makes it "inaccessible to a vast percentage of our country."

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'Yes, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed deserves to die. It's still good he won't be executed.'

Austin Sarat at Slate

Alleged 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's plea deal "puts opponents of the death penalty in an awkward position," says Austin Sarat. If "anyone deserves the ultimate punishment for their horrible crimes," Mohammed and "his collaborators would be at the top of the list," but "deservedness is not all there is in any punishment decision." Death penalty abolitionists "can agree that they deserve to die even as they support the government's decision not to pursue death sentences."

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