'Shaking up the political game'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'Thanks to a stale, uncompetitive electoral system, leadership is nowhere'
Rachel Leven in the Chicago Tribune
America is swamped with crises our dysfunctional political system "seems totally incapable of solving," says Rachel Leven in the Chicago Tribune. The "root" of the problem is that the system "exists to sustain the status quo" by discouraging "truly competitive elections." Some states are experimenting with reforms like holding instant runoffs and doing away with partisan primaries. "Shaking up the political game" might be what we need to find leaders who can get things done.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'McConnell's political strength is flagging'
A.B. Stoddard in The Bulwark
Sen. Mitch McConnell's long reign as Senate Republican leader "is coming to an end," says A.B. Stoddard in The Bulwark. His "aging is pronounced" but it's the changes within the Republican Party that will push him out of power. McConnell warned about "Donald Trump's wacko election-denier candidates" in 2022. Since then, the GOP's "surrender to MAGA" has become "nearly complete." Now the question is whether McConnell goes out quietly or "in a blaze" of anti-MAGA glory.
'If James triumphs here, New York's economy will be paying the price'
New York Post editorial board
New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud suit against Donald Trump "may be great for her career, but it's a disaster for New York's economy," says the New York Post editorial board. Trump has an iffy business reputation but "he's plainly being railroaded." His trial serves as "a warning to anyone doing, or thinking of doing, business here: A headline-hunting prosecutor" can hijack the courts "and use perverse New York laws to potentially destroy your company."
'Getting students back into the classroom consistently is not an easy task'
Adam Harris in The Atlantic
Schools are struggling to address absenteeism rates that exploded with the pandemic, says Adam Harris in The Atlantic. The number of chronically absent students increased by 91% between 2018 and 2022. Researchers say "building strong relationships with families and students" can get students back "one by one." But such individualized attention is "difficult to imagine when the scale of the problem is so large, and the resources to meet it are so few."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
The lead paint poisoning scandal rocking China
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Sick schoolchildren and allegations of a cover-up have pushed China's public safety concerns back into the public eye
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
'This comes with policy implications'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
'There will be a market incentive to build wind and solar anyway'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Deportations: The growing backlash
Feature New poll numbers show declining support for Trump's deportation crackdown
-
Is Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' cancellation an omen of something worse?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION CBS said its decision to end the talk show was strictly business. But the timing and nature of the announcement has some observers wondering if there's more at play behind the scenes.
-
Citizenship: Trump order blocked again
Feature After the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions, a federal judge turned to a class action suit to block Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
-
Epstein: Why MAGA won't move on
Feature Trump's supporters are turning on him after he denied the existence of Epstein's client list