'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.
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'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.
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'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."
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'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."
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