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Character Matters â Empathy
This article is part of our Principled Voter series. A principled voter asks: Is this candidate empathetic? âDemocracy, in its essence and genius, is imaginative love for and identification with a community with which, much of the time and in many ways, one may be in profound disagreement.â â Marilynne Robinson What does it mean to be empathetic? A principled voter supports leaders who seek to understand and connect with those they represent â and not just people who vote for them. Empathetic leaders know their own experiences are not universal, so they make sincere efforts to understand how policies (or their absence) might affect all of their constituents. What is…
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Character Matters â Trustworthiness
This article is part of our Principled Voter series. A principled voter asks: Is this candidate trustworthy? âTrust and truth arenât the only things that matter in a democracy, but no democracy can survive without them.â â Nancy Gibbs What does it mean to be trustworthy? A principled voter knows that democracies run on trust â and trust flows from honest communication and behavior. When we select politicians to represent us, we expect them to make decisions grounded in fact and act with our best interests in mind. What is at stake? Policy can be temporary, but untrustworthy leaders can do lasting harm. They fracture our confidence in government, institutions, and each other.…
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Why Character Matters
This article is part of our Principled Voter series. Does the character of a candidate matter? In a democracy, it does. âIn a president, character is everything. . . . [Y]ou canât buy courage and decency, you canât rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with [them].â â Peggy Noonan, 1995 Our form of government only works when leaders respect certain boundaries â like understanding and honoring the rule of law, respecting the balance of power, telling the truth, and treating people with basic respect. Those actions require character. If you could choose your next police commissioner, or the principal of your childrenâs school, or the…
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Your Vote Is Your Voice â How Will You Use It?
This article is part of our Principled Voter series. Your vote is your voice. How will you use it? Youâve got a lot on your plate â family, finances, work, community involvement, and more! And when you add nonstop news on top of all that, itâs no wonder the majority of Americans outsource their vote to political parties. While more than 40% of voters consider themselves independent, only 4% of registered voters in 2020 said they planned to vote a split ticket, meaning theyâd vote for candidates from more than one party. So how independent is your vote, really? Your vote says something about what you value, and it should…
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SCOTUS Decision on Presidential Immunity â An MWEG Interview With Expert Benjamin Wittes
Jessica Larson, MWEGâs senior director of advocacy, recently interviewed Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare and senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, about the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity. Below is a summary of that conversation as well as the full video interview. On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled on presidential immunity in response to former President Trumpâs federal indictment. The decision is a historic expansion of presidential immunity, leaving the lower courts with a lot to still determine. Since 1984, the president has had immunity from civil suits for official acts while in office. We have never had a president who…
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A Deeper Dive: Citizens United, Super PACs, and Dark Money
In our introduction to federal campaign finance, we discussed the landmark Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC, which caused substantial waves in the world of campaign finance. Though it has now been more than 13 years since this case was decided, it is important to understand how this decision has influenced the topics and issues at play today. What was the case actually about? Citizens United is the name of a nonprofit organization that created a political documentary called “Hillary: The Movie.” This film was designed to criticize presidential candidate and then-Senator Hillary Clinton. It was scheduled to be released right before the Democratic primary elections in January 2008,…
