American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)’s Post

It was the exercise of political power in the purest sense in our democratic republic ― using reason, experience and facts to persuade people with civil discourse. Read more:

COMMENTARY from John Stoehr:

The latest piece on my Substack, provoked by a typically insightful but infuriating article by Simon Jenkins, challenges liberals to get real about the reasons for the rise of populist politicians and the very real possibility of a second term for Donald Trump. https://lnkd.in/e_QPcqex

My latest in The Bulwark. "ALL THIS THRASHING FOR RELEVANCE amid internal chaos helps to explain the Libertarian party’s embrace of bizarre strategies: Its leadership is desperate, out of ideas, and willing to try anything. That’s how the caucus of principle and radicalism has come to court the likes of cracked Democrat-turned-independent RFK Jr. and former Republican president Trump. In this, the party’s current leadership shows that it is willing to abandon libertarian principles built in the party’s platform—and to do so for the sake of visibility and influence." https://lnkd.in/esmu9rA4

Check out the latest piece from Democracy's Sisyphus:

There's Bad Dominance; & we know who represents that! But there's Good Democratic Dominance. Read this article & you'll know what that is:

This was written in March, when Biden was at 44% approval. Today, with the same poll averaging? 39%. If the presidential election was today, the odds of a Trump win seem to be pretty high. Steering toward the center hasn't worked for Biden. I've started to believe he needs to roll the dice. In terms of approval ratings, federal criminal cases against Trump have been a wash, or even backfired. (We saw early signs of backfiring with the first impeachment: Trump actually gained a point in approval.) So: Biden could just issue a blanket pardon. This would tank his popularity even more, I'm sure. Gerald Ford, in pardoning Nixon, suffered one of the most precipitous drops ever, for a sitting president. What to do about nuking his own popularity? Resign. He could say he started his term feeling like he could go the distance, but just can't see it anymore. He could say his doctors gave him a clean bill of health, but if you're as old as you feel, he just feels too old now. A majority of Americans think so anyway. He said from the beginning he'd be willing to go just one term, then turn the reins over. So, why not a little earlier? That would handing the job to Kamala Harris. It doesn't seem like a solution to the popularity problem, on the face of it. She doesn't really poll any better than Biden. But after a few months, people might normalize her. The right would explode: "This is the far-left revolution we warned you all about!" The far left would explode: "Unacceptable! Kamala's a cop!" Her actual performance in office, however, could go a long way toward making such positions look as ridiculous as they both are. Her veep seat would be vacated. Who to pick to make a point? Nominate Joe Manchin. Whoa, stop screaming! Manchin keeps relatively warm relations with the GOP despite voting far more as a Democrat. He probably won't run for the Senate again--he barely squeaked through last time, and it's not getting better. West Virginia is the second or third Trumpiest state of the Disunion, and that's finally really hitting. But if he was vice-president, he's still effectively in the Senate, as a tie-breaking vote. And his very nomination would tell Americans, "We leave the communication channels open." It could sway enough Independents away from Trump, where many are right now. If I was Biden, I'd do it on Jan 6, and say, "I'm turning it all over to someone I picked partly because she really understands law enforcement."

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The World Awaits: Trump vs. Kamala Harris Debate in September As September approaches, all eyes are turning toward the highly anticipated debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. This political showdown is expected to be one of the most talked-about events of the year, with both sides preparing for a fierce exchange of ideas and policies. The world is watching closely as these two political figures prepare to take the stage, with the potential to shape the future of American politics. Will Harris’s sharp intellect and prosecutorial precision stand out, or will Trump’s bold strategies dominate the discussion? Regardless of where you stand, this debate promises to be a defining moment in the political landscape. Stay tuned, as this is a debate you won’t want to miss! #TrumpVsHarris #PoliticalDebate #SeptemberShowdown #USPolitics #FutureOfAmerica

HOW LOW ARE AMERICA'S EXPECTATIONS? When people who are interested in America's political history are asked about the great debates that helped shape American democracy, almost unanimously they name the Stephen Douglas-Abraham Lincoln debates as THE debates, the debates that political scientists point to and urge students to read or listen to. (If you have never read or listened to the debates, I highly recommend "The Lincoln-Douglas Debates [Unabridged]" from 2009 on CD with David Strathairn as Lincoln and Richard Dreyfuss as Douglas; https://lnkd.in/e_aw9iB2.) Expectations for those debates ran so high that enormous crowds (for the day)turned out to hear them speak. But then there is the upcoming Harris-Trump debate. Trump appears to be so worried about a poor performance that he is already working to lower expectations. The question is how low will those expectations be? Having listened to the two candidates over the past few weeks, my personal expectations are so low that I do not plan on watching it. I may be wrong, but I cannot conceive of a world in which Trump is a worthy "debate" opponent to Harris (or to any thinking person), so instead I may well bring out my copy of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and wish for a return to a time when debate expectations were high. https://lnkd.in/eAjDHVug