Tag Archives: Elections

100,000+ People Across France March to Decry Macron’s ‘Denial of Democracy’

“Expressing one’s vote will be useless as long as Macron is in power,” said one demonstrator.

By Julia Conley. Published 9-8-2024 by Common Dreams

*Protest against the selection of Michel Barnier as prime minister on September 7, 2024 in Nantes, France.. Photo: Lee/X*

In cities and towns across France on Saturday, more than 100,000 people answered the call from the left-wing political party La France Insoumise for mass protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s selection of a right-wing prime minister.

The demonstrations came two months after the left coalition won more seats than Macron’s centrist coalition or the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in the National Assembly and two days after the president announced that Michel Barnier, the right-wing former Brexit negotiator for the European Union, would lead the government.

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‘Unhinged and Undemocratic’: Florida Cops Question Abortion Petition Signers

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“This is what state-authorized election interference looks like,” said the ACLU of Florida.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 9-6-2024 by Common Dreams

*Abortion rights supporters rallied in Lake Eola Park, Florida, on April 13, 2024. (Photo: ACLU of Florida/X)*

Floridians and reproductive rights advocates responded with alarm on Friday to Tampa Bay Times reporting that Florida law enforcement officers have been sent to the homes of multiple voters who signed a petition to get an abortion rights measure on the November ballot.

While Isaac Menasche told the newspaper that he isn’t sure which agency the plainclothes officer who came to his home is with, fellow Lee County resident Becky Castellanos said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Officer Gary Negrinelli showed his badge and gave his card.

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How the 14th Amendment prevents state legislatures from subverting popular presidential elections

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By Eric Eisner and David B. Froomkin. Published 8-29-2024 by The Conversation

Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election not only failed, but some of them also rested on a misreading of the U.S. Constitution, as our new analysis argues. The relevant constitutional provision dates back to just after the Civil War, and contemporaries recognized it as a key protection of American democracy.

In November 2020, as it became clear that Trump had lost the popular vote and would lose the Electoral College, Trump and his supporters mounted a pressure campaign to convince legislatures in several states whose citizens voted for Joe Biden to appoint electors who would support Trump’s reelection in the Electoral College votes.

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What happens in the US could have global implications for abortion

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What could Project 2025 mean for abortion rights around the world?

By Dr Anu Kumar. Published 8-27-2024 by openDemocracy

*The U.S. Supreme Court. (Photo: Joe Ravi/cc)*

It has been two years since the US Supreme Court blew up federal protection for abortion, handing states the power to enact abortion bans and realising the decades-long fever-dream of anti-rights actors.

Though a minority in the US, these extremists are loud and determined and won’t stop at our borders. Their plans for the future are outlined in Project 2025, which is already being implemented in the US and abroad through anti-abortion and anti-LGBTIQ+ initiatives and would be fully executed if radical conservative forces reclaim the White House.

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Progressive International Slams Macron for ‘Authoritarian Efforts to Repress the Will of the French People’

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The president’s rejection of a center-left coalition’s prime minister candidate “is not merely a political maneuver to hold onto power, but a direct attack on French progressive forces.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-28-2024 by Common Dreams

*French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Remi Jouan/Wikimedia Commons/CC*

Progressive International on Wednesday issued a scathing critique of French President Emmanuel Macron and backed calls for protests next month over his rejection of a leftist alliance’s candidate for prime minister following recent snap elections.

Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), a coalition of left-of-center parties formed to counter the far-right in this summer’s elections, won the most seats, beating out Macron’s centrist alliance and Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National (RN), but lacks an absolute majority.

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‘Infuriating’: Arkansas Supreme Court Disqualifies Abortion Amendment From Ballot

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“This effort has generated a wave of fiercely engaged Arkansas women,” said one organizer. “We are outraged. We will not back down. And we will remember this in November.”

By Julia Conley. Published 8-22-2024 by Common Dreams

*Photo: Arkansans for Limited Government/Facebook*

Abortion rights defenders in Arkansas said Thursday it was “a dark day” after the state’s Supreme Court ruled a ballot measure that would enshrine stronger reproductive rights protections for people in the state was ineligible for November election ballots.

The court ruled 4-3 in favor of arguments presented by Republican officials including Secretary of State John Thurston and Attorney General Tim Griffin, who said organizers with Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG)—which submitted more than 101,000 signatures to secure the amendment for the ballot—had failed to correctly submit paperwork verifying that paid canvassers had been properly trained.

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How Crypto Giants Are ‘Exploiting’ Citizens United to Buy 2024 Elections

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A new analysis and call for a constitutional amendment comes as reporting sheds light on Sen. JD Vance’s ties to a right-wing group backed by tech and digital currency investors.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-21-2024 by Common Dreams

A report out Wednesday takes aim at how giants of the cryptocurrency industry are using the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which opened the floodgates for dark money in political campaigns, to make a massive deregulatory push ahead of this year’s pivotal election.

Based on Public Citizen research director Rick Claypool’s analysis of federal election data from OpenSecrets, the consumer advocacy group accused the crypto industry of “exploiting” the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling “to an unprecedented degree, dwarfing direct corporate spending by Big Oil and other corporate sectors in the 2024 elections.”

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‘Turning Into the Super PAC Election’: Outside Spending Tops $1 Billion for 2024

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“Outside group spending this year is almost double the rate of any prior year,” noted one critic. “Not a good thing.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 8-16-2024 by Common Dreams

*Members of the Light Brigade protest money in politics in this undated photo. (Photo: Light Brigade/flickr/cc)*

Empowered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling allowing unlimited independent financial contributions to support political campaigns, outside spending during the current election cycle has hit a record $1 billion, according to a report published Thursday by the watchdog group OpenSecrets.

“Super PACs and other outside groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money have poured about $1.1 billion into 2024 federal elections as of August 15—nearly twice what similar groups spent over the same period in the 2020 presidential election cycle when independent expenditures hit an all-time record,” OpenSecrets said.

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Pro-Democracy Coalition Urges Media to ‘Rise to the Occasion’ to Defeat Autocratic Threats

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“Now is the time to refuse to cover politics with soundbites that place profit over people’s understanding of the stakes. Media must be a watchdog for the people right now.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-15-2024 by Common Dreams

*Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at The People’s Convention at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan June 2024. Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/CC*

Pushing back against calls for the media to “refrain from covering mounting authoritarianism” in the United States since the Republican nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt, a coalition on Thursday urged news outlets “to wholeheartedly reject such a dereliction of journalistic duty, and to rigorously report threats to our democracy.”

“Media coverage shapes both public discourse and people’s understanding of events of the day,” states the coalition’s open letter. “This is particularly critical during contentious and extreme times such as these. Media coverage can invite public engagement and robust participation in the democratic process. It can also be manipulated to promote falsehoods for political gain, to silence dissent, and stoke racism.”

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‘Major Power Milestone’: US Green Groups Cheer Wind, Solar Overtaking Coal

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“This historic milestone marks a significant win for clean energy advocates, for ratepayers, and for people and communities across the country,” said one climate leader.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-14-2024 by Common Dreams

*Wind turbines in southern California Photo: Erik Wilde/Wikimedia Commons/CC*

U.S. climate advocates this week are celebrating new federal data that show wind and solar have generated more power than coal during the first seven months of 2024 and are on track to do so for the entire calendar year.

“This is the kind of news we like to see!” Food & Water Watch said of the data on social media Tuesday. “Ensuring a livable climate for all depends on us making a swift and just transition to clean energy like wind and solar.”‘

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The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Elections

What happens in the US could have global implications for abortion

What could Project 2025 mean for abortion rights around the world?

‘Major Power Milestone’: US Green Groups Cheer Wind, Solar Overtaking Coal

“This historic milestone marks a significant win for clean energy advocates, for ratepayers, and for people and communities across the country,” said one climate leader.