This Week In The Big Picture

In 2010, the Supreme Court issued its calamitous decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which overturned restrictions on corporate spending in elections. As a result, the floodgates were flung open for billions of dollars in corporate dark money to be spent on U.S. elections each year.

In the ensuing 16 years, the left has struggled to come up with a way to undo the damage Citizens United has wrought on our democracy. But now there is model legislation that would limit the powers that corporations have to spend on elections at the state level. And this legislation, which was just signed into law in Hawaii and is likely on its way to the ballot in Montana, is having a moment.

In tomorrow’s piece, Todd Beeton looks at how the left has taken a page out of the right’s model legislation playbook in the effort to dismantle Citizens United and why experts are bullish on this novel plan’s ability to survive the inevitable court challenges it has coming its way.

And in case you missed it yesterday, Jay Kuo explored the tragic dilemma Donald Trump has gotten himself—and the rest of the world—into with his war in Iran. Like Odysseus in Homer’s mythic tale, Trump is trapped between two bad options: a politically devastating “peace deal” or a costly and deeply unpopular resumption of a full-on war. And unfortunately for us all, not only is Trump no hero, but he has shown little to no inclination to deftly navigate us out of the churning waters he steered us into.