A Bill For All the People

It's quite likely that the first bill submitted by House Democrats to mark their reclaimed majority will never become law, not in its entirety at least. But it's nonetheless a good blueprint for building a better government of the people. Sponsored by John Sarbanes, D-Maryland, and co-sponsored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, HR 1 calls for sweeping reforms in the areas of voting, money in politics, redistricting and ethics. It's a broad attempt to address many of the problems we've seen across the country in both national and state elections…. Of course, few politicians would admit they're for voter suppression and big money. They'll couch the arguments against HR 1 instead in lofty rhetoric — that giving politicians lots of money is an expression of free speech, and that would-be voters should jump through hoops in order to guard against all that voter fraud that no one can seem to find, not even a commission appointed by Mr. Trump to try to prove he didn't really lose the popular vote. But let's have this debate nonetheless. Let Americans hear and see whether their representatives try to feed them tortured arguments against fair elections and ethical government, or side with the people — not just the people they think will vote for them, but the people this government is supposed to be of, by, and for.