Trump Supporters Storm the Capitol to Attack Democracy. Here's How Congress Can Save It.

What happened Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol should be a moment of rupture for our political system. Something needs to change. America needs a serious democracy reform agenda, one that gives a new and elevated role to the pro-democracy Republicans who have been fighting with their increasingly extreme anti-system party for the last few weeks. Democracy reform has to be the top priority, with at least some Republicans hopping on board and Democrats finding ways to help them get there.... Luckily, the initial step to doing so is already something House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made the first order of business for her chamber, and in which she will now have a majority of Democratic senators joining her. But because of the current need for 60 senators to break a filibuster, the Democrats will need to bring some Republicans along. The task is passing H.R. 1, a large-scale democracy reform bill that would, among other things, mandate nonpartisan delineations of congressional districts (to prevent gerrymandering that gives one party disproportionate power), make it easier for citizens to vote and implement major campaign finance reform — and then empower a new federal agency to implement and enforce the new rules to ensure the voting process is fair, consistent, secure and legitimate. These all have the benefit of being popular reforms. Then, Congress needs to grant Washington, D.C., statehood, which is not only a matter of fairness for currently unrepresented residents but also would be expected to give Congress more Democratic lawmakers, given the city’s leanings. But for this, too, the party needs the help of some pro-democracy Republicans.