Our democracy is under attack.  Washington journalists must stop covering it like politics as usual.  —  Back in the dark ages of 2012, two think-tank scholars, Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, wrote a book called “It's Even Worse Than It Looks” about the rise of Republican Party extremism and its dire effect on American democracy.

Trump-backed candidate loses in Texas special election  —  Voters in North Texas delivered an upset Tuesday, picking GOP state Rep. Jake Ellzey to fill a vacant House seat over a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump.  —  Ellzey beat fellow Republican Susan Wright …

The New Moral Code of America's Elite  —  Every striver who ever slipped the rank of their birth to ascend to a higher order has shared the capacity to ingratiate themselves with their betters.  What the truly exceptional ones have in common is the ability to connect not only with their superiors …

McConnell aims to boost U.S. Republican vaccination rate by countering ‘bad advice’  —  U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed misinformation for the low rates of COVID-19 vaccination among Americans, which are fueling a rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in Republican-dominated states.

The CDC's Unforced Error  —  On the menu today: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Biden administration make a critical error by recommending vaccinated Americans put on the masks again; sorting through who's still not vaccinated and why; figuring out Simone Biles's early withdrawal …

Least persuadable unvaccinated Americans are largely white and Republican  —  Parents are heavily resistant to the vaccine.

Simone Biles Isn't Fearless.  That's A Good Thing.  —  By demanding robotic perfection, Biles's detractors are denying her humanity.  —  Simone Biles pulled out of the Tokyo Olympic gymnastics finals for the women's artistic team all-around on Tuesday morning, citing mental health concerns.

Supreme Court Job Approval Dips Below 50%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-nine percent of Americans approve of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing, its first approval rating below the majority level since 2017.  A year ago, 58% approved of the court, the highest Gallup had measured since 2009.

The intellectual right contemplates an ‘American Caesar’  —  Jan. 6 was a badly planned rehearsal for the real deal  —  How does ideological change happen?  Why do certain political ideas and possibilities that appear outrageous and even unthinkable at one moment in history come to be considered options worth taking seriously?

Can Rob Portman seal the big bipartisan deal?  —  If you called central casting for a senator to cut a bipartisan infrastructure deal, you'd get Rob Portman.  —  The Ohio Republican, a former White House budget chief with two terms under his belt as well as the ear of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

CDC asks the vaccinated to help save the unvaccinated from themselves  —  The “pandemic of the unvaccinated” has become a big problem for the rest of the country.

GOP Rep. Clyde stands by comparison of Jan. 6 mob to ‘tourists’ when pressed by Democratic Rep. Raskin  —  Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.), who infamously compared the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to “a normal tourist visit,” steadfastly stood by his contention Tuesday night during …

'He's a Great Guy': Trump's Favored Aide Has Troubled Past  —  “Max Miller,” said Donald Trump.  —  “You know Max?”  —  The former president stood behind the microphone at the lectern at one of the most recent of his trademark rallies late last month at the county fairgrounds here and told …

The CDC's Hysterical Delta Flip-Flop Might Be Its Final Undoing  —  The crazy, convoluted, mixed up messaging from the CDC - it's been this way from the beginning of the pandemic until now - has taken yet another turn.  Now the CDC is recommending masks not just for the unvaccinated but for the vaccinated too.

A Confusing Message  —  The C.D.C. recommends indoor masking for the vaccinated, but only in some places.  —  The C.D.C. has both a polarization problem and a communication problem.  —  Let's start with the polarization problem: The parts of the country that would benefit most from a new crackdown …

Who's Behind Dallas Justice Now's 'Don't Send White Kids to Ivy League' Controversy?  —  As soon as Casie Tomlin found the FedEx envelope in her mailbox, she knew something looked fishy.  Inside, a flyer from a group called Dallas Justice Now urged parents in Dallas' wealthy — and largely white …

‘America is not racist’ becomes a GOP 2024 mantra  —  Democrats made structural racism a centerpiece of the 2020 presidential primary.  —  Now the Republican rebuttal is emerging as an early plank of the 2024 GOP contest: America is not a racist country.  —  The mantra, used by nearly …

An anti-Trump Pa. Republican is warning against ‘MAGA extremists’ in new Senate campaign  —  Next year's race to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate will help shape the direction of the Republican Party.  And Craig Snyder thinks there's still time to take a sharp turn away …