authoritarianism
On Starving Tyranny
Now is not the time for Jeffries or any other Democrats, especially Senate Democrats, to go weak in the knees over shutdown politics.
Congress
Congress of the United States
political repression
Defund Trump's Repression Machine
Not since the Federalists controlled the White House and Congress at the end of the 18th century have we seen this kind of systematized, lock-step domestic political repression perpetrated in unison by the political branches of our government.
Government shutdown
Just Shut It Down
If you're a member of the United States Senate in 2025, you don't keep writing checks to the guy who's in the process of actively destroying a 250-year-old experiment in representative government.
2025
A Holiday Break and a 2025 Preview
Exposing and opposing would-be American authoritarians, regardless of where they fall along the political spectrum, will continue to be at the heart of the Sentinel's mission in 2025 and beyond.
2024 election
Ignoring The Long-Term Threat: POLITICO's Unserious Take On "Never Trumpers" And A Post-Trump Era
If our Republic manages to escape a second Trump presidency (a big "if" at this point), the lessons of the last fifty years should not be squandered by a return to the kind of "politics as usual" bullshit being offered in the latest edition of POLITICO Playbook.
2024 election
The PATRIOT Act Turns 23: Constitutional Subversion Begets Political Repression
In the hands of an authoritarian president, the PATRIOT Act could be wielded as an instrument of domestic terror and political repression at scale.
2024 election
Out Of Control Cops: Two Reports You May Have Missed
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice's Inspector General released two reports that, in the pre-Trump era, would've sparked outrage and at least public Congressional hearings.
2024 election
From "Police State Lite" to an American Gestapo: What a Trump Victory Might Bring
What makes the prospect of a Trump victory even more chilling is the kind of law enforcement and data collection tools that would be at Trump's disposal if he wins - tools he would be eager to use against his political opponents.
2024 election
When Congress Becomes The Oppressor: From The McCarran Act To The "China Initiative"
Earlier this month, the House passed a bill in the spirit of the McCarran Act that would revive the odious and discredited Trump-era "China Initiative.
2024 election
At 237, the Constitution Is Showing Its Age And Vulnerability
The current political climate makes amending the Constitution impractical, dangerous, or both. Even so, legal and structural changes to our existing, vulnerable governing institutions are possible. All that's required is the will to make it happen.
2024 election
The Threat Response Differential: 9/11 versus January 6
Our failure to roll back 9/11-driven executive power grabs and "coup proof" our government against internal authoritarian political threats may come back to haunt us, and soon.
TSA
The 118th Congress's Unfinished Business: Civil Liberties Protections
The institutional threats to our constitutional rights left unaddressed by the federal legislature are major, long standing, and perfectly exploitable by a would-be authoritarian like Trump.