Independent journalist Judd Legum has this James Madison quote on the homepage of his newsletter, Popular Information: “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.”
He goes on to add his own thought: “You are not a spectator, and democracy is not a game.”
But some people try to play it like it is a game, instead of the sacred trust between Americans and their elected officials that it’s supposed to be. Case in point: Earlier this week, Judd reported on a new Elon Musk scam. Musk is spending millions of dollars pushing Americans to VoteSafe, which advertises itself as a voter registration site but is actually a digital surveillance machine. The effort to prey on Americans who are trying to make sure they can vote is predictable for its callousness and disregard for the fundamentals of our system of government. Judd joins us tonight to explain what’s happening and what you can do about it.
“Five Questions” is a feature for paid subscribers. These short written interviews on Friday nights let us have conversations that don’t fit neatly into the news cycle. It’s a chance to spend time with fascinating people who think about law and politics, and work to preserve democracy. We get to do deep dives and ask them questions that not everyone else is asking. Five Questions is the only column on Civil Discourse that’s behind a paywall, my way of thanking paid subscribers for their support. The rest of Civil Discourse remains available to everyone. Whether you’re a paid subscriber or a free subscriber, I’m grateful you’re here...
