Could you explain the graphic? I think _maybe_ a higher temperature means the category is ill. Is that correct? If so, that doesn't make sense for "bad" categories like "Corruption." Or, a higher temperature could mean there's more of the category, but that also doesn't make sense across the board..
Joel -- here is an explanation I posted a week ago in reply to a similar question. I think that occasion was the first publication of "The Democracy Index" graphic. Not sure if my interpretation is "officially blessed" but here it is--
"To put it as a (quasi-)medical analogy, consider the vertical white symbols to be equivalent to an old-fashioned mercury thermometer.
--The height of the colored shading represents an assessment of the patient's "temperature" related to the particular characteristic (symptom), for example, "Corruption". As the colored bar gets higher, the "temperature" is higher.
--As the color at the top of the bar shifts more and more to "Red" the severity of that symptom's threat to the patient's survival is assessed to be greater and greater."
I think that only works if the categories are all symptoms. "Corruption" is a symptom; the higher the temp, the more severe the corruption -- that makes sense. However, there are also categories like "Rule of Law." I don't think we want to say that the higher the temp, the more severely we are experiencing the "Rule of Law" when the intent, I suppose, is the exact opposite; if the category were "Threat to the Rule of Law" or "Breakdown of the Rule of Law," then it would make sense.
The exact opposite would also work; e.g., if all the categories were good parts of democracy, like "Rule of Law," "Corruption-free," etc., then we could interpret a higher temp as meaning that component was sick and not doing well.
Having good, bad, and neither (i.e, "Free Press/Disinformation") attributes muddles the whole thing.
I would love to take Ken Paxton and Steve Marshall and put both of them on a life boat out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Both GOP attorneys general one is as bad as the other.
Trump isn’t the only problem. The Republican Party is enabling him. Whether it’s fear of retribution, the unwillingness to actually believe that we are in the midst of an authoritarian takeover and this is just business as usual, or they truly want to see the republic fall, this is a Republican coup and we have to say so loudly and clearly.
I am appalled at how many times the trumpanze says ‘I don’t know’. A true leader would, 1st of all, know what the oath he took meant to him and his office. And if he was unsure of how to answer a question I would think a better answer would be ‘I don’t know but I will find out.’ Trumpanze doesn’t care to know, thinks its unimportant to know and generally can’t be bothered
In my opinion the only way to rein in Republican autocratic overreach is first through the states legal system - and second through the people who live there. Even state solutions may be increasingly harder to pull off.
North Carolina's seat was saved by the dint of one judge who ethically followed NC state law. However, the ruling also implied that if North Carolina were to establish new rules before the next game is decided (the midterm election), the ruling might be different if even needed.
In Texas, it was another step back, as usual. The residents of Texas are indeed living a life that they chose of their own free will at the ballot box. If you haven't been satisfied with your life in the state you reside in, use your vote to change the balance of power in your state. The voting majorities in each state get the wins, and should never have reason to complain or feel dissatisfied. If they do, they could take a look at the losing voting minority, who just might be seeing something that the winning majority doesn't.
Live there. Many are uninformed or malinformed.. Sadly, many do Not vote at all.. In many respects there is a sad acceptance and tolerance of the statud quo. An unwillingness to listen, and an inability to change. The known quantity is manageable even though unsatisfactory, so present circumstances are continued. I pray for happy optimism based on realistic dynamics that are inclusive and productive. .
I guess you haven't been following the Jerry Weiss scenario -- shared government. Only takes a few Congressional Rerpublicans. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Many Congressional Repubicans are mutining over budget reconciliation. Nobody is reporting on it....
"... a bloc of moderate Republicans is demanding no reductions in Medicaid benefits – a requirement experts say would be impossible to meet while achieving Republicans' spending-cut goals and other GOP priorities.
"Then there’s the blue-state Republicans who will go to the mat for lifting tax deduction limits that would benefit their constituents, but would increase the bill’s price tag, further complicating the fiscal math.
"Each group has outsized influence because of Republicans' narrow majorities in both chambers. As few as four lawmakers rebelling in the House or Senate could derail the final package, as no Democrats are expected to support the legislation.
"Their demands may be irreconcilable. But Republican leaders say failure is not an option: If they don't pass something by the end of the year, Trump's 2017 tax cuts will expire, and renewing them is a major priority for the president. There's an additional incentive to get it done, as the bill would raise the debt ceiling and avoid default without requiring negotiations with Democrats – another top goal for the party."
We already have "shared government", it is called federalism, that's how we have operated under the Constitution. Sure, a few Republicans could stop Trump in his tracks, but that leaves the rest of them to deal with. They can feign their 'Susan Collins Concern' to great effect, but when push comes to shove they vote quite unconcerned & without shame -- https://legiscan.com/US/rollcall/HB1968/id/1518233
Republicans say they value the Constitution, and they can co-sponsor bills against Trump all they want -- but it's all a facade. Congressional Republicans won't be believed until they initiate workable solutions by compromising with Democrats, to enact truly bi-partisan solutions to get rid of MAGA Republicans who ARE deconstructing the administrative state.
Sounds like you haven't looked into it. They want/need a budget. Tax cuts expire December 31, 2025.
If there are actual impeachment investigations, it will stop all this BS because the entirte Trump agenda will be frozen. There are sub rosa discussions under way7.
This is the House Rule that can stpo them in their tracks.
QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE
§698. Definition of questions of privilege.
[Clause 1]
1. Questions of privilege shall be, first, those affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; and second, those affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner, individually, in their representative capacity only.
§699. Precedence of questions of privilege.
[Clause 2]
2. (a)(1) A resolution reported as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered from the floor by the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered as privileged under clause 1, section 7, article I of the Constitution, shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn. A resolution offered from the floor by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner other than the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the House shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn only at a time or place, designated by the Speaker, in the legislative schedule within two legislative days after the day on which the proponent announces to the House an intention to offer the resolution and the form of the resolution. Oral announcement of the form of the resolution may be dispensed with by unanimous consent.
(2) The time allotted for debate on a resolution offered from the floor as a question of the privileges of the House shall be equally divided between (A) the proponent of the resolution, and (B) the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, or a designee, as determined by the Speaker.
(b) A question of personal privilege shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn.
The link to the interactive graphic doesn’t seem to work, I landed on a page to register to create a graphic. There was a label for the Democracy Index but that’s all it was, just a label
Trump just checked out and let unqualified, partisan, lickspittle, mean-spirited people that the GOP Congress confirmed for his cabinet, do what they want.
With enough pushback, taking a lot of energy, we can only mitigate this disaster for our country.
Trump’s assertions of not knowing what he should know as president may be part of the act. US government systems are so unimportant that they are able to be ignored. The autocrat will fix it all.
From everything I've read regarding Ed Martin, I agree he would have been a distressingly bad choice. However, I take one exception to the list of his defects - that he defended January 6 rioters. EVERYONE deserves a defense attorney in our democracy.
Really like the idea of the Democracy Index. A brief & succinct summary of actions. Somehow, I thought it would also summarize - again very briefly - the democratic positives for each week’s categories. I agree about explaining the graphic; to be fair, today was my first thorough reading of the analysis but, for me anyway, that analysis didn’t explain the graphic.
Is he really out of touch, or is this all an exercise in plausible deniability? I hate that this regime is fueling conspiracy theories on all levels of society!
Please fix Democracy Index so that it prints out without cutting off the right side of the text. Some of us prefer to read things in print instead of on the computer. Right now this is useless!!!! It can't be that hard of a fix. It should only be a line of code.
When I click on the interactive graphic, nothing happens. I could only get it to be interactive by clicking on a link posted by John Smith 11 hrs ago. Thanks for posting that, John.
For some of us less graphically intuitive, a key to the graph would be ever so helpful --i.e. is there a meaning for each of the colors, and specifically what does the rise in degrees mean? I can venture some guesses, but that feels inadequate.
Why is ‘citizenship' not included in one of these important headings? Where’s your outrage about the republicans abrogating the fundamental rights of over half of Americans? ALL American women are now sexual slaves having had their legal bodily autonomy abrogated, one of the descriptions of slavery under international law. Citizenship and slavery are mutually exclusive: you can be a citizen with full rights or you can be a slave. No such thing as a halfsies citizen. But there is not even a peep from the Contrarian.
Could you explain the graphic? I think _maybe_ a higher temperature means the category is ill. Is that correct? If so, that doesn't make sense for "bad" categories like "Corruption." Or, a higher temperature could mean there's more of the category, but that also doesn't make sense across the board..
Joel -- here is an explanation I posted a week ago in reply to a similar question. I think that occasion was the first publication of "The Democracy Index" graphic. Not sure if my interpretation is "officially blessed" but here it is--
"To put it as a (quasi-)medical analogy, consider the vertical white symbols to be equivalent to an old-fashioned mercury thermometer.
--The height of the colored shading represents an assessment of the patient's "temperature" related to the particular characteristic (symptom), for example, "Corruption". As the colored bar gets higher, the "temperature" is higher.
--As the color at the top of the bar shifts more and more to "Red" the severity of that symptom's threat to the patient's survival is assessed to be greater and greater."
Lee
I think that only works if the categories are all symptoms. "Corruption" is a symptom; the higher the temp, the more severe the corruption -- that makes sense. However, there are also categories like "Rule of Law." I don't think we want to say that the higher the temp, the more severely we are experiencing the "Rule of Law" when the intent, I suppose, is the exact opposite; if the category were "Threat to the Rule of Law" or "Breakdown of the Rule of Law," then it would make sense.
The exact opposite would also work; e.g., if all the categories were good parts of democracy, like "Rule of Law," "Corruption-free," etc., then we could interpret a higher temp as meaning that component was sick and not doing well.
Having good, bad, and neither (i.e, "Free Press/Disinformation") attributes muddles the whole thing.
I think you can assume that the higher the "mercury" goes, the worse is the case of the ailment to Democracy.
If you click on the link in the text, it takes you to an interactive graphic: https://view.genially.com/67e6b5b1407bdfe1b480ce12/interactive-content-democracy-index . That sheds a bit more light on the thermometer.
Thanks. I couldn't figure out how it worked. I didn't even think about clicking the link (actually, I failed to recognise it as a link).
Thanks for your question. I don’t get it either.
I would love to take Ken Paxton and Steve Marshall and put both of them on a life boat out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Both GOP attorneys general one is as bad as the other.
Any chance you could reserve room in that boat for Pam Bondi?
Yes and probably a few more. Destination: El Salvador.
Make their watery destination the "Gulf of America" in keeping with this Administration's penchant for altering history...
Actually, if they start on the Texas coast they can go down the Yucatan channel to the Caribbean Sea and on to El Salvador.
No, put them in the middle of the Gulf of America. They deserve no less.
Trump isn’t the only problem. The Republican Party is enabling him. Whether it’s fear of retribution, the unwillingness to actually believe that we are in the midst of an authoritarian takeover and this is just business as usual, or they truly want to see the republic fall, this is a Republican coup and we have to say so loudly and clearly.
I am appalled at how many times the trumpanze says ‘I don’t know’. A true leader would, 1st of all, know what the oath he took meant to him and his office. And if he was unsure of how to answer a question I would think a better answer would be ‘I don’t know but I will find out.’ Trumpanze doesn’t care to know, thinks its unimportant to know and generally can’t be bothered
In evidence, "I don't know" may be a tacit admission of guilt.
In my opinion the only way to rein in Republican autocratic overreach is first through the states legal system - and second through the people who live there. Even state solutions may be increasingly harder to pull off.
North Carolina's seat was saved by the dint of one judge who ethically followed NC state law. However, the ruling also implied that if North Carolina were to establish new rules before the next game is decided (the midterm election), the ruling might be different if even needed.
In Texas, it was another step back, as usual. The residents of Texas are indeed living a life that they chose of their own free will at the ballot box. If you haven't been satisfied with your life in the state you reside in, use your vote to change the balance of power in your state. The voting majorities in each state get the wins, and should never have reason to complain or feel dissatisfied. If they do, they could take a look at the losing voting minority, who just might be seeing something that the winning majority doesn't.
Live there. Many are uninformed or malinformed.. Sadly, many do Not vote at all.. In many respects there is a sad acceptance and tolerance of the statud quo. An unwillingness to listen, and an inability to change. The known quantity is manageable even though unsatisfactory, so present circumstances are continued. I pray for happy optimism based on realistic dynamics that are inclusive and productive. .
I guess you haven't been following the Jerry Weiss scenario -- shared government. Only takes a few Congressional Rerpublicans. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Many Congressional Repubicans are mutining over budget reconciliation. Nobody is reporting on it....
"... a bloc of moderate Republicans is demanding no reductions in Medicaid benefits – a requirement experts say would be impossible to meet while achieving Republicans' spending-cut goals and other GOP priorities.
"Then there’s the blue-state Republicans who will go to the mat for lifting tax deduction limits that would benefit their constituents, but would increase the bill’s price tag, further complicating the fiscal math.
"Each group has outsized influence because of Republicans' narrow majorities in both chambers. As few as four lawmakers rebelling in the House or Senate could derail the final package, as no Democrats are expected to support the legislation.
"Their demands may be irreconcilable. But Republican leaders say failure is not an option: If they don't pass something by the end of the year, Trump's 2017 tax cuts will expire, and renewing them is a major priority for the president. There's an additional incentive to get it done, as the bill would raise the debt ceiling and avoid default without requiring negotiations with Democrats – another top goal for the party."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/09/trump-bill-medicaid-spending-congress/83196723007/
USA today is not putting it all together. 7 senate republicans are cosponsors to gut Trump tariff authority.
Even more object to Trump re national security, SIGNALgate.
We already have "shared government", it is called federalism, that's how we have operated under the Constitution. Sure, a few Republicans could stop Trump in his tracks, but that leaves the rest of them to deal with. They can feign their 'Susan Collins Concern' to great effect, but when push comes to shove they vote quite unconcerned & without shame -- https://legiscan.com/US/rollcall/HB1968/id/1518233
Republicans say they value the Constitution, and they can co-sponsor bills against Trump all they want -- but it's all a facade. Congressional Republicans won't be believed until they initiate workable solutions by compromising with Democrats, to enact truly bi-partisan solutions to get rid of MAGA Republicans who ARE deconstructing the administrative state.
Sounds like you haven't looked into it. They want/need a budget. Tax cuts expire December 31, 2025.
If there are actual impeachment investigations, it will stop all this BS because the entirte Trump agenda will be frozen. There are sub rosa discussions under way7.
This is the House Rule that can stpo them in their tracks.
QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE
§698. Definition of questions of privilege.
[Clause 1]
1. Questions of privilege shall be, first, those affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings; and second, those affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner, individually, in their representative capacity only.
§699. Precedence of questions of privilege.
[Clause 2]
2. (a)(1) A resolution reported as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered from the floor by the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered as privileged under clause 1, section 7, article I of the Constitution, shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn. A resolution offered from the floor by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner other than the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader as a question of the privileges of the House shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn only at a time or place, designated by the Speaker, in the legislative schedule within two legislative days after the day on which the proponent announces to the House an intention to offer the resolution and the form of the resolution. Oral announcement of the form of the resolution may be dispensed with by unanimous consent.
(2) The time allotted for debate on a resolution offered from the floor as a question of the privileges of the House shall be equally divided between (A) the proponent of the resolution, and (B) the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, or a designee, as determined by the Speaker.
(b) A question of personal privilege shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn.
The link to the interactive graphic doesn’t seem to work, I landed on a page to register to create a graphic. There was a label for the Democracy Index but that’s all it was, just a label
Trump just checked out and let unqualified, partisan, lickspittle, mean-spirited people that the GOP Congress confirmed for his cabinet, do what they want.
With enough pushback, taking a lot of energy, we can only mitigate this disaster for our country.
Trump’s assertions of not knowing what he should know as president may be part of the act. US government systems are so unimportant that they are able to be ignored. The autocrat will fix it all.
From everything I've read regarding Ed Martin, I agree he would have been a distressingly bad choice. However, I take one exception to the list of his defects - that he defended January 6 rioters. EVERYONE deserves a defense attorney in our democracy.
Really like the idea of the Democracy Index. A brief & succinct summary of actions. Somehow, I thought it would also summarize - again very briefly - the democratic positives for each week’s categories. I agree about explaining the graphic; to be fair, today was my first thorough reading of the analysis but, for me anyway, that analysis didn’t explain the graphic.
Is he really out of touch, or is this all an exercise in plausible deniability? I hate that this regime is fueling conspiracy theories on all levels of society!
Please fix Democracy Index so that it prints out without cutting off the right side of the text. Some of us prefer to read things in print instead of on the computer. Right now this is useless!!!! It can't be that hard of a fix. It should only be a line of code.
When I click on the interactive graphic, nothing happens. I could only get it to be interactive by clicking on a link posted by John Smith 11 hrs ago. Thanks for posting that, John.
For some of us less graphically intuitive, a key to the graph would be ever so helpful --i.e. is there a meaning for each of the colors, and specifically what does the rise in degrees mean? I can venture some guesses, but that feels inadequate.
Why is ‘citizenship' not included in one of these important headings? Where’s your outrage about the republicans abrogating the fundamental rights of over half of Americans? ALL American women are now sexual slaves having had their legal bodily autonomy abrogated, one of the descriptions of slavery under international law. Citizenship and slavery are mutually exclusive: you can be a citizen with full rights or you can be a slave. No such thing as a halfsies citizen. But there is not even a peep from the Contrarian.