Democracy Wire

Slate's Jamelle Bouie lays it out plain as day, we live under minority rule engineered by changing the rules of our elections through vote suppression and gerrymandering targeting certain populations. It's long past time we talk about it.

If a picture paints a thousand words, this post contains 31,000 words. You'll be moved in much less time than it takes to read thanks to photo-journalists from AP, Reuters, Getty, and others who captured the power of people rallying this weekend for families seeking asylum in the U.S., because families belong together.

Democracy Wire welcomes guest author Hedrick Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and documentarian whose newest documentary, The People v. The Politicians will air on MSNBC this summer. Democracy Wire will feature Smith's writing and videos leading up to the air dates. Today, Smith talks with the Rev. Dr. William Barber of North Carolina, who reminds us of the morality at the heart of our democracy, our fundamental belief in human dignity that each of us has an equal say in the future for our families, communities, and nation.

When mergers like AT&T and Time-Warner get rubber-stamped by an anti-consumer Federal Communications Commission, we all pay the price with higher monthly bills for internet, TV, and phone. But Citizen-lobbyists and activists from across the country know that more than money is at stake, it's our access to information and our ability to speak freely and organize online that threatens our democracy whenever media ownership is consolidated. That's why these activists were on Capitol Hill this week.

Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, and documentarian shares his "director's cut" video and discusses how voters in Ohio organized, built #FairDistrictsOhio, and won. Americans understand our democracy is vulnerable and being attacked by enemies foreign and domestic. But voters aren't in any mood to complain about problems these days, we're looking for practical solutions that work, like the story of how Fair Districts Ohio won a big battle in The Politicians v. The People.