Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Dan Grazier

“As Congress debates the 2027 defense budget, members must confront an essential reality: their children and grandchildren will be left footing the bill. Many of the dollars that will be appropriated for military purposes in 2027 will be borrowed and tacked onto the ballooning national debt. But that is only part of the problem. Defense policies established today become spending obligations for future generations. If members of Congress are seriously considering $1.5 trillion in defense spending for 2027, it is in part because they must cover the expenses resulting from policy decisions made years ago by people who have long-since passed from the scene.” (06/22/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/military-spending-us/

Source: Liberal Currents
by Peter Juul

“With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that Democrats will control at least one—if not both—houses of Congress after this November’s midterm elections. Continued increases in the cost of living, a strategic quagmire in the Middle East, and President Trump’s own personal unpopularity all seem set to give Democrats an opportunity to overcome structural headwinds like partisan gerrymandering and the Senate’s rural bias that would otherwise advantage their Republican rivals. When Democrats win majorities in Congress they will need a national security agenda of their own to counter the Trump administration’s gangster-style foreign policy as best they can.” (06/22/26)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/national-security-strategy-for-a-democratic-congress/

Source: The American Conservative
by Scott Greer

“Abundance liberals’ enthusiasm for growth faces a major obstacle with Democrats’ sharp turn against tech. AI and data centers are the enemy. Even though tech may be the biggest contributor to American economic growth right now, Democratic voters want it to stop. No amount of abundance rhetoric can convince them otherwise. These state and local contests offer a possible preview of what the 2028 Democratic presidential primary may look like. For all the efforts spent by Newsom and others to move to the center, they may all be forced to cater to their party’s radical elements to have any hope of winning the nomination.” (06/22/26)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/liberal-elites-promote-abundance-but-democratic-voters-want-socialism/

Source: Persuasion
by Eboo Patel

“I recently got the chance to walk through the exhibits of the Barack Obama Presidential Center before its opening on Thursday. Looking at photos of the young Obama as a community organizer in Chicago, watching video clips of those iconic speeches that marked his dream-like rise from a nobody to leader of the free world, I was reminded of a time when our politics was more hopeful, our social sector was more constructive, and the two were aligned in the service of the nation.” (06/21/26)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/long-live-obama-ism

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“Campaign finance disclosures released over the weekend provide a clearer picture of the millions of dollars pro-Israel PACs United Democracy Project (an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC) and Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) have spent thus far in the midterm primaries, and the lengths to which they have gone to hide their true influence. In 2026, more than 1 out of every 4 dollars in independent expenditures that the two groups have disbursed (almost $8 million out of a total of $30.66 million) have been funneled to nine different partners and shell PACs. Those numbers are likely higher, since the disclosures made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) only go through the end of May, and they do not count possible outlays to dark-money PACs that do not have to disclose their spending.” (06/22/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/06/22/pro-israel-super-pac-cinematic-universe/