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<title><![CDATA[Leslie C. Francis - Articles - RealClearPolitics]]></title><link>http://www.RealClearPolicy.com/authors/rss/archive/28660.xml</link><description><![CDATA[Leslie C. Francis]]></description><category domain="28660">Author</category><item>
							<title><![CDATA[Harris vs. Trump Debate: A Viewer&rsquo;s Guide]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/09/10/harris_vs_trump_debate_a_viewers_guide_151592.html</link>
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							<pubDate>Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will soon meet in a high stakes nationally televised debate, perhaps the only one of this campaign.
In previous elections '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('“').';' 1960, 1976, 1980, 2000, and 2020 come immediately to mind '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('“').';' the election contests were heavily influenced by such...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Threat to Our Two-Party Democracy]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/07/08/the_threat_to_our_two-party_democracy_149467.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/07/08/the_threat_to_our_two-party_democracy_149467.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 08 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Citizens, scholars, and pundits agree. As a nation, America is facing what could well be an existential threat '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('“').';''&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('‚').';' from within. We are in unprecedented times; our country is more divided than at any time since the 1860s. Anti-democratic elements have undermined our civic norms, and...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Congratulations to Speaker Kevin McFaust]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/01/11/congratulations_to_speaker_kevin_mcfaust_148710.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/01/11/congratulations_to_speaker_kevin_mcfaust_148710.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[As a fellow graduate of the California State University system, I can only assume that the newly elected speaker of the House studied a bit of philosophy. I did because it was required.
If the new speaker took similar courses, he must have missed the lecture on Faust, the infamous German...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Reynaldo Martinez: A Loving and Consequential Man]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/04/11/reynaldo_martinez_a_loving_and_consequential_man_147454.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/04/11/reynaldo_martinez_a_loving_and_consequential_man_147454.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Family, friends, and our fellow citizens are today mourning the loss of one of the good guys in politics. Reynaldo Leroy Martinez died peacefully in his sleep early Monday, March 28, at his home in Incline Village, Nevada. His wife, Diane, and other family members were with him as he...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Opponents Team Up Against Voting Rights]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/01/21/opponents_team_up_against_voting_rights.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/01/21/opponents_team_up_against_voting_rights.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2022 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[In the week that we have commemorated Martin Luther King'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s birthday, I found myself thinking about a football coach. And the football angle has nothing to do with the NFL playoffs.
In 1990, the voters of Arizona rejected a ballot measure that would have established a state holiday...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[In Memory of 'Fritz' Mondale -- a Political Giant &amp; Loyal Friend]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/05/01/in_memory_of_fritz_mondale_--_a_political_giant__loyal_friend__145690.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/05/01/in_memory_of_fritz_mondale_--_a_political_giant__loyal_friend__145690.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 01 May 2021 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[It may seem strange, but sometime after learning of the death of former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, I found myself thinking about elephants, and not because a pachyderm is the symbol of Fritz Mondale'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s lifelong opposition -- the Republican Party. And not because elephants are...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Voting Rights --Then and Now]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/03/20/voting_rights_--then_and_now.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/03/20/voting_rights_--then_and_now.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 20 Mar 2021 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Through some twist of fate, March has been an important month in America'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s gradual and still developing representative democracy. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified and certified on March 30, 1870; that amendment declared that:
'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'The right of citizens of...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Trump Must Be Thrown Out of the Game]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/02/09/trump_must_be_thrown_out_of_the_game_145204.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/02/09/trump_must_be_thrown_out_of_the_game_145204.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The United States Senate is now considering an article of impeachment against Donald J. Trump. For the first time in our nation'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s history a president has been impeached twice for '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'high crimes and misdemeanors.'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' And, for the second time in just over a year, we'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'ll know...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Democrats: Let&rsquo;s Play Hardball!]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/12/16/democrats_lets_play_hardball_144855.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/12/16/democrats_lets_play_hardball_144855.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2020 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[As I sat down to write this, members of the Electoral College were meeting in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and casting what should be the final and deciding votes in the 2020 presidential election. Should be, but may not be.
Based on past performance and utterances,...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Cost of Failed Presidential Leadership]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/09/21/the_cost_of_failed_presidential_leadership_144256.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/09/21/the_cost_of_failed_presidential_leadership_144256.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA['&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'Trump lied. People died.'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' That was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s succinct verdict on what we now know from Bob Woodward'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s detailed account -- including recordings of his interviews with the president -- of Donald Trump'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s response to the coronavirus...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Insanity Unleashed -- and Empowered -- in the Trump Era]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/08/04/insanity_unleashed_--_and_empowered_--_in_the_trump_era__143864.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/08/04/insanity_unleashed_--_and_empowered_--_in_the_trump_era__143864.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[If there'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s a popular saying that epitomizes the Donald Trump era, it'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s this: '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'You just can'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'t make this [stuff] up!'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';''&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('‚').';' 
In the past week alone, the president of the United States has tweeted his support for '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'America'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s Front-line Doctors'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' and their...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[What John Lewis Might Teach Us About Portland]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/07/23/what_john_lewis_might_teach_us_about_portland_143778.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/07/23/what_john_lewis_might_teach_us_about_portland_143778.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Friday night, after reporting on yet another bizarre story coming out of the White House (this one about President Trump not wanting to become '&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('œ').';'distracted'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('�').';' by the coronavirus pandemic), followed by news of masked federal law enforcement officers arresting and detaining citizens...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Trump v. Accountability: To Be Decided by Voters in Nov.]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/09/trump_v_accountability_to_be_decided_by_voters_in_nov_143403.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/09/trump_v_accountability_to_be_decided_by_voters_in_nov_143403.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Should the president of the United States be immune from accountability to the American people? Our Founders spent a great deal of time at the Constitutional Convention debating how to prevent the office of president from becoming an autocratic one. The behavior of King George III was...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Happy 40th Birthday, Department of Education]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/04/happy_40th_birthday_department_of_education_143108.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/04/happy_40th_birthday_department_of_education_143108.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The poster on the office wall is faded, but not so our memories of the day it commemorated or the struggle to make it happen. Monday, May 4, 2020, marks the 40th anniversary of the official opening of the Cabinet-level U.S. Department of Education. It was a historic day in the history of...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Perilous State of Our Union, and How We Got Here]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/28/the_perilous_state_of_our_union_and_how_we_got_here_143048.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/28/the_perilous_state_of_our_union_and_how_we_got_here_143048.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The coronavirus epidemic has shed a glaring light on weaknesses in the American public health care system, as well as structural fault lines in our economy. The crisis is particularly lethal where those weaknesses and fault lines intersect -- among racial/ethnic minorities and the poor....]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Democracy at Risk: How to Overcome Fear, Bias and Modern Media]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/07/17/democracy_at_risk_how_to_overcome_fear_bias_and_modern_media_140793.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/07/17/democracy_at_risk_how_to_overcome_fear_bias_and_modern_media_140793.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[How can otherwise intelligent, decent people -- neighbors, friends and business acquaintances -- see the same news events, hear the same facts, and yet come to entirely different conclusions?
The answer: It is the product of fear and self-deception.
Primal fear is re-emerging in this...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[An Alternative to Impeachment]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/06/11/an_alternative_to_impeachment_140541.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/06/11/an_alternative_to_impeachment_140541.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Each day, it seems, yet another Democratic member of Congress or one of the two dozen or so Democratic presidential hopefuls joins the ranks of those calling for the impeachment of President Trump. They, and a sizable portion of the activist element of the party'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s base, are...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Norm Mineta and the Art of Representation]]></title>
							<link>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/11/norm_mineta_and_the_art_of_representation__140292.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/11/norm_mineta_and_the_art_of_representation__140292.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2019 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Nearly a quarter-century has elapsed since Norman Y. Mineta retired from Congress after two decades representing his hometown of San Jose, Calif. Yet he remains one of the area'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s most well-known and highly respected public figures -- ever. Of course, having an airport and major...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Why Obama Had to Serve Notice on Congress]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/02/10/why_obama_had_to_serve_notice_on_congress_121520.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/02/10/why_obama_had_to_serve_notice_on_congress_121520.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 10 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Leslie C. Francis</author>
							<description><![CDATA[President Obama'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'s 2014 State of the Union address is behind us, but the second-term path outlined in that speech is still very much ahead of him.
In the aftermath of that speech, we'&#'.ord('Ã').';''&#'.ord('¢').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('€').';''&#'.ord('Â').';''&#'.ord('™').';'ve heard a lot about the wisdom, effectiveness, and even the constitutionality of a president...]]></description>
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