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'March on Harrisburg' participants are walking from Philadelphia to the state capitol with a set of pro-democracy demands. (Photo Credit: Sean Leber)
POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania--We are about a third of the way through the hundred-mile March on Harrisburg, a non-partisan pro-democracy Pennsylvania-based volunteer mobilization fighting for three bills already introduced in the state legislature. They span the gamut from gerrymandering reform to a common sense gift ban to automatic voter registration.
The march began in Philadelphia and, as the name suggests, is headed to Harrisburg. There, should the legislature not heed the demand to pass the widely supported reforms, the marchers will risk arrest at the state capitol building to push democracy onto the agenda.
I sat down with lead organizer Michael Pollack, a soon-to-be-graduating rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who developed the idea for the march last year while marching with Democracy Spring in April.
Adam Eichen: When did you come up with the idea for the March on Harrisburg?
Michael Pollack: It started during the Democracy Spring March last spring when one hundred and fifty people marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. Toward the end, we were out walking and began discussing how to take this national campaign back to the state level--and how to give it a more specific legislative focus. I personally was just really caught up in the excitement and energy of the march itself, and I realized that this is a great tool to bring people together, to form sustainable community, and to create momentum for legislation.
So why Pennsylvania?
Pollack: Because I live in Pennsylvania, and in a recent electoral integrity project, Pennsylvania was ranked 45th out of 50 states plus DC, across 11 democracy-related metrics. Pennsylvania is in really bad shape when it comes to gerrymandering--we're 48th in the union. In Pennsylvania, you can gift anything to anyone. Only nine other states share this honor. And I admit, I am really fascinated in working with the Republican legislature. Pennsylvania has a double red legislature--Super majority in the Senate and a very strong majority in the House. Essentially we're pushing one Republican bill, one Democratic bill and one bi-partisan bill. I wanted to know, can we do this? Is it possible to turn democracy into a true nonpartisan issue and have it culminate in legislative success?
That leads nicely into my next question. Some people saw last year's Democracy Spring as a bunch of progressives. Is this the case with the March on Harrisburg? How are you trying to work with Republicans who will often times not support these measures?
Pollack: Our core leadership has political diversity banked into it. We have people who are registered with three different political parties. We are going to maintain our non-partisanship not only in our external communications, but also in our internal communications. We are focusing on the system, not parties, and the environment in which they operate.
We've met with almost all 253 members of the state legislature and have had wonderful meetings with the Republican legislators, especially regarding their gift ban bill. Many of us are truly optimistic that we can move some of these bills forward.
What would success look like for you?
Pollack: Success means passing the bills--banning unlimited gifts in Pennsylvania, ending gerrymandering in Pennsylvania, and creating automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania. Secondary to that, we want to inform the community that action is necessary for the first success--that until we get up and demand to be heard we can never expect our democracy to be fixed.
Third, we want to form a community among people who care about these issues. Our citizen lobbying days have been a great experience on this front. Not only were friendships formed, but people also stopped seeing the legislature as something "untouchable," that they didn't belong. It is called the people's house for a reason.
The march itself also forms community. And we are already seeing this. Just like during Democracy Spring, as we walk and talk through Pennsylvania in the beautiful springtime weather, we are all connecting and learning a lot.
Lastly, and perhaps most ambitiously, we want to see what we are doing in Pennsylvania be exported to every single state. Every state has a deficit of trust and communication between citizen and state. We decided that when the march is over we are going to make all our materials open source, meaning that we will provide to anyone interested all the information needed to start your own March on Harrisburg. We'll give you everything that we've learned and everything that we've collected. And hopefully this will inspire more people to act to save democracy and repair trust in our republic.
How have your rabbinical studies influenced your understanding of democracy and the development of the March on Harrisburg.
In the Jewish tradition, every person has a yetzer ha'ra and a yetzer ha'tov. These correspond to the sense of self and the sense for other.
The "self" is critical. It keeps us alive, for without it there would be no impetus to build a house, or get a job, or even heal yourself when you are sick. The sense for the other, on the other hand, is a sense of altruism, good deeds, and good thoughts. It is every time you act with a sense of responsibility and obligation to others.
The sense of self can provide very short-term happiness. I'm happy, for example, when my belly is full or when I get a new car. But that happiness is fleeting. The sense of the other, when acted upon, builds deeper joy, meaningful relationships, and a sense of connection and meaning. So in our short time in life, it seems wiser to satisfy the sense for the other, and not let the sense of self rule your life.
So I want to know how we can initiate the sense for the other. For my grandparents, eliciting this worldview was easy. For them, God commands you to love the other. So there was no choice. But now that Nietzsche has declared that God is dead, and George Carlin has closed the coffin with satire and ridicule, the question must be asked, why are we obligated to the other?
The best answer I have comes from the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas who said, "When you see the face of the other you are ordered and ordained to service." When people see each other, when they hear each other, when they feel each other, a sense of obligation and care is fueled.
Herein lies the problem. We currently live in a society where our government does not see the governed. There is therefore no sense of service to these people. And when that sense of service is not present, the sense of self dominates. Leaders look after their self-interest, their parties' interest, and the interest of those who support their self-interest.
March on Harrisburg is the marriage counselor. We are here so that the parties and politicians look at we the people. We want to create a sense of responsibility and open communication. And when this happens, amazing things follow. As philosopher and democracy theorist, John Dewey, explained, "When the emotional force, the mystic force one might say, of communication, of the miracle of shared life and shared experience is spontaneously felt, the hardness and crudeness of contemporary life will be bathed in the light that never was on land or sea."
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POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania--We are about a third of the way through the hundred-mile March on Harrisburg, a non-partisan pro-democracy Pennsylvania-based volunteer mobilization fighting for three bills already introduced in the state legislature. They span the gamut from gerrymandering reform to a common sense gift ban to automatic voter registration.
The march began in Philadelphia and, as the name suggests, is headed to Harrisburg. There, should the legislature not heed the demand to pass the widely supported reforms, the marchers will risk arrest at the state capitol building to push democracy onto the agenda.
I sat down with lead organizer Michael Pollack, a soon-to-be-graduating rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who developed the idea for the march last year while marching with Democracy Spring in April.
Adam Eichen: When did you come up with the idea for the March on Harrisburg?
Michael Pollack: It started during the Democracy Spring March last spring when one hundred and fifty people marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. Toward the end, we were out walking and began discussing how to take this national campaign back to the state level--and how to give it a more specific legislative focus. I personally was just really caught up in the excitement and energy of the march itself, and I realized that this is a great tool to bring people together, to form sustainable community, and to create momentum for legislation.
So why Pennsylvania?
Pollack: Because I live in Pennsylvania, and in a recent electoral integrity project, Pennsylvania was ranked 45th out of 50 states plus DC, across 11 democracy-related metrics. Pennsylvania is in really bad shape when it comes to gerrymandering--we're 48th in the union. In Pennsylvania, you can gift anything to anyone. Only nine other states share this honor. And I admit, I am really fascinated in working with the Republican legislature. Pennsylvania has a double red legislature--Super majority in the Senate and a very strong majority in the House. Essentially we're pushing one Republican bill, one Democratic bill and one bi-partisan bill. I wanted to know, can we do this? Is it possible to turn democracy into a true nonpartisan issue and have it culminate in legislative success?
That leads nicely into my next question. Some people saw last year's Democracy Spring as a bunch of progressives. Is this the case with the March on Harrisburg? How are you trying to work with Republicans who will often times not support these measures?
Pollack: Our core leadership has political diversity banked into it. We have people who are registered with three different political parties. We are going to maintain our non-partisanship not only in our external communications, but also in our internal communications. We are focusing on the system, not parties, and the environment in which they operate.
We've met with almost all 253 members of the state legislature and have had wonderful meetings with the Republican legislators, especially regarding their gift ban bill. Many of us are truly optimistic that we can move some of these bills forward.
What would success look like for you?
Pollack: Success means passing the bills--banning unlimited gifts in Pennsylvania, ending gerrymandering in Pennsylvania, and creating automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania. Secondary to that, we want to inform the community that action is necessary for the first success--that until we get up and demand to be heard we can never expect our democracy to be fixed.
Third, we want to form a community among people who care about these issues. Our citizen lobbying days have been a great experience on this front. Not only were friendships formed, but people also stopped seeing the legislature as something "untouchable," that they didn't belong. It is called the people's house for a reason.
The march itself also forms community. And we are already seeing this. Just like during Democracy Spring, as we walk and talk through Pennsylvania in the beautiful springtime weather, we are all connecting and learning a lot.
Lastly, and perhaps most ambitiously, we want to see what we are doing in Pennsylvania be exported to every single state. Every state has a deficit of trust and communication between citizen and state. We decided that when the march is over we are going to make all our materials open source, meaning that we will provide to anyone interested all the information needed to start your own March on Harrisburg. We'll give you everything that we've learned and everything that we've collected. And hopefully this will inspire more people to act to save democracy and repair trust in our republic.
How have your rabbinical studies influenced your understanding of democracy and the development of the March on Harrisburg.
In the Jewish tradition, every person has a yetzer ha'ra and a yetzer ha'tov. These correspond to the sense of self and the sense for other.
The "self" is critical. It keeps us alive, for without it there would be no impetus to build a house, or get a job, or even heal yourself when you are sick. The sense for the other, on the other hand, is a sense of altruism, good deeds, and good thoughts. It is every time you act with a sense of responsibility and obligation to others.
The sense of self can provide very short-term happiness. I'm happy, for example, when my belly is full or when I get a new car. But that happiness is fleeting. The sense of the other, when acted upon, builds deeper joy, meaningful relationships, and a sense of connection and meaning. So in our short time in life, it seems wiser to satisfy the sense for the other, and not let the sense of self rule your life.
So I want to know how we can initiate the sense for the other. For my grandparents, eliciting this worldview was easy. For them, God commands you to love the other. So there was no choice. But now that Nietzsche has declared that God is dead, and George Carlin has closed the coffin with satire and ridicule, the question must be asked, why are we obligated to the other?
The best answer I have comes from the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas who said, "When you see the face of the other you are ordered and ordained to service." When people see each other, when they hear each other, when they feel each other, a sense of obligation and care is fueled.
Herein lies the problem. We currently live in a society where our government does not see the governed. There is therefore no sense of service to these people. And when that sense of service is not present, the sense of self dominates. Leaders look after their self-interest, their parties' interest, and the interest of those who support their self-interest.
March on Harrisburg is the marriage counselor. We are here so that the parties and politicians look at we the people. We want to create a sense of responsibility and open communication. And when this happens, amazing things follow. As philosopher and democracy theorist, John Dewey, explained, "When the emotional force, the mystic force one might say, of communication, of the miracle of shared life and shared experience is spontaneously felt, the hardness and crudeness of contemporary life will be bathed in the light that never was on land or sea."
POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania--We are about a third of the way through the hundred-mile March on Harrisburg, a non-partisan pro-democracy Pennsylvania-based volunteer mobilization fighting for three bills already introduced in the state legislature. They span the gamut from gerrymandering reform to a common sense gift ban to automatic voter registration.
The march began in Philadelphia and, as the name suggests, is headed to Harrisburg. There, should the legislature not heed the demand to pass the widely supported reforms, the marchers will risk arrest at the state capitol building to push democracy onto the agenda.
I sat down with lead organizer Michael Pollack, a soon-to-be-graduating rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who developed the idea for the march last year while marching with Democracy Spring in April.
Adam Eichen: When did you come up with the idea for the March on Harrisburg?
Michael Pollack: It started during the Democracy Spring March last spring when one hundred and fifty people marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. Toward the end, we were out walking and began discussing how to take this national campaign back to the state level--and how to give it a more specific legislative focus. I personally was just really caught up in the excitement and energy of the march itself, and I realized that this is a great tool to bring people together, to form sustainable community, and to create momentum for legislation.
So why Pennsylvania?
Pollack: Because I live in Pennsylvania, and in a recent electoral integrity project, Pennsylvania was ranked 45th out of 50 states plus DC, across 11 democracy-related metrics. Pennsylvania is in really bad shape when it comes to gerrymandering--we're 48th in the union. In Pennsylvania, you can gift anything to anyone. Only nine other states share this honor. And I admit, I am really fascinated in working with the Republican legislature. Pennsylvania has a double red legislature--Super majority in the Senate and a very strong majority in the House. Essentially we're pushing one Republican bill, one Democratic bill and one bi-partisan bill. I wanted to know, can we do this? Is it possible to turn democracy into a true nonpartisan issue and have it culminate in legislative success?
That leads nicely into my next question. Some people saw last year's Democracy Spring as a bunch of progressives. Is this the case with the March on Harrisburg? How are you trying to work with Republicans who will often times not support these measures?
Pollack: Our core leadership has political diversity banked into it. We have people who are registered with three different political parties. We are going to maintain our non-partisanship not only in our external communications, but also in our internal communications. We are focusing on the system, not parties, and the environment in which they operate.
We've met with almost all 253 members of the state legislature and have had wonderful meetings with the Republican legislators, especially regarding their gift ban bill. Many of us are truly optimistic that we can move some of these bills forward.
What would success look like for you?
Pollack: Success means passing the bills--banning unlimited gifts in Pennsylvania, ending gerrymandering in Pennsylvania, and creating automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania. Secondary to that, we want to inform the community that action is necessary for the first success--that until we get up and demand to be heard we can never expect our democracy to be fixed.
Third, we want to form a community among people who care about these issues. Our citizen lobbying days have been a great experience on this front. Not only were friendships formed, but people also stopped seeing the legislature as something "untouchable," that they didn't belong. It is called the people's house for a reason.
The march itself also forms community. And we are already seeing this. Just like during Democracy Spring, as we walk and talk through Pennsylvania in the beautiful springtime weather, we are all connecting and learning a lot.
Lastly, and perhaps most ambitiously, we want to see what we are doing in Pennsylvania be exported to every single state. Every state has a deficit of trust and communication between citizen and state. We decided that when the march is over we are going to make all our materials open source, meaning that we will provide to anyone interested all the information needed to start your own March on Harrisburg. We'll give you everything that we've learned and everything that we've collected. And hopefully this will inspire more people to act to save democracy and repair trust in our republic.
How have your rabbinical studies influenced your understanding of democracy and the development of the March on Harrisburg.
In the Jewish tradition, every person has a yetzer ha'ra and a yetzer ha'tov. These correspond to the sense of self and the sense for other.
The "self" is critical. It keeps us alive, for without it there would be no impetus to build a house, or get a job, or even heal yourself when you are sick. The sense for the other, on the other hand, is a sense of altruism, good deeds, and good thoughts. It is every time you act with a sense of responsibility and obligation to others.
The sense of self can provide very short-term happiness. I'm happy, for example, when my belly is full or when I get a new car. But that happiness is fleeting. The sense of the other, when acted upon, builds deeper joy, meaningful relationships, and a sense of connection and meaning. So in our short time in life, it seems wiser to satisfy the sense for the other, and not let the sense of self rule your life.
So I want to know how we can initiate the sense for the other. For my grandparents, eliciting this worldview was easy. For them, God commands you to love the other. So there was no choice. But now that Nietzsche has declared that God is dead, and George Carlin has closed the coffin with satire and ridicule, the question must be asked, why are we obligated to the other?
The best answer I have comes from the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas who said, "When you see the face of the other you are ordered and ordained to service." When people see each other, when they hear each other, when they feel each other, a sense of obligation and care is fueled.
Herein lies the problem. We currently live in a society where our government does not see the governed. There is therefore no sense of service to these people. And when that sense of service is not present, the sense of self dominates. Leaders look after their self-interest, their parties' interest, and the interest of those who support their self-interest.
March on Harrisburg is the marriage counselor. We are here so that the parties and politicians look at we the people. We want to create a sense of responsibility and open communication. And when this happens, amazing things follow. As philosopher and democracy theorist, John Dewey, explained, "When the emotional force, the mystic force one might say, of communication, of the miracle of shared life and shared experience is spontaneously felt, the hardness and crudeness of contemporary life will be bathed in the light that never was on land or sea."
In some cases, corporate groups have posed as small business owners besieged by rising crime rates.
U.S. President Donald Trump's military occupation of Washington, D.C. has been egged on for months by corporate lobbyists. In some cases, they have posed as small business owners besieged by rising crime rates.
According to a report Tuesday in The Lever:
Last February, the American Investment Council, private equity's $24 million lobbying shop, penned a letter to D.C. city leaders demanding "immediate action" to address an "alarming increase" in crime.
That letter was published as an exclusive by Axios with the headline: "Downtown D.C. Business Leaders Demand Crime Solutions."
But far from a group of beleaguered mom-and-pops, the letter's signatories "included some of the biggest trade groups on K Street," The Lever observed:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which boasts its status as the largest business organization in the world; the National Retail Federation, a powerful retail alliance representing giants like Walmart and Target; and Airlines for America, which represents the major U.S. airlines, among others. These lobbying juggernauts spend tens of millions of dollars every year lobbying federal lawmakers to get their way in Washington."
It was one of many efforts by right-wing groups to agitate for a more fearsome police crackdown in the city and oppose criminal justice reforms.
On multiple occasions, business groups and police unions have helped to thwart efforts by the D.C. city council to rewrite the city's criminal code, which has not been updated in over a century, to eliminate many mandatory minimum sentences and reduce sentences for some nonviolent offenses.
The reforms were vetoed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2023. After the veto was overridden by the city council, Democrats helped Republicans pass a law squashing the reforms, which was signed by then-President Joe Biden.
In 2024, groups like the Chamber of Commerce pushed the "Secure D.C." bill in the city council, which expanded pre-trial detention, weakened restrictions on chokeholds, and limited public access to police disciplinary records.
At the time, business groups lauded these changes as necessary to fight the post-pandemic crime spike D.C. was experiencing.
But crime rates in D.C. have fallen precipitously, to a 30-year low over the course of 2024. As a press release from the U.S. attorney's office released on January 3, 2025 stated: "homicides are down 32%; robberies are down 39%; armed carjackings are down 53%; assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27% when compared with 2023 levels."
Nevertheless, as Trump sends federal troops into D.C., many in the corporate world are still cheering.
In a statement Monday, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce described itself as a "strong supporter" of the Home Rule Act, which Trump used to enact his federal crackdown.
The Washington Business Journal quoted multiple consultancy executives—including Yaman Coskum, who exclaimed that "It is about time somebody did something to make D.C. great again," and Kirk McLaren who said, "If local leaders won't protect residents and businesses, let's see if the federal government will step in and do what's necessary to create a safe and prosperous city."
Despite crime also being on the decline in every other city he has singled out—Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland, New York, and Chicago—Trump has said his deployment of federal troops "will go further."
"California will now draw new, more 'beautiful maps,'" wrote Newsom's press office in a Trump-style social media post.
The office of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday night revealed that the governor was going ahead with plans to redraw California's congressional map with the goal of counteracting Republicans' planned mid-decade gerrymander in Texas.
In a post on X, Newsom's press office made the announcement while openly parodying the social media posting style of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, 'MISSED' THE DEADLINE!!!" the post began. "CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,' THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!). BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM—YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR—THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR 'MAGA.' THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"
The announcement came less than two days after Newsom sent a letter to Trump warning the president that he was "playing with fire" by pushing Texas to draw a new map that independent analysts have estimated could net Republicans five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
At the time, Newsom also left open the possibility of backing off his threat to redraw California's map if Texas did likewise.
"If you will not stand down I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states," Newsom said. "But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it."
Newsom then informed Trump that he had until late Tuesday to respond to his letter before the California governor took action.
Before redrawing California's map, however, Newsom would have to undo his state's current redistricting process through a special ballot initiative this fall, as for years California's districts have been determined by an independent commission.
As the gerrymandering wars have escalated, pro-democracy watchdog Common Cause this week unveiled a new set of standards for any redistricting effort that includes measures such as using independent commissions and avoiding racial discrimination aimed at reducing the political power of minorities throughout the country.
"Bureau of Labor Statistics data is what determines the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits," said Rep. John Larson. "It should alarm everyone when a yes-man determined to end Social Security is installed in this position."
U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to replace the top labor statistics official he fired earlier this month has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" that needs to be "sunset," comments that critics said further disqualify the nominee for the key government role.
During a December 2024 radio interview, Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni said it is a "mathematical fiction" that Social Security "can go on forever" and called for "some kind of transition program where unfortunately you'll need a generation of people who pay Social Security taxes, but never actually receive any of those benefits."
"That's the price to pay for unwinding a Ponzi scheme that was foisted on the American people by the Democrats in the 1930s," Antoni continued. "You're not going to be able to sustain a Ponzi scheme like Social Security. Eventually, you need to sunset the program."
Trump's choice for the Commissioner of the Bureau Labor Statistics called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" in an interview:
" What you need to do is have some kind of transition program where unfortunately you'll need a generation of people who pay Social Security taxes, but… pic.twitter.com/MXL7k1C644
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) August 12, 2025
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), one of Social Security's most vocal defenders in Congress, said Antoni's position on the program matters because "Bureau of Labor Statistics data is what determines the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits."
"It should alarm everyone when a yes-man determined to end Social Security is installed in this position," Larson said in a statement. "I call on every Senate Republican to stand with Democrats and reject this extreme nominee—before our seniors are denied the benefits they earned through a lifetime of hard work."
Trump announced Antoni's nomination to serve as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) less than two weeks after the president fired the agency's former head, Erika McEntarfer, following the release of abysmal jobs figures. The firing sparked concerns that future BLS data will be manipulated to suit Trump's political interests.
Antoni was a contributor to the far-right Project 2025 agenda that the Trump administration appears to have drawn from repeatedly this year, and his position on Social Security echoes that of far-right billionaire Elon Musk, who has also falsely characterized the program as a Ponzi scheme.
During his time in the Trump administration, Musk spearheaded an assault on the Social Security Administration that continues in the present, causing widespread chaos at the agency and increasing wait times for beneficiaries.
"President Trump fired the commissioner of Labor Statistics to cover up a weak jobs report—and now he is replacing her with a Project 2025 lackey who wants to shut down Social Security," said Larson. "E.J. Antoni agrees with Elon Musk that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and said that middle-class seniors would be better off if it was eliminated."