Editor's note

By all accounts Mitch McConnell intends to call a vote in the Senate Tuesday on legislation to repeal or replace Obamacare although it is unclear which version of the bill will be put forward. What does seem clear is that the chances of any bill passing are slim. Inviting failure in this way may seem bizarre, but political scientist Andrea Hatcher says that McConnell’s actions make sense if you consider the many constituencies the Senate Majority Leader must serve.

In Venezuela, embattled president Nicolas Maduro has definitively scheduled a vote for July 30 to elect members to a National Constituent Assembly that will re-write the constitution. This is despite objections from the regime’s opposition and governments across Latin America. As Laura Gamboa and Raul Urribarri argue, this move is evidence that Maduro is acting against the will of the people to advance his authoritarian grip on power.

We learn from an early age that some jobs are “for men,” such as firefighting, while others like nursing are “women’s work.” New research by Sarah Thebaud of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and McGill’s Laura Doering shows how this happens and why women aren’t the only ones affected.

Emily Costello

Senior Editor, Politics + Society

Top story

Mitch McConnell has a majority in the Senate – but his mission to push President Trump’s legislative agenda has been far from easy. Reuters/Carlos Barria

Mitch McConnell, the president's man in the Senate

Andrea Hatcher, Sewanee: The University of the South

Why would McConnell push a vote to repeal Obamacare when he knows it won't pass? It's not as crazy as it sounds.

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Today’s quote

Over the past 35 years I have served on numerous federal scientific advisory panels. In my view, the history of past purges shows that stacking the deck with like-minded advocates is self-defeating.

  Donald Boesch