David Litt

Litt, a former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, is the author of Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think and Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years.

A hand holding a letter from the Census Bureau regarding the 2020 Census, San Ramon, Calif., April 24, 2020.

Immigrants Have Always Played a Key Role in the U.S. Political Process. The Latest Ruling on Trump’s Census Plan Is Part of That History

In rejecting President Trump’s Census count order, a court reasserted one o...

In rejecting President Trump’s Census count order, a court reasserted one of America’s most enduring and least-well known democratic values

A police officer walks outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 6, 2020.

The Supreme Court Just Pointed Out the Absurdity of the Electoral College. It's Up to Us to End It

Here’s one nice thing we can now say about the Electoral College: it’s slig...

Here’s one nice thing we can now say about the Electoral College: it’s slightly less harmful to our democracy than it was just days ago. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states...

A voter fills out a registration form in San Francisco on March 3, 2020.

The Racist History of Voter Registration

Throughout American history, voter registration has never just been about k...

Throughout American history, voter registration has never just been about keeping track of voters. It has also been about keeping some of those voters from voting

Reporters raise their hands to ask President Donald Trump questions during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House on March 16, 2020, in Washington.

The Coronavirus Crisis in the U.S. Is a Failure of Democracy

It’s become commonplace to refer to COVID-19 as “the worst public health cr...

It’s become commonplace to refer to COVID-19 as “the worst public health crisis of our lifetimes.” But what has cost the United States so many lives and jobs during the pandemic is not, at root,...

thanks-obama-david-litt-book-white-house-memoir-bathrooms

What the White House Bathrooms Taught Me About Power

By a former Obama Administration speechwriter

Sean Spicer speaks at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Sean Spicer’s Emmys Appearance Rewarded His Lies With Fame

'For elites anyway, the most powerful form of resistance is social shame'