Opinion: Revenge of the young

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, June 9, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist Young people in the United States and Britain have something in common. They’re both living with a political reality that they don’t like. In the United States, voters under 30 [preferred]( Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump by a landslide margin. In Britain, the under-30 vote overwhelmingly rejected Brexit and wanted to remain in Europe. But now it looks like young Brits, at least, may be starting to take their revenge. In a shocking result, Britain’s Conservative Party, led by Theresa May, [failed to win]( a majority last night. It remains the largest party, yet its surprisingly poor showing leaves the country’s political situation unclear. May’s own future as the Conservative leader is in doubt, as are Brexit negotiations. [Early signs]( suggest that a surge in the turnout of younger voters — who backed Labour and its proudly leftist leader, Jeremy Corbyn — explains at least part of the surprise. If so, the potential lessons for the Democratic Party will be large. Can Democrats also translate anger among younger Americans (over Trump, rather than Brexit) into higher turnout? It would be a big deal if so, because turnout among millenials was [only 49 percent last year]( compared with 69 percent for baby boomers. Perhaps the most obvious question is whether the Democrats should adopt the same unabashed populism — the real kind, not the Trump kind — that Corbyn did. For a taste of it, you can watch this [brief campaign commercial](. My instinct is that [a bolder message]( from Democrats on the stagnation of middle-class living standards would make sense. It’s important not to exaggerate the British result. The Conservatives still won more seats than Labour. Corbyn is a [complicated]( politician, and Democrats should avoid parts of his approach. Yet last night was clearly a good night for him and the British left, and a bad one for the British right. The coming diagnosis of the surprise bears watching for the United States too. I hope you’ll pardon a longer newsletter than usual today, given the torrent of news. I want to turn to James Comey’s testimony now: Much of the reaction to it has focused on the question of whether President Trump committed obstruction of justice. That’s a mistake. President Trump doesn’t need to have committed obstruction to have done something very wrong. And if you believe Comey’s testimony, Trump did indeed do something very wrong. On multiple occasions, he tried to influence an investigation into his campaign, and he demanded “loyalty” from Comey, rather than truth and justice. I understand why people are focusing on the technical legal issues. They’re ultimately important as well. But the primary ways that a president is held accountable for his behavior are political, not legal. His poll ratings can fall, which leads his own allies to abandon him. His party can lose seats, which leaves the party with less power. Ultimately, the president himself can lose re-election if he is in his first term. Even impeachment is more of a political process than a legal one, constitutional scholars say. “There’s no *substantive* reason to argue about things like the legal standards of obstruction of justice or similar minutiae,” the political scientist [Matt Glassman tweeted](. The real question, he explained, is: “Did POTUS behave improperly, abuse his power, or attempt to political manipulate the system to hide his or others wrongdoings?” Unless Comey is shown to be unreliable — and there is every reason to trust him over Trump — the answer is yes. The Comey hearing damaged Trump’s already troubled political standing. Here are a few pieces on Comey that I found illuminating: — “I know Trump defenders will continue trying to wave it all away — it’s already becoming clear how they want to do so — but Comey keeps making it harder for them,” [Emily Bazelon]( of The Times wrote, in an exchange with Elizabeth Goitein. — “Overall, one gets the impression that the president views himself less as the president of a constitutional republic and more as the dictatorial CEO of a private company,” [David French]( of National Review wrote. — Glassman also argued that many observers are missing the importance of Republicans’ tepid support for Trump. “It’s true his party hasn’t thrown him overboard. But that’s cold comfort in a job that needs *positive* help, not just minimal tolerance,” [Glassman]( [wrote](. “Bipartisan consensus in the Senate that the word of POTUS isn’t worth anything. That’s big well beyond scandal.” — Nate Silver has noted that Trump’s approval ratings have [continued to fall]( lately. — Dan Epps, a law professor at Washington University, [explained]( how Trump’s use of “hope” could convey a threat. [Adam Liptak]( and [Victoria Kwan]( found cases in which federal courts connected a statement of “hope” to obstruction of justice. — FiveThirtyEight [analyzed]( the subjects Comey wouldn’t discuss, which Susan Glasser and Carol Leonnig [note]( are clues to where the investigation may go from here. One possibility involves Jeff Sessions, the attorney general. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including [David Brooks]( [Roger Cohen]( [Paul Krugman]( [Sara Lipton]( [Andy Rosenthal]( and the [E]( B]( on Comey day. I particularly recommend [Nicole Se]( on the link between the testimony and sexual harassment. Op-Ed Columnist [It’s Not the Crime, It’s the Culture]( By DAVID BROOKS The Trump presidency will probably not be brought down by outside forces. Instead, it will implode. Op-Ed Columnist [James Comey Moves the Pendulum]( By ROGER COHEN Trump is vulnerable. He wanted the former F.B.I. director to “lift the cloud” but it has now enveloped him. Op-Ed Columnist [Wrecking the Ship of State]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Trump shows the damage a bad president can do. Op-Ed Columnist [‘Lordy, I Hope There Are Tapes’]( By ANDREW ROSENTHAL James Comey’s statement that he hopes the president taped their conversations is a sign of how surreal American politics has become. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [G-Man Versus Con Man]( By TIMOTHY EGAN Russia’s interference is a continuing assault, as James Comey said. And yet the commander in chief refuses to defend us. Illustration by Nicolas Ortega; Photograph by Al Drago/The New York Times [Editorial]( [Mr. Comey and All the President’s Lies]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The former F.B.I. director made plain that unlike Mr. Trump, he values honesty and the Constitution above blind loyalty to a particular leader. Op-Ed Contributor [James Comey and the Predator in Chief]( By NICOLE SERRATORE Any woman hearing the former F.B.I. director’s testimony thinks of one thing: sexual harassment. Op-Ed Contributor [Comey’s Case for Obstruction of Justice]( By NORMAN EISEN AND NOAH BOOKBINDER There can no longer be any doubt that Trump should be under investigation; he probably already is. Op-Ed Contributors [James Comey’s Testimony: ‘Comey Was Playing Chess’]( By EMILY BAZELON AND ELIZABETH GOITEIN Two legal experts dissect the former F.B.I. director’s testimony. Dispatch [Women Say to Comey: Welcome to Our World]( By SUSAN CHIRA The F.B.I. director felt uncomfortable and hesitant to confront his boss. Op-Ed Contributor [Trump’s Meddlesome Priest]( By SARA LIPTON What Thomas Becket and King Henry II tell us about Comey. Loose Ends [Imagining Comey’s Texts to His Wife]( By BARI WEISS Meeting in the oval. No curtains. Feel totally exposed. ADVERTISEMENT [Op-Ed Columnist]( [Dear Paul Ryan: Listen to Planned Parenthood Patients]( By NICHOLAS KRISTOF As Paul Ryan works with President Trump to cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood, I consulted some experts — patients in his district. Editorial [Public Works, Private Benefit]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The president’s infrastructure “plan” depends on investors trying to earn a profit, an approach that cost, more than helped, taxpayers. Editorial [Kansas Rises Up Against the Trickle-Down Con Job]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The supposed magic of massive tax cuts has been disproved in the crash of Gov. Sam Brownback’s “real-life experiment.” Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Not All Attacks Are Created Equal]( By MOHAMMED HANIF If terrorists strike in London or Paris, we want human interest stories. In Baghdad or Kabul? Statistics will do. Op-Ed Contributor [The G.O.P. Plan to Unleash Wall Street]( By MIKE KONCZAL The Choice Act fulfills a wish list for the financial sector. Op-Ed Contributor [Infrastructure Is Not Just Roads and Bridges]( By ANGELA GLOVER BLACKWELL Things like clean water and broadband access can help Americans even more. Op-Ed Contributor [History Is England’s Ultimate Defense]( By TED GUP England has never forgotten the devastation of World War II. ISIS is piffle by comparison. Op-Ed Contributor [Bangladesh Puts Lady Justice in Her Place]( By K. ANIS AHMED Secularists and Islamists tussle over a statue. The government responds with a surprisingly shrewd move. Op-Ed Contributor [End the Korean War, Finally]( By JAMES DOBBINS AND JEFFREY HORNUNG A peace treaty could give the North Korean regime assurance that it won’t be attacked. The Six-Day War at 50 [The Arab Epics of 1967]( By NAEL ELTOUKHY Egyptians and other Arabs have constructed elaborate narratives to conceal the reality of what happened in the 1967 war. Op-Ed Contributor [Caste Battles Threaten India’s Grand Hindu Coalition]( By NILANJAN MUKHOPADHYAY Caste violence is threatening to jeopardize the grand Hindu nationalist coalition the Bharatiya Janata Party cobbled together. ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). Letters [James Comey’s Riveting Day Before the Nation]( Readers discuss the former F.B.I. director’s testimony, which one called “compelling, credible and damning.” SIGN UP FOR THE VIETNAM ’67 NEWSLETTER Examining America’s long war in Southeast Asia [through the course]( of a single year. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018