Tonight in Policy: RFK Jr. Blocks Health Science, Supreme Court Affirms Birthright, Pentagon Can't Find $4.65 Trillion
By TheCommonGoodParty · July 9, 2026 · Originally published on Substack
Today exposed something urgent. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—the independent panel that tells Americans what preventive care actually works—has been blocked from meeting under RFK Jr. Meanwhile, the Pentagon can't account for $4.65 trillion in assets. And on nuclear weapons, we're living with the consequences of letting one person hold the power to end civilization. Here's what happened, and why it matters to you.
RFK Jr. Blocks Health Officials From Meeting: What Science Gets Silenced When Ideology Wins
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is supposed to be independent. It reviews evidence—real clinical trials, real outcomes—and tells Americans which preventive care actually saves lives and money. It's the reason mammograms and colonoscopies are covered without a copay. It works because it's insulated from politics.
Now it's been blocked from meeting under RFK Jr. That's not a personnel move. That's blocking your access to the health information you need to make decisions about your own body. When government prevents its own scientists from gathering, someone's ideology is more important than your health.
Supreme Court Reaffirms Birthright Citizenship: A Win That Shouldn't Have Needed Fighting
Descendants of Dred Scott and Chief Justice Taney gathered at the Supreme Court yesterday to witness the justices reaffirm birthright citizenship. It's a relief. It's also a warning. One branch of government decided it could rewrite who counts as American, and it took a Supreme Court decision to stop it.
That's how fragile democracy becomes when one branch has no guardrails. The Common Good Party's whole reason for existing is Common Ground—fixing the machinery of democracy itself. Money out of politics. Real choices at the ballot. Transparency and anti-corruption with teeth. This decision shows why.
F-35 and Turkey: NATO Unity Tests as Trump Considers Readmitting an Ally Playing Both Sides
Trump is considering readmitting Turkey to the F-35 program despite Turkey's purchase of Russian air defense systems. On the surface, it's a technical question about weapons technology. Really, it's about whether NATO unity can survive when competing interests pull at it.
Turkey is caught between Russia and Israel. So is American policy. We need strength with values—not ideology that abandons our allies or abandons our principles. That's Common Security. It means defending American interests without pretending our choices don't have consequences for the people counting on us.
Pentagon's $4.65 Trillion Asset Problem: Trump Demands NATO Spending, But the U.S. Can't Account for Its Own
Trump is pushing NATO members toward 5% defense spending. That's a negotiating position. But the U.S. military can't explain what happened to $4.65 trillion in assets. You can't demand accountability from allies while your own books don't balance.
This isn't about isolationism. It's about fiscal honesty. A country that can't track its own spending can't credibly lecture allies on theirs. We need defense spending that's transparent, accountable, and actually buys what we say it buys. That's Common Security with integrity.
China's Missile Test and Nuclear Proliferation: Why Democracy Needs Guardrails When Civilization's at Stake
China just tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile. It's a reminder that nuclear proliferation keeps accelerating. And it underscores a harder truth: no single person should hold the power to end civilization.
When nuclear weapons exist, the machinery of democracy itself becomes a national security question. Congress has the power to declare war for a reason. That's not a partisan issue. That's a survival issue. Democracy with guardrails isn't weakness. It's the only way a country this dangerous stays safe.
Veterans in Congress: Character Matters, But It Won't Fix a Broken System
A former Marine argues veterans running for office can restore bipartisanship to Congress. That's a real argument. Veterans have skin in the game. They understand the cost of decision-making failures.
But character alone won't fix a system where money floods politics and one party can block the other's nominees. We need veterans in Congress. We also need to take money out of politics, restore real choices at the ballot, and make transparency actually mean something. That's Common Ground: fixing the machinery itself.
Michigan Senate Primary: Progressive Versus Moderate Misses the Real Question for Working People
Michigan Democrats are framing their primary as progressive versus moderate. That's inside-baseball. The real question is simpler: which candidate will actually fight for working people's paychecks and their healthcare?
A Common Economy means wages that keep up with prices and worker protections that actually protect. Common Health means universal access as a shared investment. These aren't ideological questions. They're practical ones. Does the candidate understand what it costs to live in Michigan right now? Will they fight for people who work there?
Planned Parenthood's Medicaid Access Restored: When Political Ideology Blocks Healthcare from Those Who Need It
After a year of Republican restrictions, Planned Parenthood clinics can again bill Medicaid for preventive care. That sounds technical. It's actually about whether politics gets to decide whether poor people can access the healthcare they need.
Planned Parenthood provides cancer screenings, contraception, and preventive care. Medicaid patients depend on it. When politicians block access for ideological reasons, people without money don't get care. That's not policy. That's using government to punish the vulnerable.
Today's pattern is clear: when ideology blocks science, when democracy has no guardrails, when government can't account for itself, regular people pay the price. That's why the Common Good Party exists.
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