If Republicans fear another four (or eight years) of Executive Branch banishment at the hands of Hillary Clinton, they're downright panicked at the idea of President Sanders.
A Tree Named Sanders Fell on 2016, So Why Don’t Republicans Hear It?
The Future of the GOP: Proudly Unstudied Scott Walker Revels in Iran Ignorance
A complete and total lack of experience, intellectual curiosity or insight didn't stop Scott Walker from criticizing President Obama's Iran deal
Insanity Defined: Why the Interminable GOP Primary Season is a Win for the Left
The experience of the 2016 voter is already a battered one, abused by the rhetorical swill of 14 official candidates representing the GOP
What Spain’s Populist, Gender-Neutral Mayoral Shift Could Mean for America in 2016
Last weekend, the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona put the official celebratory touches on a revolutionary transition that occurred during May's municipal elections. In Madrid, 71 year-old retired judge Manuela Carmena's supporters leveraged a bit of the Obama slogan magic ("Yes We Can!") in a jubilant mayoral oath of office ceremony that promised real populist change for the third largest city in the European Union.
Yale Instructor David Brooks Says “Campus Crusaders” Are Moral Zealots, Anti-Free Speech
In a post-9/11 world, self-styled “moderate” conservative and New York Times Op-Ed columnist David Brooks has carved out a cottage industry conflating morality with anti-liberal politics. To be fair to Brooks, this has been a good business opportunity afforded by the “Do as I say, not as I do” public hypocrisy of the modern conservative movement and its 24/7 mouthpiece, Fox News.
What Great Recession? Wall Street Remains Unoccupied By Ethics
Nearly seven years after the American economy foundered under the worst global recession since World War II, it seems nothing much has changed with regard to the behavior of those that brought us collectively to the brink.
Stand Your Ground Is Unsound: The Data Speaks
There's nothing "well regulated" about an angry white mob of uncoordinated, often untrained, sometimes criminally convicted civilians off firing away at the "other."
Dark Red Oklahoma Angers Big Oil And Gas: Energy Practices Causing State’s Earthquakes
As the nation commemorates Earth Day 2015 this week with a variety of observances, activities and awareness campaigns, it's the perfect time to renew calls for bipartisan cooperation to address climate change.
Even His Home State of New Jersey Believes Chris Christie Should Not Be President
Although Capitol Hill talking heads are prone to over speculation, it seems conventional wisdom may have gotten it right in early 2014 in declaring Christie's White House run over before it started.
Rahm Vs. Chuy: How Emanuel’s Divisive Racial Politics Could Clear A Path To Mayoral Victory
It would be a real shame if Emanuel, one of the key architects in tilting Chicago's economy toward the vested interests of the white one percent, ironically profits from his own machinations with a rubber stamp from Chicago's black community.
Ted Cruz Is Unelectable, So Why Is He Running For President?
That gnawing, aching need for limelight, even more so than Cruz's disingenuous flouting of science in exchange for base adoration, is what makes him unfit to lead.
No Schock Here: Scandal Plagued Republican Congressman Resigns in Ignominy
The most unfortunate (current) blight on Illinois politics this side of one-percent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has finally come to an end. Multiple sources have confirmed that scandal-ridden Prairie State Representative Aaron Schock of the 18th District had finally shown himself the door.
Two Years After SCOTUS Gutting, GOP Rep Insists Congress Is Ready To Amend Voting Rights Act
It should be no surprise by this time, but whenever present-day Republicans point a finger and cry "foul," you can be reasonably sure the crime is an inside job.
Can State Governments And National Agencies Run Like Corporations? Maybe
Let's look at two different test cases of the GOP's "private flight is right" hypothesis: newly sworn-in Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, and the evolution of Veterans Affairs under Secretary Robert A. McDonald.
Marked Ebola Retreat In West Africa A Victory For Public Health – And Democracy
Congratulations are in order to every civic leader, health professional (many of them American) and citizen who has worked to eradicate the threat of Ebola from the daily lives of people in Liberia, Sierre Leone and Guinea.
SCOTUS, Interrupted: Wolf PAC Takes Citizens United Repeal To The States
Enter Wolf PAC. A grassroots effort spawned by the enormously popular Young Turk Network, Wolf's mission is boldly simple. Per the group's website, "We must reverse Citizens United, Restore our Democracy, and Save the Republic."
Partisan IRS Budget Cuts Create Pointless Tax Season Headaches
If there's one bargaining tactic Congressional Republican lawmakers have perfected since President Obama took the oath of office in January 2009, it's trying to cut off America's nose to spite its face.
Two Year-Old Walmart Shooter A Year-End Scream for Gun Law Reform
It’s the end of an eventful year and the beginning of a new one. I had visions of a fresh start as I sat down to write my final political words of 2014. I’ve had a lot to say about American gun culture over the past 12 months and figured it might be refreshing to explore a different issue. But as I perused The New York Times and came across the headline, Woman at Walmart Is Accidentally Shot Dead by 2-Year-Old Son, I was reminded that it’s nearly impossible to forget about guns in this country for any length of time.
Republican Warhawks And Arms Lobby Unite To Undermine US On World Stage
President Obama has been clear in his advocacy of sensible gun reform at home, as well as balanced global demilitarization. Shamefully, the President has been totally lacking in Congressional partners who want to make the world's streets safer with him.
113th Congress Produces 22% of “Do-Nothing” 1947-1948 Counterpart
Similar to overpaid NFL "star" Jay Cutler's reign of terror as the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, the best thing we can say about the 113th session of Congress is that it's over.
Why Ferguson Is Also, And Again, About Guns
What's happening in Ferguson, and rattling the cages of strained municipalities throughout the country, is, of course, about our complicated and corrosive attitudes about race. And yes, always and forever when it comes to public safety and the senseless loss of life on American streets, it's about guns.
Get Covered Illinois Uses Humor To Upend Republican Obamacare Lies
The timing seems like it couldn't be better for this clever ad from Get Covered Illinois, the Land of Lincoln's health insurance marketplace. It targets the under 30-somethings using a healthy dose of realistic fear, mitigated with humor.
Uh Oh! Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Meeting Spells Trouble For GOP Energy Platform
Pundits and lay people alike seem to agree that while we shouldn't expect an overnight turnaround in global energy policy, the oil and coal syndicate which controls the Republican party, and to a great extent, the conversation about America's non-approach to climate change, is on notice.
Democratic Governor Pat Quinn’s Loss The Headline For A Rough Election Night In Illinois
Nine hour voting lines in my hometown city of Chicago wasn't the only unfortunate news coming out of the Land of Lincoln this morning. For the first time since 1998, with 99 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Illinois has a Republican Governor.
A Week Before Midterms, GOP Devastated By The Fact That The Affordable Care Act’s Working
This week The New York Times published an assortment of answers to the question, "Is the Affordable Care Act Working?" If readers are able to get past the meaningless non-reporting of the piece's opening summary, there is plenty of good news to be found.
New York City’s Municipal ID Program Offers Model For Circumventing Immigration Inertia
Let's be grateful to New York City for keeping this mess in the headlines, for trying to find real ways to work around the inertia on Capitol Hill to bring people together, even if it takes a little self-interested carrot dangling. That's the American way!
Who’s Responsible For The Media’s Ebola Malpractice? We Are
The Ebola crisis in West Africa is a deadly serious threat. But for many reasonable, concerned Americans it's become difficult to separate the reality of the devastation occurring on that continent, from the overblown media and political hysteria that's dominating our national news cycle.
The Congressional Budget Office Vs. Paul Ryan: Will the Nonpartisan Entity Stand Its Ground?
There are very few nonpartisan, unbiased institutions left to us. But we always have the Congressional Budget Office. Or do we?
In Stunning Display Of Myopia, Ross Douthat Wonders Where The ‘Frightening Fringe Groups’ Are
At the end of a recent Sunday Review Op-Ed entitled, "The Cult Deficit," I found myself annoyed by some of Douthat's bland, unquantifiable assertions about the state of religious pedagogy.
No Time Like The Present: Why Historical Midterm Voting Patterns Could Mean A November Upset
Midterms tend to be viewed, both individually and in the eyes of media pundits, as a referendum on the sitting President. But other writers and thinkers offer a deeper psychological assessment of these elections
With Three Sentences, Gail Collins Nails Republican/Democratic Foreign Policy Divide
After a several month hiatus, September heralds the return of The Conversation, The New York Times debate series featuring regular columnists David Brooks and Gail Collins. While the banter is often playful, the ideological divisions of the two pundits are serious and stark.
What the 1980s Toy Industry Teaches the 2014 Gun Lobby
If rules and regulations pertaining to the manufacture, sale and usage of toys can evolve in response to a threat to children, why as we so dangerously and resolutely opposed to following suit with guns?
Michael Bloomberg Picks Up James Brady’s Legacy Where Republicans Abandoned It
In this season of discontent, we lost a legend in the crusade for sensible gun reform. James S. Brady, the former White House press secretary for Ronald Reagan, died earlier this month, more than 30 years after being wounded in an assassination attempt on the President in Washington D.C.
We’ve Tolerated ‘Too Big to Fail’ for Far Too Long
With international disasters and foreign policy imbroglios everywhere you turn, it's easy to forget that we have numerous domestic issues with which we still must contend.
Republican Ideology Has Its Worst Week Ever
Though you'd never guess by listening to its representatives speak, it was a terrible week for modern Republican ideology.
CNN’s Republican Personalities Try to Have it Both Ways with Chicago’s Gun Violence
It's been all over the news this week, as well it ought to be. A warm and festive 4th of July weekend in the Windy City was utterly marred by extreme gun violence. CNN's Republicans tried to decry the violence while ignoring gun control.
Rand Paul and Charles Blow Make Strange Partners in Voting Rights Advocacy
Two men from opposing sides of the political spectrum, with different experiences of America, utilizing two divergent forums, arrive at the same conclusion: disenfranchising voters is harmful to our struggling democracy.
Republicans Don’t Actually Need Electoral Opponents in 2014 as They Wage Public Civil War
If midterm election years have a reputation for being tepid and boring, a typically alienating cycle where the opposition party stokes its base with a referendum on the sitting President, 2014 is bucking the script.
Thomas B. Edsall Gives Voice to Rare Breed: GOP Defectors
For years now, we've watched the Republican Party degrade from a once viable conservative response to liberal philosophy, into an apocalyptic crazy town where thinking and humanity go to die.
Newt Gingrich and The Heritage Foundation Team Up to Fail in School Lunch Debate
Gingrich added another vignette to the story of his long, hackneyed career this week, with a truly remarkable piece of insincere sanctimony on Thursday's edition of Crossfire.
Tuesday’s Primaries Won’t Change Gender Leadership Imbalance
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I think I speak for many women in this country when I say I am sick and tired of national conversations about our bodies, our families and our pay that don't include us. And if we're to judge the prospects of equal representation by this past Tuesday's primaries, there appears to be little hope for a momentum shift come November.
Bill Nye Drops Climate Change Truth Bombs All Over CNN’s Crossfire Set
Thankfully Bill Nye is in possession of the type of feistiness that liberals (and yes, I acknowledge grief that environmental common sense has become partisan) are going to need in order to have a prayer of saving humanity.
F.C.C. On Track To Ruin Last Truly Democratic Institution: The Internet
According to multiple published reports, the Federal Communications Commission has offered a proposed set of rules that would effectively end net neutrality as we know it.
New York Times’ Ross Douthat Offers Another Weak, Factless GOP Repudiation of Inequality
Climate change. Female reproductive rights. The social safety net. Inequality. These forces, and the need to recognize them, are real. And I would caution conservatives to recall history
John Kerry: The Hardest Working Man in the Diplomacy Business
POTUS has arguably the modern era's most unflappable State Department leader by his side. There seems to be no number of hairy, potentially history changing crises that Kerry cannot attack at once.
Why Nate Silver’s Numbers Are Good News For Democrats
The electorate is morphing, growing more socially liberal in particular, at a magnificent clip. Both parties are keenly aware of that fact. And nowhere is the transition more evident than among the youth demographic.
Senator John McCain Still Can’t Accept the Country’s Rejection of Him
I'd like to travel back to last weekend when the ersatz maverick sullied my favorite morning read, the Opinion page of the New York Times.
On Issue After Issue Republicans Are Determined to Be Wrong
If there's something that's not in the national interest, it is this bizarre Putin hero-worship on the part of much of the Republican establishment.
Democrats in Unique Position of United Comfort as Republicans Grapple with 2016 Dread
The presumed front runners of late 2013 (Democrats: Hillary Clinton, Republicans: Chris Christie) have experienced a seismic shift on the right side of the political spectrum.
Did President Obama Really ‘Miss an Opportunity’ by Avoiding Sochi?
The White House's decision to let the athletes do their thing while avoiding overt support of a regime that has been a veritable thorn in America's side on so many fronts? Perfectly advisable.
Why Aren’t More Republican Politicians Following Charlie Crist’s Example?
The real question as I see it does not revolve around why Crist fled into the more inclusive arms of the Democratic Party. Rather I wonder why more Republicans of any social conscience, not to mention survival instincts, haven't done the same.
CVS Ending Sales Of Tobacco Offers Conservative Media Dual Dissembling Opportunity
The image of the big plantation tobacco farmer is inextricably linked to the Republican Party, and as long ago as 1998, GOP leadership began to understand that the inflow of lobbyist funds was not worth the long-term PR hassle.
GOP Can’t Lay Down Arms in War Against Women
It's been difficult to ignore the Republican Party's insistence, subsequent to its November 2012 shellacking at the national ballot box, that it offers modern appeal to female voters.
Polar Vortex Underscores Frozen Congressional Activity
Mother Nature is bitter and unforgiving all over. Maybe she's taking her cues from the inert members of Congress, who at the close of 2013 dared to make us consider the possibility of action.
SCOTUS Tells Arizona’s Anti-Abortion Crusaders to Suck It Up
At issue is a Grand Canyon State law, passed in 2012, that prohibits most abortions, except in medical emergencies, after 20 weeks. This past May, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, located in San Francisco, deemed the law unconstitutional.
Media Finally Pivots Away from Repetitive Deficit Scare Tactics and Notices Surging Populism
The movement away from "serious" economic butchering that only serves to enrich the wealthy and kick the troubled when they're down, no longer holds the same appeal.
Democrats Need To Rally Around the Issue of Income Inequality in America
As sick as we might all be of partisan infighting, this is a battle we need to have. This isn't a pointless test of ideological purity to source a base pleasing candidate.
A Lot of Politically Surprising Things Happened Last Week…But Has Anything Changed?
As we barreled toward the New Year last week, it seemed that each morning brought with it some genuinely surprising political news.
A Holiday Wish as the Least Productive Congress in History Wraps Up Its Year
This Congress is on pace to be the least productive in history. Let's set this overpaid, under-performing inertia against the productivity levels of the typical American worker
SCOTUS to Decide in 2014 If It Will Continue to Confer Personhood Rights on Corporations
As we approach the end of 2013, it seems that Court may decide to undertake another key case in the New Year that will provide it with an opportunity to reverse its gradual and unconscionable determination that the Bill of Rights extends to DBAs.
Have Decades of GOP Deregulation & Safety Net Gutting Made Depression the New Normal?
Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is never afraid to ask the tough questions. Though his Times blog bears the name "The Conscience of Liberal," the title is sort of an unfortunate misnomer.
Does de Blasio Victory in NYC Offer Post-Racial Blueprint for American Cities?
In recent decades (starting with the ascent of former President William J. Clinton to the White House in 1992), "true" liberals have stood by helplessly as members of both of the nation's political parties continued to drift further to the right.
Iowa Town Says No to Koch Brothers Influence on Local Elections
But while Team Koch has a virtual stranglehold on Washington Republicans, Americans for Prosperity is finding it a bit harder to ram its agenda down the throats of voters at the local level.
In Run-up to 2016, Chris Christie Finds Himself Alone in the Center Right
In evaluating Chris Christie's leadership record as the Republican Governor of New Jersey, there are plenty of reasons for the moderate or liberal voter to be concerned.
Republicans To Big Business: Guess What? We Don’t Care What You Want
The business community has finally gotten hip: you were pawns. Pawns with a lot of money. The Tea Party intends to bring you down along with the rest of us.
Are Moderate Republicans Ready to Revolt Against G.O.P. Leadership?
For every safe and cozy gerrymandered Representative, there is a swing state House member that has to worry about his or her position in 2014.
Democrats Have to Hang Tough for the Future of Government and Our Children
Republicans have to lose this one, and badly, or what type of government paradigm are we bequeathing to our youngest?
Everybody Hates Ted: The Republican Party Has Turned on Cruz
It's been a regular schadenfreude feast for Cruz's enemies, and the fact that he brought this reversal of fortune upon himself only makes the meal more delicious.
Another Week, Another Public Massacre, Another Missed Opportunity to Ban Assault Weapons
It's time for all of us, across party lines to stand together and tell our local representatives, our Governors, the U.S. Congress and the President, "enough."
Paul Krugman’s Stubborn Mastery of Facts Continues to Undermine G.O.P Policy
While the austerity team has been proven wrong time and again (there's zero examples of cutting a nation's way to prosperity.), Krugman's Keynesian philosophy has been vindicated over and over.
Republicans Stick to Their Disingenuous Script to Blame Obama for Syria Debate
Republicans are sticking to their same old script, and already making plans to blame Obama if they fail to support him on Syria.
American Women Still Have a Dream That the GOP Can’t Silence
We must not become complacent toward a powerful and dogged section of conservative leaders that seems unable to accept women as full partners in society, government and the home.
Federal Judge Finally Orders Changes to NYC’s Racially Biased Stop-and-Frisk Policy
Let this week's ruling serve as a warning to other municipal locations across the nation. Public safety concerns do not equate to free rein to harass "the other."
Obama Rattles Republicans by Slyly Tying the Housing Recovery to Immigration Reform
President Obama has adopted a sly but compelling approach in trying to shake the anti-everything Republican Congressional caucus during its August vacation.
Too Big to Wail: Shameless AIG Sues Government Over Bailout
Why on Earth would AIG be suing the government? We saved their asses! But it appears the company does have the unmitigated gall to whine about the very loose strings that came attached to the money.
Detroit’s Bankruptcy: What Small Government and Anti-Middle Class Policy Wrought
Given that fact and the stark reversal in Detroit's once glorious fortunes, there is plenty of reason to wonder if we can expect continued urban implosion if, heaven forbid, the GOP has their say.
Why U.S. Non-Interventionism in Middle East is Sound Policy (For Now)
I applaud the extreme caution exercised by President Obama. For it wasn't so many years ago that we collectively witnessed the pitfalls of presumptive intervention in the affairs of other nations.
McCain’s Attempt to Undermine Afghan Pullout Strategy Blows Up in His Face Spectacularly
John McCain's 4th of July trip to Afghanistan was really an attempt to undermine the pullout of US troops, and it has spectacularly backfired on the old war hawk.
GOP Already Grasping at 2016 Straws with References to Hillary Clinton’s Age
The party of old white men, keenly anticipating another electoral drubbing in 2016, have resorted to attacking presumed Democratic front runner Hillary Rodham Clinton on the basis of her maturity.
Paul Krugman Rightfully Calls The Fed Out for Bowing to Political Pressure
Paul Krugman has called the Fed out for bowing to political pressure when it is clear that these setbacks at the individual household level are still a long way from resolved.
It’s High Time That the GOP Faces Its Real Enemy: House Republicans
Leaders in the Senate have tried to ignore the fact that, when it comes to creating conservative momentum, the enemy lies within. The threatening calls are coming from inside the House.
The Right Gets Desperate With Claim That Obamacare Will Result In Fewer Doctors
Designed to divert attention away from the fact that health care reform is already working, the conservative media apparatus would now have us believe that a doctor shortage is the next danger.
Wayne LaPierre and NRA Directly Responsible for Ricin Letters to Gun Control Leaders
It seems to me that there's a direct correlation between the prolific, fear-inciting rhetoric of Wayne LaPierre and the NRA, and the threats against the lives of pro-gun control elected leaders.
Apparent Tea Party Resurgence is Part of Natural Death Trajectory
Comatose invalids have been known to suddenly sit up and hold a conversation. A variation of this curiosity, I would argue, is at play in the Tea Party evolution.
Joe Biden Writes Note to 7 Year-Old, Indicts Comatose Congress
Vice President Biden delivered a teaching moment via his reply to a 7 year old who wrote to him suggesting that America would be safer if bullets were made out of chocolate.
Republicans Affirm Commitment to Destroying Environment with E.P.A. Hearing Boycott
Senate Republicans cowardly refused to fulfill their duties when the boycotted a scheduled vote on the nomination of Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency,
Don’t Let the Door Hit You on The Way Out: Goodbye, April 2013
By any conceivable standard, this has been a grueling month. The term War on Terror was given new significance as it became clear that enemy combatants do not exclusively hatch their plots over there.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library Takes the Lazy Road to Rewriting History
The George W. Bush presidential library takes the laziest path imaginable towards the rewriting history of Bush's disastrous eight years in office.
Even the GOP Doesn’t Care What Rick Santorum Has to Say Anymore
Santorum predicts the collapse of the GOP if it does repent of its recent moves toward the social center, most notably on gay marriage. No one cares.
The Lessons Roger Ebert’s Life Has for the GOP
There are many ways in which Roger Ebert's philosophies serve as a blueprint for course correction that the hopelessly adrift GOP so badly requires.
Conservatives Are Still in Post-Iraq Invasion Spin Mode
It has been ten years since the invasion of Iraq , and conservatives are still trying to spin the war to the American people.
“Liberal” New York Times Serves as GOP House Budget Plan Accomplice
The supposedly liberal-leaning Grey Lady has bestowed the gift of cover for House charlatans who would like you to forget they continue to serve the same warmed over plate.
The GOP’s Mercenary Evolution on Same-Sex Marriage
What is really behind the Republican party's incremental about face on the subject of same-sex marriage? It's all about the money.
Who Needs Congress to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage?
Why is it continually viable to discuss making the economy work for business, without any concern for the people who are responsible for the flush state of a company's bottom line?
Republicans Confront the Reality That America Just Isn’t That Into Them
Former Romney top strategist, Stuart Stevens has joined a growing chorus of GOP leaders who seem to be waking up the simple unpopularity of the party platform.
Nate Silver Says Marco Rubio is as Unelectable as Mitt Romney Was
A Republican candidate of any color may still have to adopt the 2012 losing strategy in Mitt Romney.
Republicans Don’t Want You to Know That Obamacare Is Working
Republicans don't want you to know this, but Obamacare is working. The cost of healthcare is slowing, and Obamacare is reducing the deficit.
Ron Paul’s Chris Kyle Tweets Create A Huge Headache for GOP War Hawks
While Paul's flippant tweet is certainly insensitive to the victim's grieving family at best, the former congressman does make a couple of spot-on observations.
Sane GOPers Tell the Crazy Republicans to Stop Talking to Themselves
Internal criticism is running wild as sane Republicans try to take back control of their party from the crazies who hijacked it after the 2008 election.
GOP Spends Full Week Eating Crow Served Up by President Obama
It can't escape our collective liberal notice that by any standards this was a very bad week for the Republican Party and its stubbornly quaint platform.