The Democrats debate health care
I still haven’t watched the whole thing, but I think last night’s was probably the most contentious debate so far of the Democratic presidential race. I plan to write separately about foreign policy, which seems in any case to have ...
Read MoreWhat to do About the Supreme Court
The current Supreme Court has 5-4 right-wing majority that would not have come about had it not been for the theft of a Court seat that President Obama should have been able to fill. Recall that Mitch McConnell refused to ...
Read MoreThe Mythology of Centrism
Paul Krugman’s op.eds. vary in quality–from very good to excellent. Today’s is pretty close to excellent. Krugman excoriates centrists who refuse to acknowledge the ideological asymmetry of our two-party system. Clinging to the ideal of bi-partisanship, they cannot come to ...
Read MoreThe Hunter Biden pseudo-scandal
Just a short post today to pass this along, since I haven’t seen anyone else boil the relevant facts down so well. The bottom line: if anyone tells you that somehow, the Bidens are also culpable in Ukrainegate, you can ...
Read MoreImpeachment: The Process Begins
So, the dithering is over: Democrats will formally investigate the possibility of impeaching the president. I’ve believed for a long time that impeachment was morally necessary, but politically risky. I still believe it: a solid majority of Americans even at ...
Read MoreBye bye Bolton
In my search for silver linings following the 2016 election disaster, I observed that Trump during the campaign had made a case for a more restrained, less interventionist foreign policy. He hasn’t consistently followed through, but his basic instinct is ...
Read MoreCynicism, Populism and American Politics
There’s too much cynicism in American politics, and populist politicians are exacerbating the problem. That’s the opinion of NY Times op-ed contributor Greg Weiner. Claims that the American political system is rigged (Elizabeth Warren) or corrupt (Bernie Sanders) or a swamp in ...
Read MoreShort Takes
Two reading recommendations for those who are interested: More on the spectre of ’72—New York Magazine’s Ed Kilgore has done a fine piece that covers much of what I wrote in my own post on the subject, but a lot ...
Read MoreThat Bipartisan Consensus: An Added Note
I can’t help it: when a widely read pundit writes a column saying pretty much the same as what I have just said, I must point it out. Here is Peter Beinart, who might well have read my post of ...
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