Gabriel Arana

Reactions to Kevin Mattson‘s call for the left to abandon populism: It would seem to be a historian’s responsibility to make distinctions. Right-wing demagoguery is indeed unscrupulous and simple-minded. But there is no good reason to tar the left with the same brush. The original basis of left-wing populism was a frank recognition that both […]

Adam Serwer says the National Organization for Marriage threw money at D.C. races in an attempt to elect anti-marriage-equality candidates. Too bad it failed.: Last night’s primary election was the time to make good on Jackson’s threat. But in the nine months since, there’s been a lot of cash spent with little blood spilled. According […]

(AP/Jacques Brinon) French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie defends the proposed bill on burqa-style veils at the Senate, in Paris. Today, the French Parliament voted to ban burqa-style veils and impose a $195 fine on violators.

Monica Potts says that while Democrats nationwide kowtow to the anti-tax crowd, Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy shows progressive taxation can be a winning issue: In most respects, Connecticut is a progressive state; it went for Obama by 25 points, and has passed gay marriage and campaign-finance reform. But the state seems to have two […]

Paul Waldman asks whether there is really a chance the ACA will be repealed: When the ACA passed in March, many commentators — myself included — predicted that because it was now a law, support for it would naturally increase. Instead of being something abstract about which nightmare scenarios could be invented, health-care reform would […]

(AP/Ron Edmonds) September 13, 1993: President Clinton presides over ceremonies marking the signing of the peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians on the White House lawn with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, left, and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, right.

Dayo Olopade asks whether giving away money — and lots of it — is really the best way to change the world: But it is not just cash on hand that makes Gates the biggest player in the philanthropy industry. With operations spanning more than 100 countries — not to mention a robust program of […]

Ann Friedman says that even as we make progress on specific issues, the broader culture war seems to get uglier and uglier: In other words, it’s an appropriate moment to re-evaluate Andrew Sullivan‘s election thesis. Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin argued in Politico recently that Obama actually ended one culture war — the one over […]

Later last night (for us on the East Coast), a federal judge in California ruled “don’t ask, don’t tell” unconstitutional, though the court is waiting for proposals on a remedy. The gay-rights movement has had a remarkable string of court wins lately. Earlier this year, federal courts also struck down the Defense of Marriage Act […]

Nancy Scola talks to a digital-media expert Susan Crawford on net neutrality and policy responses to Internet freedom: So the system of public commenting at the FCC isn’t welcoming to anyone who isn’t a professional advocate, like the folks at Free Press? That’s right. But it’s not only that. Those public advocates are under-resourced and […]