National Democrats began the year viewing Ohio as a red state—but this year, it’s clearly purple.
John Russo
John Russo is a visiting scholar at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University and co-author of Steeltown U.S.A.: Work and Memory in Youngstown. He is the co-editor of the blog Working-Class Perspectives.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Ohio: Another Brick in the Red Wall?
Lacking Sherrod Brown’s secret (progressive populist) sauce, Ohio Democrats will likely keep on losing.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Is There Hope for a Blue Ripple (not Wave) in Ohio?
Democrats need to do like Sherrod Brown and promote a progressive populism.
Posted inWorking in America
Jobless Due to Trade? Robots? AI? Why America Needs ‘Just Transitions’
Instead of Band-Aids and nostrums, Democrats need to embrace policies like full employment to win back the support of workers.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Have Ohio Democrats Learned Anything About the Working Class?
But for Sherrod Brown, recent state Democratic candidates no longer know how to appeal to them.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Everybody Knows About Alabama
Doug Jones’s victory and a new play drawing on Nina Simone’s songs illustrate the opportunities and challenges we face in 2018.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Youngstown, Economic Nationalism, and the Half-Life of Deindustrialization
The closure of an Ohio steel mill sent thousands into low-wage jobs and kicked off a politics of resentment that powers left- and right-wing populist movements today.
Posted inEconomic Policy
He’s Back! Trump Returns to Youngstown
And despite his campaign promises, this onetime powerhouse of industrial America is still beleaguered—and could lose lots of jobs if Obamacare is repealed or replaced.
Posted inWorking in America
The Pittsburgh Conundrum
Can you have a model city in a left-behind region?
Posted inHousing and Transportation
Factory Towns to Trump: Don’t Defend Yourself by Invoking Us!
Pittsburgh and Youngstown push back against the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.