It is conventional wisdom that the new democratic activists of the “netroots” are strong on political tactics but don’t have much to contribute to the war of ideas. Matt Bai, writing in The New York Times Magazine, charged disparagingly that “leaders of the netroots … will tell you that Big Ideas are overrated.” This isn’t […]
Mark Schmitt
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Funny Business
What would the legendary labor leader Walter Reuther have said if 40 years ago he was told that American business was going to spend millions to register workers and encourage them to vote? He would probably have been ecstatic: “They’re spending their money to turn out my people?!” And indeed, since World War II, business […]
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JACKSON, LAMONT, NEW POLITICS.
JACKSON, LAMONT, NEW POLITICS. Mike has a point about the implications of having Al Sharpton on stage with Lamont, and in particular directly behind his shoulder, which will be the visual. Someone up there needed to say, “OK, everyone who’s not from Connecticut, to the edges, right now, and yes, that means you too, Reverend!” […]
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DEATH WITH DIGNITY.
DEATH WITH DIGNITY. I’ve been arguing for a long time that the Lieberman independent bid would fizzle, that Lieberman stood a much better chance of winning the primary than the general, and I still believe that. If I’m wrong about that, then my comment below is inoperative. But if I’m right, the question is not […]
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Putting Down Netroots
I have to take issue with my friend Scott Winship’s article making the case that “the netroots” are about ideology — lefty ideology — rather than about pragmatically building the Democratic Party. I should say, I’ve been a pretty strong advocate of the alternative view. I think the most remarkable and distinctive thing about the […]
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It Takes a Movement
If the current revival of progressive politics were the civil-rights movement, the role of Rosa Parks would be played by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Every child in America learns each February the story of how Parks one day decided that she just wasn’t going to take it any more and refused to move to the […]
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Parliament Lament
Suppose that you wanted to find a list of the 30 or 40 Republican members of Congress most vulnerable to defeat this fall (and assume that you couldn’t afford the Cook Political Report). Here’s an easy trick: Take a particularly egregious piece of legislation passed by the House, then look at the Republicans who voted […]
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The Labour Soap Opera
London is a place where Thomas Frank’s famous book bears the title What’s the Matter with America?, thus extending the indictment to the whole nation, and where a small American child is required to affirm that she hates George W. Bush before she can join English tykes on the jungle gym. Even so, the principal […]
Posted inColumns
Big Bad John
Let me begin by admitting that if fortune decrees that the next president of the United States must be another conservative Republican, I’d certainly rather it be John McCain than George Allen, Tom Tancredo, Newt Gingrich, or most of the other current right-wing heartthrobs. But have no illusions: McCain is a very conservative Republican who […]
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Big Bad John
Let me begin by admitting that if fortune decrees that the next president of the United States must be another conservative Republican, I’d certainly rather it be John McCain than George Allen, Tom Tancredo, Newt Gingrich, or most of the other current right-wing heartthrobs. But have no illusions: McCain is a very conservative Republican who […]