Tyranny’s ground zero. (Flickr/Tumblingrun) Many years ago, when I was a fresh-faced lad eager to get my start in the political world, I worked on the presidential campaign of a certain recently-retired Iowa senator. While I was stationed in the frozen barrens of northern New Hampshire and thus didn’t get to experience the Iowa caucuses […]
Paul Waldman
Paul Waldman is a weekly columnist and senior writer for The American Prospect. He also writes for the Plum Line blog at The Washington Post and The Week and is the author of Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Is the Outcome of the GOP Primaries Completely Predictable?
View image | gettyimages.com The 2016 Republican primary will be novel in a number of ways, but is the outcome also predictable? And if so, what does that say about all the attention we lavish on the campaign? I’m going to have a column in The Week either later today or tomorrow on this topic, […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Photo of the Day, Election Fever Edition
View image | gettyimages.com Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog, who hopes to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu, captured in a totally natural and not-at-all-awkward moment as he casts his ballot in today’s election. My favorite part is the security guy on the right-Israeli security guys all look the same, you can spot them from a mile away-thinking […]
Posted inAmerica and the World
Chartsplosion: Defense Spending
Republicans are gearing up for a new push to increase military spending, one that will be justified on the basis that America’s military has been “hollowed out,” what with us spending a mere half-trillion dollars a year on wars and preparing for wars. Is there any truth to that argument? To help answer that question, […]
Posted inPaul Waldman
Photo of the Day, Not-Dead Strongman Edition
View image | gettyimages.com Vladimir Putin-or, if you’re of a certain bent, the actor portraying him-attempts a smile at his meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, the first time the Russian leader had been seen in many days.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
A Brief Note On Hillary Clinton’s ‘Ambition’
View image | gettyimages.com It would be hard for anyone to argue that male and female political candidates don’t get treated differently. While sometimes this can work to women’s advantage-they’re assumed to be compassionate and caring, even if they aren’t-most of the time the result is that women are asked questions a male candidate would […]
Posted inAmerica and the World
Are You Ready for War With Iran? Here’s How It Could Happen
If 2016 lands a Republican in the White House, with a Republican Congress behind him, the war will be all but begun.
Posted inAmerica and the World
The Neocons Strike Back
Flickr/Gage Skidmore It’s been a while, so you may have forgotten just what a great time it was for the national security hawks widely known as neoconservatives back in 2002 and 2003. With the memory of September 11 still fresh and Republicans controlling the White House and Congress, there was little to stand in the […]
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
Would You Hold a Funeral For a Machine?
I’m sorry, son, but XK-421 went to go live on a farm upstate. (Flickr/Ian Kennedy) This may be my favorite story of the week. You might remember Aibo, a robot dog that Sony introduced in 1999. It was one of those things that seems most interesting as a preview of what technology will eventually become, […]
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
The Poison in Which Conservatives Marinate
Flickr/Gage Skidmore If you look at poll results saying that most Republicans think Barack Obama is a Kenyan Muslim enacting a secret plan to destroy America and think, “What the hell is wrong with these people?”, you have to understand that it gets reinforced day after day after day by media sources they believe to […]
