With party rivals who seem more authentic than they are, George W. and Al G. are each reinventing themselves as the Real Thing. Before, George W.’s every move and utterance was carefully scripted in advance, tested by focus groups, polished by political consultants. See him once, he’s charming. See him a second time, he’s still […]
Robert Reich
Robert B. Reich, a co-founder of The American Prospect, is a professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, one of the books featured in the Prospect’s High School Essay Contest.
Posted inFeatures
On Thinking Bigger
I’m not offended by liberals who call for “incrementalism”doing a little bit now, seeing how it goes, hoping they can do a little more later. Small steps are sometimes prudent. If things go well, they help build the case for something larger. But it’s important to remember that incrementalism is a tactic, not a vision. […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Of Our Time: The Bankers’ Regime
Democracy has turned upside down, of late. At this writing, the nation is mesmerized by Oval Sex and related scandal. Elected representatives in Washington are talking about little else. The presidency is under siege. Cable television and talk radio savor every titillating detail. Meanwhile, the larger events now rocking the world are being addressed by […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Up From Bipartisanship
Support for center-right bipartisan government is both misleading and dangerous. It fails to address the problems of the economically stressed, gives them no reason to vote, and could render the Democrats irrelevant.
Posted inFeatures
Why the Democrats Should Cut Taxes
T he economy is slowing yet the surplus keeps growing. President-elect George W. Bush wants to use both to justify a big tax cut. How should the Democrats respond? (A) Warn once again that a big tax cut will jeopardize Social Security and that a better use for the surplus is to pay down the […]
Posted inFeatures
The Democrats’ Pet Shop
“I wish to register a complaint about the Democratic Party: It’s dead.” “No, no, it’s resting.” “Look, I know a dead party when I see one, and I’m looking at a deadparty right now. Over the past eight years, the Democrats have lost thepresidency, both houses of Congress, almost all their majorities instate legislatures, and […]
Posted inArticle
Bush is Glued to His Script
Los Angeles Times Those who expect President Bush to move to the center now that Jim Jeffords has defected from the Republicans are the same people who expected that Bush would govern from the center once in office. He didn t then and he won t now. The recent Senate inversion will slow him down, […]
Posted inArticle
Bush Will Be Feeling Tugs Right And Left
THE BITTER POST-ELECTION OF 2000 IS OVER, AND EVERY POLITICIAN IN AMERICA IS MAKING GRAND, GRACIOUS OVERTURES TO THE OTHER SIDE IN AN ORGY OF CONCILIATORY BLATHER. THEY’RE USING NICE WORDS THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC NEEDS TO AND WANTS TO HEAR. BUT ALL THIS KISSY-KISSY SWEET TALK IS SHEER BALONEY. Americans patiently waited out the […]
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What Kind of Party for the Democrats?
The New York Times The seemingly interminable Clinton scandals are not the Democrats’ biggest problem, and merely distancing themselves from Bill Clinton (or Hillary Rodham Clinton) won’t restore the party’s soul. The Democratic establishment in Washington is no longer connected to the grass roots. The national party is nothing but a fund-raising machine. Terry McAuliffe, […]
Posted inFeatures
Electoral Dysfunction
The wrong lesson to be drawn from Super Titanic Tuesday is that both Bradley and McCain were too far to the left of their respective parties. The right lesson is that there’s a large and growing party of independents and nonvoters in America that neither party’s establishment has been interested in courting. The question now […]
