So 50 very wealthy people did everything from pay test takers to bribe coaches to fake athletic records to get their kids into college. Are we shocked—shocked? Anyone who has been paying attention knows that this scandal is just a grotesque extreme of business as usual. Rich kids get to attend better high schools, get […]
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Wanted: A Few Great Young Journalists.
Since 1997, the Prospect has sponsored what’s been called “the best starter job in journalism.” It’s called The American ProspectWriting Fellows program—and we have two openings for the fall. Fellows get to spend two years with the magazine, work closely with our editors, and publish a wide range of articles, from print feature pieces to […]
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When “Moderate” Democrat is a Euphemism for Naïve Democrat
Yet another Democrat has joined the presidential scrum: former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. And here’s what this self-described “extreme moderate” had to say when announcing his candidacy: Ultimately I’m running for president because I believe that not only can I beat Donald Trump, but that I am the person that can bring people together on […]
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Can This Party Be Saved?
Okay, Dems: In one ring of the circus we have a major internal war over Anti-Semitism. Absolute defenders of Israel-right-or-wrong will have to get used to the fact that there are legitimate criticisms to be made. And at the same time, critics of Israel need to take more care to avoid triggering stereotypes. Is that […]
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In Praise of Thinking Too Big
The censorious centrists have been berating progressives for thinking too big. Medicare for All is impractical. Taxing the rich seems too socialistic. A drastically higher minimum wage might cost some jobs. Free higher education could help some affluent kids. A Green New Deal is over the top. Basically, an ideological preference is masquerading as tactical […]
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Big Business and Null Sets in American Politics
It’s not often that polls of American public opinion turn up positions that command roughly zero percent support. They don’t ask about collective farms any more, and have dropped the minuet from their surveys of popular dances. They do, however, ask questions about the preferred positions of big business, and it may be a sign […]
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Republicans Disgrace Themselves, Yet Again
You do have to wonder what it would take for Republican members of Congress to break with Trump. Republicans were clearly exasperated by Trump’s wall obsession, which cost them dearly politically. They were not prepared to appropriate more money for the wall, either during the two years when they controlled both houses of Congress, or […]
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AIPAC Welcomes Bibi. Bibi Welcomes Israel’s KKK
Among those determined to prove the questionable assertion that Zionism is racism, we now have to add Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Which raises the question of why some pro-Israeli American organizations—AIPAC, we’re looking at you—would want to marginalize Americans’ support for Israel by inviting Netanyahu to their conferences. (Bibi is scheduled to address AIPAC’s […]
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In case you missed it, Rep. Adam Schiff channels Pastor Niemöller
In the middle of a Washington Post opinion piece the other day, Rep. Schiff, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, wrote this: To my Republican colleagues: When the president attacked the independence of the Justice Department by intervening in a case in which he is implicated, you did not speak out. When he attacked the […]
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About that North Carolina Do-Over Election
As you have probably read or heard by now, the ballot fraud in North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional district was so brazen and so toxic that even the Republicans on the state election commission felt compelled to order a new election. Think about this for a moment. For years, Republicans have been justifying voter suppression measures […]
