It’s not just how many take part in politics; it’s who. Inequality is more pronounced in America than in other democracies, and it’s growing.
Money, Politics, and Power
Below the Beltway: New Labor, New Democrats — New Alliance?
Washington, D.C. On April 27, Al From, the president of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), and Will Marshall, the president of the DLC’s Progressive Policy Institute, had lunch with John Swee ney, the president, and Steve Rosenthal, the political director, of the AFL-CIO. These four people had met but had never talked amicably or seriously […]
The Mythology of Centrism
Pundits have misinterpreted Tony Blair’s and Bill Clinton’s victories as centrism triumphant. But voters chose leaders committed to stopping Thatcherism and Reaganism and restoring broad prosperity.
El Governador
Is Hispanic support for George W. Bush a genuine political phenomenon—or a case of targeted campaign spending run riot?
George W.’s Compassion
George W. Bush can cut taxes and speak Spanish, too. But is compassionate conservatism anything more than Gingrichism with a human face?
The Broken Engine of Progressive Politics
The gears of the American change machine — presidents, parties, and social movements — no longer work together. A new view of America’s major political transformations, from Jefferson and Jackson down to the current disarray of progressive forces.
Where Have You Gone, Nelson Rockefeller?
Impeachment may have hurt conservatives, but it also revealed just how weak GOP moderates are. The plight of northern Republicans isn’t just temporary; it’s structural.
Clinton’s Bequest
Budget balance may turn out to be an unexpected boon to liberals; so far it has helped deliver full employment and a Social Security rescue, and has left Republicans looking economically self-serving and fiscally inept. Now can liberals build on Clinton’s clean slate?
Hearings Loss
It has been a long time since congressional hearings investigated real corporate and government abuses or serious social problems. But since 1994, the situation has gotten far worse: the oversight machinery is used for partisan purposes or simply left to rot.
Of Our Time: Constraining Capital, Liberating Politics
If, as widely predicted, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) wins the German election in September, there will be center-left governments simultaneously in every major European nation for the first time in history — in London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin. Of the 15 nations of the European Union, no fewer than 13 will be governed by […]

