For the most part, Republicans have been far too willing to enable Trump’s personal corruption, his sellouts of the national interest for personal gain, and a broad array of impulsive and incoherent policies. But even Republicans have their limits. The big red line is still firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller. It would provoke an open […]
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L’État, C’est Moi
It is almost reassuring to learn that Trump truly believes he is above the law. Arguing that the law does not apply to the president is the essence of dictatorship. It’s good to have that claim in black and white—reaffirmed by the even more bizarre claim by Rudy Giuliani that Trump could not merely fire […]
The Unhappy (But, Let’s Hope Short) Life of the Jungle Primary
All the recent problems with California’s jungle primary were apparent from the start. As Tuesday’s California primary approaches, both parties are filled with a specifically jungle kind of dread. Democrats fear that their overflow of candidates who are seeking to turn red congressional districts blue will split the vote so many ways that Republicans—fewer of […]
The Year of the Women Necessitates Pelosi
It’s too early to proclaim this the year of the women at the polls, but it’s most certainly the year of the Democratic women candidates. According to the Cook Political Report, 65 House primary elections have been held thus far that have featured at least one Democratic woman candidate, and women have won 45 of […]
How to Screw Up Trade Policy
After Donald Trump was elected, some progressives harbored the hope that he might make a partial constructive difference on trade. At least he recognized that China’s state capitalism was predatory on the system and on American industry and jobs. At least he recognized that NAFTA hadn’t lived up to billing, and that it mattered whether […]
What do you get when you put a pipsqueak totalitarian and a wannabe authoritarian in the same room?
We may never know. The Kim-Trump Singapore Summit has been called off. To any dispassionate observer, the summit’s cancellation should come as no surprise. With John Bolton now guiding what passes for Trump’s foreign and military policy, the prospect of Trump sitting down with Kim was never any better than remote. My own pet theory […]
Richard Goodwin, 1931-2018
Richard Goodwin, who may have been the last surviving New Frontiersman, and who was actually a good deal better than that, died Sunday at 86. As a young man, Goodwin checked every meritocratic box there was to check, including valedictorian at Harvard Law, clerk to Felix Frankfurter, and congressional investigator who helped expose the rigged […]
Nebraska Voters Could Decide to Expand Medicaid
While many Republican governors have refused to expand Medicaid, some conservative-led states may have to resign themselves to letting direct democracy decide the question, thanks to the efforts of advocacy groups across the country. In Nebraska last week, advocacy group Insure the Good Life announced that it had received the number of required signatures for […]
Jeff Sessions Does Not Understand Domestic Violence
As the Trump administration half-heartedly attempts to clean up the mess that its family separation policy created, another regressive policy that alters who can seek asylum in the United States is now in effect. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a directive in mid-June that severely restricts the ability of asylum seekers to gain entry into […]
Maryland Democrats Still Split Over Gerrymandering after Supreme Court Punts
While the Texas gerrymandering decision commanded the country’s attention, the Supreme Court also dodged partisan gerrymandering questions in the Maryland case, Benisek v. Lamone. But Maryland’s anti-gerrymandering advocates weren’t surprised by the decision to send Benisek back to a lower court. Instead, voting rights advocates stayed focused on their ongoing efforts to end the democracy-eroding […]

