Poor Prime Minister May. She has not been able to get her Conservative Party to agree on a Brexit formula, members of the cabinet are deserting her left and right (mostly right), and now she gets sucker-punched by Donald Trump. May, braving broad hostility to Trump throughout Britain, went out of her way to host […]
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Germany a “Captive of Russia”? How About America a Captive of Texas?
Germany, President Trump charged yesterday at the NATO summit, is “a captive of Russia.” He was referencing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which, when completed, will enable Germany to get much of its natural gas from Russia. By any other criteria, Germany might be said to be less of a Russian captive than Trump himself, […]
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Questions for Kavanaugh
From what we’re now learning about Brett Kavanaugh, it’s clear he thinks indicting a sitting conservative president would be a disaster. Whether he feels that way about a sitting liberal pope—in this case, Francis—isn’t so clear. President Trump’s pick to succeed Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court has written a great deal about how our […]
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As Ohio Goes
Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Ohio by more than 450,000 votes in 2016. Yet Ohio could well lead the blue wave in 2018. Senator Sherrod Brown, a progressive who was once a key target of Republicans, is up by 13 to 17 points in his re-election campaign, depending on which poll you follow. Former […]
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Kielbasa Republic
Question for today: What exactly is the difference between the way Poland’s autocratic rulers have disabled its Supreme Court and the way the Republicans have taken over the U.S. courts? Poland, where the governing party has an absolute majority in parliament, is in trouble with the leaders of the European Union and many of its […]
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Adding Insult (More Precisely, Discomfort and Anger) to Injury
Airline passengers, abandon all hope. On Tuesday, Donald Trump’s Federal Aviation Administration decreedthat it would do nothing about the relentless shrinkage of airplane seats and legroom. Rejecting a plea from Flyers’ Rights (a passengers’ organization) and a judge’s order that it reconsider its position, the FAA said that such concerns as passenger comfort were none […]
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How Big Business and Big Banks Are Using Their Tax Windfalls
In the topsy-turvy world of the past few weeks, it’s comforting to know that some things haven’t changed. Economic inequality, for instance, continues to surge. Recent data make clear what any sentient observer could have predicted a year ago: The benefits of the Trump tax cut have gone chiefly to major shareholders, with little to […]
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A Big Thank You to Our Readers
Our spring solvency drive set a goal of $50,000, and our readers came through with a total of $57,960. Thanks so much to all. The week’s events make clear that the Prospect’s voice is needed more than ever. The November election—and more fundamentally the survival of our republic—will come down to a contest of energy […]
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How Democrats Should Fight the Battle for the Court
Mitch McConnell has said he’ll bring President Trump’s nominee to succeed Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court to the Senate floor before the midterm elections. There’s really nothing Democrats can do to prevent that, and they don’t have the votes to block confirmation. On a straight party-line vote, assuming John McCain is absent, Trump’s nominee […]
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The Court: First Muslims, Now Public Employees
The Supreme Court has ruled, 5-4, in the Janus case that public-sector unions may not collect “fair-share” fees from workers who benefit from union contracts but choose not to join the union as dues-paying members. This in effect extends “right to work” principles to the entire public sector, the largest source of union growth in […]
