The path back to power for the Democratic Party today, as it was in the 1990s, is unquestionably to move to the center and reject the siren calls of the left, whose policies and ideas have weakened the party. CONT. Mark Penn & Andrew Stein, New York Times Read more »
How accelerating change is deepening our political divisions
This column takes its name from its intention: it aims to explore the fault lines in American society and politics. It is not designed to illuminate politics from the inside out, with tales of backroom maneuvering. Instead its goal is to track American politics from the outside in. It aspires […] Read more »
Hated by the Right. Mocked by the Left. Who Wants to Be ‘Liberal’ Anymore?
‘‘Liberal’’ has long been a dirty word to the American political right. It may be shortened, in the parlance of the Limbaugh Belt, to ‘‘libs,’’ or expanded to the offensive portmanteau ‘‘libtards.’’ But its target is always clear. For the people who use these epithets, liberals are, basically, everyone who […] Read more »
Trump Can’t Reverse the Decline of White Christian America
Down the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign, one of Donald Trump’s most consistent talking points was a claim that America’s changing demographics and culture had brought the country to a precipice. He repeatedly cast himself as the last chance for Republicans and conservative white Christians to step back […] Read more »
California’s Far North Deplores ‘Tyranny’ of the Urban Majority
… From Hollywood to Silicon Valley, California projects an image as an economically thriving, politically liberal, sun-kissed El Dorado. It is a multiethnic experiment with a rising population, where the percentage of whites has fallen to 38 percent. California’s Great Red North is the opposite, a vast, rural, mountainous tract […] Read more »
This is why so many Republicans are ready to ignore public opinion on health care
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and the GOP leadership are scrambling this week to corral 50 out of 52 Republican votes for an historically unpopular health-care bill. Why did so many House Republicans already vote for a bill that large majorities in every state detest? And why are their […] Read more »