… Mr. Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party has blurred the bright-line ideological distinctions that defined the right for the past eight years. Driven more by personal loyalty and a ravenous appetite to win than by any fixed political philosophy, the deal-cutting president has been received warmly by some mainstream […] Read more »
The Gorsuch Filibuster Shows The Liberal Base’s Clout
At least 41 Democratic senators have publicly committed to filibuster President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, leading to a probable showdown with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The filibuster might seem like payback for Democrats after Republicans refused to consider the nomination of then-President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, […] Read more »
Why President Trump has been very good for liberals
For the first time ever, half of Americans say they believe in climate change and that they are very concerned about it, according to Gallup. Thanks, Trump. Climate change is merely the latest issue on which the American people have moved appreciably and significantly to the left in the Trump […] Read more »
Trump Doesn’t Have A Mandate For Paul Ryan’s Agenda
There were so many reasons for the failure of the Republicans’ health care bill — and its failure was so spectacular — that it’s hard to tell which ones mattered most. … But the variety of unforced errors by Ryan, Trump and other Republicans obscures other, more fundamental problems with […] Read more »
G.O.P., Once Unified Against Obama, Struggles for Consensus Under Trump
Whenever a major conservative plan in Washington has collapsed, blame has usually been fairly easy to pin on the Republican hard-liners who insist on purity over practicality. But as Republicans sifted through the detritus of their failed effort to replace the Affordable Care Act, they were finding fault almost everywhere […] Read more »
The Two Cracks In The Republican Party
Donald Trump promised to come to Washington and get government working again. But the stunning failure of President Trump and Paul Ryan’s first legislative priority, the American Health Care Act, reveals that he underestimated a unique fracture of the modern Republican Party. Yes, moderate and very conservative Republicans were against […] Read more »