The United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves. The […] Read more »
The anomaly of Republican unanimity
… I’m not here to defend the putative Democratic dissenters, with whom I personally disagree. But senators and House members differing with their party is neither unusual nor anomalous. Rather it is the norm. … Yet today, not one single Republican seems willing to support President Biden’s economic recovery effort. […] Read more »
Views on the Republican Party’s Priorities, Leadership, and Future
Most Republicans want former President Donald Trump to have at least some influence on the direction of the Republican Party, though fewer than half are optimistic about the party’s future. Republicans are also sour on the direction of the country, the state of politics, and the state of democracy. Overall, […] Read more »
Why America’s Most Popular Party Isn’t Getting More Done
… It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, with the Democrats relying on wishful thinking and vague threats to fulfill their biggest campaign promises. Didn’t Joe Biden win the Presidency with a 7 million vote popular majority? Didn’t Democrats win both houses of Congress? If there’s anything more unnerving and […] Read more »
Did Trump damage American democracy?
Did Trump permanently damage American democracy? This question has spawned a veritable cottage industry of hand wringing over the state of American democracy—understandably so. Never before have we had a president who schemed to overturn legitimate election results, who attacked the press and the civil servants who worked for him, […] Read more »
McConnell’s specious argument against federal voting laws
In his long, largely unprincipled pursuit of power at any price, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has proved particularly adept at inventing constitutional principles and American history from whole cloth. So it was when McConnell fabricated the claim that the Senate didn’t confirm Supreme Court nominees in presidential election […] Read more »