… Simply put, Trump’s candidacy taps into a deep, visceral fear among many that America’s best days are behind it. That the land of freedom, baseball and apple pie is no longer recognizable ; and that ‘the other’—sometimes the immigrant, sometimes the Non-American , and almost always the nonwhite—is to […] Read more »
How Did the Democrats Become Favorites of the Rich?
… The gulf between the two parties on socially fraught issues like abortion, immigration, same-sex marriage and voting rights remains vast. On economic issues, however, the Democratic Party has inched closer to the policy positions of conservatives, stepping back from championing the needs of working men and women, of the […] Read more »
Democrats Find That Anti-Establishment Isn’t Just a G.O.P. Theme
Anger at the political establishment has overtaken the Republican presidential race, embodied in the candidacy of Donald J. Trump. But it is also coursing through the Democratic electorate, fueling the popularity of Bernie Sanders, inspiring liberal challenges to party-backed congressional candidates and spurring activism on causes from the minimum wage […] Read more »
Donald Trump Is Not Going Anywhere
… I had always equated populism with economic uprisings by the disenfranchised against the privileged. Trump, who grew up in Queens as a son of a wealthy real estate developer, promotes his astronomical wealth, elite academic credentials and ‘‘good genes’’ (‘‘my uncle was a professor at M.I.T., he was the […] Read more »
Hurricane Trump
… However long Donald Trump lasts, the forces that prompted his ascent may be more politically consequential than a mere outburst of discontent from Americans in the early stage of a presidential election would suggest. Trump’s improbable success so far may have the potential to shift politics and the policy […] Read more »
Republican incumbents beware: There’s something happening here, What it is ain’t exactly clear
In times of political turmoil, it’s always good to be able to reach back to the 1960s for some Buffalo Springfield lyrics, and this is political turmoil. Both parties are seeing the conventional wisdom of their nomination fight (Republicans) and nomination coronation (Democrats) turned upside down, not so much by […] Read more »