… The most troubling — and from our point of view the most disappointing — development of the Trump era is not the president’s own election and subsequent behavior; it is the institutional corruption, weakness and self-betrayal of the Republican Party. The party has abandoned its core commitments to constitutional […] Read more »
Democrats are right to be wary of Howard Schultz
The frenzy over businessman Howard Schultz’s announcement that he is considering an independent run for president is understandable. Democrats think President Donald Trump is headed for defeat in a one-on-one general election contest, and anything that changes that trajectory improves his re-election prospects. Unfortunately, few of the people who panicked […] Read more »
Democratic focus groups may have identified a hidden vulnerability for Trump
This is the week that the broad outlines of President Trump’s reelection strategy are coming into focus. Trump will continue pushing forward with his reactionary xenophobic nationalist agenda on immigration, while executing a massive but largely phony pivot back to the pro-worker economic populism he immediately abandoned upon taking office. […] Read more »
Only 58% of Americans oppose blackface
The roiling blackface scandal in Virginia continues. It not only includes Gov. Ralph Northam (D) but now also Attorney General Mark Herring (D), who says he dressed in blackface at a college party. The scandal has put renewed focus on how this racist depiction of African Americans has endured well […] Read more »
Trump Is Walling Off the GOP
The most misleading line in Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this week might have also been the most revealing about how he is reconfiguring the Republican Party and reshaping America’s electoral alignment. “Legal immigrants enrich our nation and strengthen our society in countless ways,” he declared at one […] Read more »
In her first month, Pelosi surges
Not long ago, Republicans chortled and Democrats ran scared when her name was mentioned. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was the GOP’s not-so-secret weapon—or so they thought. In relative terms, she was never as unpopular as they believed. More often than not, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were no better […] Read more »