Working poor face an assault as COVID-19 emergency ends
04/05/2023
The official end of the COVID-19 emergency seems almost like an afterthought to most of us. But the working poor, who always face grave difficulties, are being subjected to a…
Iowa, New Hampshire and the GOP nomination
03/29/2023
Democrats expended considerable energy and effort rejiggering their presidential primary and caucus schedule, despite the fact that, assuming President Biden runs, he’ll likely have his party’s nomination sewn up long…
‘Big Government’ Republicanism
03/22/2023
Last week, Republicans denounced Ron DeSantis as he played Putin’s “useful idiot.” But disdain for fundamental Republican principles infects DeSantis’ approach to domestic issues as well. For decades the underlying…
The complex realities and politics of Latino identity
03/08/2023
The phrase “identity politics” is used most often either as a term of derision or as an expression of solidarity with those facing systemic oppression. It’s actually a description of…
Will President Biden’s State of the Union move numbers?
02/08/2023
It’s State of the Union time, so wrong headed expectations and misleading renderings of history require correction once again. One colleague inaccurately opined on television that “historically presidents get a…
Updated evidence of our increasingly sclerotic national and state politics
02/01/2023
My earliest recollection of my paternal grandmother deals with her memory issues. She took me on a trip to her beloved Florida as a present for my graduation from kindergarten.…
Who are the extremists?
12/14/2022
Extremism has long suffered from a bad reputation in politics. When Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), whose presidential campaigns foreshadowed those of contemporary Republicans, sought to rescue extremism from the dust…
Could The Biden Punditry Be Wrong?
01/25/2023
How wrong can a news outlet be? The Washington Free Beacon’s headline screamed, “Poll: Biden’s Approval Rating Craters Amid Classified Docs Scandal.” Based on the commentariat’s assessment, it could have…
Why no red wave?
11/16/2022
History said there should be a red wave. After all, on average, in the 19 midterms between the end of World War II and this one, the White House party…
Election results will need to be put in perspective
10/26/2022
If Democrats lose a net of eight House seats, will that be a lot or a little? How will you know? Most numbers mean little on their own. We ascribe…