It’s the money, stupid.
The number one political issue is money. Money is the root cause of political corruption. We need to fix that first.
Ethical Test for Republicans
Attorney General William Barr suggested during his Senate testimony that President Donald Trump has the authority to suspend any investigation if he chooses. Barr doesn’t say this, but that same argument implies in reverse: Trump could also begin an investigation into anyone he chose as well. Imagine that. Barr has...
Please stop wasting our time on lies
Why do otherwise smart people waste so much of their talent on obvious lies? Worse, why do they want to waste our time with them? Is this some parlor game I missed? I have things to see, places to do, noses to pick, that kind of thing. Why are they...
The Media Pretend to Believe Trump’s Panicked Lies
OK, look. Why do most of the big news sources spend so much time carefully evaluating Trump’s ‘diplomatic failure’ with Kim Jung Un in Vietnam? They dissect Trump’s goals, his actions, his assumptions, and so on. Why are they so determinedly credulous? It’s not like many people believe Trump’s version...
Republican Reality Check
OK, here’s my reality check. Republicans love trashing Michael Cohen. I can’t blame them, but after a point, it gets old. They attack the messenger, and yes, he’s an unreliable narrator, but there’s a problem. If you’re a lawyer, you trash the evidence, but then you present your counter-argument. That...
Stop Pretending: We Already Know the Truth
Americans are waiting for evidence about Republican corruption, even though we already know the answers. What does it say about America that we’re not willing to defend it?
No, the Truth Won’t Matter
Robert Mueller will eventually deliver the Special Council Office report in the next few months. Heck, might drop in weeks. Democrats everywhere want to know the dirt, but we’re worried that our new Attorney General might not let the full truth come out. If we want the Truth, we might...
Why Can’t We Deal With Liars?
Could it be something in the water? Maybe someone is putting a new drug into our beer? Could it be microwaves beamed into our brains? I’m open to suggestions. Anyway, here’s the problem: I think we’ve become coddled. Unfortunately, I don’t mean that metaphorically. At some point, our brains have...
Democrats: Tell Us What You Stand For
For Democrats to win more than one election cycle, they need to inspire, not just criticize.
Democrats show up at the wrong fight
Why do Democrats, liberals, and people worried about our nation keep showing up for the wrong fight? I’m exhausted listening to the talking heads debate whether Brett Kavanaugh would be a good or bad Supreme Court nominee. It’s like watching a drunk trying to hit on a store mannequin, confident...
Republicans Win No Matter What
I’m watching TV, waiting for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to begin testifying at the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing. It’s all a Republican con job, I know, but here we are. I see this going one of two ways. If two Republican Senators suddenly find their spines and admit that Trump...
In the Kavanaugh Hearings, as in All Things, Republicans are the Party of Bad Faith
The Kavanaugh hearing is a lie. Senate Republicans lie. There is nothing left that isn’t a fabrication. They are the party of corruption and dishonor.
How Republicans Warp Everyone Else
I’ve written about how Republicans warp the discussion around them. There was an excellent article in the Daily Kos a few days ago: Teaching the Holocaust in the South after Charlottesville. It’s a heartfelt discussion of how student sensibilities changed after the racist Unite the Right riots. It’s also nearly...
The Republican Party Enemies List
Republicans are destroying our democratic rules right in front of us. One by one, they’re grinding down their political opponents. An official GOP Enemies List. And we let them. It seems like it should be easier to stop them — they’re attacking basic American principles — and yet we don’t...
Republicans are Fascists Breaking American Democracy
American conservatism is a broad system of political beliefs in the United States that is characterized by respect for American traditions, republicanism, support for Judeo-Christian values,[1] moral absolutism,[2] free markets and free trade,[3][4] anti-communism,[4][5] individualism,[4] advocacy of American exceptionalism,[6] and a defense of Western culture from the perceived threats posed...
Trump Buys Manafort’s Debt to a Russian Oligarch
We were wondering whether Trump would pardon Paul Manafort. And while he isn’t yet, Trump may be trying an end run. Instead of pardoning Manafort, Trump may be trying to buy Manafort’s debt. That would target the one person who scares Manafort more than Special Counsel Robert Mueller. And it...
Bizzaro Trumpland
We keep calling Trumpland the new Bizzaro world, but it’s more literally true than we admit. It doesn’t just appear that Trump does the opposite of everything sensible. Trump attacks the American democracy, complaining about how unfair it is that its… um, fair, and might target him or people he...
Silly Questions about Congressional Oversight
OK, this is crazy enough. Nobody (or so we’re told by Republicans, Democrats, and the media) knows what happened during Trump’s private meeting with Vladimir Putin. How could we know? Trump made sure there weren’t any staffers or stenographers in the room. Trump deliberately eliminated every person who would normally...