All corners of the Political Twitter exploded a few days back when Harper’s Weekly ran a letter, signed by a cohort of academics, writers, artists, etc., nominally in support of free speech and against what has come to be known as “cancel culture” (though the letter doesn’t use that term, I think just about everyone can agree that it was written with that in mind).
Now, one might think that a letter in favor of free speech is at worst benign, and more likely a positive gesture. And that would be true, if not for our ability to understand context…
As we continue to march towards 2020, we are beginning to see new candidates for President on a weekly basis. Senator Kamala Harris is the most recent to officially enter the fold, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced last week, and prior to that we had Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Within the coming days, weeks, and months, that list will continue to grow as we wait on formal announcements from some or all of Governor Jay Inslee, Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Corey Booker, Senator Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Beto O’Rourke, and likely others.
When…
Before we get too far in to this, I want to begin with a disclaimer: I believe everyone in any kind of swing state should vote for the Democratic nominee in the general election. We have a responsibility to take power back from the Republicans. With that out of the way, let’s get into the real point of this piece.
It felt for a while like we were finally moving past the nightmare that was 2016, beyond the barrage of attacks on the left from moderate Democrats. But, on account of the American political system being a circus, we’ve moved…
Leading up to the midterms, we heard repeatedly that healthcare was the number one issue on the minds of American voters; exit polls from Tuesday night indicate that held true. A year removed from repeated attempts by Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, voters seemed determine to ensure that they, well, were insured. “Obamacare” now polls at over 50%, and its preexisting condition protections seem to have support across the political spectrum (except among elected Republicans, but even they began feigning support to avoid losing their seats).
On the left side of the spectrum, there is also some general…
If you have read any of my past blogs, you’ll know that I find myself in a somewhat awkward position. In many ways I am stuck in the middle — not between the left and the right, but between the left and the far left. I’m not really a traditional liberal, but I’m also not a socialist. I take issue with many of the actions Democrats take, both as individuals and as a party, but I cannot embrace the “DemExit” mentality, not in the era of an increasingly extreme and empowered GOP.
The reason I am telling you this is…
The core of the Republican Party’s mission is to undermine the government for their own ends, mostly related to remaining in power and keeping donors and corporations happy. There seems to be little else they care about when it really comes down to it, hence the fact that even strident “Never Trumpers” seem to be warming up to him more and more of late. Trump may behave like an outsider, but his administration’s actions have lined up almost perfectly with Republican orthodoxy — tax cuts for the wealthy, wiping out regulations, and nominating neoconservative men who have credible assault allegations…
Over the past couple of years, in light of the ever-growing gap between the wealthy and the rest, the idea of a Universal Basic Income has started to catch on. It is touted by both the left — as a means of helping those in poverty, along with those in the middle class who are being left with scraps in comparison to the conglomerates for whom they toil — as well as some on the libertarian right who wish to replace the entire welfare state with a UBI.
There have been rumblings that Senator Cory Booker could push for a…
Earlier today, Congressman Ro Khanna of California chose to endorse Joe Crowley, a Representative from New York. Crowley is a more moderate Democrat being challenged by a Democratic Socialist by the name of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Somewhat understandably, many progressives/leftists were upset by this endorsement, as Khanna has typically been a very progressive Democrat (in line with Bernie Sanders), and Ocasio-Ortiz is clearly the more progressive candidate in the race for NY-14.
To be clear, I don’t like the decision myself. I tend to not care for endorsements in general, but this one is particularly annoying because Khanna is not even…
I’ve written quite a bit lately about the divide in the Democratic Party. The divide seems so potent, in fact, that some of the voters I am speaking of aren’t really even a part of the Democratic Party. They are progressive, they are on “the left,” but they don’t identify as Democrats. Some never did, but others have recently fled, whether over disagreements on policy, or because they feel the betrayed by the party elites.
This greatly concerns me, which is why I talk about it so often. It’s also fairly complex, and it seems to me there is plenty…
About a month ago, I wrote a piece about Democrats, mostly Hillary Clinton diehards, who blame Bernie Sanders for her 2016 loss to our current trash heap of a President, and why that position lacks a sturdy foundation. Today, I’d like to do something a little different. Specifically, I’m going to pull a 180 and criticize staunch Bernie Sanders supporters (or at least a subset of them).
This may come off as a flip-flop, but I don’t think that it is. I believe one of many reasons why our political discourse is broken is the unwillingness to take a critical…
JAK
I most often write about politics and policy from a perspective somewhat shy of socialism.
