From the Left
/Politics
Loss of Support From Republican Evangelicals Suits MAGA Crowd Just Fine
Black voters have traditionally been pivotal to the fortunes of the Democratic Party, but some recent polls have suggested that they are proving less bankable for President Joe Biden than in the past. Whether or not as many as 20% of Black voters have in fact deserted the Democrats, as some recent polls suggest, is a contested matter. But it’s...Read more
Better Public Understanding of Domestic Siolence Was the One Ailver Lining of O.J. Simpson’s fall
Can we now declare O.J. Simpson’s search for “the real killer” to be officially ended?
Not that I expected to find out more than we already know. The leading suspect in the slaying of his former wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman continued to be nobody else but O.J., up to his dying day.
Ah, now the mighty “Juice” ...Read more
Donald Trump Goes All in Defending Jan. 6 Mob and Karl Rove Goes Off
Republican strategist Karl Rove has some excellent advice for Donald Trump, which, judging by his usual resistance to even the mildest criticism, Trump probably will refuse to hear.
But that doesn’t stop the rest of us from paying attention, especially President Joe Biden and others in his campaign as they try to gain some traction in what ...Read more
Deriding DEI is the Right’s Attempt at a Polite Way to Attack Civil Rights
“DEI mayor.”
That’s how a troll on X, formerly Twitter, labeled a news clip of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott delivering an update on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a massive cargo ship.
“It’s going to be so, so much worse,” the tweet concluded. “Prepare accordingly.”
I don’t know ...Read more
Census Forms Are Changing Again -- Because We Are
On his HBO show “Real Time,” comedian Bill Maher recently went after Democrats for “pandering” to minority groups for votes.
Poking holes in political posturing is right on brand for Maher, who turns sarcasm into an art form. That’s why I watch him sometimes when I feel my sunny optimism needs a dose of tough realities. Besides, even ...Read more
Haiti’s Tragic History Just Keeps Repeating Itself
In Haiti, history repeats itself — repeatedly.
And for what remains of Haiti’s troubled government, history seems to keep getting worse.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Kenyan President William Ruto signed an agreement in early March to fast-track a long-delayed deployment of Kenyan police officers to confront spiraling violence in ...Read more
Is it An Electric Car or a Bidenmobile? Greening of Transportation Gets Political
When you think about it, there’s not much rational reason for electric vehicles to be a partisan political issue. But, as we all should know by now, election-year politics do not have to be rational. They only have to reflect what the players think will win.
That helps to explain why electric cars, trucks and SUVs have become a hot issue ...Read more
The Busting of the Myth of Donald Trump’s Nusiness Genius
How embarrassing. Donald Trump’s well-known history of financial exaggeration appears to be catching up to him in a very inconvenient place, a courtroom.
After years of his colorful boasts about his wealth and financial savvy, Trump’s own lawyers delivered the news to the judge that he doesn’t have the funds to pay the judgment from a ...Read more
This Time Trump Really Does Seem to Be Making Black Voter Inroads. Why?
Reports that Donald Trump has made surprising gains among Black voters have raised understandable alarm among my Democratic-leaning friends.
And it’s small wonder. Despite anecdotal reports that Trump had made some inroads with Blacks in 2020, he won just 8% of the Black vote, according to Pew Research Center. That was the same share he won ...Read more
Rep. Ken Buck’s Sudden Retirement Yet Another Setback for a Reeling GOP House Leadership
Ken Buck is fed up.
The Republican lawmaker from eastern Colorado already announced (last November) that he would retire from Congress at the end of his term. But now that apparently is not soon enough.
On Tuesday, he abruptly surprised many on Capitol Hill — particularly fellow Republicans — by speeding up his timetable. Now he’s ...Read more
For One Night, Biden was the Media Master While Trump was Fumbling
Ah, such embarrassment.
Presidential campaigns will always surprise you, but I didn’t expect Donald Trump, a tireless master of media, to be tripped up by his own social media platform.
Trump had announced before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address began that he would supply his own special commentary in real time on “Truth ...Read more
Immigration is On Americans’ Minds. And Politicians Are Seizing the Opportunity
When I saw Donald Trump take an interest in the horrible killing of a Georgia nursing student, I was swept by a profound sense of having been here before.
In 2015, Trump made a national cause out of the fatal shooting of Kate Steinle in San Francisco, allegedly by Jose Ines Garcia-Zarate, a migrant in the U.S. illegally. Garcia-Zarate was later...Read more
Trump’s Bizarre Pitch to Black Voters is Martyrdom Marketing
How about this for a novel campaign pitch? “I’m being indicted for you, the Black population.”
Yes, that’s Donald Trump, the former, and possibly future — Heaven help us! — president, in full roar during his recent and stunningly insulting speech billed improbably as a targeted appeal to Black voters.
In the annals of political ...Read more
Frozen Embryos Are People? In the World of Politics, at Least
An Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are “children” offers a sad example of the age-old law of unintended consequences.
Instead of simply protecting the developing life of the embryos to help childless couples become parents, the court’s move throws the procedure’s future — and the national abortion debate — into a ...Read more
Fani Willis and the Court of Public Opinion
Fani Willis should have known better.
It doesn’t take a law degree to know that the appearance of impropriety can be just as damaging as the real thing. Sometimes worse.
That’s particularly true in a “heater case,” which is courthouse slang for a case that attracts an inordinate amount of media focus. Needless to say, it is hard to get...Read more
On Trump’s Befuddling Hold on the GOP and the Fizzling of the ‘Never Trump’ Movement
I’m so old that I can remember when moderate Republicans such as Colin Powell, former secretary of state, clung to hopes that Donald Trump might “grow” into the presidency.
I don’t hear much talk like that nowadays with Trump leading the polls for the Republican nomination again and his remaining opponent Nikki Haley not expected to win...Read more
Economic Gloominess in Spite of Upbeat Data Also Affects Immigration Debate
When we think about the economy, it’s not just numbers that matter. It’s also how we feel about the numbers.
Public discontent about the economy, even as the economy is growing and unemployment is low, has been President Joe Biden’s persistent headache.
I thought about this contrast between hard numbers and soft feelings as I spotted the...Read more
How to Fight Donald Trump as a Republican and Survive
What? Nikki Haley is still in the race?
Yes, despite pressure from her fellow Republicans to drop her challenge to front-runner and former President Donald Trump, the former South Carolina governor sounds determined to stick around awhile — and as insurgent bids go, she’s not doing badly.
She may be well behind the former president in ...Read more
Joe Biden’s Campaign Could Use Some Star Power. Paging Taylor Swift?
President Joe Biden’s team looks to Taylor Swift for a touchdown. Considering the obvious ability that pop star Taylor Swift and her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce, have shown for stealing the limelight, it comes as little surprise that, without even trying, they have generated their own conspiracy theory, too.
Long-standing conspiracy ...Read more
When Partisan Politics Leave Migrants Out in the Cold
As a long, dreaded January chill made life on Chicago's streets unthinkable for waves of migrants bused north from Texas, city, state and federal officials engaged in a new round of finger-pointing and buck-passing.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told reporters Monday he was “deeply concerned” that Chicago officials had no plans to open new ...Read more