From the Left
/Politics
We tolerated Trump's racism, misogyny, and lies; And then he set the mob on us
America has our own "Capitolnacht." It shall cut and burn our conscience as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, in Nazi Germany announced a civilized country's descent into dark evil and racial supremacy. Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger compared the Nazis to the Proud Boys.
1938 history wouldn't happen here because we Americans have ...Read more
The duel between American democracy and Trump is upon us
WASHINGTON -- Wednesday, the sixth day of the year, will be high drama, Shakespearean or Greek tragedy. During a massive joint session of Congress, there may be blood spilled on the streets after night falls here in the capital. The president invited, or incited, his violent Proud Boys to town. We are braced. Every police officer will be on duty...Read more
Trump's wild-eyed words confirmed his dark character and caused much of what ails us
WASHINGTON -- Just back from a sweet sight: President Donald Trump going out on a losing note with loyalists in Congress. The House voted to override a presidential veto -- the one time it's happened in his one-term presidency. The House approved the $740 billion defense authorization bill over his objection, by a whopping 322-87 vote Monday. ...Read more
On a long, dark night, Congress caught doing something right
They say the personal is political. The political is also personal.
Spending hours under the Capitol dome as Congress negotiated a COVID-19 relief package, I saw personalities break through the hot air.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., literally walked in circles around the rotunda, carrying on a cellphone conversation among the statues.
That summed...Read more
Life in a Dickensian-Trumpian tale of hard times -- at Christmas
WASHINGTON -- Monday was a pretty good day in the life of 2020.
Coronavirus vaccines began all over. The Electoral College sealed Joe Biden's presidential win, no blood spilled. Stirred by the pandemic, the Senate rose from slumber to help hardships visited upon us, considering a COVID-19 relief package.
Hallelujah chorus, anyone? The $748 ...Read more
In private sieges, missing public squares
WASHINGTON -- "We need each other." Bill Clinton once spoke those simple words. Never has that truth been truer than in the waning days of America's 2020. The year is truly Dickensian, with the pandemic changing everybody and everything in an uneven government response. The holidays will hurt many families, missing members.
People need to ...Read more
Biden's early rise or fall rides on Georgia
WASHINGTON -- Can blue lightning strike twice in the red clay ground of Georgia? You tell me, Scarlett.
Much is at stake, like the fate of the nation, if the state elects two Democrats to the Senate on Jan. 5. President-elect Joe Biden carried Georgia and hopes a special runoff will hand him a working majority in the Senate. Barely.
If Georgia...Read more
The bitter with the sweet, served at Thanksgiving
WASHINGTON -- Roses in the wind, waving before winter's cold comes. They signify our bittersweet November perfectly. The sky grows dark early, but with a burst of beauty on the bleak political front, thankfully.
Thanksgiving is upon us, because a great president renewed the pilgrims' feast and faith 400 years ago.
The anxious capital is ...Read more
Obama and the promised land: Picking up the pieces
WASHINGTON -- Tall and strikingly handsome, he's the coolest guy in the Situation Room, on the dance floor and on the planet. His blockbuster memoir is out, "A Promised Land."
His name is Barack Obama. My blue world loves him. There's no question I'd fall under the beam if I met the man. But you tell me, are we living in a promised land?
Obama...Read more
Trump will never surrender, just like Jefferson Davis
WASHINGTON -- Autumn sun lights the city after President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden, except the civil war he started isn't over yet. The part Trump's playing in this tragic drama: the traitor, like despicable Jefferson Davis, who conducted the Civil War over slavery.
Trump's historic refusal to concede is the perfect parallel to the ...Read more
Let Biden's long way lead to light
WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden inspired nonviolent resistance across America and met the moment of leading an anguished nation.
Nonviolent resistance happens when masses of people rise up and change the world -- to protest a president, war or injustice -- with no arms. You could see determination in their eyes and jaws -- their faces covered by masks,...Read more
Senate Republican women pay the price of party
After 30 hours, the Senate barely approved Republican Amy Coney Barrett, its 52-48 vote on the Supreme Court nominee followed by a Trumpian party in the dark, ruined Rose Garden.
But "a change is gonna come," as the song says. Color it blue. We just watched Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's final act in the Bard's American tragedy, "...Read more
The Supreme Court loses luster with 3 Trump appointees
Even if President Donald Trump loses his bid to be a two-term president, he'll likely bequeath us three of the nine members of the Supreme Court. The Trump Three are the youngest, so his fingerprints will mark the scene of American politics for years to come.
In a flat monotone, Amy Coney Barrett, 48, told us too much of nothing in her Senate ...Read more