Politics
-
When the Temporary Stay is Removed
The situation is a perfect setup, in other words, for a talented politician to run on Trumpism in 2024. A person without the eager Twitter fingers and greedy hotel chains, someone with a penchant for governing rather than golf. An individual who does not irritate everyone who doesn’t already like him, and someone whose wife
-
Two Different Worlds
“With the ascension of Charles I to the throne we come at last to the Central Period of English History …, consisting in the utterly memorable Struggle between the Cavaliers (Wrong but Wromantic) and the Roundheads (Right but Repulsive).” ― W.C. Sellar, 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England Listening to this morning's
-
Quote of the Day: David Frum
The central gambit of Trump-style authoritarianism is to claim legitimacy as a representative of “the people” while selectively disenfranchising and disempowering more and more of those people. The U.S. Constitution in many ways protects minorities against majorities. In the Trump era, we see instead politicians like Lee trying to pretend that minorities are majorities—and to
-
Biden’s Gettysburg Speech
I appreciate what he's trying to do in addressing the toxic divisiveness of our current politics, and I hope that a speech like this does, in fact, appeal to the nation's better angels. But it's unlikely it will have much effect on Republicans in Congress. And if he is as committed to bi-partisanship as he
-
This Moment is Different
I know plenty of Trump supporters, and I know many of them to be people of integrity in important areas of their lives. Indeed, some are friends I cherish. But if there is a line Donald Trump could cross that would forfeit the loyalty of his core supporters—including, and in some respects especially, white evangelical
-
State of the Race 6
It looks like Democrats are going to vote their fears rather than their hopes, for the past rather than for the future, for Joe Biden rather than for Bernie Sanders. It's understandable if not particularly admirable. But I should be old enough to understand that expecting to find something to admire in the average liberal
-
Rule of Law vs. Law and Order
Authoritarian nations come in many different stripes, but they all share a fundamental characteristic: The people who live in them are not allowed to freely choose their own leaders. This is why Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, in his speech announcing his vote to convict on the first article of impeachment, said that “corrupting