The MAGA Trump Right and the Greenwald Left want to undo Section 702, which must be renewed this year. Normies in both parties shouldn’t let them.
Bill Scher
Bill Scher is the politics editor of the Washington Monthly. He is the host of the history podcast When America Worked and the cohost of the bipartisan online show and podcast The DMZ.
Bill is on Bluesky @billscher.bsky.social, X @billscher, and Threads @billschermedia.
Posted inPolitics
Joe Biden Broke His 2020 Pledge on Fracking. Good.
The president was right to promote fracking on public lands. The technique for extracting natural gas reduces reliance on dirty coal, builds a bridge to a renewable energy future, and hurts Putin.
Posted inPolitics
Bibi Wants to Break Israel’s Judiciary. Good Thing Biden Refused to Break Ours
The Israeli government wants to neuter the nation’s Supreme Court. If they’re smart, they’ll back off from such radical proposals, just as Democratic leaders did.
Posted inPolitics
Biden Concedes Nothing in His State of the Union Address
A deft, defiant Democratic president outfoxes the Republicans in front of the nation and smartly stresses antitrust and consumer rights.
Posted inPolitics
Kevin McCarthy Wants This Debt Limit Standoff Resolved. Really.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the House speaker seems determined to defuse the bomb that can blow up the economy and his party. How should Biden handle it?
Posted inPolitics
Will Republicans Stand by Ukraine?
It would have been a no-brainer a few years ago, but the Trumpy GOP is divided over backing Kyiv.
Posted inPolitics
Are Republicans Forgetting What Trump Taught Them About Social Security and Medicare?
House GOP ideologues want to use the looming debt ceiling crisis to cut entitlements. Will a weak Kevin McCarthy let them?
Posted inPolitics
Democrats Need An Immigration Strategy Before They Turn On Each Other
The party needs to get past its mantra of comprehensive immigration reform and address the border mess with seriousness and compassion, unlike the GOP.
Posted inBooks
Donald Trump Is No Grover Cleveland
We are cursed to live in a time when Donald Trump’s grotesque shadow hangs over almost any topic of political or cultural conversation. So if you read Troy Senik’s new biography, A Man of Iron, about the life of Grover Cleveland, you can’t help but try to detect any relevant parallels between the one person […]
Posted inPolitics
Political Lessons of 2022 from Bill Scher
Our prescient political writer explains why swing voters matter, why bipartisanship is popular and possible, and how to beat voter suppression.
