It’s inevitable. Once Donald Trump is removed from office—either through term limits, a 2020 loss, a resignation or (if there is enough Congressional courage following the 2018 midterms) an impeachment—he and a right-wing ghostwriter will secure a big-money contract for his presidential memoirs. There will be a built-in audience for such a book—the still-loyal members […]
D.R. Tucker
D. R. Tucker is a Massachusetts-based journalist who has served as the weekend contributor for the Washington Monthly since May 2014. He has also written for the Huffington Post, the Washington Spectator, the Metrowest Daily News, investigative journalist Brad Friedman's Brad Blog and environmental journalist Peter Sinclair's Climate Crocks.
Posted inPolitical Animal
Why is Bill Kristol Promoting an Oprah Winfrey Presidential Campaign?
Why the hell is he with her? William Kristol’s cheerleading for an Oprah Winfrey presidential run is arguably the most disturbing non-Trump development of the new year. Notwithstanding my skepticism about celebrity involvement in politics, if Winfrey is actually serious about running, she should disavow the Kristol vision in the strongest terms possible. It’s fairly […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Downward Spiral
Now we know who was listening. Next Saturday, January 20, marks the first anniversary of You Know What, and there’s no need to trigger people with that dark memory. Next Saturday also marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of Barack Obama’s second term as president. Obama was sworn in for a second term in […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Future Fire and Fury: Trump’s Climate Instability
Fifteen years ago today, Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman introduced the Climate Stewardship Act, which would have implemented a federal cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon pollution. McCain and Lieberman were horrified by President George W. Bush’s refusal to take action on the climate crisis due to the influence of the fossil-fuel industry; that industry, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Long Road
It could be three more years of this. Heck, it could be seven. Donald Trump may not be going anywhere anytime soon. The Mueller investigation could be sabotaged beyond repair. Voter suppression efforts could (will?) become more aggressive. Right-wing billionaires will funnel more money into our politics in an effort to confuse the public. Even […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Bake-Off: The Northeast GOP’s Quest for Fake Moderates
How do you reach for something that doesn’t really exist? In Connecticut, the state Republican Party is trying to figure out a way to pull off the same con Massachusetts Republicans pulled off nearly four years ago: Charlie Baker of Massachusetts is the most popular governor in the land, a wonky Republican with a business […]
Posted inMain, Political Animal
What Happens When Truth Doesn’t Matter?
There’s a reason why Trump’s arrogance remains unmitigated.
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Pursuit of Justice
There’s a famous anecdote in Boston media circles about the late Boston Herald reporter Paul Corsetti, who in the early 1980s began investigating the actions of notorious mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. One night, according to this story, Corsetti was at a bar and was approached by a mysterious gentleman. The mysterious gentleman, as it turned […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Joan Walsh Fiasco Proves It: MSNBC Must Seriously Now Be Crazy
Serves ‘em right. The MSNBC executives who made the logic-free decision to get rid of progressive contributor Joan Walsh right before Christmas deserve the embarrassment they presumably feel after CNN immediately offered Walsh a position. Those now residing in the house Ted Turner built recognized that Walsh’s vision had value—something MSNBC officials apparently lost sight […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
From Grace, We Fell
If only we could have seen the future, eh? It was ten years ago this Wednesday that Barack Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucus in a shocker. Obama’s victory was considered a sign that his message had the potential to resonate with far more strength than conventional wisdom assumed–and that he indeed had the ability […]
