To quote the renowned Scottish philosopher Gerry Rafferty, I’m trying to make some sense of it all, but I see it makes no sense at all: [Massachusetts] GOP U.S. Senate candidate John Kingston quietly hired Democratic consultant and former Gov. Deval Patrick adviser Ron Bell to woo voters in “urban areas” — even as the […]
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
And the Newest Member of Trump’s Fan Club Is…
So there was Kellyanne Conway making a fool of herself as usual on CNN this morning, smearing James Comey and feigning outrage when Dana Bash brought up the fact that Conway’s husband, attorney George Conway, doesn’t seem to like Trump all that much. Most rational-thinking Americans regard Conway as a joke. What about those who […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Trump’s Human-Rights Atrocity in Puerto Rico
If this were happening in a developing nation, it would be an international outrage. It’s happening in the United States, and not enough people seem to care. Eight months after Hurricane Maria assaulted Puerto Rico, its residents continue to endure indignity after indignity. These indignities are the direct result of Donald Trump and the Republican […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Strange Brew: The Right’s Pathetic Denial of Racism
Perhaps the most morbidly funny media story of the year is the spectacle of conservative crackpots falling all over themselves to attack the efforts by Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson to address implicit bias, after the horrifying incident in Philadelphia where a Starbucks employee decided that calling the cops on Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, two […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Don’t Let David Buckel’s Death Be in Vain
As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures—and when it comes to the climate crisis, we are indeed living in desperate times. It’s hard to overstate the passion and principle of pioneering attorney David Buckel, who died one week ago today at the age of 60. He did not pass away from a dreadful […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Money Changes Everything
In a perfect world, Citizens United would be overturned and American law would embrace the separation of billionaire and state. In an imperfect world, this appears to be the best one can hope for: Boston hedge fund billionaire Seth Klarman lavished more than $7 million on Republican candidates and political committees during the Obama administration, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Trumptown: The President as Cult Leader
Even if Trump fires Mueller or leads us into war, his supporters will still obey his every word.
Posted inPolitical Animal
In Michigan, the Terror of Trumpism
Maybe he thought blowing the kid away would make America great again. In the midst of the media madness over Stormy and Syria, it’s easy to ignore seemingly minor stories that have major implications. One such story comes to us from Michigan, where an innocent 14-year-old was nearly killed due to what can only be […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Reversal of Fortune: Progressive Media in a Democratic White House
Turnabout is fair play, no? CNN’s Brian Stelter apparently shares my concern about the excessive influence of the Fox News Channel on this administration, noting this morning that Rupert Murdoch’s creation is directly responsible for Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Mexico: Yes, the nexus between Fox and the Trump administration is […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
“Animal Assad”? Seriously?
Look, I know it’s WrestleMania weekend, but the WWE-style insults have to stop: President Donald Trump issued a vague threat on Twitter on Sunday, after reports of a chemical attack in Syria. “Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria,” Trump wrote. “Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by […]
