The Republican conflation of Islam and Islamic terrorism is dangerous and it is counterproductive. But I have to say: the alternative Democratic language feels defensive and insufficient for the moment. Asked why she wouldn’t refer to “Islamic terrorists,” Hillary Clinton meandered: “I– I think that you can– you can talk about Islamists who– clearly are […]
Steven Waldman
Steven Waldman is chair of the Rebuild Local News Coalition, cofounder of Report for America, and a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly.
Posted inPolitics
Why Citizens United Helps Trump
I know we’re supposed to say ‘of course Trump absolutely can’t be the Republican nominee but….” before we then point out his badness. Here’s the thing: he can be the nominee — because of Citizens United. Let’s say he caps out at 30 percent. Just never gets above that. We’ve gotten used to the idea […]
Posted inPolitics
Just Married
The Supreme Court ruling reflects a historic union of liberal notions of equality and a conservative emphasis on the sanctity of marriage
Posted inPolitics
Should I have apologized to Jim Wright?
Jim Wright – the unctuous, “disgraced,” and recently departed former House Speaker – received my first professional apology. And it haunted me for years. I was just a few years out of college and working as an editor of the Washington Monthly. I decided to do a piece suggesting that it would be a terrible […]
Posted inMagazine, March/April/May 2015
Tilting at Windmills
Four regulations and a funeral A few years ago, my wife became a funeral director. She has a special emphasis on “back to basics” funerals: simple caskets, avoiding embalming if possible, woodland burial, personal attention from the funeral director. She’d like to set up her own small funeral establishment some day, but she discovered a […]
Posted inPolitics
The Conservative Alienation from Journalism
Coverage of the Pew Research Center’s latest study has emphasized the finding that news consumption has become more polarized, each of us preferring All the News that Fits Our Worldview. But to me the most interesting finding was different: the deep alienation of conservatives from mainstream media and “journalism.” Get this: among the 36 outlets […]
Posted inJune/July/August 2014, Magazine
Can Listicles Fund the Baghdad Bureau?
How BuzzFeed and HuffPo manage to do real journalism. For now.
Posted inBooks, Economy, Magazine, March/April/May 2014
Journalism and the CNBC Effect
Before 2007, the press failed to see the growing rot in the U.S. financial system and warn the public. Why?
Posted inPolitics
Thank Local News for the Bridgegate Story
Unfortunately, few small towns have that kind of coverage anymore.
Posted inMagazine
Downfall
n the last few years we’ve seen the birth of a new book genre: the Religious Left Political Testimonial. The common theme of these books is that politics has been warped by the dominance of the religious right and the “secular left.” The authors describe how their personal commitment to progressive politics was shaped by […]
