I still remember how nervous I was. I spent the entire day anxious about something possibly going wrong in Ohio due to voter suppression. I was convinced that it would be over after one term, that the old GOP gang would get back together again, that the progress of the previous four years–especially on climate […]
2016 presidential election
Posted inPolitical Animal
Bush-League Criticism
What was Henry Kissinger’s old joke about the Iran-Iraq war, again? The conflict between Donald Trump and the Bush family is perhaps the silliest of the 45th President’s many feuds, nothing more than the latest outbreak of red-on-red rhetorical violence (see Trump v. McCain, Trump v. Corker, Trump v. Flake., etc.) It’s fundamentally silly because […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
An American Tragedy
Who could have imagined it? Well, we all should have. During the first weekend of November 2006–ten years before it happened—a right-wing Boston talk radio host named John DePetro was fired by WRKO-AM, then the city’s Rush Limbaugh affiliate, for referring to Grace Ross, a third-party progressive contender in the race to replace disgraced Massachusetts […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
A Place Called Hope
It was the moment that we began to make America great again. No, not one year ago next Wednesday, when Putin’s plaything seized control of the White House. The moment when America became better occurred twenty-five years ago this week, when Bill Clinton liberated the White House from a dozen years of Republican control. I […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Case for Preemptive Impeachment
If this past week has not strengthened Tom Steyer’s case for the expedited removal of Donald Trump from the White House, nothing can. It is inevitable that the Mueller investigation will discover the smoking gun of unprecedented illegality in the Trump administration. It is inevitable that Trump will stoop to any depth to retain his […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Only the Knave: Hollywood’s Embrace of Trumpism
The next time one of your MAGA-hat-wearing friends goes on some mindless rant about how “left-wing” Hollywood is, show them this story and shut them up: Brad Parscale, the digital media director for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was hired by the makers of “Only the Brave” to help the action-drama appeal to red-state moviegoers, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Weather: We Cared?
Did they die in vain? Next week marks the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy’s assault on the United States, and one can’t help thinking of the 117 Americans who perished in that storm–and whether their deaths were simply forgotten by those who elected climate-change deniers in the 2014 midterm elections and the 2016 Presidential election. […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Who Can Blame McCain for Loathing Trump?
His hatred of the man is more than justified. The obvious contempt Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) holds for Donald Trump goes beyond the bigoted billionaire’s idiotic insult of the one-time Vietnam POW in 2015. When McCain looks at Trump, he sees a man who is soiling the residence he wanted to occupy. Yes, one can […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Virginia Slim: Could A Right-Wing Minion Win the Old Dominion?
If Ed Gillespie pulls off the upset, it could have major consequences for 2018.
Posted inPolitical Animal
#ThemToo: Women Who Voted for Trump Betrayed Their Gender
Is there really a moral difference? Earlier this week, we were moved by the #metoo movement of women highlighting their experiences with sexual harassment, assault and abuse. #Metoo cast new and well-deserved moral shame upon those who enabled Harvey Weinstein’s misogynist malevolence for decades—and those who continue to stand side-by-side with sexism. Of course, those […]
