Right-wing Populism Reflects Our Democracy’s Pathologies
Political scientists believe that when a democracy finds itself in dire straights, populism comes to the fore. In a healthy political system, voters elect officials who adhere to basic the basic rules and norms that guide democratic governance. An ailing political...
Happy holidays!
This may be my last blog of the year. I’m travelling this weekend to visit family and, usually, not much happens between Christmas and New Year’s Day. That doesn’t mean I won’t get a bee in my bonnet and have to put something down on paper, but I also might take the...
An Open letter to Kyrsten Sinema From North Carolina
Dear Senator Synema, You have stated that you will not support modifying the filibuster to accommodate the Democratic Party's agenda on the issue of voting rights. In taking this stand, you have been consistent with your longstanding views that the filibuster is...
Yeah, Joe Manchin’s an asshole, but…
Joe Manchin blew up Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda yesterday and he did it in the most insulting way possible. He went on Fox News and told the conservative base that the bill is dead. He left the White House scrambling and Democrats in Congress fuming. Even if...
A little Christmas cheer
The conversations I’ve been having with Democrats lately are depressing. It’s not just that they are resigned to losing Congress in 2022, it’s that they are resigned to losing our democracy in 2024. They believe that Republicans are rigging the system through...
Jackson’s Withdrawal Strengthens Democrats At the Expense of Republicans
State Senator Jeff Jackson announced today that he will has decided to withdraw from the Democratic primary for United States Senate. The move was likely prudent, given his disadvantage in recent opinion polling, and public-spirited in the sense that his withdrawal...
Jackson is out
Jeff Jackson is out. The state senator announced this morning that he’s dropping his bid for the Democratic nomination for the U. S. Senate seat being vacated by Richard Burr. In leaving the race, he announced his endorsement of former Chief Justice of the Supreme...
Toxic Masculinity and the New, New Right
North Carolina Congressional candidate Bo Hines released a campaign video flaunting his physicality. The piece showed him vigorously pumping iron and doing pullups in a gym bedecked with a prominently displayed Back the Blue flag. Over a background of rock music, a...
Annoyances
Right now, I’m annoyed at two sets of people, the ones who don’t know how to drive and the ones who can’t discern information from bullshit. They share a trait in that neither has the common sense to make good decisions. One ends up holding up traffic and, at times,...
Is Pat McCrory Forgetting Things or Just Delusional?
Like an old Rebel shouting "Death to Lincoln!" on Confederate Memorial Day, Pat McCrory is still fighting the last battle. He's running for U.S. Senate against Ted Budd, but in seemingly every interview he attempts to settle the score with Governor Roy Cooper, a...
The fall guy
Yesterday, Congresswoman Liz Cheney read the texts sent to Mark Meadows on January 6 during the assault on the Capitol. We now know for certain that Meadows and Donald Trump knew exactly what was happening. Fox News personalities like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingaham...
The extremes seem to be driving the COVID response
The pandemic debate mirrors our overall broken political dialogue. On one side, misinformed, and largely uneducated, people have thwarted every effort to stem the spread of COVID. On the other, hysterics and hyperbole threaten to do more harm than good, alienating...