Published in US News on October 4, 2017
American democracy itself was on trial Tuesday at the Supreme Court. At least that’s what Paul M. Smith, the Washington attorney representing challengers to Wisconsin’s extremely gerrymandered legislative redistricting plan, was arguing.Please click here to read the full article.
Published in US News on August 17, 2017
When President Donald Trump likened Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee to slave holders and Founding Fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and asked if we should pull down memorials to those two men along with statues of Lee and other Confederates, he perhaps inadvertently raised an important and extremely difficult question about American history.Please click here to read the full article.
Published in US News on May 25, 2017
I have never been physically assaulted by a politician. I have however been verbally threatened on more than one occasion by politicians who didn’t like the questions I was asking or the stories I was writing. What happened in Montana Wednesday when congressional candidate Greg Gianforte threw reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian to the ground and punched him is unconscionable. Gianforte belongs in jail, not in the House of Representatives.Please click here to read the full article.
Published in US News on February 13, 2017
Donald Trump has hung a portrait of Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, next to his desk in the Oval Office and members of his staff are touting the idea that the two men have a lot in common. Vice President Mike Pence has boasted of Trump’s victory, “There hasn’t been anything like this since Andrew Jackson.” That may actually be true. There are already signs of similarities between the two men and it’s a cause for significant concern.Please click here to read the full article.
Published in US News on November 12, 2016
The biggest myth that needs to be dispelled about this election is that Donald Trump and the Republican victory was “huge” and overwhelming. Trump did win rural areas by a commanding margin but in the swing districts and states which secured his victory the margins were not massive but actually razor thin. The Republicans do not have an overwhelming mandate to push through a far-right agenda even though early indications are that they intend to govern this way.Please click here to read the full article.
January 25, 2011
Rahm Emanuel would probably be the best mayor of Chicago, considering who is running for the office. But that’s not why the ruling yesterday of the Illinois appellate court is so egregiously wrong. It’s because the decision totally devalues service to our country.Please click here to read the full article.
January 10, 2011
The tragic events in Tucson this weekend have focused attention on a lot of things that need to be examined—dialing down political rhetoric and hate speech, tightening gun control laws, and having better systems in place to address the problems of the mentally ill.Please click here to read the full article.
December 20, 2010
The new group No Labels held its kick-off at Columbia University last week and announced an effort to try to reform our national political culture offering bipartisanship, civility and centrist political solutions. It’s a goal that virtually every recent poll shows a majority of Americans also want.Please click here to read the full article.
December 7, 2010
For the past year or so I’ve been writing a lot about bipartisanship and the need for Republicans and Democrats to work together to get something done for the American people. So it’s hard to criticize the deal the president struck with Republicans on extending the Bush tax cuts for another two years as not being a bipartisan effort. However, it’s pretty easy to call the plan not very good policy, and I expect that’s exactly what a lot of congressional Democrats will be saying in the coming days.Please click here to read the full article.
November 23, 2010
As Americans gather around the Thanksgiving table this week and ponder what they are thankful for at a time of economic pain and uncertainty about the future, one thing unlikely to be on anybody’s list is Congress.Please click here to read the full article.
