If you listen to some progressives–including many Christians–Donald Trump won because white people are bigoted. Trump supporters are a bunch of Christian nationalists, patriarchs, and racists, they say. As a result, we must spend the next four years doubling down […]
Democratic Party
David Brooks: “You can’t oppose Marjorie Taylor Greene and then think what Al Green did was totally fine.”
David Brooks on Trump’s speech to the nation on Tuesday night and the current plight of the Democratic Party: There were a lot of dramatic moments for people to think: Wow, that’s a good guy. The moment with that cute […]
Thomas Frank on “fake populism”
Nathan Robinson, the editor of Current Affairs, starts his interview with author Thomas Frank by quoting from Frank’s 2016 book Listen, Liberal: “Now all political parties are alliances of groups with disparate interests, but the contradictions of the Democratic Party […]
What is missing from this marker of personal virtue and moral purity?
Thomas Frank answers the question in the title of this post: Back in 2022, Frank said that the Democrats were incapable of defeating the Trumpism. He was right. Frank asks, “what happens to a country when the people of its […]
Can the Democrats reclaim the populist mantle?
Michael Sean Winters has his doubts. Here is a taste of his piece at the National Catholic Reporter: Democratic donors on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley and in Hollywood, and among special interest groups don’t want a party that champions […]
The “testosterone podcast election”
“Young men feel unseen by the Democratic Party,” says NYU professor Scott Galloway. It seems like a lot of Americans got sick of all the toxic masculinity language and they pushed back on Election Day. What fascinates me is that […]
The “identity politics” crowd loses Maureen Dowd
Here is a taste of Dowd’s New York Times column today: Some Democrats are finally waking up and realizing that woke is broke. Donald Trump won a majority of white women and remarkable numbers of Black and Latino voters and […]
Thomas Frank: “The Elites Had It Coming”
Thomas Frank, the author of What’s the Matter With Kansas and The Conquest of Cool, offers his take on the election: Liberals had nine years to decipher Mr. Trump’s appeal — and they failed. The Democrats are a party of […]
Democrats need to “ditch” DEI thinking and “get back to fighting for the poor, the working class, and the middle class”
Writer Rand Richard Cooper asks whether the Democrats have “lost the country.” Here is a taste of his piece at Commonweal: The wealthy, worldly, and highly educated parts of this nation are Democratic, while the struggling, provincial, and undereducated parts […]
Democratic politicos on what their party needs right now
Politico has gathered the thoughts of ten “Democratic thinkers” to reflect on their party’s “pathway out of the wilderness.” They are Andrew Yang (2020 presidential candidate and math guy), Matthew Duss (former Bernie Sanders adviser), Sandra Peri (former Obama speechwriter), […]
The American left must now “have a debate about what Americanism means to them — beyond policing pronouns and categorizing grievances.”Â
Matt Bai of The Washington Post gets it right: I woke up this morning hoping that the American left might now have a debate about what Americanism means to them — beyond policing pronouns and categorizing grievances. It ought to be clear that voters […]
“If Democrats are keen to defend democracy they would do well to stop talking about it”
Everyone is saying that the 2024 election is a referendum on the fate of American democracy. Some progressive Christians are currently traveling through swing states on a “Faith and Democracy” tour. Based on the scholarly interests of the academics involved […]
The Teamsters will not endorse Kamala Harris. Why?
We learned yesterday that the Teamsters will not endorse any candidate for President. Some of you will remember that Teamster President Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July. The union also just released this poll: Over at […]
What the Decline of the Black Church Means for Politics
Today the Atlantic published my essay on what the decline of the Black church’s influence on younger African Americans might mean for the future of African American politics.
Tim Walz’s “three yards and a cloud of dust” campaign.
Tim Walz has been a professional politician for almost twenty years. But it is his fifteen years as a football coach that might make him the next vice president of the United States. Here’s the Knute Rockne part of Walz’s […]
Twenty years after his breakout speech, Obama is back tonight
Barack Obama is speaking at tonight’s Democratic National Convention. Twenty years ago, as a candidate for U.S. Senate, Obama delivered his breakout speech at the DNC in Boston. About three weeks before the 2004 convention, Obama was driving between Springfield […]
The Fannie Lou Hammer convention?
Maxine Waters just spoke on night one of the DNC convention. While many have been comparing this Chicago convention to the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Waters invoked Fannie Lou Hamer and the 1964 DNC convention in Atlantic City. It has […]
What are evangelicals saying about the Harris-Walz ticket?
This morning Kamala Harris announced her running mate. It is Minnesota governor Tim Walz. What are evangelicals saying? Michael Wear offers “guidance”: Sean Feucht has his “cringe meter” on: Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center: Demonic: David French will take […]
Kamala Harris picks Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate
Here is CNN: Vice President Kamala Harris has made a decision on her running mate, with four people close to the process saying Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota is her choice. The selection caps the Midwestern Democrat’s short but swift ascent from […]
Barack Obama on Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race
#44 on #46: Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me. Today, we’ve also been reminded — again — that he’s a patriot of the highest order. Sixteen […]