The Ossoff Autopsy: Six Conclusions from the Entrails

By | June 26, 2017
Last Tuesday’s Democratic losses in Georgia and South Carolina put an exclamation point on the fact that, since the election of President Trump, the party hasn’t won a single special election – including the high-profile, all-in race in GA-06. What’s it all mean? Here are some lessons from the gory autopsy of GA-06 et al,… Read More »

In Virginia and New Jersey, Close Don’t Count

By | June 20, 2017
“Politics ain’t bean-bag,” said Mr. Dooley, a character created by Finley Peter Dunne (d. 1936), the humorist. But it also ain’t horseshoes—in other words: Close don’t count. [A version of this article appeared in The Nation on June 20.] For progressives, especially those who see the Democratic Party as the only plausible vehicle for achieving… Read More »

Vote Perriello in VA! It Matters. A lot.

By | June 13, 2017
If you live in Virginia, take a break from watching Jeff Sessions, or from worrying about Russia, or checking Donald Trump’s Twitter feed – and go vote for Tom Perriello. For those concerned about the direction of the Democratic Party, today is a turning point. While much of the country’s attention, when it comes to… Read More »

Trump Spectacle Obscures ObamaCare Repeal

By | June 9, 2017
(This guest post comes courtesy of Jeff Hauser, formerly of the AFL-CIO and presently with The Revolving Door Project.) There’s a broadly held view across political activists, the media, and DC that “Trump-Russia” is “distracting” people from Senate Republicans’ effort to repeal Obamacare. I disagree. I believe that Majority Leader McConnell is being underestimated, and… Read More »

Are the Democrats Moving Left for 2018?

By | June 5, 2017
Here and there, some very hopeful notes are emerging that as the Democratic Party heads into the 2018 midterms, the aftereffects of the Bernie Sanders campaign are being felt not only in politics, but in policy. That’s important because, if the Democrats are to succeed next year, they’ll have to go beyond Hillary Clinton-style Trump-bashing… Read More »

Trump, Pumped and Dumped

By | June 4, 2017
(Previously published at The Baffler. I have to admit it all looks less likely now than it did two weeks ago.) AS THE TALLY OF DONALD TRUMP’S high and low crimes and misdemeanors grows, discussion of his removal tends to run aground when the subject of impeachment comes up. His support in the Congress is… Read More »

“The Eyes of the Country Are on Montana.” Really.

By | May 24, 2017
The far right and the Republicans are pulling out all the stops to stop Rob Quist, the Bernie Sanders-backed congressional candidate in Montana’s special election tomorrow. (With a population of just over 1 million, the whole state gets one member of Congress in an at-large district.) According to the Billings Gazette, over the past three… Read More »

Battle in California: No Unity Around the Status Quo

By | May 22, 2017
So much for party unity. A tumultuous California Democratic convention over the weekend highlighted the still-remaining (and perhaps widening) gap between the party left- and centrist-leaning wings. (You already know which side ThePopulist.Buzz is on.) RoseAnn DeMoro, head of the California Nurses Association, laid down the marker: “We’re not going to unify around the status… Read More »

CAP’s 2017 ‘Ideas Conference’ Needed More Ideas

By | May 17, 2017
On May 16, amidst the backdrop of the turmoil in the White House, the Center for American Progress held its 2017 “Ideas Conference” before some 500 Democratic politicos, prominently including CAP’s financial supporters, in Washington. The upshot: there remains a chasm between the robust program essential to building a progressive majority — job creation, public… Read More »