Democrats have good reason to fear this horror sequel. James Fallows lists all the gory reasons why. I’m already having flashbacks to the angry shouting matches Nader’s nihilism triggered between editors (including myself) at Audubon magazine, where I worked at the time of the 2000 election.
Last month, when Jon Huntsman criticized his fellow Republican Presidential candidates for spreading malarky about evolution and climate change, conservatives, by and large, looked away. So it is a curious thing that many commentators on the Right are now jumping all over Michelle Bachmann for her “dangerous flirtation” with the anti-vaccine crowd. Orac has a…Continue Reading…
In Wednesday’s Republican Presidential candidate debate, Rick Perry said global warming was one big Ponzi scheme. And that Galileo was burned at the stake for being the climate skeptic of his day. Or something like that. UPDATE: Many readers seem thrown by my attempt at sarcasm. Next time I’ll be less subtle. But a direct…Continue Reading…
After reading this essay (which has gone viral), I don’t know what worries me more: a nihilistic GOP, an incompetent Democratic party, “low-information” voters, or a neutered media. The author, a former Republican congressional staffer gone rogue, makes a forceful (and somewhat terrifying) case that the unfortunate combination of all the above is now undermining U.S. democracy….Continue Reading…
That we are yet again debating evolutionary theory and Earth’s origins “” and that candidates now have to declare where they stand on established science “” should be a signal that we are slip-sliding toward governance by emotion rather than reason. But it’s important to understand what’s undergirding the debate. It has little to do…Continue Reading…
Andrew Sullivan, the conservative heretic, sizes up the candidacies of the two GOP front-runners: One launched his campaign in a revival meeting calling for God to solve our economic problems (having previously led mass prayers for the end of the Texas drought); the other emerges entirely out of Dominionist theology and built her entire career…Continue Reading…
I think it’s safe to say that Drew Westen, in his recent NYT essay, channels the disappointment and anger felt by many liberal democrats these days. He argues that President Obama should have given this speech on Inauguration Day in 2009: “I know you’re scared and angry. Many of you have lost your jobs, your…Continue Reading…
They were like cannibals, eating their own party and leaders alive. They were like vampires, draining their country’s reputation, credit rating and compassion. Maureen Dowd on the Tea Party Republicans that turned Washington D.C. into a political horror show.
What does the theory of punctuated equilibrium have to do with modern-day American politics? Dan Vergano of USA Today has an intriguing piece that makes the connection: In the 1990’s, amid widespread complaints of “gridlock” in Washington, the notion of political punctuated equilibrium “was born from dissatisfaction with the idea of everything being fixed and…Continue Reading…
Last night was a double treat for me: I dodged the torturous bedtime ritual and attended a smart debate about politics. (Afterwards, I was so covetous of my freedom that I skipped down 5th Avenue like an escaped convict, unsure of what to do next.) Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to…Continue Reading…