From the Left
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'Laffin' Kamala' vs. 'Grumpin' Trump'
You know that American politics is turning into a sad joke when a supposedly serious presidential campaign tries to demonize laughter.
Yet, bizarrely, Donald Trump's humorless gaggle of strategists decided that their first point of attack on Kamala Harris would be: her laugh. No, seriously! Donald himself launched the offensive -- "I call her...Read more
Trump's Attacks on DEI Reveal Administration's Agenda for Second Term
This piece was written before Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee. No significant facts have been changed.
When Donald Trump's administration ended in 2020, two-thirds of Americans believed that Trump had increased racial tensions in the U.S. The Trump administration's sustained assault on political, civic and ...Read more
Batting Order: First Defeat Trump, Then Begin Our National Reconciliation
"When you come to a fork in the road," legendary political scientist Yogi Berra famously observed, "take it." There is no mistaking that this November's presidential election will mark as consequential a fork in the road as America has confronted since the election of 1860, and we will have no choice but to take it.
Practically speaking, the ...Read more
Why We Need Nauseous Optimism
For the first time in years, I’ve been walking around with a smile on my face. Maybe you have, too.
The positive energy unleashed by Kamala Harris over the last two weeks is in such stark contrast to the negative energy unleashed by Trump for the last nine years that it feels as if America has had a new beginning.
Complete strangers come up ...Read more
Why We Need Nauseous Optimism
For the first time in years, I’ve been walking around with a smile on my face. Maybe you have, too.
The positive energy unleashed by Kamala Harris over the last two weeks is in such stark contrast to the negative energy unleashed by Trump for the last nine years that it feels as if America has had a new beginning.
Complete strangers come up ...Read more
'Donald Being Donald'
In her 2019 memoir, Kamala Harris wrote, "My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters. She knew her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women."
As she did, when she dismissed Donald Trump's unbelievable attack on her ...Read more
Make Kamala Earn Our Votes
Democrats were relieved when President Joe Biden finally pulled out of the presidential race. That was understandable. It was easy to see why they quickly coalesced behind Vice President Kamala Harris as Biden's replacement: Time was short, there's no standard party process for putting on a snap second round of primaries, and passing over a ...Read more
What a Kamala Harris Presidency Would Mean
When Kamala Harris was elected vice president, I cried happy tears. Now, our country has the prospect of watching Harris become our first female president, and I'm trying to pinpoint and articulate exactly what this means to me.
President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump once, but I wasn't excited about a Biden ticket this ...Read more
Olympic Misery
For Americans of my generation, the Olympics have been miserable since the Soviet Union fell apart.
Back there in the land of the rotary phone, all good Americans wanted to see the United States win more medals than the Communists. It was fun, but it was serious. It was prideful. It was James Bond taking on Soviet evil. It was an ancient-...Read more
Trump Goes Full Racist in Attack on Kamala Harris
At least, a few Republicans know better. No sooner had President Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala Harris than Speaker Mike Johnson summoned the Republican Caucus to an urgent session. It was important, Johnson urged his members, to avoid commenting on Harris’ race when criticizing her. No more “DEI identity” charges. “This ...Read more
Because He Can. And He Means It.
"I love you," Donald Trump told an audience of Christian conservatives on Friday. "You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote."
What does that mean?
That there will be no election in four years? That Donald Trump will not leave office in four years? ...Read more
The Torch is Passed: from MAGA Throwbacks to America’s Future
Joe Biden didn’t just pass the torch to another generation. He passed it from white MAGA men to America’s future.
Consider that women now compose remarkably almost 60% of college undergraduates. And that ...Read more
A True Test for Harris: Succession
On the tip of tongues in the Capitol: Vice President Kamala Harris' pick as her running mate in the 2024 presidential stakes. Everyone has a theory. All agree this is a happy problem to solve, a true test of judgment.
Democrats were tearing out their hair before frail President Joe Biden retired from his reelection race. Now the party has ...Read more
Trump and His GOP Sycophants Driven Crazy by Kamala
Suddenly, the presidential election has turned dynamic ... even fun!
The handoff from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris has not only energized Democrats, but it's also driving the Trump Party's top leaders absolutely crazy. Of course, that's a very short ride for most of them.
Take Andy Ogles, a far-right congressional goober from Tennessee who ...Read more
How Donald Trump's Election Lies and Other Anti-Voter Policies Will Continue To Impact Our Democracy
Donald Trump's claim that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him is not only a lie (no widespread voter fraud was detected in that election); it's a lie that breeds public mistrust in our electoral system. Today, he is already casting doubt on the 2024 election, saying he will accept the results "if everything is honest." The implication is ...Read more
Difference-Maker: The Man Who Lifted a City
Some years ago, John Connors Jr. was touring an inner-city Boston school that he had helped fund out of his own pocket. Connors was long legendary for his relentless, titanic philanthropy, always on 24/7 alert for ways to do as much good in as many ways for as many people as possible.
He'd created a major summer camp for underprivileged kids,...Read more
When Others Cheat on Their Taxes, Who Pays Them? You Do
When Republicans took control of the House in January 2023, their first order of business was a bill was to cut additional IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. President Joe Biden fought them off and managed to retain $60 billion of that needed money.
Had Republicans succeeded in keeping the IRS enforcement budget at starvation ...Read more
The Torch is Passed: from MAGA Throwbacks to America’s Future
Joe Biden didn’t just pass the torch to another generation. He passed it from white MAGA men to America’s future.
Consider that women now compose remarkably almost 60% of college undergraduates. And that by 2050, it’s estimated that America will consist mostly of minorities — 30% more Black people than today, 60% more Latinos, and ...Read more
The Republicans Need a New Set of Talking Points
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is right. He called two of the most popular talking points Republicans are using right now "dumb" and "stupid." This is what he said to NBC News:
"Two attacks I've heard Republicans give that are totally stupid and dumb to do is the DEI attack, OK? The other attack that I would not do is saying that the ...Read more
No Sympathy for Biden
Poor Joe. No. Poor us . Poor United States. Poor Democratic Party.
We've been suckered. While we were fearfully obsessing over the ethically challenged former President Donald Trump, a much more talented grifter -- President Joe Biden, along with his hidden passel of coconspirators -- conned the electorate, the news media and most of ...Read more