The white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. provides strong evidence of the widening division in American politics. President Trump’s reaction shows a new stage in the rightward evolution of the Republican Party, one rejected by many GOP leaders. He would not single out the far right demonstrators for responsibility, even after one of them had […]

Electric bills hide turmoil in the electric industry. Some recent events illustrate the point.  The Maine Legislature sustained Gov. LePage’s veto of solar power subsidies.  Renewable subsidies are pushing up costs.  New transmission lines are raising rates.  Major Canadian hydro projects, hoping for U.S. markets, experience runaway costs Policy decisions contribute to hidden increases in […]

Political battles in Washington reveal the sad state of governing. Traditional pragmatism has been replaced by strict partisanship.  Checks and balances are threatened. Partisanship – “It’s my way or the highway” – has replaced the pragmatic style of government. Our tradition has been to find practical solutions to clear public needs. Is there no role […]

Republican congressional leaders have offered health insurance solutions based on phony federalism. In Maine, Gov. LePage and Sen. Collins provide sharply different views about this way of dealing with health insurance. The GOP congressional ploy would shift some tough decision to the states.  That might look like an effort to enhance the role of states, […]

The U.S. is deeply divided about public policy and society’s values.  The media, the supposedly neutral chronicler of events, is caught in the crossfire and losing public support. In a rapidly changing news world, many people believe that newspapers and electronic media are biased.  They have doubts if there is any reliable source. Politicians view […]

“The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive.” Those were the weighty words of President Trump when he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd in Poland.  Though they sound more like the work of his speechwriters than of the tweeter-in-chief, they were both momentous and generally ignored by the […]

Health care “repeal and reform” is a mess, and both parties must share the responsibility for what now appears to be a national crisis. It’s worth recalling the essential elements of the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – that have led to the crisis. The ACA extended health insurance coverage to tens of millions of […]

Is there such a thing as too much democracy? Voters in many states are more often deciding major issues that have been dodged by state legislatures.  In Maine, three recent questions, decided by popular vote, have come under legislative review this year. The clash between the Legislature and voters on boosting taxes to pay for […]

The income gap between the rich and everybody else is behind the growth of populism in the U.S. and Europe, according to new political analyses. On one side are the rich and on the other is the middle class.  The poor rarely are mentioned these days, either because it is disgraceful to be poor or […]

Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District just completed a run-off election for the vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The record of that race reveals much relevant to the consideration of ranked-choice voting. The first round of the election took place on April 18.  In a traditionally solidly Republican district, Democrat Jon Ossoff won 48 […]