The country has found a politician who is honest, speaking the truth as he sees it, no matter the consequences. Paul LePage, the former Republican governor of Maine, has spoken out against the proposal for popular election of the president of the United States. “It saddens me that we’re willing to take everything we stand […]
In the 2020 election campaign, healthcare looms as a major issue. Many Republicans want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and slash Medicare. Eliminating Obama’s signature policy and reducing Medicare are centerpieces of their effort to end Democratic “big government.” They like the traditional system based mainly on insurance provided by employers. Many conservatives believe […]
Declaring a national emergency, President Trump’s way of rounding up funds for the Wall, is either a national scandal or a routine political maneuver. Voters may get to make their choice. Whatever it is, the fault for the latest crisis is squarely owned by Congress. By blithely passing off its constitutional powers to the president, […]
The Supreme Court has stirred controversy with two procedural orders. They revealed much about the state of our political world. In one case, the Court decided to suspend a Louisiana law that requires doctors performing abortions to be admitted to practice at a hospital. The law could have the effect of eliminating all but one […]
If you follow any major sport, you probably know about weekly power rankings. Teams are rated on their recent performance, and their standing may change from week to week. The ranking supposedly reveals the ultimate winner. Power rankings have now come to the presidential campaign. Washington Post pundits plan to rank weekly all potential candidates, […]
Here’s a good story that should have had a sequel. About 100 days after he suddenly found himself president of the United States, Harry S Truman had to fill his first vacancy on the Supreme Court. In 1945, the Court was composed of seven Democratic appointees and one Republican. Himself a Democrat, Truman naturally wanted […]
There’s bad news and good news about the political understandings that make our system of government work. The biggest piece of bad news has been the shutdown of much of the federal government because of a battle over President Trump’s proposal to build the Wall. While there’s more than enough finger pointing about responsibility for […]
Chief Justice John Roberts says federal judges are not political. They are nonpartisan umpires of disputes under the law. Or, in fact, do federal judges create law for partisan reasons, when they should limit their judgments to simply following the law? The answer is a firm “maybe.” Conservatives want judges to uphold the existing law […]
Incoming Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the former presidential candidate, has issued a sharp criticism of President Trump. “A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity,” he wrote, “and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect.” Romney concluded that the “president has not risen to the mantle of the […]
When the president speaks on national television, the American people expect an explanation of an important action or an attempt to rally them in the face of a major threat. Usually, no response is made by a leader of the opposing party. Only when the president lays out his program to Congress in the State […]
