Recent Politics Commentaries

Eye-to-Eye
Embed from Getty Images Thirty-one minutes and forty-three seconds into his speech at the GOP Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in Manchester, New Hampshire, former Vice-President Mike Pence said this about the January 6th insurrection of the Capitol building and President Trump: “…I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye-to-eye on that day…” That’s it? “Eye-to-eye”? What a feeble attempt at characterizing your...
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June 7, 2021
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How Do We Restore Faith in Our Democracy?
For 3 long days, the battle raged. The following night, in a heavy rain, General Lee withdrew his troops from the battlefield of Gettysburg. The union had won a costly but critical battle and turned the tide of the Civil War. Four months later, Lincoln, a Republican, standing in the midst of a crowd, summed the words that would be...
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June 4, 2021
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When Will This Madness End?
“…every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a re-opening—whether you want to call it a re-opening of businesses or of just a re-opening of society—in the aftermath of something like this, it actually will lead to an increase and spread.” That statement acknowledged what medical experts were telling state officials during the long months of COVID-19. But...
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May 23, 2021
Trump’s First Amendment Rights
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. – adopted December 15, 1791 Embed from Getty Images I believe in the First Amendment....
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May 21, 2021
Trump, Social Media and The First Amendment
Embed from Getty Images Apologies for the delay in Wednesday’s commentary. Taxes. Returning Friday. On January 6, the day the 2020 presidential election was set for certification by the Congress, Donald Trump gave a speech in front of the White House that became a drumbeat of rebellion built on lies, and conspiracies. It was a speech that whipped-up thousands of...
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May 17, 2021
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Moment of Principle
In my 2004 book, What Do You Stand For? I asked a cross-section of more than 100 individuals to answer a questionnaire: What do you stand for, what principles have you lived by? Describe a “moment of principle” in which your convictions were tested or a story in which you were inspired by another. Last night, on the floor of...
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May 12, 2021
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Profile in Courage; Profiles in Cowardice
“In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or...
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May 6, 2021
What’s the Truth About Georgia’s New Election Law?
Embed from Getty Images “I’m telling you the truth about this bill,” Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp tells Atlanta’s NPR affiliate. “It expands access.” You can fool all the people some of the time… “After the November election last year, I knew,” Kemp said, “like so many of you, that significant reforms to our state elections were needed.” And some of...
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April 7, 2021
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The Spirit of America – Conclusion
Only historians are likely to recall Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, the Mississippi Representative who, in a speech that brought tears to the eyes of many battle-hardened House members, spoke passionately of “the South’s most implacable enemy, the Radical Republican who helped make the Reconstruction Period a black nightmare the South never could forget,” Kennedy wrote in Profiles in Courage. In...
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March 31, 2021
What is Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson’s Skill Set?
The “brilliance” of the Wisconsin Senator cannot be overstated. Embed from Getty Images In his last 4 “productive” years, Johnson initiated an investigation into Joe Biden’s connection to the Ukraine conspiracy. Lot’s of attention. Big headlines. But Johnson found no evidence that Biden had participated in any wrongdoing. Last November, Johnson, the Republican Chairman of Homeland Security,  » Read more about:...
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March 24, 2021

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
If It Looks Like a Duck…
Donald Trump has never hidden his disdain for anyone or any institution he believes stands in his way. Near the top of that list is...
A Tale of Two Voices
Two voices, both alike in reach and power, Speak into a divided world. One feeds grievance. The other calls for grace. Influence still carries power....
How Do We Manage Division?
Recently, I found myself returning to a question I’ve asked in different forms for years: what does it actually take to hold a country together...
The Supreme Court is Broken. How Do We Fix It?
As distilled from an email update from Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down...
Leadership as a Moral Act
Britain’s King Charles III spoke to a chamber that, for a moment, set aside party labels—Democrat and Republican—and listened not as factions, but as participants...
Unity is Not a Declaration. It’s a Discipline.
How does a country move from argument to action? The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is not an isolated event. It is part...