I just finished reading a book that blew my mind: The People, NO: A Brief History of Anti-Populism, by Thomas Frank. The title is a play on a slogan of the People’s Party in the late 19th century: “The People, Yes!” As the book explains, the People’s Party was the first true populist movement in America, a coalition of farmers and laborers, blacks and whites, looking to topple the hegemony of wealthy capitalists and reclaim a fair share of the fruits of the American economy. Since then, Frank explains, populism has been widely maligned by corporate leaders, academic elites, journalists and others. . . .
Category: Politics
An Unusually Meaningful Vice-Presidential Debate
So . . . President Trump has Covid-19 and God only knows what his prognosis is. The White House certainly isn’t saying. And Joseph Biden is the oldest American every to run for a first term as President, and is campaigning amidst a deadly pandemic. I’m not the first person to note that this combination makes Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate of much greater interest that it would ordinarily be. We can’t help thinking as we watch, one of these people could become President of the United States really soon.
The Covid-19 Test Heard Round the World
I would have thought I’d experience a healthy shot of schadenfreude after learning that Donald Trump had contracted the coronavirus, but I find that all I can muster is an eye roll. There’s no question that he brought this on himself, but I’m disinclined to gloat, not because I have any sympathy for Trump but because the country just doesn’t need another disruption that further compounds our uncertainty about the future. . . .
The Debate
The debate . . . what to say about the debate. I think Thomas Friedman, writing in the New York Times, got it right: we can’t let the fact that Trump sent the debate so completely off the rails distract us from the real story . . .
The Gatekeepers, by Chris Whipple
This week I finished reading Chris Whipple’s 2017 book, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency. As a presidential politics nerd, I found it fascinating, but I expect that anyone who is even somewhat interested in the inner workings of the West Wing would it find it compelling. . . .
A Broken Tax System
An editorial in the NY Times this morning nicely expresses my view that the most important thing about the revelations this week regarding Trump’s tax returns is not what the President has done, but the fact that it’s so easy for rich people to get away with gaming the system. . . .
How Will RBG’s Death Effect the Election?
My friend Marty wrote me this morning saying he was trying to puzzle out the implications of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death for the presidential election. Will Democrats be more motivated to vote? Will it boost or diminish Republican turnout? . . .
More Postcards, and Now Letters, to Voters
I wrote previously about writing postcards to voters on behalf of Reclaim Our Vote, which supports volunteers who want to send appeals to registered Democrats, especially voters of color, urging them to take advantage of early voting in the upcoming election. I’ve since found two more organizations that do something similar. . . .
The Politics of Humiliation
My friend Marty texted me a link to an op-ed piece by Thomas Friedman a couple of days ago titled “Who Can Win America’s Politics of Humiliation?” Friedman asserts that “unless Biden finds a way to speak to the sense of humiliation felt by many working-class voters, even Trump’s failure to deal with the pandemic may not be enough to turn these voters against him.” That’s because “the politics of humiliation is at the heart of Trump’s appeal.” . . .
Love This T-Shirt
Jennifer came across this t-shirt in a catalog. It immediately went to the top of my list of favorite t-shirt slogans of 2020. . . .