Dems: Don't Let the Rs Outshout You
This builds upon a previous piece, “Remember, It’s Not Just Trump But Also This Disgraceful Trump Party that Must Be Defeated.” ******************Starting with a few basic points:1) The Republicans are...
View ArticleHow Elizabeth Warren Might Get Her Campaign Mojo Back
The Test Elizabeth Warren Now FacesLike most people I know, I struggle to assess the various candidates for the Democratic nomination accurately— who they are and what they have to offer. I yearn for...
View ArticleBarr Cannot Be Allowed to Get Away With This: In Praise of Holder's Take-Down...
I applaud former Attorney General Eric Holder for calling out William Barr in such bold moral truth-telling, as is reported today in this article on Huffington Post.“As a former U.S. attorney general,...
View Article“Who Are the Partisans Here?” How the Democrats Should Challenge the Republicans
The House Judiciary Committee has voted to impeach President Trump. But in fact, it is only the Democrats on that Committee who have voted to impeach. Every single vote in the process was 23-17, i.e....
View ArticleHave the Democrats Been Doing Impeachment Right?
I’m worried. Worried about the fate of American democracy. That’s not exactly big news—I’ve been worried about where our nation was heading, full-time for the past 15 years. (And I’ve been worried...
View ArticleHow Rep. Jamie Raskin Might Strike a Strong Blow for the Impeachment Effort
In a piece just published Have the Democrats Been Doing Impeachment Right? I make a case for the possibility that the reason the impeachment process isn’t moving public opinion toward impeachment is...
View ArticleThe Republican Version of Omerta
“Omerta” is the name of the Mafia’s Code of Silence. One doesn’t rat to the police about anything that would help them defeat the force of organized crime.Today, in American politics, the criminal...
View Article“Love Thine Enemies” Marks a Powerful Path
This piece will be running in several newspapers in my very red congressional district (VA-06)*******************If everyone loved their enemies, there wouldn’t be enemies.Opposing interests, different...
View ArticleI Hope the Dems' Position Is: A Fair Trial Or No Trial. (Is It?)
I’ve taken some delight in the Democrats’ stepping back from automatically transmitting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, whose leader has promised to conspire with the defendant in the trial...
View ArticleHow the Dems Might Fortify the Impeachment and Expose the Republicans'...
Preface:The battle, as always, is for public opinion. Or at least for that segment of public opinion that can be swayed.The problem, as always, is that the Republicans tell lies with abandon and get...
View ArticleHow Elizabeth Warren Might Win the Nomination and Save the Nation (Intro)
INTRODUCTION (TO A BRIEF SERIES)For the past generation, the relationship between the two parties has been one of war. But the problem is – and our present national crisis is the result of this problem...
View ArticleHow Elizabeth Warren Might Win the Nomination and Save the Nation (Take the...
This is the second installment in what will be a brief series. In the introductory piece — the text of which I will post here below — it was argued that 1) the Democrats’ impeachment effort has been...
View ArticleNancy Pelosi Might Put the Spotlight on the Senate Republicans (Not Just...
The Present Impasse, and Its Problems:I’m very glad that Speaker Pelosi has continued to withhold the Articles of Impeachment, rather than just sending them over to the Senate for a sham trial,...
View ArticleNot-So-Good Grief (Over All We May Be Losing)
I’m not sure why I’ve always been very sensitive to loss. It doesn’t seem to be because I endured so much loss in my formative years. (The first truly major loss I suffered was the death of my father...
View ArticleWhat We Need for These House Managers to Achieve as They Prosecute the Case...
I find that I’m disappointed to read about the choice of the House managers. But only tentatively. Even though I’m a close observer of these things, I realize I don’t know nearly enough about all the...
View ArticleDemocrats, It's Time to Stop Doing the Opposite of Demonization
In the field of political psychology — and the psychology of war in particular — there’s the concept of “the demonization of the enemy.” People have studied how — for example in World War I —...
View ArticleChallenging My Republican Op/Ed Readers: "What a Vote to Acquit Should Require"
This piece will be appearing in newspapers in my very red congressional district, VA-06.***********What a Vote to Acquit Should RequireThe Senate trial of Donald Trump is under way. The universal...
View ArticleNot Thrilled If It Boils Down to Biden or Sanders
Let me say at the outset that I would be quite thrilled to know that next November either Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders had been elected President of the United States. What a relief? But I can’t deny...
View ArticleEmphasize the Contradiction: "He Did Nothing Wrong" and "Let's Keep What He...
The point has been made by many, that Trump shows by his actions — his stonewalling of witnesses and documents — that he knows that he is guilty, that he’s got plenty to hide, and that his “I did...
View ArticleWhy Would Mitt Romney Help Mitch McConnell?
This has not been a good era for heroism, or even virtue, in the political world. Too many surprises on the downside. Like Robert Mueller— the former Marine patriot straight-arrow master of wielding...
View Article