Politics Archives - Page 82 of 105

Democracy

The Impeachers

The Trial Of Andrew Johnson And The Dream Of A Just Nation

October 29, 2019 • by Brenda Wineapple

“Andrew Johnson was the queerest man who ever occupied the White House,” one of his colleagues remembered. As Lincoln’s Vice President, thrust into the presidency after Lincoln’s assassination, Johnson earned the hatred and opprobrium of most Republicans, particularly those members of Lincoln’s party in Congress who initially hoped that he ...

North America

Mayor Pete: Quit Scapegoating African-American Voters

Gay candidates are welcomed when they engage with voters — I was

October 28, 2019 • by Jim Neal

Whereas Buttigieg is the second openly gay candidate for the presidency in US history (after Fred Karger in 2012) I was the second openly gay candidate for the Senate in US history (after Ed Flanagan in 2000). Prior to 2007, I had never run for elective office: my political experience had principally been as a ...

History

The Syrian Crisis in Longer View

A review of Fragile Nation, Shattered Land

October 28, 2019 • by Spenser Rapone

Reviewed by Spenser R. Rapone The future of the Syrian Arab Republic, still embroiled in a brutal civil war, is today a topic of raging debate in the Middle East and beyond. Taking the long view, James A. Reilly’s Fragile Nation, Shattered Land: The Modern History of Syria recounts the origins ...

Activism

The Protests in Chile from the Streets

October 26, 2019 • by Mónica Ramón Ríos and Guillermina Altomonte

For the past week, Chile has experienced an intense social revolt. The trigger might seem trivial to outside observers: a subway fare hike of 30 Chilean pesos, equivalent in U.S. currency to less than five cents. Yet mounting protests that included thousands of people jumping the subway turnstiles and evading ...

North America

“This is Our Campaign”

What The Bernie Sanders Campaign Means For Racial Justice

October 25, 2019 • by Mat Cusick

Before a sold-out audience of about 200 attendees of a broad spectrum of age, race, and background, and over 10,000 viewers watching online by livestream, these three black women attempted to clarify why Bernie Sanders -- the 78-year-old white man who has served for nearly three decades as a national ...

North America

Slow But Steady Wins the Race

Warren leads Pete, Joe and Bernie in new poll

October 25, 2019 • by Claire Potter

Warren 28% Buttigieg 20% Sanders 18% Biden 12% Even if this is an outlier poll (Real Clear Politics has a list of four different ones that ...

Europe & Central Asia

How Poland Ruined its 1989

A liberal democratic dream too good to be true

October 24, 2019 • by Irena Grudzińska-Gross

The first half of 1989 in Poland was amazing -- delivering early and decisive blows to the Berlin wall, which fell later that year. From February to April 4th, the representatives of the Polish government negotiated with the Solidarity oppositional groups; in June, in partially free elections, the communist government ...

North America

Simple Is Sometimes Simplistic, and Stupid

Is it Really Smart to Narrow the Impeachment?

October 22, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

A focused impeachment that builds public support is surely a good thing; I’ve been arguing this for the past six months. But it seems extremely foolish to believe that focus can only be achieved through a narrowing of vision, and it seems worse than foolish to believe that Trump’s other abuses of power ...

The Left

Keeping the Left Alive: Michael Walzer’s Political Action Reissued

If any book can help left-wing activists figure out how not to burn out, this is probably it

October 22, 2019 • by Geoffrey Kurtz

That hopeful and interesting work is the subject of Walzer’s book Political Action: A Practical Guide to Movement Politics. Originally published in the spring of 1971 and reissued this year by New York Review Books, Political Action is in a genre by itself. Like an organizing manual but more thoughtful and suggestive, like ...

North America

Democrats Need to Treat Impeachment More Politically

Holding hearings in public now would be a start

October 19, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

The story reports on the information shared with the House Intelligence Committee by Fiona Hill. But why did the New York Times not question the fact that Hill was testifying in private? Hill is only the most recent current or former national security official to be deposed by the House Intelligence Committee about this latest, and ...

Democracy

Why Did Trump Let Erdogan Go?

The Turkish Invasion of Syria and the Global Alliance among Authoritarian Leaders

October 18, 2019 • by Utku Balaban

Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey, which is likely Trump’s way of both appeasing the opposition in the GOP and indirectly supporting Erdogan, as, in their current scope, the sanctions were not an effective instrument to deter Erdogan from going further. Furthermore, Trump accused Kurds of releasing the ISIS-related prisoners, while there is strong evidence ...

North America

Trump and the Shifting Landscape of Political Conflict

What Minneapolis Teaches Us

October 16, 2019 • by Joe Lowndes

Trump's rally at the Target Center in Minneapolis on October 9th -- particularly his attack on the Somali community -- highlights important elements of what is likely to be his campaign strategy for 2020. We are all too familiar with Trump’s xenophobia and race-baiting. But much has changed on the ground ...