Marc Ash on Afghanistan: Bush was warned it would end this way
A Soviet Afghanistan debacle had ended a little more than a decade earlier. “And then we did the exact same thing. Breathtaking,” he writes.
Eric Black Ink
Eric Black Ink is a column by veteran journalist Eric Black covering national and state politics, policy, government and history.
Pew survey on race shows a nation alarmingly divided
Among Democrats, 73 percent favored doing more to overcome racism. Among Republicans, 21 percent favored some level of effort to overcome racial bias.
Mary Trump offers powerful insights on her uncle and the dangers of the Second Big Lie
Her New Republic piece’s subhead says: “Now, he and his GOP enablers are peddling the Second Big Lie: that Jan. 6 was just legitimate protest. It’s the crucial ingredient in convincing America to return them — and him — to power.”
On timing, technology and the weirdness of the English language
I kinda cracked up at these examples of some of the things that make it so hard for non-natives to learn English, assembled by linguist and author Aria Okrent.
Columnist Perry Bacon Jr. explains why we’re often wrong about how politics works
His Washington Post column is headlined, “Why ‘moderation’ doesn’t guarantee electoral success for Biden and the Democrats.”
How the filibuster was used 51 years ago to keep the Electoral College
A popular-vote constitutional amendment died on the Senate floor in September 1970, killed off by a filibuster led by three Southern senators.
Trump fundraising is endless. But for what?
It’s fairly clear that “Save America” and Donald J. Trump are synonymous, but what is the purpose of their mutual existence?
Stefanik surely knows more than her ‘Socialist healthcare schemes’ tweet suggests
Perhaps she just thinks if she puts the word “socialist” into a sentence, her audience loses all power of rational thought. And, who knows, maybe she’s right.
Trumpism as a ‘lethal Lost Cause’
David W. Blight writes that Trump’s 2020 loss “has been transformed into a narrative of betrayal, resistance and a promise of political revitalization” — and therefore may endure.
Gail Collins and Bret Stephens on the idea of a Trump library
I actually laughed out loud, in the privacy of my workspace, when reading this exchange from the most recent Collins-Stephens colloquy.
It’s in the verbs: Hubert Humphrey makes the case for an active government
In this video, Humphrey emphasizes the preamble’s verbs to make the case that the Framers wanted the government they were “ordaining” and “establishing” to do stuff, big stuff, to be active and specifically to be active in making life better for those who would be governed.
Government’s role: What does ‘promote the general welfare’ include?
Historian Heather Cox Richardson turns her attention to the fairly idiotic right-wing obsession with the idea that the government can’t force anyone to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Another Trump campaign ‘survey’ — this one about the media
In an slight giveaway that it’s not serious opinion research, the mailing is titled “OFFICIAL CORRUPT MEDIA SURVEY.”
Biden needs patience to bring two senators around on filibuster reform
I liked Biden’s “For the People Act” speech. It celebrated democracy and sought to strengthen the U.S. version of democracy, which has been under assault – not just figuratively, but literally — from a Trumpian mob.
Election law expert Richard Hasen cries foul over voting rights ruling
His piece in Slate is headlined “The Supreme Court’s Latest Voting Rights Opinion Is Even Worse Than It Seems.”
Frederick Douglass’ 1842 July 4 remarks were beyond powerful
The arguments were specifically about slavery, but perhaps also about the even longer story of the ability of those with enough power to get away with it to sustain and even justify pure evil.
Presidential ranking: C-Span survey shows Trump in 41st place
The three that came in lower than Donald Trump were Franklin Pierce, 42; Andrew Johnson, 43; and James Buchanan, 44.
Is America back? Fareed Zakaria points out ‘the decay of American democracy is real’
He adds: “It’s not a messaging or image problem. Until we can repair that, I’m not sure we can truly say America is back.”
For Democrats, Joe Manchin is frustrating, but better than the alternative
As Steve Chapman makes clear his most recent column in the Chicago Tribune, Manchin is almost certainly the only Democrat who could hold that West Virginia seat for the party.
Our Constitution doesn’t require a popular vote for president
I assume that any state that nowadays decided not to hold a popular vote would cause a big negative backlash. But, in this post-Trump moment, it’s possible that the Trumpiest of legislators may be wondering whether they could get away with it.
