And Bernie still has no path to the nomination. First, about Iowa. I see a lot of talk about how Bernie outperformed the polls. This is not true. He actually under performed. Opinion polls measure the overall likelihood of support from the statewide populace. However, in Iowa, that is not how the contest is measured….
Category: politics
Clinton Wins Iowa! What’s Next?
I’m calling Iowa for Clinton today. Now that the first primary is in the bag, what is next for the Dem primary, Clinton, and her supporters?
Clinton’s ‘Corporate Ties’ Are Exactly What We Need
One of the frustrations of being a ‘rational’ progressive is watching people you largely agree with be completely wrongheaded in the way they pursue progressive goals. I am a bang for the buck kind of guy. Human capital is limited, so I like to see progressives devote energy and resources where they can do the…
On healthcare, I have to side with Hillary.
Setting aside the “zero cost sharing = appointments for stubbed toes” issue, and even setting aside the holy hell which would be raised by rich people and powerful corporations over the tax hikes (not to mention the entire health insurance industry over a move which would put them all out of business and by the…
The Dangerous Bernie Sanders
The election for the nomination and the presidency is over. Clinton won. So why do you see so many anti Bernie posts on this page if he can’t win? Remember folks, I am not a Democrat. I believe in rational analysis, and intelligent, effective policy, and electing those people best equipped to move a progressive…
Why Bernie Sanders’ “Political Revolution” Doesn’t Have a Chance
Hillary Clinton and Sanders need to give plans for executive branch action, given gridlock in Congress. In response, on Twitter, some Sanders supporters said this was wrong: That Sanders—with a long career in lawmaking—could win Republican support; that Sanders would use the bully pulpit to rally voters; and that a Sanders win would necessarily bring…
Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations?
Last week Bernie Sanders was asked whether he was in favor of “reparations for slavery.” It is worth considering Sanders’s response in full: No, I don’t think so. First of all, its likelihood of getting through Congress is nil. Second of all, I think it would be very divisive. The real issue is when we…
On Hillary and Bernie
I am a progressive. I want the things Bernie promises for this country. I want universal health care, and free higher education, and reduced incarceration, and an end to the artificial redistribution of wealth into the pockets of the filthy rich. But I also understand basic civics, and I read the news, so I know that…
The Case Against Bernie Sanders
Sanders’s core argument is that the problems of the American economy require far more drastic remedies than anything the Obama administration has done, or that Clinton proposes to build on. Clinton has put little pressure on Sanders’s fatalistic assessment, but the evidence for it is far weaker than he assumes. Sanders has grudgingly credited what…
Clinton vs Sanders: A Handy Chart
The primary is all about distinguishing who you think the best candidate is to compete in the general election to become president. Below is a handy chart where you can see some data we thought relevant in a convenient side by side format. By the metrics used for the issues meter in the chart, -10…
Feeling Berned
Some have been trying to warn Bernie and his crew for months. The tea bagger behavior will not fly with hardcore progressives and Dems. We see nothing wrong with pragmatism and adaptability. We see nothing wrong with incremental progress. But no, the Bernie Bots drink the tea morning, noon, and night. They refuse to…
Saying nice things about Hillary Clinton has become a subversive act.
Hillary Clinton is the impossible woman. The pressures she lives under, every moment of her life, are all-encompassing. She doesn’t have an inch of leeway, a single safe option; there is no version of Hillary Clinton that won’t be attacked. So the version of Hillary Clinton we get—this conflicted, conflict-inspiring candidate, the woman who has…
Who are Bernie’s Supporters?
There has been a lot of talk about righties masquerading as supporters of various candidates to influence outcomes in the Dem nomination process. We know that it is true, but it is difficult to gauge the actual level. Lately I have received some criticism for resorting to a ‘snarky’ tone and over-zealous criticism of Bernie…
They terrorized my daughters and killed my baby. That’s why we’re Syrian refugees.
Editor’s note: Linda J. and her family are Syrian refugees who made their way from Damascus to Baltimore. She worked with a caseworker and a translator from the International Rescue Committee, the nonprofit agency that helped them resettle here, to tell her family’s story of asylum. The Washington Post agreed that she could abbreviate her…
Why Denmark isn’t the utopian fantasy Bernie Sanders describes
Sanders joins a long tradition of liberal politicians around the world who laud Denmark, Sweden and Norway (and sometimes Finland and Iceland, which aren’t technically part of Scandinavia) for their equality and prosperity. These northern European countries enjoy a reputation for being peaceful, egalitarian, progressive, liberal and educated, and having excellent furniture and crime novels, too. For whatever…
2016 Democratic debate: A victory for Clinton
Clinton was the clear winner of the first Democratic presidential debate, according to the assessment of both Democrats and Republicans in this week’s POLITICO Caucus, our bipartisan survey of the top activists, operatives and strategists in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Seventy-nine percent of Democratic insiders surveyed said she dominated her four opponents…
Barack Obama’s Long Game
Barack Obama is not a modest man, but when it comes to assessing his or any president’s place in the long American story, he has been heard to say, “We just try to get our paragraph right.” Yet the way a raft of recent events have broken sharply in his favor, Obama suddenly seems well…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – August 24, 2015 – The Rational Progressive
TRP News with James Andre. This week – can Sanders win the Democratic primary? Do Clinton’s emails really matter? What do you know about the Senate elections? Two states fail to draw legal voting district maps, migrants storm the Macedonian border, and the Koreas exchange artillery fire in the middle of a joint U.S. –…
TRP News – Progressive News & Information – August 17, 2015
TRP News with James Andre. This week – presidential hopefuls visit the Iowa state fair, Sanders distances himself from an apology and his African American outreach director, the Federal Reserve may be raising rates and progressives are pushing back, Warren and McCain want to bring back Glass-Steagall, several states cut off federal funds for Planned…
The Two Progressivisms
The definitions of the terms “liberal” and “conservative” have been the subjects of much debate in contemporary American politics. But it has become increasingly clear that the term “progressive” is equally ambiguous, and is associated with at least two relatively distinct philosophical traditions. Although these two “progressivisms” share common ground on many (probably most) issues,…