Trump is a fake economic populist
All of what’s happened was not only utterly predictable, but was also not what the American people wanted.
How Barr’s Mueller memo sparks distrust
Decades after the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only person responsible for assassinating President John F. Kennedy, a majority of Americans rejected their finding, believing there was a conspiracy. Attorney General Bill Barr followed a path that’s likely to make responses to the Mueller report at least as distrusting. Why? No […]
Vaccinations and the politics of fear and distrust
How did vaccines, a highly effective medical tool, become controversial?
Why politicians should stop lying about abortion
In the 45 years since the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that there is a national right for women to choose abortion and, despite stable public support for abortion in all or most cases, the issue has not faded away.
Maine leads on voting access. We can do even better.
Maine has an opportunity to improve its voting laws, making this fundamental part of representative government even better. Many bills are before the Maine Legislature that would increase access to the ballot. Mainers already have one key element that helps people engage in the democratic process. When people move to or around Maine, they can […]
Susan Collins and the party of Trump
In not saying whether she would endorse President Donald Trump in 2020, Sen. Susan Collins shared what she decided about her election plans. Asked on PBS Newshour about a Trump endorsement, Collins said, “I’m really focused on my own campaign for 2020, and I really haven’t focused on the presidential campaign. So I’m not prepared […]
Federal policy is frozen but winter doesn’t last forever
Washington, D.C. is in a policy winter, a deep freeze with little significant legislation likely. Even after the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history is over, it’s unlikely that major legislation will be enacted over the next two years. Right now the states are where the policy action is, particularly in the six states where […]
Mills begins governorship with humor and inclusion
Janet Mills’ inauguration as Maine governor was striking for its humor without a hint of meanness, feelings of warmth and inclusion, and poetic musings on our shared community. When two fifth-graders sang, “This Girl is on Fire,” the crowd rose to its feet and Mills laughed, sang along, play-acted to some lyrics and, at the […]
As he tries to overturn election, Poliquin insults Mainers
In attempting to remain in Congress, Rep. Bruce Poliquin filed a lawsuit that openly asserts that some Mainers didn’t know what they were were doing in the voting booth. It’s an approach that’s patronizing and insulting. According to the testimony of Poliquin’s expert witness, Prof. James Gimpel, voters who ranked independents Tiffany Bond or Will […]
The shameful undermining of the peaceful transfer of power
Sometimes when elections are over, there’s admiring talk about how our country transfers power peacefully. But while we’ve had no violent coups, this year that shining system has been profoundly undermined. You see, for the peaceful transfer of power to be meaningful, the underlying expectation is that institutions don’t change in any fundamental way before […]
