Big Lawsuit

A year ago the Republicans in the state legislature drew all the Republican Congressional districts they could. Democrats sued. And the State Supreme Court – controlled by Democrats – threw out Republican districts, drew districts that elected more Democrats. Unhappy Republican legislators sued, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule only state legislators can draw…

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A Little Screwy

Over the years American courts have ruled no to school prayer, no to saluting the flag, no to saying the Pledge of Allegiance – all to ‘protect people’s constitutional rights.’ Now a Colorado businesswoman’s landed in a lawsuit in the Supreme Court because she won’t build gay marriage websites and, oddly, the same people who…

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The Coming Fight

For years, when Republicans fought in a primary, conservative candidates had an edge: Most primary voters were conservative. And, since Independent voters often agreed with conservatives on issues, conservative Republicans were able to go on and win General Elections. That’s changed. Today, for many Republican primary voters Trump’s a totem. Conservative, an idea, matters less.…

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Putin’s Happy

Biden cut a deal with Putin, got Brittney Griner home. Trump blasted Biden, called his deal ‘stupid,’ said Griner ‘openly hates our country.’ The Internet erupted, war broke out with one side gushing over Biden, the other side jeering him – and Putin must have been happier than he dreamed: He got his arms dealer…

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Rare Courage

Every election for years I heard Tom Ellis tell politicians, Put principle above politics – to do what’s right, don’t worry about getting elected. Those days are past. After reading an Elon Musk tweet Trump, on a tear, said election fraud justified ‘termination of the Constitution.’ He lost under the constitution – so throw out…

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Gridlock

Gridlock’s back. And it’s not as awful as it sounds on CNN or Fox. Joe Biden can’t whip Republicans and Republicans can’t whip Biden – so steps in the right direction are going to die in their tracks but steps down the wrong road will too and when the threat you face is Washington politicians…

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A Lethal Tool that Backfired

Years ago when Jim Hunt was thrashing Jesse Helms in his Senate race, Arthur Finkelstein dropped a poll on the table, lifted both hands in the air in front of him, palms open. “There’re two kinds of elections.” He waved one palm: “There’re issue elections.” He waved the other open palm: “And character elections. This…

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Axis Sally

Axis Sally a Broadway showgirl with a sultry voice starred on Nazi radio during World War II, purring to lonely GI’s (who hadn’t seen their wives in years): ‘Remember the guy with the flashy convertible who had eyes for your wife…last week he moved in with her.’ That was propaganda back in the 1940’s –…

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It Wouldn’t Be the First Time…

Last fall on Sunday before election day political ads ran back-to-back on TV – one snarled, Cheri Beasley’s for rapists, another snapped, Ted Budd hates democracy, ads rolled on and on but with one odd twist: Full of razzmatazz, dark voices, snarls, growls, they all looked, sounded, alike. Like they’d been made by the same…

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A Reckoning

Last November at Mar-a-Lago announcing he was running for president a third time Trump bragged he’d finished building the Wall. That wasn’t so. But Trumpsters shrugged, ‘Oh, that’s just Trump. It doesn’t matter.’ Joe Biden, two weeks earlier, had boasted the price of gas was “down from over $5 when I took office.” The price…

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