General
Bridging the Divide
The other night Gary and I spoke at Quail Ridge Books about Hillbilly Elegy and as the two of us argued about what diseases shuttered Ohio steel mills, addicted mothers to opioids, split our country into armed camps and left white working-class voters supporting Trump a lady in the back of the room stood up…
Read MoreFire, Fury and Feuding
Two days ago, I blogged about Trump’s lifeblood: picking fights and starting feuds. It’s like Burr and Hamilton with tweets instead of pistols. Then he started two more feuds. The first is with Kim Jung Un, the only world leader as egotistical and unpredictable as Trump. The second is with Mitch McConnell. The McConnell feud…
Read MoreWhat Trump does well
We know what he does badly. He lies. He is willfully and woefully ignorant about the world. He lies. He is vain, volatile and thin-skinned. He lies. His leadership style is chaotic, unpredictable and incompetent. He lies. His chumminess with Putin is suspicious. He lies. He has no principles, character or sense of decency. And…
Read MoreTrump, Hillbillies, Politics, Trump…
Carter and I had a good time, a great crowd and a rousing discussion last night at Quail Ridge Books’ “Bridging the Divide” program. If I was Trump, I’d say there were about a thousand people there. And that the bookstore manager called and said it was the biggest crowd they’d ever had. More than…
Read MoreA Bare Cupboard
There’re two ways for a President to pass his bills: One is old-fashioned back-room arm-twisting, cajoling, and deal-making. Presidents like Lyndon Johnson have been masters of that art but, oddly, Donald Trump isn’t. The other path is the bully pulpit: A President explains his ideas, convinces voters he’s right and, after he does, it’s…
Read MoreDevilment
It’s called ‘leverage’ and last weekend President Trump tried it by tweeting: “If a new healthcare bill is not approved quickly BAILOUTS for insurance companies and BAILOUTS for members of Congress will end very soon!” The President was saying to the insurance lobby, Get onboard – or I’ll end $7 billion a year in subsidies…
Read MoreBridge builders? Carter and me? Seriously?
Carter and I will be talking about books and politics this Wednesday (August 2) at 7 pm at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. (Support your local independent bookstore!) Join us. We’re part of the store’s “Bridging the Divide” series, designed to bring together people from the left and the right. Now, cynics might say Carter…
Read MoreThe “Green Thing”
A TAPster of a certain age – and a certain attitude, you can tell – passed along the following tale of two generations. I post it for the benefit of old and young. Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags,…
Read MoreSigns
Twenty-four years ago newly elected President Bill Clinton had a ‘Disapproval’ rating of 51%, and Democrats lost the next election in a landslide. In 1994 Republican gained 54 seats in Congress. President Trump has a ‘Disapproval’ rating of 58% – 7 points higher than Clinton’s – but, like most people, Republican politicians shrug, That won’t…
Read MoreNo One in Congress…
Republicans won four straight elections campaigning against Obamacare – it was that unpopular. But, now, they’ve laid out their own healthcare plan and guess what: Voters favor Obamacare over the Republican Plan by 2 to 1. Who’d have thought it was possible? Can no one in Congress…fix anything?
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