Very few news events are quite as scripted as the aftermath of a mass shooting. Politicians on both sides of the aisle send thoughts and prayers. Democrats call for gun control. Republicans say something should be done about mental illness. The media speaks in hushed tones. Piles of stuffed animals and flowers appear at the massacre site. It’s always the same.
Nothing like a Strong Message for the Midterms
Voters will be going to the polls for the midterm elections six months from now. Democratic politicians know that they face an uphill climb and are likely to lose both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Yet the party hasn’t managed to coalesce behind a clear message beyond not being Republicans.
E Pluribus Nada
If a two-party democratic system is to be viable, it has to have a basic shared set of facts, values and issues about which people may differ, and should differ, about solutions. At this point in time, however, the United States doesn’t qualify because the American people are obsessed about totally different things depending on their political orientation.
Wars Make Bad Badfellows
Many Americans are skeptical about military support for Ukraine given that country’s dismal human rights record and autocratic political system. One might also wonder why any other country would want to get into a relationship with the United States.
Five Men Have the Right to Choose
Recent nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States, Republicans appointed by former President Donald Trump, told the United States Senate during their confirmation hearings—under oath—that they considered the landmark 1973 abortion decision Roe v. Wade to be “settled law.” But a leaked draft decision indicating that the conservative majority plans to overturn that decision belies their statements. The fix has been in for years, and desperate women will pay the price.