Don’t forget, on this MLK day, that Andrew Yang is not the first to propose a UBI-style reform, nor is his proposal for implementation anywhere near as ambitious as what Martin Luther King was proposing over 50 years ago. Indeed, Richard Nixon of all people actually proposed, and the House actually passed, a Yang-style reform…
Joe Biden Can (and Should) Nominate a Public Defender to the Supreme Court
Now that Joe Biden likely has 50 votes to confirm judges, we need to talk about the Supreme Court. Biden is very likely to replace at least Stephen Breyer over the course of this upcoming term. During the campaign season, he committed to placing a Black woman on the Supreme Court. Given the consistent and…
The Biden Administration Gives Marcia Fudge a Job She Didn’t Ask For
I was blindsided, like many, by the news that Marcia Fudge, the high-powered member of the House who has been pushing the Democratic Party in important and meaningful ways over the last few years, would be nominated to be Joe Biden’s Secretary for Housing and Urban Development. (If you’re not familiar with Marcia Fudge or…
The First Presidential Debate and Confronting Mortality
The message was obvious to me as soon as Trump said half a sentence. There’s too much personal introspection there for a public post, but let’s just say that all of the thinking I’ve done regarding my own mortality in the last few years helped me absorb the initial blow in stride. And yes, mortality,…
Convention Big Tents and the Democrats’ Madison Cawthorn Problem
There’s a lot of hand-wringing this month (and always) about “big-tent” politics in the Democratic Party and whether that means expanding leftward or rightward. But the RNC lineup this week showcases one way in which they are lightyears ahead of the Democratic Party in terms of how they handle this question. This administration is on…
First and Final Thoughts on Kamala Harris
Okay. We all knew the Kamala Harris VP pick was coming. But I think that her record is not actually the reason I’m disheartened by this pick at this point. This takes her out of the running for Attorney General, after all, where she has clearer power to do damage. I think I’m more disheartened…
What Do We Do with Bad Candidates? Elected Judges and Electoral Pipelines
Let’s talk about state supreme courts for a bit. Elected judges are bad for basically every reason, but news in Ohio about the 2020 races has led me to recognize yet another problem with them. Ohio’s state supreme court, like many other state supreme courts, has a bar admission requirement for the office. Specifically, someone…
Laying a Progressive Foundation: Targeting State Legislative Races in 2020
Presidential fundraising is none of our concern. That’s a slight overstatement, but once we reach the general election, it’s largely true: the amount of money that we’re generally able to donate or direct is peanuts compared to the outlandish sums being raised by candidates these days. Hillary Clinton, even before accounting for outside spending, raised…
Bring On the Cleveland Spiders: A Historical Defense of Changing the Name
This reflection is adapted from a Twitter thread on this issue, which has more inline pictures to accompany it, and in response to the news that the Cleveland Indians are going to consider changing their name. Getting behind the Cleveland Spiders (or Guardians, or even Rockers) does not erase history, but rather is consistent with…