WASHINGTON — If Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, were a conservative, all anyone would be talking about is how uninformed she is. She would be facing trick questions from reporters designed to expose her lack of knowledge, and brutal sketches on “Saturday Night Live” mocking her intelligence and fitness for office. Instead, SNL fawns over […]
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Democratic party finding energy in shift to the left
By Karl Smith Bloomberg Opinion More than two years into his presidency, Donald Trump has remade the Republican Party in his own image. An even greater change, however, is occurring in the Democratic Party — and the president’s populist politics are likely to benefit Democrats more than Republicans. Trump’s election was supposed to have heralded […]
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Entering the era of Trump boredom
It started during the midterm campaign. Democrats stopped talking about Donald Trump all the time. Now presidential hopefuls are doing the same. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, once a relentless sparring partner on Twitter, all but ignores Trump’s goading comments. Is the reason, as some commentators hold, that the public is tired of the constant Trump-bashing, including […]
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A candidate for the strange new world of politics
It’s hard for presidential candidates not to lapse eventually into self-parody. Beto O’Rourke is breaking the mold by actively seeking it out. The unsuccessful and now unemployed 2018 Texas senatorial candidate has embarked upon a rambling tour of the West that he is cataloging with beatnik-like journal entries on his encounters and feelings. If Beto […]
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Trump shows leadership while Democrats stall
WASHINGTON — Last week, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia offered President Trump some advice on how to end the current border wall standoff. “Always try to find a solution in which both sides come out ahead,” Warner told the president. It’s good advice. Trump is taking it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Senate […]
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Venezuela's opposition now a serious threat to Maduro
Since late fall 2018, nationwide opposition to Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has shown signs of increasing coordination — emerging links connecting angry anti-Maduro street demonstrations, domestic political preparations by opposition leaders and anti-regime international diplomatic initiatives that portray Maduro as the vicious thug he is. Street demonstrations against the vicious socialist regime are not new. […]
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Image captured a nation at the breaking point
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We’ll have to make do with 600 or so. The picture in question — the video, actually — electrified social media over the weekend. In it, a white high school boy wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, confronts an older Native American man who is […]
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Anti-vaxxers spread a plague of ignorance
An outbreak of measles four years ago at Disneyland focused attention on a growing health menace — the refusal of parents to vaccinate their children. The threat has gone international. The World Health Organization has just named the anti-vaccination movement among the 10 biggest global health crises. Italy is ground zero, thanks to a law […]
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Trump has options with State of the Union address
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given President Trump an opportunity to change the dynamic of the State of the Union address, an event that has become predictable and often boring. It has featured members of Congress popping up and down like whack-a-moles, interrupting the president with applause if they agree with him, or stone silence if […]
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Taking a small step on climate change
WASHINGTON — On global climate change, I have changed my mind — just slightly. I have written about this issue for more than two decades, and my theme has been monotonously consistent. As a starting point, I have accepted the prevailing scientific view that man-made greenhouse gases contribute to global warming. But I have been […]