A few words about Donald Trump’s faith. It was, as you know, called into question last week by Pope Francis. Aboard the papal plane returning from a visit to Mexico, the pontiff was asked about the mercurial billionaire turned Republican presidential candidate who has vowed to build a wall along America’s border with Mexico and […]
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Trump gets top marks for prevaricating
Since religious language has again infected this unpredictable and turbulent political season, here is a verse that could describe the followers of Donald Trump. It is found in Paul’s second letter to his protege Timothy (or as Trump might call it, Two Timothy): “For the time will come when people will not put up with […]
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Trump targets trade agreements
By Albert Hunt Bloomberg View Any doubts that Donald Trump has had a huge (as he might say) influence on the Republican Party were dispelled this month when Ohio Sen. Rob Portman came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There is no more respected member of what’s called the Republican establishment: Portman is a confidant of […]
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Clinton dynasty still lives while Bush’s fades
WASHINGTON — The Clinton political dynasty is still alive. The Bush dynasty has been routed. Their contrasting fates, to this point at least, tell us much about our two parties, the nature of this year’s presidential election, and the dueling legacies themselves. The Republican and Democratic contests are very different, beginning with the fact that […]
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Difficult to knock Trump off top spot
Donald Trump is running riot in the GOP china shop and gleefully tearing the place up. Consider the strength of Trump’s position: After winning South Carolina, he goes into Nevada with momentum, and the latest poll there has him leading by 26 points. If he enters Super Tuesday a week later having won three out […]
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U.S. becomes a nation with no center
“Things fall apart. The centre cannot hold.” — William Butler Yeats And so this is the presidential campaign of 2016. If it were a movie, it would be pornography. If it were a sporting event, it would be a cockfight. If it were music, it would be the sound of cats on a hot blackboard. […]
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How the fight to fill Scalia’s seat could change American politics forever
Hours after Justice Antonin Scalia died on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.” Similar statements followed from other Republican senators. Democrats decried the delay […]
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Candidates spouting outright fantasy
NEW YORK — A key sign of the Republican Party’s dysfunction in recent years has been its unwillingness to produce serious policy proposals. Instead, its leading lights routinely present outlandish plans that they know well can never be enacted or in which the math simply doesn’t add up. What will Republicans do this year if […]
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Democrats hypocritical about Supreme Court appointment
WASHINGTON — Let’s understand something about the fight to fill the Supreme Court seat of Antonin (“Nino”) Scalia. This is about nothing but raw power. Any appeal you hear to high principle is phony — brazenly, embarrassingly so. In Year Seven of the George W. Bush administration, Sen. Chuck Schumer publicly opposed filling any Supreme […]
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Is your teen at risk of dating violence?
You aren’t alone if you think teen dating violence isn’t an issue. A staggering 81 percent of parents polled believe that teen dating violence is not a serious or widespread issue. But the truth is that one in four teens will experience dating violence. Although talking to your teen about relationships and dating violence can […]