Following her primary victory in New York this week, Hillary Clinton reached out to Bernie Sanders’ voters: To all the people who supported Sen. Sanders, I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us. I believe this is true. On a great many issues, Clinton lines up with Sanders just enough that I’m […]
While still conceivable after New York, Bernie Sanders’ chances of winning the Democratic primary have now become highly improbable. Improbable, but not impossible. And for that reason alone I think he should stay in the race. (For the record, this is exactly what Hillary Clinton did in 2008. She stuck it out until June of […]
In a comment on a recent post of mine, I was called a “domestic enemy”. I realize that emotions are running high in the presidential campaign, but we need to work hard to avoid this kind of thought and language on all sides of the political debate. When you face enemies, you engage in war. War, […]
I believe in freedom of speech. I believe in freedom of assembly. It’s an important part of liberalism that unpopular, obnoxious, and noxious views are allowed to be expressed and heard and that people who share them are allowed to gather together. Among the classic reasons given for this position are that it promotes individual […]
U.S. politics seems to be at pivotal moment in which the traditional political duopoly is being openly questioned. Over the objections of party leaders, Donald Trump is running away with the Republican nomination by using authoritarian appeals to attract new and old nativist, xenophobic supporters. Bernie Sanders is activating many new, young voters and others […]
So, you’re a self-identified Republican. You see membership in the Republican party as a deep part of who you are. Frankly, I have a hard time with that kind of party loyalty. While I tend to vote for Democrats, I don’t self-identify as one. But, regardless, that’s not you. For you, being a Republican, matters. That’s […]
Look, I realize when people talk of moving to Canada should Donald Trump become president that it’s often meant all in good fun. But let me say, quite seriously, that I have no intention of going anywhere. I will remain an American citizen and, to co-opt the phrasing of the Tea Party buffoons, take my […]
One fun part of living overseas is getting to talk to people from other countries about U.S. politics. So, there I am in a bar talking to a Belgian and German, and I get asked, “Donald Trump is very popular, isn’t he?” Frankly, that’s a pretty embarrassing question to have to get asked about your […]
I try to live my online life by recognizing the truth of Godwin’s Law and its closely related corollary. Those are: the longer an Internet discussion goes on, the more likely someone will bring up the Nazis; and that the Nazi analogy is usually so absurd, the person making it automatically loses the argument. But […]
Bill Poorman 