democrat

America: Republic or Democracy?

It has become fashionable among Republicans to refer to their opposition as “the Democrat Party”. This is intended as a reference to both their internal candidate selection process, which even a political neutral must acknowledge more closely resembles monarchy in its use of coronations, and as a derogatory method of condemning their broader policies, the which is rather less just.

Democrats, being by nature an inclusive, forgiving, and understanding people, have responded in large part by terming anyone who disagrees with them Fascists, Nazis, and downright evil.

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Gerrymandering and 2022

In late March, Maryland saw its proposed Congressional map thrown out by a judge, citing “extreme partisan gerrymandering” against Republicans. These maps are redrawn every decade after census results come in; the one released a decade ago was carefully engineered to remove one of the state’s two Republican congressmen, and this new one would eliminate the last.

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You Didn’t Win.

(Editor’s Note: We’ve been sitting on this for a little while now; you’ve needed the break. On the other hand, now it’s Pride Month. This is the best context we can think of in which to release this particular rant.)

Right. It’s been five months now, and you’ve had a break. A little chance to rest and relax. You’ve had your little victory and your dance and celebration, and now it’s time for the bad news.

Sure, you beat Trump. But it’s time to stop pretending that you won.

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Why We Do This

I was posed a question over Christmas. It was respectful and well-meaning, but the gist of it was, “Why do you bother to do this? You’re no expert, and sometimes you’re wrong.”

And that’s perfectly true: I have no degree in political science, nor even one in journalism. From time to time I’ll make a mistake — sometimes an egregious one. It’s even possible that the entire premise of an article might be completely off-base. These are all quite valid points, and it’s worth remembering them when you read: I might be wrong.

On the other hand, it’s occasionally possible everyone else is wrong.

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F&L 2020: It’s Not Over

It’s not over yet, people.

No, not the Presidential race, though to be sure we’re still working through some of the process. Instead, let us consider the Senate: presently deadlocked at 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats, with a probable two seats up for runoff elections in Georgia.

Republicans don’t seem to have quite realized yet that the Democrats are probably going to win both seats.

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Fear and Loathing: Bernie Sanders Drops Out

I’m warning you up front:  This is not news.  It’s a biased opinion piece.  The only news is that Bernie Sanders has ended his presidential campaign.

Read anyway.  It’ll be good for you, and you might even learn something. (more…)

F&L: The Secret Of PersistPAC

Now that the news has broken (props to Lee Fang of The Intercept), it’s finally OK for me to write this.  It’s been killing me for weeks, knowing that I’d never get confirmation.

A week before Super Tuesday, the big news was the formation of two SuperPACs designed to inject life into campaigns that had started to founder:  PersistPAC and (more…)

F&L: Tulsi Gabbard Suspends Campaign

I thought it would never happen.  Either Gabbard or Yang was going to stay in way too long and then endorse Sanders, was my prediction.  And now they’ve both let me down.

I mean, yeah, sure, nobody could have predicted the election would pivot to be about the Coronavirus.  Taking down Trump I can see, and I even anticipated that the Democratic establishment would fear a Sanders presidency even more than a Trump (more…)

F&L: Going Into Super Tuesday

It’s here.

Tuesday’s vote will decide who stays in the race and who goes home.  It may decide who comes out of July’s convention as the final candidate.  In that sense, it’s quite possible it may determine our next president.  I cannot overstate the importance of this primary event.

On the other hand, common wisdom has it that, as always, The Fix Is In.  There’s (more…)

F&L: What To Watch In South Carolina

This may seem like a minor state contest, but in the greater scheme of things it’s vital.  The entire D.N.C. conceit of identitarian politics is being tested today, and we’ll get to watch in real time. (more…)