political history

• 
• 8/20/19
  

  Jeff Sessions's Troubling Legacy

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Unfortunately, Sessions’ ideas and policies live on through Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

• 
• 8/18/19
  

  Democrats Must Offer Americans "Bread and Roses" to Counter National Conservatism

  by Ed Simon

  Any party, politician, or perspective which offers meaning, which gives us roses, will have an advantage as we face the inevitable economic and social collapse of the neo-liberal paradigm. 

• 
• 7/28/19
  

  The Long History of Unjust and Lawless Attorneys General

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  It isn't just William Barr. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/23/19
  

  Why disabled Americans remain second-class citizens

  by David Pettinicchio

  The big hole in our civil rights laws.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  7/23/19
  

  Lincoln Would Not Recognize His Own Party

  by David W. Blight

  He would see the Republicans as the antithesis of everything he fought for.

• 
• 7/28/19
  

  Is Trump the Worst President in History?

  by Richard Striner

  “Worst,” of course, is a value judgment and any number of our presidents were very bad indeed — or so it could be argued.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/14/19
  

  What the French Revolution teaches us about the dangers of gerrymandering

  by Rebecca L. Spang

  Our institutions must remain representative and responsive.

• 
• 7/14/19
  

  5 Times Presidents Lost Big in the Midterms But Won (or nearly won) Reelection

  by Donne Levy

  While presidents have previously overcome midterm election losses, Trump isn’t following any of the previously established paths to rebound and win reelection. 

• 
• 7/14/19
  

  Mary Jo Kopechne’s Legacy

  by William C. Kashatus

  This weeks marks the 50th anniversary of the night Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove his black Oldsmobile off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. His 28-year-old passenger was killed in the accident.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  7/10/19
  

  Democrats’ Ominous Shift on School Segregation

  by Brett Gadsden

  It’s not just Joe Biden—the party has backed away from its commitment to fighting segregation in the public schools.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  7/4/19
  

  The Fourth of July Has Always Been Political

  by David Waldstreicher

  The question is which vision of America it’s being used to advance.

• 
• SOURCE: Time
  7/9/19
  

  How Ross Perot Changed Political Campaigns

  Ross Perot, the self-made Texas billionaire and one of the most successful third-party presidential candidates in U.S. history, died on Tuesday. He was 89.

• 
• 7/9/19
  

  The 2020 Election Presents a Unique Opportunity to Elect a “New Generation of Leadership”

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Promoting change and uniqueness in political leadership could result in higher voter turnout and potentially would enhance efforts to address the challenges of the 21st century.

• 
• 7/3/19
  

  Gerrymandering presented a ‘political question doctrine’ deemed outside Supreme Court jurisdiction

  by Lackland H. Bloom, Jr.

  “After five decades of searching for a standard, Chief Justice Roberts was finally able to assemble a majority that concluded ‘enough is enough.’ There is no judicially manageable standard here. This is a non-justiciable political question.”

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  6/25/19
  

  Abraham Lincoln’s Leap From a Window, and 4 Other Ways Lawmakers Have Fled Votes

  Republican state senators in Oregon have disappeared this month in an attempt to block a vote on climate change legislation. Minority parties have resorted to similar stunts for generations. One sure result: More division.

• 
• SOURCE: WUSA9
  6/23/19
  

  What not to do at presidential debates: The biggest gaffes in history

  With the debates getting underway on Wednesday, take a look back at some of the biggest gaffes in debate history.

• 
• 6/23/19
  

  How Estes and Ike Transformed the New Hampshire Primary – And How JFK Defined It

  by Patrick Lacroix

  The New Hampshire primary isn't just important because it's the first presidential primary. 

• 
• 6/23/19
  

  Weaponizing Nicknames, From Earl Long to Donald Trump

  by Ron Faucheux

  The tactic of nicknaming political opposition has survived the modern age of electronic media. Donald Trump is the new master of the game––delighting supporters, mortifying adversaries. 

• 
• SOURCE: OUPBlog
  6/14/19
  

  The impeachment illusion

  by Donald A. Ritchie

  What is clear from the record is that politically-motivated impeachments fail. Only in cases where malfeasance has become overwhelmingly obvious to members of both parties in the House will there be any chance of conviction in the Senate, raising the question: is a losing effort worth the trouble?

• 
• SOURCE: Texas Perspectives
  6/10/19
  

  Voter Restrictions Have Deep History in Texas

  by Laurie B. Green

  Texas’ speedy ratification of the 19th Amendment represents a beacon for women’s political power in the U.S., but a critical assessment of the process it took to win it tells us far more about today’s political atmosphere and cautions us to compare the marketing of voting rights laws with their actual implications.