At the 1988 Republican National Convention, Vice President George H.W. Bush talked about a “kinder and gentler” America. Four years later Patrick Buchanan scared the hell out of the country by declaring a “culture war.” In 2000 George W. Bush gave us “compassionate conservatism.” The Bush stratagems were cunning responses to focus groups and...
In the fifty years since California adopted its Master Plan for higher education the state has blossomed into a world-renowned center of creative innovation and enterprise. So successful has been California’s three-tiered system of community colleges, state universities, and research institutions that it has served as a model for other states and nations. At...
Worse than Swift Boating, worse than Willie Horton, and even worse than the racist push polls Karl Rove used against John McCain in the 2000 South Carolina primary, Mitt Romney is running the most craven, dishonest, and hypocritical campaign we’ve seen in contemporary American politics. The Romney campaign is engaging in “situational demagoguery,” a...
By striking down the Montana campaign finance law that dates back to 1912, the Supreme Court steams ahead on its long-term project of turning our political system over to giant corporations. (So much for “states’ rights,” or the role of states as “incubators” for best practices). A century ago, the same year Montana passed...