Reports from LA that US Marshals are refusing to enforce fed court orders against CBP. They’ve been instructed to take orders from US Atty. — Charlotte Silver (@CharESilver) January 31, 2017 I’ve written before on what features are shared by fascist movements, and a ten-point warning checklist for how 2017 America may becoming like 1934 […]
Entries from January 28th, 2017
Authoritarian Government Watch
January 28th, 2017, 5:00am by Sam Wang
Tags: President · U.S. Institutions
Politics & Polls #28: Katha Pollitt on The Women’s March on Washington
January 26th, 2017, 7:17pm by Sam Wang
Hailed as one of the largest protests in American history, the Women’s March on Washington gathered hundreds of thousands of people in the District and millions in sister marches around the world. In episode #28 of Politics & Polls, Julian Zelizer and I discuss the march and reproductive rights with Katha Pollitt, a columnist for […]
Tags: Politics
Can the speech rights of government employees be restricted?
January 25th, 2017, 8:19am by Sam Wang
Federal agencies have come under pressure to stop communicating about the science of climate change. The National Park Service has recently deleted social-media communications about carbon dioxide, which is the main cause of global warming. However, it turns out that there are First Amendment issues. A public employee is allowed to speak publicly or share […]
Tags: President
Readings for the Inauguration…and the day after
January 19th, 2017, 10:40pm by Sam Wang
Dissent is a patriotic act, when you are trying to make a nation better, or prevent it from becoming worse. For why protest matters, see Eugene Robinson and Sarah Jaffe. Practically speaking, protest by itself does not achieve a goal, but as Jaffe argues, protest is a vital part of democracy, and is way for […]
Tags: President · U.S. Institutions
Politics & Polls #27: Who Will Rebuild the Democratic Party? (spoiler: you)
January 19th, 2017, 2:37pm by Sam Wang
In episode #27 of Politics & Polls, Julian Zelizer and I interview leading political scientist Theda Skocpol about her recent article in Vox: “A Guide to Rebuilding the Democratic Party from the Ground Up.” In the piece, Skocpol outlines how the Democratic Party can be rebuilt from the ground up, beginning at the state and […]
Tags: U.S. Institutions
I’m joining The American Prospect!
January 17th, 2017, 6:52pm by Sam Wang
I’m pleased to announce that I have agreed to join The American Prospect as a contributing editor. As many of you may know, the Prospect has a history of taking on political writers at the start of their careers: Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, Josh Marshall, Jamelle Bouie, and others. It is an honor to join […]
Tags: 2016 Election · President
A New Project on Partisan Gerrymandering
January 17th, 2017, 9:09am by Sam Wang
Tweet This is a big year for partisan gerrymandering. Recently, star litigator Paul M. Smith has cleared the decks for voting-rights cases in the courts. That’s just one move of many that assures that voting rights will be in the spotlight in the coming Supreme Court term. The effects of partisan gerrymandering are plain in […]
Tags: Redistricting
Preventing 2017 America from becoming like 1934 Germany: A watchlist
January 15th, 2017, 7:30am by Sam Wang
What Trump/Russia defenders on the right don’t get: Most Dems would grudgingly accept ANY Republican president not potentially compromised. — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) January 15, 2017 In The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik has an excellent piece pointing out the true threats to U.S. democracy, which transcend partisan concerns. As patriotic Americans, can we recognize these […]
Tags: President · U.S. Institutions
Politics & Polls #26: Indivisible!
January 12th, 2017, 10:03am by Sam Wang
Since the election, Democrats have struggled with how to respond to a Donald Trump presidency. But one group is starting to get some traction – the authors of an online guide that is going viral: “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda.” In episode #26 of Politics & Polls, Julian Zelizer and I […]
Tags: House · Politics · Senate · U.S. Institutions
House ethics rules change reversed…by citizen phone calls
January 3rd, 2017, 3:32pm by Sam Wang
Most members tell me blizzard of angry constituent calls were most impt factor in getting the House to sideline the amdt — Robert Costa (@costareports) January 3, 2017 On the first day of the new Congress, the House Republican Conference reversed its proposed rules change, in which an independent ethics commission would have been weakened. […]
Tags: House
