US Opinion and Commentary

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How 2016 Will Shape the Future of American Politics

Posted April 26th, 2016 at 10:14 am (UTC-5)
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Imagine a different, more destabilizing, and (frankly) more likely scenario — which is that we’re living through the early stages of an ideological realignment of America’s two major political parties.

Reality Check for Trump and Clinton

Posted April 6th, 2016 at 2:27 pm (UTC-5)
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Republican party front-runner Donald Trump’s Twitter feed went uncharacteristically quiet in the immediate aftermath of his double-digit loss in the Wisconsin primary to Sen. Ted Cruz. Later in the night, the Trump campaign reverted back to status quo by insulting, not congratulating, the winner. “Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet— he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump,” according to a statement from his campaign. As Trump pouted defiantly, pundits were dissecting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sixth straight win against Democrat Hillary Clinton, who is far ahead in the delegate count. As one newspaper editorial put it:

“For a guy who can’t win, Bernie Sanders is certainly defeating Hillary Clinton a whole lot…. ”

Next primary stop is in New York, where we may learn if Cruz and Sanders’ campaign ‘mojo’ will continue.

Trump & Sanders Win, Bewildering Political Establishment

Posted February 10th, 2016 at 1:14 am (UTC-5)
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Less than 24 hours after Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, both landed decisive victories in the New Hampshire primary, pundits and columnists began dissecting the outcome. Is this a case of “it’s just New Hampshire, we have long race ahead of us, a lot can change before Novemeber!” ? Or, alternatively, “the American electorate has spoken; the populist movement is here!” ? Hard to say. What we do know is that the establishment machine is a bit gobsmacked. They know Trump doesn’t need or take their money, and Sanders relies heavily on individual contributions. They also know what New Hampshire’s exit polls tell us: namely, that young people really like Sanders over Clinton – and that Trump supporters are willing to show up and vote. It’s not just a reality show anymore.

It’s Only Iowa

Posted February 2nd, 2016 at 3:45 pm (UTC-5)
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The results of the Iowa caucuses matter because they are the very first votes cast in this year’s presidential race. Then again, political experts remind us over and over and over again that there is still a LONG way to go: 49 other nominating contests must take place before either party has a nominee that must then fight it out to win the White House. So, yes, Iowa is just a peculiar snapshot, but the way it all unfolded confirms the nature of this campaign: anti-establishment ideas have traction… and, yes, Donald Trump remains unpredictable: his concession speech to opponent Ted Cruz was low-key and dignified.