Jim Sleeper argues that Times columnist Ross Douthat's brand of conservatism fixates on a supposed liberal cultural domination while ignoring the right's long path to consolidating power through the law, institutions and the threat of physical force.
The "deal" between the military and civilian leadership has hinged on an exchange of obedience to lawful authority by the military for expectations of honesty, competence, and respect for the Constitution on the part of elected leaders. This deal has been taken for granted, until now.
Joe Biden has been on the national ticket as a candidate three times, a distinction shared by both great and mediocre figures in American history. If he's victorious, he'd become one of only 6 people to win three times.
He’s accomplished what no other president has been able to achieve since the first presidential ranking in 1948. He’s managed to raise James Buchanan, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Warren Harding off the floor. The sad thing is that this is no achievement we can cheer.
The bizarre idea that COVID-19 can be defeated through manliness is one of the stranger cultural themes of our time, but it connects to a long history of anxiety about masculinity in a changing America that encourages violent and even self-destructive actions in the name of proving virility.
There are several provisions in the Constitution that could allow Donald Trump, with the help of friendly courts, to hold power against the will of the electorate.
Joe Biden's speech evoked the calls for unity and shared purpose made by presidents from Lincoln to FDR to Obama. The coming weeks will tell if voters embrace the message.
Intended as a tool to circumvent the power of big business in the state legislature, California's ballot initiative process has become yet another channel for the political influence of big money.
We usually parse Dred Scott v. Sandford as the Worst Decision Ever, but it also offers an overlooked political lesson. The Court waded into a high partisan battle and badly damaged the institutions behind the ruling.
American institiutions are threatened with transformation into unrecognizable and undemocratic forms; stopping these changes means holding on to a collective sense of national purpose in the face of misinformation and gaslighting.
The incident that became known as the Boston Massacre didn't have to happen, and didn't have to become a flashpoint for violence after. As political tensions break into violence today, it's worthwhile to think about Boston in 1770.
A founding member of the Commission on Presidential Debates argues that the body must take stock of its rules and procedures after Tuesday's debacle or risk irrelevance.
Independent civil servants checked Richard Nixon's worst impulses to use the executive branch to punish enemies. The independence of the bureaucracy has since eroded, to Donald Trump's advantage.
Historian Guy Lancaster found a letter of praise from his Congressman tough to take in light of the elected representative's disregard for racial justice.
In a close election, a debate can matter, and debates are lost more than they are won. Some examples from the television era of campaigning should give viewers a sense of how to judge Biden and Trump on Tuesday night.
While moving from a party platform to a change in policy is difficult, especially where the Pentagon is concerned, the Democrats seem to recognize a broad-based desire to return America to international cooperation and allocate resources to other national priorities like public health.
