(Political Ramblings from a Little Left of Center)
Some Progressives in the Democratic Party appear to have declared war on Moderates within their own party. While there are numerous examples from several sources, here’s a representative soundbite from the second debate: We’re not going to solve the urgent problems that we face with small ideas and spinelessness. We’re going to solve them by…
Please bear with me while I explain why a contribution to the Senate campaign of Amy McGrath is my personal response to yet another wave of mass shootings in our country. I have no desire to echo the hollow platitudes that have been offered by many of our political leaders. I won’t concentrate for now…
Today is the one-year anniversary of Parenthetical Politics. I wondered at the start if the frequency of my blog posts would have an exceptionally long wavelength. However, with 66 posts over the past year, I averaged well over one post a week. Not bad for a hobby that mostly serves as my online pressure release…
The first set of Democratic debates were gigantic wastes of time and I fear that the second set may be yet another edition of Hunger Games meets Keystone Cops. However, I thought I’d offer a few last-minute ideas that could make the upcoming debates at least slightly more useful. To begin with, if I was…
This installment of my 2020 Platform series addresses a very mundane topic. Our national infrastructure may be a critical foundation for our economy, but it is dreadfully boring. Hence, the topic has been starved for oxygen on the various campaign trails. I thought it deserved at least a modicum of attention – even if it’s…
Understatement of the Year: “He’s a different kind of a guy but they say I’m a different kind of a guy, too.” – Donald Trump on Boris Johnson Today, Boris Johnson was elected as the new leader of the Tory party and will thus become Britain’s next Prime Minister. Johnson is a right-wing anti-intellectual who…
I recently came across a video of “I Hope I Get It” from A Chorus Line, sung by a large group of dancers, both young and old, as they audition for a job. Each is under immense pressure to perform on-demand; only a few will survive the cuts; each needs to get noticed but must…
If anyone believes that the Democratic nomination process will select the person most likely to defeat Trump in 2020, please contact me. I own this bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like to discuss with you. We’re still 12 months away from the 2020 Democratic convention and 16 months away from the presidential election. So much…
An open letter to the Democratic Presidential Candidates: Congratulations! Your stellar debate performances were just what the voters needed. You perfectly set the tone for the Democratic primary season. You enlightened the general populace on numerous important issues of our time and reminded everyone why you should be elected in 2020. Your serious preparation for…
As a political junkie who enjoys a good whiskey, perhaps it was inevitable that I’d see a few parallels. Both bourbons and the 2020 Presidential candidates appeal to different people for different reasons and they share some remarkably similar characteristics. The pairings below are mine, but many of the notes paraphrase actual published reviews. Joe…