House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is openly threatening to force a default on our nation’s debts unless President Biden agrees to a so far unspecified list of spending cuts to federal programs. But the president has a formidable constitutional argument against this irresponsible display of brinkmanship. It is disappointing that he has so far declined, at [...]
For nearly a century, many progressives have seen the Constitution, and especially the Supreme Court, as allies in the effort to make our political and economic life more democratic. For a long time, this trust seemed warranted. The initially reactionary New Deal Court came to embrace the power of the national government to limit corporate [...]
President Trump’s incitement of the frightening assault on our Capitol, our Congress and our Constitution on January 6 should force us to confront some uncomfortable truths about our aspiration toward a “more perfect union.” First, no minimally aware person can any longer deny that white supremacy is a fundamental organizing principle of American policing. We [...]
In the wake of Special Counsel Mueller’s largely uneventful testimony Wednesday, no-one can envy House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment dilemma. Presented with ample evidence of offenses justifying President Trump’s removal (the appalling violations of immigrants’ human rights are sufficient on their own) she also knows that no matter what he has done and no matter [...]
