As a graduate student long ago, I considered writing my dissertation on the history and permutations of 20th-century American conservatism. I abandoned that task when it became clear to me that few universities had any desire to employ an expert on the right. My colleague Matthew Continetti rescued me from the recurrent itch to resurrect […]
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Ulysses S. Grant’s final battle
A strange notice appeared in the March 27, 1867, issue of the Pulaski Citizen newspaper, which usually carried mostly brief news items and short advertisements for attorneys, carpenters, and goods for sale. “The Kuklux Klan will assemble at their usual place of rendezvous . . . [on Tuesday] exactly at the hour of midnight in […]
Could George Santos torch the House by v...
The other day, George Santos (R-NY) took to X (formerly Twitter) to decry his enemies and victimization. Part of the tweet said, “What the “ethics committee” did today was not part of due process, what they did was poison the jury pool on my ongoing investigation with the DOJ. This was a dirty biased act […]
Could George Santos torch the House by v...
The other day, George Santos (R-NY) took to Twitter to decry his enemies and victimization. While jawing about this weirdness with a former Hill staffer, I wondered, “How will Santos exit the chamber?” He already has said he is not going to run for reelection. Yet it seems quite likely that the House of Representatives […]
The urgent 21st century upgrades Congres...
The public has been really down on Congress for about 20 years. A Gallup poll in September found public approval of our nation’s legislature was a mere 17 percent. The ugly fight over the Speakership quite probably did not buoy Americans’ feelings. For sure, some of this grumpy public sentiment is driven by negative media. […]
The horrific nightmare scenario where Co...
One thing I worry about is a contingent presidential election. That situation arises when no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes (270 of 538). Should this situation arise, Congress gets to pick the next president and vice president. Yes, you read correctly, the 535 folks whom 80 percent of Americans dislike make these momentous decisions. Yes, […]