Author Archives: David S. Meyer

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About David S. Meyer

Author and professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine

After Stuff Happens

The politics of Jared Loughner’s attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a Tucson supermarket are just starting.  It’s not the event itself that matters so much as the positioning after the fact.  Political figures try not to waste crises. Advocates … Continue reading

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Updates on Domestic Terror

I was surprised to see how quickly a conservative activist slipped from condemning the violent attack in Tucson to chastising unnamed members of the left. The New York Times reports the statement of Judson Phillips, Tea Party Nation’s founder: (Note: … Continue reading

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Gabrielle Giffords and Domestic Terror

It won’t take long for reporters to find out enough about Jared Loughner to offer portrayals of a severely disturbed young man.  Reports at this moment detail Loughner attending a district event at a supermarket organized by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, … Continue reading

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The Constitution and Reading Aloud

My first grader is starting to get bored of reading aloud in class.  Like most members of Congress, she can read faster than she can listen, and having to slow down as every reader stumbles through the words gets tiresome.  … Continue reading

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Who’s Serving the Tea?

The Tea Party hit institutional politics early, and now activists have to grapple with the realities of politics indoors. This is, of course, a common story for social movements in America.  Activists mobilize for broad, often-ill-defined, goals, and then have … Continue reading

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Contested Conservatism

As the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives and try to flex new muscle in the Senate–and in politics more generally–the conflicts within modern conservatism will become more visible. The label “conservative” has always included contradictory positions, and … Continue reading

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Painted Grassroots

Reading the sports section of the Sunday New York Times, I was surprised to find a full-page ad attacking the Humane Society of the United States and its president, Wayne Pacelle. The ad reported that HSUS was soft on quarterback/dog … Continue reading

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Defeats and Victories

Movements don’t disappear after a legislative verdict.  Victories and defeats change calculations about what’s possible and how to go about getting it, but they virtually never–at least in the United States–provide a decisive resolution to the sorts of issues that … Continue reading

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Still a Dream?

When we listen to the young people who have come forward about their undocumented legal status, we hear them express unvarnished optimism about the passage of the DREAM Act.  (Listen, for example, to the testimony on NPR’s Talk of the … Continue reading

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Resistance in the Military

Governments fall when their leaders lose control of the armed forces.   When the soldiers lay down their swords and shields and take the hands of the people in the streets, their leaders get on planes and look for somewhere else … Continue reading

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