Category Archives: Uncategorized

Contested Conservatism

Posted on January 4, 2011 by David S. Meyer

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

Posted on December 22, 2010 by David S. Meyer

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

Posted on December 21, 2010 by David S. Meyer

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?

Posted on December 17, 2010 by David S. Meyer

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

Posted on December 16, 2010 by David S. Meyer

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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Diluted Tea

Posted on December 15, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Sharron Angle, the failed Republican/Tea Party Senate candidate in Nevada, has just announced that she’s forming a PAC to advance Tea Party ideals and Tea Party candidates.  Angle, whose candidacy was buoyed by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express, … Continue reading →

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Strong Tea

Posted on December 14, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Rep. Michele Bachmann, founder of the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, promised that she would provide classes on the Constitution for her colleagues, particularly her newest colleagues.  And there are plenty of them in the next Congress.  … Continue reading →

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Phelps Family Flop? Not quite.

Posted on December 12, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Elizabeth Edwards’s funeral in Raleigh, North Carolina, was another occasion for the Westboro Church (read: Fred Phelps and family) to get attention. As discussed here, the tiny hyperconservative church has succeeded in gaining national attention by picketing military funerals and … Continue reading →

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The Royal Treatment

Posted on December 10, 2010 by David S. Meyer

If you’re upset about the tripling of university tuition in Britain, why destroy Prince Charles’s car?  He didn’t raise tuition, can’t lower it, and will be able to find other ways to get to work–or whatever he does. But activists … Continue reading →

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Protest against Tuition Hikes: A Teaching Moment

Posted on December 9, 2010 by David S. Meyer

“They say ‘Cut Back.’  We Say ‘Fight Back.’”  The chants are the same across the Atlantic, even if the politics are somewhat different.  Students and other young people in the UK have taken to the streets to protest the Cameron … Continue reading →

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