Andrew J. Pierce (St. Mary’s): The Specter of Authoritarianism. Trump and Gorsuch have the right wing thinking big — really big. President Trump promises to raise taxes on rich, is lying. Alt-Right activists say Trump and Bannon are giving them “space to destroy” by keeping FBI away. A veteran ICE agent, disillusioned with the Trump era, speaks out. You could say it sounded better in the original German, but it’s a fully American construction: What happened in Ohio proves that Trump is only going to get worse. Trump is failing as a president — but he’s succeeding as Reality TV. The myth of Trump’s do-nothing presidency: To gauge impact, go beyond the laws he has signed to the vast authority he wields through departments and agencies that apply the law.
GOP “moderates” keep saying no to repeal, and then voting yes. John McCain is the perfect American lie: Anyone who thought McCain would show courage during the Senate’s health care vote hasn't been paying attention. The rot of the Republican Party is nearly complete: Desperate for a win, and intellectually bankrupt, Trump and the GOP might pass the most domestically destructive law in at least a generation. The norms of government are collapsing before our eyes. 2020 won’t matter if Republicans destroy the country.
