James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington

Blue Monday

The Trump “Whistleblower” Situation Is Very Dangerous for Democracy and for the Democrats

Biden’s disingenuousness is no match for Trump

September 23, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Do the recent revelations by investigative journalists at the New York Times, the Washington Post, and most notably the Wall Street Journal represent an “inflection point,” exposing a level of malfeasance and criminality that can no longer be ignored? Perhaps. It is too early to tell. But the record of the past seems pretty ...

Uncategorized

Why Warren’s Speech Was Terrific

She galvanized the crowd by speaking the language of radical civic republicanism

September 17, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

In the press release announcing the endorsement, Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell stated that: “We’re lucky to have two strong progressive candidates leading in this race. Senator Warren and Senator Sanders have both shaped the ideological terrain on which this campaign is being waged. They have proven an ...

Blue Monday

Warren is Not Too Late

Of course Jacobin prefers Sanders, but this does not make him the obvious candidate of the broad democratic left

September 16, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Kilpatrick and Sunkara’s argument is complicated, and somewhat convoluted (they say “paradoxical”), and boils down to this: while Warren is passe because her vision is grounded in the failed promises of financial regulation under the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama that can be traced back to the politics ...

Blue Monday

Is “Motherfucker” The Concept Political Science Now Needs?

An Immodest Proposal

September 9, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Is “Motherfucker” the concept that political science now needs? The question is a serious one. And the answer, I suggest in all seriousness, is “yes.” Kind of. We live in troubled times. The June 16, 2018 cover of The Economist stated the trouble clearly: “How strongmen subvert democracy.” The September/October cover of Foreign Affairs also puts it well: “Autocracy Now.” But ...

Democracy

Further Thoughts on Antifa

Counter-Violence is not Self-Defense

August 26, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

On the one hand, my piece has generated some interesting discussions, the main point of contention of which centers on the question of whether “Antifa” is a form of self-defense in response to the presence of dangerous and armed racists. On the other hand, “antifascist” organizing continues apace in Bloomington. A rump market ...

Democracy

Antifa Is Not a Terrorist Organization

But That Doesn’t Make It Good

August 20, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Simultaneously, racism and white supremacism have assumed a new importance. President Donald Trump is a virulent racist and demagogue who consorts with white supremacists, praises them, gives them aid and comfort, and even includes them as high-ranking members of his campaign (Steve Bannon) and administration (Stephen Miller). The mass murder ...

Blue Monday

Putting Trump’s Racism in its Place

One More Reason Why AOC Should Be the Face of the Democratic Party’s Future

August 12, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

A naïve reader might read this and imagine that Hewitt’s point is obvious: the contrast between Presidential candidate Kennedy in 1968 and the current President, Donald Trump, in 2019. The contrast is more than obvious. It is glaring. And yet, of course, Hewitt has other purposes in mind. The first is ...

Blue Monday

Some Banal Thoughts About the Mutuality of Evil in our Midst

We Must Defeat Trump, Not Entreat Him

August 5, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

According to the Gun Violence Archive, these episodes are the 250th and 251st mass shootings of the year. It defines a mass shooting as “four or more shot and/or killed in a single event [incident], at the same general time and location not including the shooter.” As USA Today noted: “The bloody 24 hours also ...

We Must Defeat Trump

This does not mean that “centrist” strategies ought to be embraced, but it does mean that Democrats need to argue with a sense of proportion and in a way that underscores their unity against Trump.

July 22, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

A wide range of people, ranging from Never Trump Republicans to Democrats right, center, and left, to self-described “Progressives” and democratic socialists, have long known this. Some of us, myself included, have been writing about this for years now (it sometimes seems like decades). I am sick of writing about this. For it ...

Blue Monday

The Perils of Pelosi

I wish Pelosi would open up to her left colleagues, but it’s not likely to happen anytime soon

July 10, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Pelosi’s majority depends more on what happens in the presidential race than anything else. In 2016, the correlation between presidential votes and House votes was a near-perfect .97, higher than it had ever been before. That’s the reality of our polarized electorate, where every race is nationalized.To put it simply, if the ...

Blue Monday

The Perils of Pelosi

I wish Pelosi would open up to her left colleagues, but it’s not likely to happen anytime soon

July 10, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Pelosi’s majority depends more on what happens in the presidential race than anything else. In 2016, the correlation between presidential votes and House votes was a near-perfect .97, higher than it had ever been before. That’s the reality of our polarized electorate, where every race is nationalized.To put it simply, if the ...

Democracy

Thoughts on Donald Trump, George Wallace, Frederick Douglass, and the Meaning of the Fourth of July

Only we can save ourselves

July 4, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Donald Trump has decided to make this year’s July Fourth his own, complete with a nationally televised address in front of the Lincoln Memorial backed by a display of military force. As the Washington Post reports, “plans by President Trump to reshape Washington’s Independence Day celebration now include an area ...

Jeffrey C. Isaac

The Trump “Whistleblower” Situation Is Very Dangerous for Democracy and for the Democrats

Biden’s disingenuousness is no match for Trump

Why Warren’s Speech Was Terrific

She galvanized the crowd by speaking the language of radical civic republicanism

Warren is Not Too Late

Of course Jacobin prefers Sanders, but this does not make him the obvious candidate of the broad democratic left

Is “Motherfucker” The Concept Political Science Now Needs?

An Immodest Proposal

Further Thoughts on Antifa

Counter-Violence is not Self-Defense

Antifa Is Not a Terrorist Organization

But That Doesn’t Make It Good

Putting Trump’s Racism in its Place

One More Reason Why AOC Should Be the Face of the Democratic Party’s Future

Some Banal Thoughts About the Mutuality of Evil in our Midst

We Must Defeat Trump, Not Entreat Him

We Must Defeat Trump

This does not mean that “centrist” strategies ought to be embraced, but it does mean that Democrats need to argue with a sense of proportion and in a way that underscores their unity against Trump.

The Perils of Pelosi

I wish Pelosi would open up to her left colleagues, but it’s not likely to happen anytime soon

The Perils of Pelosi

I wish Pelosi would open up to her left colleagues, but it’s not likely to happen anytime soon

Thoughts on Donald Trump, George Wallace, Frederick Douglass, and the Meaning of the Fourth of July

Only we can save ourselves

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