Search focused on Liberal Politics

12+ min ago (310+ words) President Donald Trump savaged Indiana Senate leader Rodric Bray (R) for stalling a congressional redistricting plan the president insists would deliver the GOP two extra House seats and threatened a "MAGA primary" against any "SUCKERS" who resist. The proposed map, now bogged down in the state Senate, has become a pressure point for a party navigating a razor-thin majority in the House. In a blistering Truth Social broadside late Wednesday, Trump said Indiana has "a chance to make a difference in Washington, D.C." and warned the legislature could become "the only State in the Union to turn the Republican Party down!" Trump singled out Bray as "being the only person in the United States of America who is against Republicans picking up extra seats," claiming he is leaning on "soon to be very vulnerable friends" to block the plan. The president went…...

14+ min ago (205+ words) Before we get there, we have to talk about the Didion thing. Didion loved repetition, loved building long stretches of metronymic prose that break, for effect, in long, sweeping, propulsive sentences. She also loved using the full names of her subjects, rather than last names or pronouns. Here, from the second page of Canto, one of those propulsive sentences: Does it even matter? In a world where words have lost all meaning, what's the point of words? The sense conveyed by this portion of the book is that the author doesn't believe they have any'doesn't believe in much of anything'even though the book is being marketed as an attempt to explain everything. The impulse is to say: Of course you know what a plane does. But maybe not? The last line is another jagged fracturing. The drone is sending a…...

14+ min ago (238+ words) Before proceeding, let me declare myself. I harbor a mild preference for serifs. The font you see in this article and throughout'The New Republic's website (also its monthly print magazine) has serifs. I like serifs, but I don't make a big thing of it because, unlike the president of the United States, I have better things to do with my time. In initiating a crusade against sans serif type, Trump appears to be telling us: "I've never read my briefing books and I don't intend to start now. But I like how things look, and serifs look better, and if that creates problems for handicapped people I don't care." A comparison here with Ethiopia's late Emperor is instructive. Selassie "had no schooling,Kapu'ci'ski reports (not an excuse Trump can make). For Selassie, "The custom of relating things by word of…...

14+ min ago (223+ words) At issue in Drummond were two significant constitutional questions. First: Are privately run charter schools state actors if they are publicly approved and funded? And second: If they are public, does the First Amendment's free exercise clause prohibit a state from excluding religious schools from its charter school program'or does the establishment clause require it to exclude them? The Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected that argument in 2024, and because the U.S. Supreme Court split evenly on the issue, that ruling remains in place. That brings us to the latest development: a new effort led in part by some of the same board members as St. Isidore and backed by the same legal organization to establish another state-funded, religious charter school, Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School. According to the organization behind it, the school would serve Jewish families who view religious education as…...

14+ min ago (1591+ words) Democrats need to move right to win back voters in 2026 and 2028that's the conventional wisdom from a slew of Democratic think tanks and Beltway strategists. To make their case, they've released reports and polling trying to prove that voters are more moderate on many social and cultural issueslike trans athletes in school sports and immigrationthan the party's far-left activists. But an exhaustive new report, made available exclusively to The New Republic, makes a convincing counterargument. More importantly, it provides a road map for Democratic candidates that doesn't require throwing vulnerable members of their coalition under the bus.The report comes from Way to Win, a left-leaning "strategic donor collaborative and strategy hub" founded after the 2016 election. The report, a compilation and analysis of the surveys and focus groups they've done since the 2024 election, looks not just at swing voters but…...

15+ min ago (67+ words) An air attack by Myanmar's military government has hit a hospital in Rakhine state, killing at least 30 people. Myanmar junta's air attack on hospital kills dozens of people An air attack by Myanmar's military government has hit a hospital in Rakhine state, killing at least 30 people. Many of those killed were patients and care workers. Dozens more were injured in the attack....

15+ min ago (718+ words) Amnesty Australia honours Wael al-Dahdouh for Gaza coverage Amnesty accuses Hamas of crimes against humanity on Oct 7 US Congress moves to repeal Syria's Caesar Act in 2026 Lebanon and Israel: Will direct talks change the status quo? Southern uprising: A power shift that could redraw Yemen's map "Frugal AI': This is how MENA can catch up to global tech race German rearmament's genocidal implications, this time via Israel Bengal Tiger at Baghdad Zoo: Inside Iraq War's chaos and trauma El Sett: A cinematic tribute to Umm Kulthum's legacy and life Why filmmakers won't let Hind Rajab's story be forgotten Amnesty International Australia has awarded Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh, its Human Rights Defender Award, recognising his reporting throughout Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. The veteran journalist was honoured at the organisation's annual ceremony, which highlights reporters who have made…...

21+ min ago (1030+ words) Republicans are also quitting in droves. For most of this year, Republican members of the House of Representatives seemed to move in lockstep with President Donald Trump, not hesitating to back him on controversial measures on immigration and the economy. But now they seem to be breaking ranks. Some Republican members of Congress have stood up to Trump on the release of the Epstein Files, tariffs, health care subsidies, boat strikes in the Caribbean, and other issues. They've voiced frustration with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has let Trump set the agenda for Congress even as the president's approval rating continues to decline. Some GOP members of the House, fed up with partisan gridlock, stalled legislation, and threats of political violence, are just calling it quits altogether. They're either retiring or resigning to seek other offices. The GOP could potentially…...

23+ min ago (192+ words) U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the U.S. economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Trump's victory wasn't the "landslide" he claims it is; it was a close election, and he won the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent. Nonetheless, 2024 underscored his ability to bounce back politically when critics are writing his political obituary. But ten and one half-months into his second presidency, Trump's approval numbers are weak. And conservative GOP pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, in a New York Times op-ed published on December 11, lays out some reasons why Trump's MAGA "brand" could be in really deep trouble this time. Politically, Anderson observes, Trump finds himself in "ominous territory" " and "affordability" has gone from being "an issue of strength" to being a liability. Anderson adds, "Eggs may be cheaper today than one…...

24+ min ago (412+ words) President Donald Trump made the first stop this week in a planned nationwide tour to reassure Americans about the cost of living, but his off-script message concerned other Republicans. The president's high-profile economic speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania was meant to cheer up voters and reset his economic message, but instead his meandering, 90-minute remarks deepened GOP fears that his inability to connect on the issue would send the party for a midterm election wipeout, reported CNN. "The first thing in terms of recovery is acknowledging there's a problem," said GOP strategist Matthew Bartlett, a first-term Trump official. "Being an ostrich in politics and putting your head in the sand is never a good strategy, much less a winning strategy." Trump insisted the economy is booming " and gave himself an "A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus" grade on the issue in an interview " and claimed prices…...