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GOP candidates rush to rebrand

National Columnists

"If you want to know what a politician is up to, watch his feet, not his mouth," historian Marvin Meyers wrote in his magisterial "The Jacksonian Persuasion" in 1957. It's still good advice. In private conversations, Republicans are talking a big game about how they're not worried about November's midterms, according to several informed sources I've talked to. But it's not just in private. "Today, I don't think there will be a blue wave at all," White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair told the Free Press earlier this month. Blair is the man tasked with overseeing the midterms ...

When anger turns against city

National Columnists

What is troubling about the unrest spreading across Europe is not that people are taking to the streets. Protest is a legitimate part of democratic life. People have the right to object when fuel becomes unaffordable, schools deteriorate, public services fail, and housing slips beyond reach. Governments should hear those grievances and answer them. What should trouble every citizen is the moment protest becomes a license to loot, burn and terrorize. A peaceful march makes an argument. A mob that smashes a shop window silences one. Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully in France ...

What's ahead if polls are right, or wrong

National Columnists

With less than two weeks until the midterm elections, things look bad for President Donald Trump's Republican Party. Generic polls show significant movement away from Republicans and toward Democrats since Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris by 50% to 48% two years ago. Republicans seem doomed to lose their exceedingly narrow House majority, although redistricting by both parties over the past two years has reduced the number of competitive seats and will likely limit their losses. More surprisingly, in view of the 2024 results, Republicans' Senate majority seems in ...

What estate sales taught me

National Columnists

Estate sales are a newer thrifting experience for me. I've always loved to shop at Goodwill and hunt for designer labels and hidden treasures, but estate sales have a different feel. I'd never gone to one until my mom got a house in Florida. The local retirement communities have estate ...

We're not teaching entrepreneurship well

National Columnists

I've been teaching entrepreneurship for more than 25 years. My degrees in English and law and my lifelong love of politics have provided a different perspective and a distinct pedagogy. I want students to understand the contributions entrepreneurship has made to American prosperity and ...

AI plays role in regulatory capture

National Columnists

American businesses have long practiced what political scientists call regulatory capture. A company that cannot repeal a law takes control of the people the government put in charge of enforcing it. The airlines did it to the Civil Aeronautics Board, which in 40 years never approved a ...