BY JIM HIGHTOWER The teabag forces are out front in today’s politics, noisily trying to oust Democrats and install a new Congress that they think will end “business-as-usual” in Washington. Nice political rhetoric, but peek behind the curtain. While the rise of the tea parties was fueled by the legitimate fury of thousands of outsiders, […]

BY SUSAN ESTRICH California has never had a woman governor. Two women senators, yes, but never a governor, never a lieutenant governor, never even an attorney general. When it comes to executive power, we’re talking men here. If you had asked me a year ago, or even six months ago, I would’ve said that this […]

BY FROMA HARROP The line between crazy and creepy is not always a dark one. Voters may tolerate eccentric candidates if they have a good line and fairly coherent worldview. Creepiness is something else. Politicians who threaten violence or question the sexual adequacy of their opponents give people – especially female people – the crawlies. […]

BY SHARON MARTIN A friend complained to me about health care reform. “It’s going to make our taxes go up,” she said. This friend works...

BY JOE CONASON When American politicians talk about the legacy we are leaving to the next generation, their usual theme is financial deficits, as if there were no other kind. Figured on a per-capita basis, the real and imputed debt that today’s children will assume someday as taxpayers can seem daunting. But what our political […]