Joe Biden’s Rooseveltian Ambitions Are Officially Dead
Austerity-minded Jeff Zients’s appointment as White House chief of staff signals Joe Biden’s return to the fiscal hawkishness that has always been his sweet spot.
518 Articles by: Branko Marcetic
Branko Marcetic is a Jacobin staff writer and the author of Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden.
Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership Was a Cautionary Tale of Liberal Inaction
Kindness, empathy, and compassion were values at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s political career — but they were often absent from her government’s policies. The result was a squandered opportunity to overhaul New Zealand’s economy for the better.
When It Comes to Mishandling Classified Documents, the Powerful Are Treated With Kid Gloves
Mishandling classified documents, as both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are now accused of doing, is just one type of crime for which America increasingly has one justice system for the rich and powerful and another, far harsher system for everyone else.
Democrats’ Hypocrisy on the Bolivian Coup Is Truly Staggering
For Democrats, taking a stand for democracy requires prosecuting coup plotters wherever and whenever they show their seditious faces. This rule holds fast except for in Bolivia, where prosecuting coup plotters apparently amounts to authoritarianism.
If Even Ken Roth Can’t Criticize Israel, No One Can
Ken Roth, the ex-head of Human Rights Watch, recently had his hiring at Harvard vetoed by administrators. Because when it comes to criticism of Israeli apartheid, even a notorious friend of the powerful like Roth can’t get a pass from the establishment.
The US Should Learn From Brazil and Actually Punish Its Coup Plotters
The riots in Brazil have drawn Jan. 6 comparisons, but they’re even more reminiscent of a different episode: the Bolivian coup that liberals misguidedly backed. Another big difference from Jan. 6: Brazil is actually prosecuting its high-level coup plotters.
A Tiny Cut in the Military Budget That Probably Won’t Happen Is Causing Panic in Washington
The bipartisan establishment is having a freak-out over the prospect of a modest cut to the defense budget. It’s not clear it will actually happen — but even if it did, the gargantuan US military budget would still be wasteful and counterproductive.
No, the GOP Has Not Become the Party of Workers
The bare minimum requirement of being a party of workers is to actually support measures that would improve those workers’ lives. By that metric, the GOP has failed over and over again.
Elon Musk Is Bad at Running Tesla, Too
With Elon Musk’s unending display of incompetence in running Twitter, it’s easy to forget that the enterprise that made him famous, Tesla, is just as riddled with scandal, lies, and even death.
Good Riddance, Juan Guaidó
Juan Guaidó was supposed to be the appealing, human face of US-backed regime change in Venezuela. His ouster as “interim president” this week is another signal that those efforts have failed.
Why the Twitter Files Are in Fact a Big Deal
On the Left, there’s been a temptation to dismiss the revelations about Twitter’s internal censorship system that have emerged from the so-called Twitter Files project. But that would be a mistake: the news is important and the details are alarming.
The January 6 Report Is a Christmas Gift to the Far Right. Thank Liz Cheney for That.
For the sake of her political ambitions and her desire to protect the national security state, Liz Cheney ensured the January 6 committee’s final report wouldn’t cover law enforcement’s failures. It’s a huge boon to the Trumpist forces she claims to oppose.
The Biden Administration Killed Bernie’s Bid to End the Yemen War
Despite its lofty rhetoric about sovereignty and human rights, the Biden administration has been working overtime to kill a congressional attempt from Bernie Sanders to end US support for the Saudi war on Yemen.
Elon Musk’s Purge of Journalists Should Be a Wake-Up Call to Liberals About the Dangers of Online Censorship
Elon Musk’s petty-minded ban of several mainstream reporters has transformed many who previously dismissed free speech concerns on Twitter into outraged anti-censorship crusaders. However laced with hypocrisy, their about-face a good thing.
The Department of Homeland Security Is Out of Control
The astonishing roster of outrages perpetrated by the Department of Homeland Security in recent years — from ties to far-right groups to the wanton abuse of migrants’ human rights — leaves only one conclusion: it cannot continue to exist in its current form.
The Key to Understanding Kyrsten Sinema Is That It’s Always about Kyrsten Sinema
Cast as a principled rejection of partisan gridlock, Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party is the latest act of shapeshifting to save her political skin. Once again, it’s all about Kyrsten Sinema.
Putting the South Carolina Primary First Doesn’t Make Any Sense
Democrats have won South Carolina once in 60 years, the state is getting older and whiter, and plenty of battleground states would be a better fit. So why do Democrats want to put the state’s primary first? Because it helps Joe Biden and hurts the Left.
The Story of the “Twitter Files” Is About Press Freedom, Not Twitter Personalities
Regardless of what you may think about Elon Musk or Matt Taibbi, the “Twitter Files” offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the firm embarked on an act of unprecedented press censorship — and that should make us very uneasy.
Trust Us, We’re Experts
For all the warnings of populism’s threat to the liberal democratic order, it might be the experts that do us in.
The US-Saudi Split and the Yemen War
Will Saudis’ battles with Joe Biden help end Washington’s support for their brutal war in Yemen?