Republican Party

By Greg Grandin | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – The only person Henry Kissinger flattered more than President Richard Nixon was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. In the early 1970s, the Shah, sitting atop an enormous reserve of increasingly expensive oil and a key figure in Nixon and Kissinger’s move into the Middle […]

Featured

Things like Ted Cruz’s threat to Murder Iran’s Ayatollah are why Iranians don’t Trust US

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) Ted Cruz said Friday at the Value Voters Summit conference in Washington, D.C., “If you vote for me, under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. And if the ayatollah doesn’t understand that, we may have to help introduce him to his 72 virgins.” Neoconservatives keep […]

Christianity

Top Signs Pope Francis is an Honest Conservative

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The positioning of Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis, as a “liberal” or “progressive” in American politics is incorrect and indeed a little bizarre. The Pope is a conservative. In fact, he has railed against “adolescent progressivism” and against secularism, which he calls “the devil.” Pope Francis opposes […]

Elections

Dark Money Surge: Conservatives Buoyed by Historic Flood of Contributions

contributors

By Sarah Lazare, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) – – A new report from Center for Responsive Politics finds single-candidate groups have spent $16.2 million total so far—- over 55 times levels seen in 2012—- and conservatives disproportionately benefit. Political spending by outside groups seeking to the influence the 2016 presidential election is already dramatically […]

Featured

Has the GOP given up on winning the Presidency? Carson, Trump on Muslims, Latinos

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Ben Carson’s and Donald Trump’s comments about Muslims over the weekend again showed the GOP as the party of exclusion, not inclusion (though to be fair Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov. Chris Christie had the intestinal fortitude to denounce those comments, unlike the rest of the […]

Immigration

How the GOP’s decades of Angry Resentment Led to Frankentrump

contributors

By Randall Stephens | (The Conversation) | – – The latest Republican presidential primary debate had it all: denunciations of President Obama, angry rants about America’s future, and all manner of bile. It seems like a new low – but in reality, Republican candidates have been singing this tune for years. In the fall of […]

Featured

How GOP Candidates would Deal with Syria, Short Version

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Political Satire In the course of the second GOP debate at CNN, anchor Jake Tapper asked the candidates about Syria policy. They for the most part did not actually answer the question, but occasionally said something. But they often said it at great length. Here is […]

Culture

Andrew Garfield of Spiderman: Trump ‘has a lot,’ Unwelcoming of those with Little

contributors

Popsugar Entertainment | (Video Interview with Andrew Garfield) | – – “Andrew Garfield spent hours with families who’d lost their homes in the foreclosure crisis to prepare for his role as a single dad fighting to stay afloat in 99 Homes. While those stories may have faded from the daily news cycle, he says they’re […]

Democratic Party

When will War be off the Table? Iran & US Trash Talk

contributors

By David M. Faris | (Informed Comment) | – – You have to admire the sheer gall of the Republican presidential field, which has coalesced around the idea of, in Scott Walker’s words, blowing up the Iranian nuclear deal “on day one.” As most candidates also pledge to repeal Obamacare on the first day, one […]