John Nichols

Eliminating Saturday Postal Service Threatens Vote-by-Mail Democracy

John Nichols on February 8, 2013 - 2:04 PM ET

(Flickr/Jeff Knezovich)

The proposal by the US Postal Service to end Saturday mail delivery—which can and should be blocked by Congress—poses a dramatic threat to the economic and social viability of rural communities and inner cities. The move endangers small businesses that rely on affordable, universal and regular service. And it threatens the elderly, the disabled and vulnerable Americans who count on the connections made through the mail—and with the letter carriers who deliver it.

Postal Cuts Are Austerity on Steroids

John Nichols on February 6, 2013 - 10:51 AM ET

(Flickr/Ben Brophy)

The austerity agenda that would cut services for working Americans in order to maintain tax breaks for the wealthy—and promote the privatization of public services—has many faces.

New Scheme to Rig Electoral College: Divide Dem Votes, Winner-Take-All for GOP

John Nichols on February 5, 2013 - 1:48 AM ET

The Pennsylvania state capitol building. (Flickr/Paul Vasiliades)

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has been blunt about his determination to rig the Electoral College. So it should come as no surprise that, even after his partisan minions were "named and shamed" into distancing themselves from an initial strategy for gaming presidential politics, key Republicans have returned with another plan to make it possible for a GOP loser to "win" the 2016 presidential race.

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Skeeters Bit by Image of President Who Opposes Violence—Not the Second Amendment

John Nichols on February 4, 2013 - 2:48 AM ET

Obama the skeet-shooter. (Flickr/White House)

Forget the “birthers.”

What We Will Lose When Tom Harkin Leaves the Senate

John Nichols on February 1, 2013 - 3:11 PM ET

Tom Harkin. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Tom Harkin’s decision to retire from the Senate at the end of his current term will create an immeasurable void in the chamber where he has served for more than a quarter-century. A progressive populist with a history of defending organized labor, working farmers, public education and public services, the Iowan arrived in the Senate as a fighting FDR Democrat and he will leave as one.

Why Hagel So Frightens Neocons and Guardians of the Military-Industrial Complex

John Nichols on January 31, 2013 - 1:29 PM ET

Chuck Hagel. (AP Photos/Nati Harnik)

There is no worse place than a Senate confirmation hearing to get a sense of whether a nominee for a critical cabinet post is up to the job.

Appointing Senators, Be They Republicans or Democrats, Is Wrong

John Nichols on January 30, 2013 - 1:08 PM ET

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. (Flickr/Rappaport Center)

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has rejected former Congressman Barney Frank’s request that he be appointed to fill the vacancy created by Senator John Kerry’s resignation to serve as secretary of state. Despite the fact that progressive groups urged the Frank pick for the temporary slot—arguing that the former congressman could play a critical, perhaps definitional, role in budget fights over cutting Pentagon waste and taxing speculators—the governor instead picked his former chief of staff.

Meet Ron Johnson, the Randiest of the Ayn Rand Republicans

John Nichols on January 29, 2013 - 10:38 AM ET

Senator Ron Johnson speaks to reporters in 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

There is ample evidence to suggest that leading Republican members of the House and Senate are a good deal more familiar with the fiction of Ayn Rand than with the self-evident truths of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison or Abraham Lincoln.

Priebus Is What Happens When a Party Loses Its Self-Respect

John Nichols on January 28, 2013 - 9:12 AM ET

Reince Priebus. (Flickr/Gage Skidmore)

The Republican National Committee has retained Reince Priebus as party chairman, keeping the failed leader in a position previously occupied by Mark Hanna, Lee Atwater and Haley Barbour.

Three Strategies to Block the Gerrymandering of the Electoral College

John Nichols on January 25, 2013 - 6:24 PM ET

Reince Priebus speaks at the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference. (Flickr/Gage Skidmore)

As Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus promotes one of the most blatant assaults on democracy in modern times—a scheme to gerrymander the Electoral College so that the loser of the popular vote could win key states and the presidency—the number-one question from frustrated citizens is: What can we do about it?