The March on Washington in Historical Context The March on Washington in Historical Context
We remember it as the apogee of democratic idealism. At the time, it was feared as a harbinger of violent chaos.
Aug 23, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
On the Death of Democratic Higher Education On the Death of Democratic Higher Education
As opportunities for becoming a college professor retreat, teaching college becomes the province of a proleterariat—and of a class of “gentleman scholars.”
Aug 21, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
ALEC’s Illegal Past? ALEC’s Illegal Past?
Unsurprisingly, the modern American Legislative Exchange Council was born in sin—with a sketchy tax dodge designed to let it front as a “non-political” organizati...
Aug 7, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
Growing Up in the John Birch Society Growing Up in the John Birch Society
A new memoir exposes the trauma of growing up in an extreme-right-wing family—and the way those traumas were visited, politically, on the rest of us.
Aug 6, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
Education Reform, Chicago-Style Education Reform, Chicago-Style
How the bullying of a hero-teacher shows shows up the pretentions of Chicago's school establishment.
Aug 2, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
William Warren Scranton, 1917–2013 William Warren Scranton, 1917–2013
On the occasion of the death of one of the last liberal Republican giants, reflections on the passing of a species.
Jul 31, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
Will a Botched Coast Guard Contract Come Back to Bite James Comey? Will a Botched Coast Guard Contract Come Back to Bite James Comey?
As general counsel of Lockheed Martin, Comey rejected a whistleblower’s claim that a $24 billion Coast Guard project was riddled with problems. The whistleblower was right&md...
Jul 29, 2013 / Rick Perlstein
Inside the Emergency-Management-Industrial Complex Inside the Emergency-Management-Industrial Complex
In which a chance encounter with a trade magazine inspires reflections upon the prophets, and profits, of fear.
Jul 29, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
Rand Paul’s Detroit Shock Doctrine Rand Paul’s Detroit Shock Doctrine
Rightwingers are using Detroit's fiscal crisis—much like they did in New York in 1975—to undermine the social safety net.
Jul 22, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein
The Eye on the Pyramids (Part 3: MLMs and the Conservative Republican Infrastructure) The Eye on the Pyramids (Part 3: MLMs and the Conservative Republican Infrastructure)
Massive amounts of money flow from MLM companies to Republican poiticians and conservative institutions—and massive favors flow in return.
Jul 18, 2013 / Blog / Rick Perlstein