May 31, 2021
President Joe Biden has mapped out a strategy to make the United States more competitive and block, or at least slow down, China’s drive to dominate the world economy. The $6 trillion price tag for Biden’s proposals is expensive, and he may not be able to get his program through Congress. But if he fails, make sure that your children start studying Chinese, because the U.S. could lose its role as the global leader. China is catching up with America, and time is running short for the U.S. to defend its position.
Meanwhile, Sen. Mitch McConnell continues…
Democrats should support Rep. Liz Cheney as she fights her party’s slide into authoritarianism
As Republicans move to expel Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her leadership post in the House, the warning lights are flashing red for American democracy. Republicans are punishing Cheney because she has committed the cardinal sin of contradicting Donald Trump and defending the 2020 election results as legitimate. In the Party’s upper echelons, this is now considered treason.
In this fraught moment, Liz Cheney is the enemy of the tyrant, so she is my friend, politically speaking. …
Georgia’s Republicans are cheating, tilting the playing field as they try to stem a rising tide of Black voters.
April 9, 2021
You may have heard, from Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Wall Street Journal, and other purveyors of alternative reality that there is nothing sinister, nothing wrong at all, about the new voting law that the Georgia legislature passed on March 25. The state is just making its practices more uniform and expanding voters’ access, they claim.
That is sheer, utter nonsense — a whitewash, if you will.
The Republicans in Georgia were shocked when Joe Biden won the state’s electoral votes and its voters elected two Democratic Senators. The Republicans are desperately trying to prevent more Democratic victories…
Part 1
March 1, 2021
After a brief rebellion, the Republican leaders in Congress have surrendered to Donald Trump. Mitch McConnell said he would “absolutely” support Donald Trump if he is the party’s nominee in 2024. Even Sen. Mitt Romney, no fan of the former president, predicted that Trump will win the nomination if he runs.
A few brave Republicans still point out that Trump tried to pull off a coup, but they are voices crying in a political wilderness. We should admire Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyoming), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Illinois), and Sen. Ben Sasse (Nebraska) for their courage and honesty. However…
If Not, Moderate Republicans Could Go the Way of the Do-Do Bird
January 27, 2021
Impeaching Donald Trump is critical for protecting our democracy from a tyrant, but that is not the only reason for conducting a trial in the Senate and convicting him.
The trial may also be moderate Republicans’ last chance to cast Trump out of their party and to avoid being purged by his hard-core followers. And if the Senate does not convict Trump, President Joe Biden may not be able to govern effectively. That would be toxic for our democracy, already badly damaged by the last four years.
You’d think the Republicans in the Senate would use this…
The President Should Face Impeachment or Prosecution
January 9, 2021
American democracy is facing the kind of existential threat that destroyed the German Weimar Republic in 1933.
The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is an enemy of the people, an enemy of the state. Trump presents a clear and present danger to American democracy, and he must be eliminated as a political force. Donald Trump must never be allowed to run for public office again. He must be humiliated and disgraced.
The best way to bar Trump from political life would be through a swift impeachment and conviction. …
Republicans Are Too Tight-Fisted, Again
December 22, 2020
The new Covid-19 relief bill is too limited in scope, and, in a critical failure, it does not provide desperately needed aid for state and local state governments. Once again, Republicans have channeled their inner Scrooge, slashing relief payments for individuals by 50%, and they have taken a punitive approach to Blue states. That will hurt the whole country, not just Democratic-led states, and it is an ominous sign for the incoming Biden administration.
President-elect Joe Biden welcomed the new program, while emphasizing that Congress would need to pass another massive package…
Trump obstructed justice, but prosecuting him would set a terrible precedent and it might boomerang against Democrats.
December 6, 2020
One of the toughest decisions that Joe Biden will have to make as President is whether to authorize, or allow, the Department of Justice to prosecute Donald Trump for obstructing justice.
There are very strong arguments for a Federal criminal prosecution of Trump, based on the facts and the law. But taking this momentous step would set a terrible precedent, which would further divide the country, and it might boomerang against the Democrats. The best course of action, and the…
Republicans at many levels of government have launched an all-out assault on the election results.
November 19, 2020
What are the bedrock principles of a democracy?
After a hard-fought campaign, the party in power accepts its defeat in an election and hands over the reins of government to the opposition party. Although the losers are not happy with the results, they bow to the will of the people. They don’t attack the election process, or their opponents, as illegitimate or fraudulent. The transfer of power is peaceful and prompt.
The Republican Party is abandoning these principles, and that is very dangerous for our country and our democratic traditions. Republican leaders at several levels of government…
Joe Biden Has Saved American Democracy
November 9, 2020
We have dodged a bullet; the nightmare is over. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have won the election, with a solid, three-point margin, 50.6% to 47.6%. The Democrats have received a mandate; the voters repudiated Donald Trump and his cramped, dark vision for America. Our nation faces huge challenges, but we can start to rebuild our democracy and move forward.
This is a time to celebrate, despite some disappointments.
The Democrats have routed an incumbent who used — and abused — all his advantages as he fought to remain in office…
Ryan O'Connell
A Wall Street Democrat. Security analyst (financial institutions), former lawyer and banker.
