Democrats face two major structural headwinds on the path to regaining a majority coalition. First is governance in blue states, which have not exactly created a progressive utopia in recent decades. The second problem is interest groups that dominate the party coalition by practicing a politics of subtraction, whereby policy purity tests seek to narrow the big tent required for progressives to wield power nationally.
Liam Kerr
Posted inOpinion
If Dems lose the House, Sen. Warren may be to blame
DEMOCRATS HAVE an Elizabeth Warren problem. With control of Congress too close to call – and potentially coming down to 1 or 3 seats – national Democrats are Monday morning […]
Posted inOpinion
Our democratic institutions are failing voters
MORE MASSACHUSETTS voters will participate in the Democratic primaries for constitutional office than any year since 2006. There’s just one big problem: most of them have no opinion of the candidates. […]
Posted inOpinion
An eyewitness view of school segregation — in Needham
FOR 60 SECONDS in the early evening, the best view in Greater Boston transportation is aboard an outbound MBTA commuter rail train as it passes Millennium Park in West Roxbury, […]
Posted inEducation
Mass. teachers union has become a reckless voice
GORE VIDAL SAID “the four best words in the English language are ‘I told you so.’” Forecasting reckless leadership during a recession does not qualify for that distinction. But as […]
Posted inOpinion
‘Bernie Bros’ not helping Democratic cause
LIVE FROM MANCHESTER, on Saturday night, supporters of Elizabeth Warren cheered loudly for Joe Biden as he spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s marquee fundraising event. Deval Patrick’s section […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. Teachers’ short-sighted talk of raiding rainy day fund
FOR THE PAST generation, the rest of the country has been borrowing Massachusetts’s approach to education policy. This was a win not only for our kids, but for showing all […]
Posted inEducation
Boston teachers union attack fires blanks
LAST NOVEMBER, Democrats for Education Reform held our election night party at the same Boston hotel as the state Democratic Party and the anti-charter ballot campaign. I was one of […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Real Democrats support charter schools
WITH JUST DAYS until America selects a successor to President Obama, a longstanding kerfuffle has broken into the open on his longstanding, crystal clear opposition to artificial caps on public charter […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Deval Patrick’s education legacy
WHEN THINKING OF a governor’s last act before leaving office, pardons for long-time prisoners usually come to mind. For Deval Patrick, the last big move came five months after his […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Let’s think smart
let this be a wakeup call to those who dismiss the dreams of Boston’s Olympic boosters as far-fetched or improbable: Boston is currently the global front-runner to host the 2024 […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
California tenure case a win for students
On Tuesday, teachers unions and education reformers clashed yet again in newspaper headlines around the country. Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers called it a “sad day for […]