Politics
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Sanders and Cruz Win in Wis., but Can They Win When the Black and Latino Vote Is in Play?
Tuesday night was a huge victory for two campaigns that were once insurgents and are now viable alternatives. Ted Cruz, mustering all the might of the evangelical Republican base and the desperate “anti-Trump” voters, won the Republican primary in Wisconsin with 49 percent of the vote and, so far, 36 out of a possible 42…
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Rights of Minority Voters Upheld in Stunning Supreme Court Ruling
In our last episode of that ideologically imbalanced Supreme Court we love to hate, the perpetually out-of-touch institution was well on its way to dismantling civil rights law as we know it. Conservatives had successfully skinned the Voting Rights Act down to its bare enforcement essentials in Shelby v. Holder less than three years ago.…
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Black Fraternity Memorial Defaced With ‘Trump 2016,’ Your Newest Racial Slur
Are you a neo-Nazi or are you a Dallas Cowboys fan? There is actually a difference (all jokes aside), but expressing support for Nazism or the Cowboys can be a tricky situation if you’re a sports fan, ignorant or racist. Millions of Americans know that Michael Irvin, the Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys wide receiver,…
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The GOP Won the South, but It Will Lose the White House
Watch carefully, folks. We may be witnessing an astonishing historical phenomenon: the death of a major American political party. In real time, the GOP is devouring itself—or, rather, Donald Trump is generating a feeding frenzy; and whether by suicide, murder, fratricide or whatever, the party of Lincoln is on track to implode by Election Day,…
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7 Reasons Why We Can’t Date if You Don’t Vote
“Vote your heart … unless it’s evil,” my homegirl laughs, taking a sip of her drink. I can’t help but laugh, too, despite the loaded conversation. After all, my friend, a steadfast supporter of the “other blue meat,” is right: This election cycle—more than most in recent history—has the potential to move our country forward…
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Clinton? Trump? How About Neither? It’s Time to Blow the Whistle on Presidential Politics
The peculiar American sport that is the national election is back in season: Republicans vs. Democrats. Red states vs. blue states. Donald Trump fanatics attacking protesters as if bigotry will yield them better yardage on the field of economic opportunity. Hillary Clinton doing the Nae-Nae as if she scored a touchdown for the young folk…
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We Don’t Have to Wait for the General Election to See the Harmful Effects of Voter-ID Laws—They’re Already Happening
Look out, voting people. The 2016 Democratic presidential primaries have fast become the early-warning detection system on voter-ID laws. And based on what we’ve seen thus far, the electoral weather patterns don’t look so good. Conversations on the expanding voter-ID and voter-suppression franchises have, up to this point, centered on election Armageddon scenarios in the…
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Fuck This Entire Election Cycle
When Donald Trump was scheduled March 11 to stump on the University of Illinois Chicago campus, I was driving to Detroit with the goal of getting out of town before the inevitable protests began. I openly questioned on Facebook the purpose of protesting Trump, as if making a scene in public wouldn’t just embolden his…
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‘Calm’ May Not Fit Country’s Mood, but It’s Obama’s Only Choice
Sometimes, even when I suspect that he knows it will hurt him, President Barack Obama does not follow the script. The evening of the day when terrorists struck in Belgium, the president and his family attended a Major League Baseball exhibition game in Cuba. Why didn’t he rush back to Washington, D.C., or to Belgium…
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In Search of the Church of Trump
I went to church in search of Donald Trump. To understand Scott, you have to understand Cleveland. I have lived in Cleveland, on and off, for the last 10 years and have seen the city go through a lot of change. From 2004 to 2016, Cleveland has gone from being the poorest big city in…