E.J. Dionne Jr.'s Slant

Rep. Tom Perriello is this election's test case of whether casting tough votes is better than ducking them and whether a progressive who fashions an intelligent populism can survive in deeply conservative territory. submitted 05/21/12

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"Where are our plans for a New Deal or a Great Society?" asked Edward W. Brooke, the legendary Massachusetts Republican. It's not a question anyone in today's Republican Party would dare get caught even considering, but Brooke had the temerity to raise it in "The Challenge of Change," a book publ .. submitted 05/21/12

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Is the Tea Party one of the most successful scams in American political history? Before you dismiss the question, note that word "successful." Judge the Tea Party purely on the grounds of effectiveness and you have to admire how a very small group has shaken American political life and seized the mi .. submitted 05/21/12

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Imagine that your neighbors started getting letters describing all sorts of horrific deeds you had allegedly performed. Wouldn't you feel you had the right to know who was spreading this sleaze -- especially if the charges were untrue? Now imagine a member of Congress telling a lobbyist from Consoli .. submitted 05/21/12

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President Obama decided this week to raise the stakes in this fall's election by making the choice about something instead of nothing but anger. In the process, he will confront a deeply embedded media narrative that sees a Republican triumph as all but inevitable. Paradoxically, such extravagant ex .. submitted 05/21/12

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Watching the great civil rights march on television in August 1963, I couldn't help but notice that hundreds of people carried signs with a strange legend at the top: "UAW Says." UAW was saying "Segregation Disunites the United States," and many other things insisting on equality. This "UAW" was .. submitted 05/21/12

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President Obama's address to the nation on Iraq this week underscores the agony of his presidency and its core political problem. Seen from the inside, the administration is an astonishing success. Obama has kept his principal promises and can take credit for achievements that eluded his Democrat .. submitted 05/21/12

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Republicans are in the midst of an insurrection. Democrats are not. This vast gulf between the situations of the two parties -- not some grand revolt against "the establishment" or "incumbents" -- explains the year's primary results, including Tuesday's jarring outcomes in Florida and Alaska. The .. submitted 05/21/12

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n an election, a solid "no" usually beats an uneasy "yes, but." That's the heart of the problem Democrats and President Obama face this fall. The advantage of saying no without equivocation is that a significant share of the electorate is usually ready to shout the word from the rooftops, especia .. submitted 05/21/12

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The titans of the private sector say President Obama is anti-business. Many progressives say he coddles business. How does the administration manage to pull that off? The "center" is said to be the most comfortable place in American politics. But this assumes that the center is stable, that most .. submitted 05/21/12

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