Dan Crenshaw Called for Civility on SNL. Maybe That Was the Joke.
Illustration by Lincoln AgnewDan Crenshaw started off as a joke. On the last episode of Saturday Night Live before the 2018 election, Pete Davidson was rifling through headshots of candidates when he got to the 35-year-old retired Navy SEAL from the Houston area. “You may be surprised to hear he’s a congressional candidate from Texas…
How the 2010s Brought Back Strikes, School Walkouts, and Social Movements
Occupy Wall Street protesters wave signs and banners outside the Park Avenue home of JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in October 2011.Andrew Burton/AP With economic inequality at the highest levels in decades, the climate in crisis, and a political system often unable to address popular demands or even elect the people’s choice, the last…
California Republican Pleads Guilty to Misusing Campaign Funds
Gregory Bull/AP After claiming for a year that he was the victim of a political “witch hunt” by federal prosecutors as part of a “deep state” conspiracy, disgraced Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of misusing campaign funds for extramarital affairs with lobbyists and congressional aides, family vacations, his children’s private school tuition,…
There’s a Wave of Democratic Insurgents Hoping to Join the Squad
Adam Vieyra / Mother Jones“All of this is brand new,” says Alex Morse, the 30-year-old mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts. He’s waving a tattooed arm in the direction of several dozen brick factories and warehouses, towering vestiges of this former mill town’s once-thriving paper industry. They appear largely vacant and in various states of disrepair, yet…
Trump’s Ambassadors Are Uniquely Unqualified. The Ukraine Scandal Proves It.
Gordon Sondland arrives on Capitol Hill for his Ukraine scandal deposition.Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Gordon Sondland would not have been any reasonable person’s first choice for a senior State Department post. Or their 20th choice. Before he found himself at the center of the Ukraine scandal, Sondland was a hotel magnate with zero…
Amazon Spent a Ton of Money on Seattle Elections. It Probably Wasn’t Worth It.
Ted S. Warren / AP When Amazon pumped $1.5 million into influencing Seattle’s City Council elections in its final weeks—a rather startling bump on the $25,000 spent four years ago, according to Reuters—it begged the question: Can Amazon buy an election? (And, uh, is Prime delivery worth your complicity?) Jeff Bezos and Amazon think they can buy elections. They spent…