Author: Robert Reich

Republican Role Model: Why Trump followers are inspired to emulate Putin’s brutal ideology in America

In a speech delivered on March 25 from his office in the Kremlin, Putin criticized the West’s “cancel culture.” He charged that it was “canceling” Russia, “an entire thousand-year-old country, our people.” It was the third time in recent months Putin has blasted the so-called “cancel culture.” Which is exactly what Trump, Tucker Carlson, and the Republican party have blasted for several years. “The goal of cancel culture is to make decent Americans live in fear of being fired, expelled, shamed, humiliated and driven from society as we know it,” Trump said as he accepted his party’s nomination at...

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Wrong about the future: How unsetting events at home and abroad have upended hope for tomorrow

Nationalism is disappearing, democracy is inevitable, and nuclear war cannot happen. Then came the invasion of Ukraine and all those certainties were proven wrong. I used to believe several things about the 21st century that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s election in 2016 have shown me are false. I assumed: Nationalism is disappearing. I expected globalization would blur borders, create economic interdependence among nations and regions and extend a modern consumer and artistic culture worldwide. I was wrong. Both Putin and Trump have exploited xenophobic nationalism to build their power. Putin’s aggression has also ignited an...

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What makes the new Cold War more dangerous is that Putin’s authoritarian has rooted itself in America

The world is frighteningly locked in a battle to the death between democracy and authoritarianism. When Vladimir Putin issued a new threat to the West, telling his defense minister and his top military commander to place Russia’s nuclear forces on alert, it officially ushered in a new Cold War. The biggest difference between the old Cold War and the new one is that authoritarian neo-fascism is no longer just an external threat to America and Europe. A version of it is also growing inside western Europe and the United States. It has even taken over one of America’s major...

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Corporate Sedition: Why business donations continue to fund lawmakers bent on eliminating democracy

Capitalism and democracy are compatible only if democracy is in the driver’s seat. That is why I took some comfort just after the attack on the Capitol when many big corporations solemnly pledged they would no longer finance the campaigns of the 147 lawmakers who voted to overturn election results. Those days are over. Turns out they were over the moment the public stopped paying attention. A report published recently by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington shows that over the past year, 717 companies and industry groups have donated more than $18m to 143 of those seditious lawmakers....

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None Dare Call It Treason: Why co-conspirators in Trump’s Capitol attack are still serving in Congress

January 6 will be the first anniversary one of the most shameful days in American history. On that date in 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by thousands of armed loyalists to Donald Trump, some intent on killing members of Congress. About 140 officers were injured. Five people died. Even now, a year later, Americans remain confused and divided about the significance of what occurred. Let me offer four basic truths: 1. Trump incited the attack on the Capitol For weeks before the attack, Trump urged supporters to come to Washington for a “Save America March” on 6...

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Big lie, big anger, and big money: The War on Democracy that Congress faces after a holiday break

With the Senate adjourned for the holidays and Joe Biden’s Build Back Better social and climate package stalled, the president’s remaining agenda is at the mercy of the 2022 midterm election year. So the practical question is: what should be his, and the first priority of Democrats, when Congress returns in January? Biden obviously wants to get his spending package passed. But swift action on voting rights is essential. Republican state legislatures will soon begin drawing partisan congressional maps that federal legislation would outlaw. Several states have already changed election laws in ways making it harder for people in...

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