Articles Tagged with Politics

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar argues, contrary to the consensus of legal pundits, that President Trump likely does not have to dispose of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in order to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Amar provides three reasons for his conclusion that the disposition of Sessions is beside the point in the president’s war against Mueller, but he points out that there are more downsides to getting rid of Sessions (for Trump) than there are upsides.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, comments on President Trump’s expressed displeasure with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and his apparent concern about the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Dean answers several questions raised by these and related stories.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, relates the research and words of psychology professor Bob Altemeyer as the latter explains how difficult it would be to change the minds of supporters of Donald Trump. Based on Altemeyer’s observations, Dean proposes the only way for Democrats to succeed in 2018 and 2020 is to focus on getting sympathetic non-voters—who outnumber right-wing authoritarians in the general population—to the polls.

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar explains the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal decision in United States v. Nixon and explains how it might affect the Trump administration in light of various ongoing investigations. Amar provides a brief summary of the Court’s holding in that case, calls attention to some weaknesses in its reasoning, and anticipates what issues might present themselves again.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, describes President Trump’s lifelong history of being in fights—with wives, business partners, vendors, tenants, the news media, and countless others. Dean argues that Trump’s fight tactics include lying, cheating, and seeking to intimidate—skills he likely learned from New York City attorney Roy Cohn.

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan once again explains why supply-side economics does not work to stimulate the economy. Buchanan points out the logical mistake of inferring causation from correlation and points to the consensus among economists across the political spectrum that supply-side economics has no basis in fact or theory.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Nixon, reflects on the much-anticipated testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Dean briefly summarizes the takeaways from Comey’s testimony and discusses the response by President Trump and his lawyer.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, explains the type-analysis developed by political scientist and presidential scholar James David Barber, and applies it to President Trump. Dean observes that Trump fits the Active/Negative type—a type also exhibited by John Adams, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush. Dean argues that presidents of this type have had what he describes as “failed presidencies.”

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan predicts that regardless of the immediate future of President Trump, the foreseeable future of American politics will be dysfunctional. Buchanan argues that everyone who wants to improve the future of our country should look for solutions regardless of whether they support impeachment or not.

Former counsel to president Richard Nixon John W. Dean explains how the flurry of news surrounding President Trump has, if nothing else, improved the quality of journalism. Dean points out that the critical thinking and work of journalists is at least as strong right now as it was during the Watergate scandal and they are admirably digging for truth rather than taking statements at face value.

Marci A. Hamilton, a Fox Distinguished Scholar in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania, describes how President Trump is playing an elaborate game to throw Americans off balance and rearrange core American values. Hamilton calls upon Americans to stand up and demand the truth from the administration.

Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on President Trump’s decision Tuesday night to fire FBI Director James Comey. Though Title VII obviously does not apply to Trump’s action, Dorf analogizes to the framework used in Title VII employment discrimination contexts to demonstrate that the evidence overwhelmingly suggests Trump’s asserted grounds for firing Comey were pretextual.

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan pens an alternate history—where we would be today if Hillary Clinton had been elected rather than Donald Trump. Buchanan’s alternate history calls attention to the extreme tactics used by Republicans regardless of who sits in the White House.

Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf describes President Trump’s first hundred days in office as characterized by incompetence and efforts to delegitimate the courts and the press. Dorf argues that the incompetence runs throughout Trump’s administration, not only in Trump himself.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, comments on President Trump’s alarming attacks on the integrity of the federal judiciary. Dean describes how past presidents have criticized specific rulings without calling into question the legitimacy of the constitutional system.

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan explains that, contrary to what conservatives argue, liberals are concerned with both supply- and demand-side economics. Buchanan describes several liberal-backed policies that have important supply-side effects.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, argues that President Trump’s norm-breaking presidency goes beyond unorthodox to being outright un-American. Dean points out a few of the differences between the start of Trump’s presidency and that of previous presidents and concludes it is considerably far behind all others who preceded him.

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan explains in plain English what Mick Mulvaney meant when he attempted to justify President Trump’s budget proposal that would cut programs that help America’s most vulnerable, such as Meals on Wheels and subsidized school lunches for poor children. As Buchanan explains, Mulvaney’s explanation is based on a false notion that better-off people gain as much utility from each dollar as worse-off people receive from the same amount.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, explains why President Trump’s strategy of pitting his advisors against each other is likely to result in more chaos than good policy. Building upon the thesis of Chris Whipple’s upcoming book, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, Dean discusses the importance of the role of chief of staff and describes what happens when this position is empty or filled with someone not up to the job.

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan discusses recurring instances of dishonesty within America’s political parties, specifically among Republican politicians. Buchanan highlights several examples of Republican dishonesty and hypocrisy, and illustrates how Republicans’ claims are easy to dissect now that they are in control of a large portion of government.