A Mile Wide, An Inch Deep

With Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his image, a number of prominent conservatives, Republicans, and former Republicans have argued that the only way to save the GOP from racism, corruption, conspiracies, and alternative facts is to hand the party a big defeat at the polls by voting a straight Democratic ticket. For conservatives like Max Boot and Tom Nichols, the issue is straightforward . The common rejoinder from their Republican-voting friends is always the same: abortion . Often on this blog I'm repurposing writing and research that I've done in a professional capacity for other entities, adding some personal color or making it much more partisan. This time I'm not aligned with any organization. In fact, I'm about to go off-message. But when I see Republicans using abortion as a reason to give a blank check to an administration that threatens our democracy itself, I think... Can we... can we be honest with each other for just a second? I...

Omnibus, Poison Pills, and a Third Government Shutdown? This week, Congress is negotiating the last pieces of an omnibus spending package to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Current stopgap funding expires on March 23. Originally slated for a House vote this week, the timeline has been pushed to early next week. While most of the spending decisions have been finalized, big questions remain over more than a hundred controversial policy changes that Republicans hope to tie the bill. The package is likely one of the last big, must-pass bills Congress will take up before the election, making it the last chance for members of Congress to win legislative victories that they can take home. Anti-abortion conservatives, in particular, are clamoring for a win now that Republicans have given up on attempting a third reconciliation package, which would have let them once again try to force through attacks on Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers with just 50 s...