(CNN) When the Trump administration recently signaled that it was going to crack down on affirmative action, some critics responded with an odd request: Why not start with the man sitting in the Oval Office? President Donald Trump embodies the worst stereotypes conservatives have invoked to describe affirmative action beneficiaries, according to several commentators, political scientists and diversity experts. They say he’s entitled, unqualified and held to lower standards because of racial grievances. They call Trump the nation’s first affirmative action president.
Opinion: Why Oprah in 2020 Is Both Blessing and Curse for Trump and the GOP
It didn’t take long for “Oprah in 2020” to start trending after the one-named icon’s stirring Golden Globes speech on Sunday night.
Perhaps not surprisingly, considering his gift for exploiting political and cultural fault lines, one of the first to connect the media and philanthropic queen to electoral gold was none other than Donald Trump, who has said in the past that the two on a presidential ticket would win “easily.”
Maybe the president really is the “very stable genius” he says he is.
But did Trump also see her as the competition that could be his undoing?
Jan082018
Opinion: Will African-American Female Leadership Move Into the Spotlight in 2018?
It’s kind of a pattern. In tangled tales of the intersection of racism and sexism, women of color are depended upon for the hard work but pushed aside for recognition.
Jan042018
Opinion: Thinking Small When the Big Picture Looks Cloudy
Polls that show a view of Congress mighty low and sinking fast invariably find voters more satisfied with their own representatives. Thumbs-down verdicts for Washington and the “swamp” in general often turn rosier when dealing with particulars.
That fact, plus gerrymandered districts and restrictive voting laws, is reason enough for Democrats to be cautious when predicting a 2018 blue electoral wave. Americans are thinking small these days, preferring to stick with the familiar and close-to-home when confronted with issues that gobble up all the oxygen in the room and the brain.
At the least, taking time for family, home, neighborhood and church is one way to make sense of life and change the things you can, as the famous “Serenity Prayer” counsels. It’s the opposite of traditional advice to look at the “big picture” for perspective when little things don’t go your way.
Dec212017
Senate Passes Largest Tax Overhaul in Three Decades
CHARLOTTE, NC — A New Bill Ends the Year and Transforms the Tax System. It looks as though the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress will get its win, a legislative accomplishment, and a big one. The major overhaul of the nation’s tax system will be passed without any support from Democrats and without one public hearing. Polls show that it and President Donald Trump are unpopular, but will that change as the effects of the bill start to shake out?
Political Contributor, Mary C. Curtis weighs in.
Dec202017
Opinion: The Commandments According to Roy Moore Take a Hit
In the Alabama Senate race, both sides went to church — Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones took their appeals to their faithful, which, for the most part, worship the same God but came to wildly different electoral conclusions.
On Tuesday, Jones won. The miracle of a Democrat winning a statewide race in deep-red Alabama actually happened. It was not the divine intervention Moore had prayed for, perhaps pointing out the danger when you so shamelessly use the word of the Lord to divide.
Dec142017
Doug Jones Defeats Roy Moore in Alabama
CHARLOTTE, NC — In deep-red Alabama, Democrat Doug Jones pulled off an upset win over Republican Roy Moore to fill a U.S. Senate seat. With the national and international spotlight on the state, Alabama voted to break with its recent tradition – and go against the candidate heartily endorsed by President Trump in a state he handily won. (Mary C. Curtis)
Political Contributor, Mary C. Curtis weighs in on what happened and what this means.
Dec132017
Opinion: Will Tax Bill Open Church Doors Wider Still for Politics?
A place of worship has never been completely clear of politics in America. But that physical and spiritual space for contemplation and reflection may grow smaller still, and moments without intrusion from the bitterness and division in the world could grow shorter.
Tucked into the House version of the tax plan that Republicans dearly crave as “a win” is a provision that would remove a check on places of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — and some nonprofits. The in-danger Johnson Amendment of 1954, one with more intent than teeth, supposedly prohibits pastors and other faith leaders from endorsing or opposing political candidates from their perches of religious authority or risk losing their tax-exempt status.
Nov302017
A Tax Bill, a Budget and a Deadline
CHARLOTTE, NC– It’s been a busy week, with the Senate taking a big step forward toward passing a Republican $1.5 trillion tax package when the Budget Committee, on a party-line vote, cleared the way for the full Senate to vote on the bill this week. But a meeting to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown hit a snag when a presidential tweet caused top Democratic leaders to be no-shows for a White House meeting. (Mary C. Curtis)
Nov292017
Opinion: When Holiday Values Meet Policy, It May Be Awkward
Just as the generosity of Angel Tree donations and turkey giveaways clash with the kill-or-be-killed stampede of folks looking for a Black Friday bargain, the warm holiday greetings lawmakers disseminate this time of year might strike a dissonant cord when compared to the current policies and politics coming out of Washington.
Nov222017
