Category Archives: Trump administration

How Bad is Corruption under Trump?

Posted on August 30, 2018 by politicaloptic

How bad is corruption under Trump? To help us answer the question, it’s useful to consider first what the major types of corruption are and secondly what the extent of corruption was in past American administrations before we get to … Continue reading →

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Plutocrats Climb onto the Trump Train

Posted on February 28, 2018 by politicaloptic

The Koch brothers and their network of donors, gathering at Charles Koch’s exclusive California retreat this January, declared 2017 to be their “most productive year yet.” The event came several weeks after the passing of Trump’s tax-cut legislation, viewed by … Continue reading →

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The Trump-Republican Tax Cut: What Were They Thinking?

Posted on December 25, 2017 by politicaloptic

As a mental exercise, let’s ask the following question: what if Trump and the Republicans, instead of tilting their tax-cut legislation heavily towards corporations and the rich, had come up with a bill that truly favored white middle class voters, … Continue reading →

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Creative Destruction, or Just Destruction?

Posted on October 30, 2017 by politicaloptic

The Trump administration’s efforts to disrupt the political world in recent months should be no surprise to anyone. After all, Trump promised to be disrupter-in-chief if elected and to “shake things up.” His supporters on the right were happy to … Continue reading →

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Trump-Nixon Parallels: Is History Repeating Itself?

Posted on May 25, 2017 by politicaloptic

In the unfolding inquiry into the Trump campaign’s Russian connections, one can’t help but see Trump-Nixon parallels. Trump’s firing of James Comey in the middle of an ongoing investigation bears obvious similarities with Nixon’s firing of Watergate investigator Archibald Cox. Not only do we … Continue reading →

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Will Trump Exploit a Terrorist Attack for His Own Ends?

Posted on February 26, 2017 by politicaloptic

Because Trump’s tweets are spontaneous, they provide a useful indicator–a kind of Rohrschack Test–of his fundamental instincts. One recent tweet, reacting to the Federal Court’s  blockade of his immigration executive order, was nothing less than a wake-up call for concerned Americans. Trump tweeted: “Just … Continue reading →

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Some Questions for Betsy DeVos

Posted on January 7, 2017 by politicaloptic

Everyone has a right to their own opinions. This statement applies to billionaire Republican Betsy DeVos as much as any American. Nonetheless, Mrs. DeVos’s record as an aggressive lobbyist of tax-subsidized private education and her open hostility to public schools raises obvious questions about her qualifications to … Continue reading →

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Team of Wreckers

Posted on December 22, 2016 by politicaloptic

Donald Trump campaigned as the man who would shake up Washington. He was the anti-candidate, the enemy of political correctness, the scourge of the establishment, the “only one” who could turn things around. With hyperbole and swagger, Trump presented himself as the agent of … Continue reading →

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