dionne

WASHINGTON — An oligarchy, Webster’s dictionary tells us, is “a form of government in which the ruling power belongs to a few persons.” It’s a shame that the Republican majority on the Supreme Court doesn’t know the difference between an oligarchy and a democratic republic. Yes,...

Unearned blessings By E.J. Dionne WASHINGTON — In thinking about inequality, we tend to focus on practical remedies such as raising minimum wages or supplementing the incomes of the working poor. We have far more trouble affecting that ineffable thing we call luck. You do...

By E.J. Dionne WASHINGTON — The policy mystery of our time is why politicians in the United States and across much of the democratic world are so obsessed with deficits when their primary mission ought to be bringing down high and debilitating rates of unemployment. And since...

By E.J. Dionne Jr. edionne@wctrib.com WASHINGTON — Victories often contain the seeds of future defeats. So it is — or at least should be — with the Senate’s morally reprehensible rejection of expanded background checks for gun buyers. The outcome is a test of both an...

By EJ Dionne WASHINGTON — President Obama is a freer man than he has been at any point in his presidency. He is free from the need to save an economy close to collapse, from illusions that Republicans in Congress would work with him readily, from the threat of a rising tea party...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's decision upholding the health care law is not only a huge victory for President Obama but also a moment of leadership for Chief Justice John Roberts. The court's mixed verdict could create problems, notably in its weakening of the law's Medicaid provisions...

E.J. Dionne's email address is ejdionne@wctrib.com.

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney was against Bill Clinton before he was for him. There was Romney, campaigning Tuesday in Iowa, praising the nation's last Democratic president and casting him as far superior to the current incumbent. "Almost a generation ago, Bill Clinton announced that...

GREENWICH, Conn. -- Since the 2010 elections, the activism of newly empowered conservative and Republican state legislatures has gained national attention with their wars on public employee unions, additional restrictions on abortion, and new barriers to voting. Against this backdrop,...

WASHINGTON -- Three days of Supreme Court arguments over the health care law demonstrated for all to see that conservative justices are prepared to act as an alternative legislature, diving deeply into policy details as if they were members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and...

OTTUMWA, Iowa -- Is Rick Santorum the next non-Romney to emerge from the pack? Could he conceivably win Iowa? That these are plausible questions tells you all you need to know about the unsettled nature of the Republican presidential contest -- particularly here, the state whose...

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. -- Since all things seem possible in the Republican presidential contest, is there another turn coming that could benefit Jon Huntsman? That would be the former Utah governor polling nationally at 3.2 percent, according to Wednesday's Real Clear Politics average...

WASHINGTON -- We may be reaching an inflection point, the moment when the terms of the political argument change decisively. Three indicators: An important speech by Rep. Paul Ryan, the increasingly sharp tone of President Obama's rhetoric, and the success of Occupy Wall Street in...

WASHINGTON -- The Republican establishment is said to have grave qualms about Gov. Rick Perry. Here's the problem: There is no Republican establishment. It squandered its authority by building up the tea party's brigades and then fearing them too much to do anything to check their...