Curtis Bowman

Thomas Frank on Talking about Freedom

Thomas Frank looks at the Democrats' unwillingness to challenge the Republicans' claim to being the sole preservers of freedom in the U.S.

More: And while you're at it, read Frank's previous column on the oddity of a red scare without reds.

Thomas Frank on Democrats and the Health Care Debate

Thomas Frank explains why Democrats have been losing the health care debate.

The Candidate on a Cross

Thomas Frank argues that from the very beginning of her appearance on the national stage Sarah Palin styled herself as a victim of liberal condescension. She was, he says, the candidate on a cross.

Thomas Frank on the Feigned Outrage of the GOP

Thomas Frank marvels at the GOP's undiminished capacity to express outrage over the things for which it bears responsibility.

Thomas Frank On Bipartisanship

Thomas Frank looks at the constant calls for bipartisanship emanating from the Beltway. It's all a silly obsession, he says.

Not So Wise

Thomas Frank repeats what some of us knew all along, namely, that the market's reputation for wisdom isn't especially well deserved.

Thomas Frank on McCain and the Financial Crisis

Thomas Frank offers up a few pointed questions and observations regarding Senator McCain and the current financial crisis.

I'm a bit surprised to discover that Thomas Frank is writing a column for the Wall Street Journal, but there you have it.

Michael Lind Reviews Thomas Frank's "The Wrecking Crew"

Michael Lind reviews Thomas Frank's The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule.

Mark Leibovich on the Liberal Moment

Mark Leibovich of The New York Times looks at what seems to be the liberal moment in the country right now.

Well, just how liberal? Thomas Frank, who hasn't made an appearance in this blog for a while, makes the following pungent remark: "A potentially liberal moment . . . assuming that liberal politicians can seize the moment and get beyond their usual plague of incompetence."

Here's Leibovich's description of what counts as a liberal resurgence:

. . . it's clear that issues once largely walled off to the liberal hinterlands have suddenly gained mainstream acceptance and urgency. "There does seem to be momentum around a set of issues that have traditionally been the property of the left," says David M. Kennedy, the Stanford University historian.

Presidential candidates, for instance, can now safely utter "universal health care" without being tarred as supporters of "socialized medicine." Polls show increasing support for raising the minimum wage, stem-cell research, gay and lesbian civil unions, alternative-energy initiatives and increased financial aid to offset the escalating cost of college.

Republicans can no longer blockade the cause of global warming to the wild-haired left. Once derided as "Ozone Man" by the former President Bush, Al Gore is now up for a Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar (while California’s non-Oscar-nominated Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been hailed as an environmental action hero for introducing stringent emissions standards).

As leftism goes, this is all fairly weak tea. But that just shows the extent to which conservatism defines the terms of political debate in the United States.

The New Biography of John Kenneth Galbraith

Richard Parker recently published a biography of economist John Kenneth Galbraith entitled, appropriately enough, John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics.

I don't read many biographies — I'm busy enough as it is — but this is one that I'll have to pick up. The first review that I read of Parker's book — "A Mind of His Own" by Jeff Madrick — sent me to the library to start reading Galbraith's books, finally, after all these years.

The second review that I read — "Sisyphus as Social Democrat" by J. Bradford DeLong — contains compelling explanations of why Galbraith's thought is not as influential as it once was. The loss is ours, says DeLong.

Naturally, there have been many other reviews. The website for the book contains many of them. Since I sometimes blog the work of Thomas Frank, I'll link directly to his review, which appeared in The New York Times not quite three months ago.