Why Is Gavin Newsom Invoking a Failed World War Two-Era Governor?

Culbert Olson Talked A Good Game About Democracy, But He Failed to Protect Californians’ Civil Liberties

California Democrats Need Real Opposition | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

If you’re ever inside the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale and hear laughter ringing through the hallways, it’s probably me visiting the tomb of Culbert Olson.

Olson is perhaps the most anomalous figure in California political history. During our long era of Republican dominance (1896-1958), he was the only Democrat to serve as governor. And he was an unapologetic atheist in our god-crazy country, refusing to say “So help me God” while taking the oath of office in 1939. After an ineffective four-year term …

by Joe Mathews | July 9, 2024

California Democrats Need Real Opposition

A Book By a Leading Republican Demonstrates the State’s Lack of a Counter-Narrative

by Joe Mathews | June 18, 2024

In our era of one-party rule by complacent Democrats, California might benefit from a coherent and compelling political opposition.

Instead, we keep getting John Cox.

You probably don’t recognize Cox’s name. This …

The Two-Party System Is Not Working—and Not Going Anywhere

We’re Trapped in a Politics Defined by Opposition Rather Than Positive Change

By Reed Johnson | August 11, 2017

The bad news for Republicans is that their party is dead. The “good” news for the party of Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, and Donald Trump is that …

Before Donald Trump, Wendell L. Willkie Upended the GOP Primary in 1940

The Populist Businessman Known as “The Barefoot Wall Street Lawyer” Took Over His Party’s Convention in Philadelphia

By R. Craig Sautter | July 26, 2016

Later this week, the historic nomination of the first female candidate for president by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia is sure to generate considerable …

An Outsider’s Guide to Running—and Losing—a California Election

Pete Peterson, a Republican from Santa Monica, Learned How Much the Deck Is Stacked in Favor of Career Politicians

by Pete Peterson | June 11, 2015

Though Ted White’s classic, The Making of the President, is far better known, the best book I’ve read about what it’s like to run for political office is To Be …

What Did Barry Goldwater Leave Us?

The Libertarianism of ‘Mr. Conservative’ and its Place in America’s Political Future

June 4, 2014

Known as “Mr. Conservative,” Barry Goldwater played a pivotal role in convincing President Nixon to resign in 1974 and in reorganizing the Pentagon in 1986. But even more than what …

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