How Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Drove My Generation into Politics

Trump’s Cynical Policies Make the Same Mistake That California Republicans Made 20 Years Ago

It’s often said that California is just like America, only sooner. We confront the same issues as the rest of the nation, just earlier. Perhaps no issue exemplifies that sentiment better than immigration.

The things Donald Trump is saying about immigrants sound very familiar to those of us Californians who have been involved with immigration issues for the better part of our adult lives. Substitute former California Governor “Pete Wilson” for “Donald Trump” as the author of some of these quotes, and you could convince me that we are living …

By Fabian Núñez | August 8, 2017

How Medicare Both Salved and Scarred American Health Care

The 52-Year-Old Federal Program's Successes Reflect a Complex Legacy

By Julian E. Zelizer | February 17, 2017

Before Congress passed Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 millions of elderly Americans lacked health insurance. They could not afford to go to the hospital, nor could they cover the …

In Attacking Immigrants, Republicans Repeat a Century-Old Mistake

The GOP's Nativist Politics in the 1910s and ‘20s Made the Democratic Party Great Again

By Gary Gerstle | August 4, 2016

Much like today, the 1910s and 1920s were a time when the fear of immigrants convulsed American society.

At the time, the world was reeling from geopolitical instability and economic …

The Wonderful, Painful Opera of Cleveland

From Idylls to Industrial Wastelands and Back, the City’s Stark Contrasts Will Come Into Focus at This Year’s Republican National Convention

By Kevin P. Keating | July 15, 2016

Inside Cuyahoga Valley National Park, through a deep secondary growth forest, a narrow trail skirts the infamous Cuyahoga River following the historic route of the Ohio & Erie Canal. This …

Why It’s So Funny That Republicans Are Upset With Facebook for “Censoring” News

The GOP Has Had Plenty of Opportunities to Preserve Freedom of Expression Online via Antitrust Regulation, and Thwarted Them All

By Dan Gillmor | May 13, 2016

America’s right wing is in a froth this week following allegations that Facebook has tweaked its “trending news” feed to reduce the visibility of conservative news sites. Maybe it’s true, …

The Most Distinguished Representative

California's First Black Legislator Was Thomas Jefferson's Descendant

by Tony Quinn | July 12, 2011

Of all the members of the California Legislature, Assemblyman Frederick Madison Roberts, who served from 1918 until 1934, could claim the finest pedigree. He was a great grandson of Thomas …

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