THE PLUM LINE

Opinions from Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman

Don’t be fooled by the GOP crusade against ‘woke Wall Street’

Everything Republicans are saying about ESG investing is bogus — and so is the idea that they've undergone an ideological shift.

By Paul WaldmanMarch 23, 2023

Jim Jordan’s sordid attack on possible Trump charges demands an answer

GOP abuses of power in Trump's defense could backfire — if Democrats exploit them.

By Greg SargentMarch 22, 2023

Kevin McCarthy’s desperate plea to MAGA reveals a glaring GOP failure

GOP voters have been primed, by Republicans themselves, for Trump's calls for protest against an indictment.

By Greg SargentMarch 20, 2023

What a new 2nd Amendment could look like

Laws are being struck down left and right. But what would it look like if we wrote a contemporary Second Amendment?

By Paul WaldmanMarch 20, 2023

I don’t care if DeSantis eats pudding with his fingers

Ron DeSantis's pudding fingers are just the latest candidate food flub. Why do we care?

By Paul WaldmanMarch 18, 2023

This sleeper race could wreck MAGA’s 2024 dreams

How an obscure judicial race could create complications for Donald Trump and MAGA in 2024.

By Greg SargentMarch 17, 2023

As Biden mulls family detentions, warnings from inside grow louder

Some officials resist bringing back the moral stain that sullied the Trump and Obama administrations.

By Greg SargentMarch 15, 2023

How much does charisma matter? DeSantis is putting it to the test.

Most presidents could draw people to them or hold a crowd rapt. Not the governor of Florida.

By Paul WaldmanMarch 14, 2023

Ron DeSantis’s book ban mania targets Jodi Picoult — and she hits back

“Martin County is the first to ban 20 of my books at once,” Picoult said. The list includes "The Storyteller," about the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.

By Greg Sargent and Paul WaldmanMarch 10, 2023

Thank you, Kevin McCarthy and Tucker Carlson

The House speaker and the Fox News personality tried to rewrite history. Instead, they clarified it.

By Paul WaldmanMarch 9, 2023

Revealing Fox News texts point to the right’s long war on the truth

The right-wing project of creating captive audiences dates back more than half a century.

By Greg SargentMarch 8, 2023

The GOP primaries are all about ‘retribution’ against MAGA’s enemies

Can you build a winning presidential campaign on nothing but revenge?

By Paul WaldmanMarch 8, 2023

Walgreens’s surrender to the GOP should light a fire under Democrats

The Democratic Party needs to find its footing against reactionary red-state culture-warring.

By Greg SargentMarch 7, 2023

The GOP’s epic defeat on health care is laid bare in North Carolina

In Congress, Republicans want to slash Medicaid. At the state level, momentum is moving in the opposite direction.

By Paul Waldman and Greg SargentMarch 3, 2023

On student loans, conservatives turn ‘fairness’ upside down

The right is very concerned about whether helping struggling people is "unfair" to somebody else.

By Paul WaldmanMarch 2, 2023

Finally, Democrats appear ready to wage war on Fox News

A series of texts involving network personalities requires Democrats to rethink their approach to information warfare.

By Greg SargentMarch 2, 2023

Some GOP governors are breaking with MAGA. Biden can help them do it.

Red states need workers. Here's how the president can supply them — and marginalize MAGA in the process.

By Greg SargentFebruary 28, 2023

5 good points the right is making about the Ohio train disaster

For a few on the right, reflexive anti-government ideology is yielding to a more sensible approach.

By Paul Waldman and Greg SargentFebruary 27, 2023

Republican elites fear the monster they created

At Fox News and in Congress, conservatives are terrified of the monster they created, so they make it even stronger.

By Paul WaldmanFebruary 24, 2023

Kevin McCarthy’s Jan. 6 footage stunt demands a real response

Democrats can't let Tucker Carlson use Jan. 6 footage to push his propaganda without an answer.

By Greg SargentFebruary 23, 2023