| Trump’s CPAC speech was like a national Rorschach test Posted: 06 Mar 2019 02:59 PM PST ![Trump's CPAC speech was like a national Rorschach test]( "Trump's CPAC speech was like a national Rorschach test") Hard as it is to believe now, this same group not long ago regarded Mr. Trump with deep skepticism. To some, Trump serving as a kind of national Rorschach test reflects the extent to which our politics have become a "cult of personality" – in which allegiance to (or abhorrence of) the man has overridden thoughtful discussion of issues and ideas.
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| 2020 candidates tout small donors. But big money could still find its way in Posted: 06 Mar 2019 02:14 PM PST ![2020 candidates tout small donors. But big money could still find its way in]( "2020 candidates tout small donors. But big money could still find its way in") Will new self-imposed fundraising rules cut off the influence of big money in politics? Heading into the 2020 presidential campaign, Democratic candidates are eager to show that they are beholden first and foremost to average voters. In 2018, liberal dark-money groups outspent conservative dark money for the first time, according to Issue One, which advocates for bipartisan political reform. Though such groups are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns, in the tight-knit world of politics such lines can be blurred.
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| Democrats’ hand-wringing over anti-Semitism vote reveals a party in flux Posted: 06 Mar 2019 02:10 PM PST ![Democrats' hand-wringing over anti-Semitism vote reveals a party in flux]( "Democrats' hand-wringing over anti-Semitism vote reveals a party in flux") Now the House is expected to vote on a resolution formally condemning anti-Semitism – the second such vote to stem from comments by Omar in as many months. "It's not my position to tell people how to feel, or that their hurt is invalid.
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| Can US help resolve Venezuela crisis? The first hurdle is history Posted: 06 Mar 2019 02:04 PM PST ![Can US help resolve Venezuela crisis? The first hurdle is history]( "Can US help resolve Venezuela crisis? The first hurdle is history") As the United States opened its humanitarian-aid coffers in recent weeks to send tens of millions of dollars in food and medical supplies to the people of Venezuela, the display of Yankee altruism was not met with universal praise across Latin America. US leaders from the White House, State Department, and Senate (primarily in the person of Florida Republican Marco Rubio) spoke of the assistance and in the same breath called for the departure of Venezuela's embattled president Nicolás Maduro, resurfacing deeply entrenched suspicions about US intentions and an "our way or regime change" approach to the region. The controversy swirling around US humanitarian aid to Venezuela underscores how the image of the US as Latin America's big-stick-wielding policeman and imperial power, once thought to be losing its salience, has come roaring back – and is once again hampering US effectiveness in the region.
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