Off the Soapbox is a Zeitgeist column that focuses on the personalities, leadership styles, and rhetoric of those in the political arena today. How do these leaders, their unique backgrounds and approaches, impact the larger political conversation?
By all accounts, not Latin Americans. Across the region, populist parties have become a common fixture on electoral ballots. Its representatives have become increasingly central (although not always popular) figures…
Alright, alright, alright, let’s talk Texas! The large Lone Star State is often a space for political fodder and speculation that mirrors national conversations, who runs for office is no…
“Political Wife.” That image conjures up a fairly classic figure. You picture the same thing I do, right? Knee-length, floral dress, toothy white smile. She stands beside her husband. Her…
It was the dawn of post-9/11 America. Wounds were fresh and Americans still angry, but the public did not look to President George W. Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney…
Senator Krysten Sinema is fashioning herself as a maverick, like many Arizona senators before her. Yet she has done so in a clumsy and disappointing manner, letting down many in…
In March of 2003, as Senator Joe Lieberman — the controversial, independent-minded, pro-Iraq war, moderate Democrat from Connecticut — toured Tucson, Arizona, during his recently-announced presidential campaign, he encountered anti-war…
Bill Lee pushes for bipartisan reforms to cut costs, maintain safety, and reduce recidivism. Cover photo source Like all issues that politics touches, criminal justice policy can get stuck in partisan…
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) has seen a rapid fall from grace in recent weeks, with dozens of lawmakers calling for his resignation. Photo courtesy of Artur Widak (via Vanity Fair).…
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has received a whirlwind of media attention as a result of his position at the dead center of a split Senate. Photo courtesy of Greg Nash…