Tag Archives: GOP

Trump as Miss Havisham

By Robin Bates | Published: August 2, 2017

Frank Bruni compares Donald Trump to Miss Havisham, forever fixated on November 8 before the rose lost its bloom. The GOP would do well to break free as Pip does.

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GOP “Moderates,” the Hollow Men

By Robin Bates | Published: July 28, 2017

Despite brave talk from a number of so-called Republican moderates, only Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins stood up to their party in an attempt to save healthcare. Time to read “The Hollow Men” again.

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Candide & the GOP’s Tax Obsession

By Robin Bates | Published: June 26, 2017

The GOP’s obsession with tax cuts reminds me of the Baron’s obsession with his lineage in Voltaire’s “Candide.” No matter how much reality changes, he always insists on this one thing.

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Will Trump, Like Lear, Take Us All Down?

By Robin Bates | Published: May 30, 2017

“The Washington Post” recently found numerous parallels between Lear and our own president, with “his zigzagging proclamations, his grandiose promises, his spasmodic attachments.”

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Using Doublethink To Sell Trumpcare

By Robin Bates | Published: May 9, 2017

House Republicans appear to be using Doublethink to sell their healthcare plan. If it works, there will be no stopping them.

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Trump as Lear, Howling in the Storm

By Robin Bates | Published: March 21, 2017

Donald Trump has a lot in common with King Lear. I suspect, however, that Lear has the happier ending.

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The Work of the World Is Common as Mud

By Robin Bates | Published: March 14, 2017

Marge Piercy’s poem “To Be of Use” essentially shows why Barack Obama’s legacy is likely to survive GOP repeal efforts. The difference is work that comes from a deep place as opposed to shallowly grounded executive orders.

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Immigrants Face a Sophie’s Choice

By Robin Bates | Published: March 8, 2017

Republicans have recently been outdoing themselves in cruelty, both regarding immigration and health care. William Styron and William Blake weigh in.

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The GOP’s Faustian Bargain with Trump

By Robin Bates | Published: January 31, 2017

New York Times columnist David Brooks says that the GOP is striking a Faustian bargain by collaborating with Donald Trump. Christopher Marlowe shows the price that is paid for dealing with the devil and also tells us how one can get one’s soul back.

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