Author
D. Stephen Voss
Kamala Harris takes up Oprah’s torch
Democrats have their opponents on the run now that Kamala Harris has become their party’s standard bearer. And they’re making no secret of it. How can you tell? Not because of the dollars pouring into the Harris campaign. Supporters will open their wallets for a lost cause if they get caught up in the moment. […]
With political protests, don’t trust your lying eyes
Activism on behalf of Gaza’s Palestinian population made its way to Lexington last week, in the form of a rally near the University of Kentucky’s main library. The modest crowd, estimated to number under 300, engaged in no violence, no vandalism, and no threatening behavior. No one faced arrest, nor did counter protestors accost them. […]
No, America isn’t great. And, yes, many Biden voters know it
Briefly, ever so briefly, one man had me thinking that Donald Trump could win back the presidency. He wasn’t a political scientist crunching data to unveil a Republican path to victory. It’s too early for election forecasts to be reliable. Nor was he some Trump zealot spouting right-wing talking points while wearing a crimson Make […]
The antisemitism addiction
Back in college, I authored an essay dripping with antisemitic rhetoric. Jewish Americans weren’t my target — I was frustrated with Israel — but you wouldn’t have known it from what flowed out of my poison pen. Fortunately, I attended college before social media. Instead of someone leaking my words so they could go viral, […]
The devils we know
Americans have become accustomed to picking the lesser of two evils when we vote. Political participation these days is as much about keeping the other side out of power as it is about getting our picks into office. Still, many were holding out hope that this year’s contest for Leader of the Free World might […]
The monsters we create: Republicans and their battle against the zombie apocalypse
You can tell a lot about a people from the monsters they use to frighten themselves. During the height of the Red Scare, Americans feared a communist conspiracy taking over the world — converting their friends and neighbors, staffing U.S. institutions with secret enemies. So their entertainment was filled with extraterrestrials who could mimic humans. […]
The political battle of the sexes
A cold war between men and women has been reshaping the political world for most of this century. Americans may be aware of it like never before, though, for a silly reason: The political battle of the sexes recently bled over into the world of entertainment. Anybody with the slightest exposure to pop culture knows […]
The double irony of Kentucky election reform
I believe that former state Sen. Charles Booker, the progressive who sought to challenge Mitch McConnell in 2020, fell short in his quest for the Democratic nomination due to progressive election reforms. And while those changes have been scaled back dramatically, I believe that conservative efforts to eliminate the remnants of those policies would hurt […]
The coming Democratic forfeit?
In politics, perception often becomes reality. Nowhere is that saying more appropriate than with legislative elections. Candidates viewed as likely to win attract volunteers, endorsements, and campaign contributions – and maybe extra news coverage – all of which increases the chance of victory. Once candidates start generating buzz, voters take them seriously. They’ll draw bigger […]
Lessons from an electronic lynch mob
“Hey, I’ve got some news that might interest you.” The reporter’s voice was chipper, friendly, as though intending to tell me I’d won something. Except he’d called on a Sunday. When journalists are working that shift, it’s rarely a positive sign. He said, “You were plagiarized by the president of Harvard!” Or something to that […]
The kids aren’t alright: Don’t throw that catch-up plan in the dustbin just yet
Kentucky inaugurates a governor next week. He’s the same guy who has served in that office for the last four years, so it might seem silly to indulge in pomp and circumstance when nothing is changing. But as Americans learned the hard way after 2020, having an election end peacefully — having voters who supported […]
What a difference an Election Day makes
“People like me have no say in government. They don’t care what we think.” Such skepticism has long been a popular excuse citizens give for not voting. But if you doubt elections matter, pay close attention to the abortion debate in Kentucky — because Republican leaders have been singing a different tune since it became […]