Playing the Grinch at America’s 250th Birthday Party
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Winter 2026 Print Edition
In this issue
The Ephemeral Presidency
Rollback Racket
For Democrats, a New Way to Make Health Care Affordable
The Real Cause of Grade Inflation
Education
Inside the Fight to Revive American Civics
The right wants to erase unpleasant history, while the left talks of nothing else. Is there a middle ground?
Politics
Three Takeaways from the Taylor Rehmet Texas Shocker
A big swing left from Latino voters may signal a blue wave coming in November.
Podcast
How Democrats Lost Rural Voters—and How to Win Them Back
Neglect and disdain of rural voters have driven them from the Democratic party, argue authors Suzanne Mettler and Trevor Brown. That’s bad news for democracy.
Why Democrats need to win back rural voters | Suzanne Mettler and Trevor Brown – Washington Monthly
- Why Democrats need to win back rural voters | Suzanne Mettler and Trevor Brown
- A promising new strategy to end super PACs and dark money in politics | Lawrence Lessig
- The case against billionaires | Chuck Collins
- Government is, in fact, broken | Hannah Garden-Monheit
- Tough Medicine for Democrats: “Too liberal” and “out of touch” | Simon Bazelon
Law and Justice
Trump’s Firing of a Fed Governor
Hopefully, the Court will see that kneecapping independent agencies isn’t needed to give presidents influence over policymaking.
The Monopolized Economy
The Case for Capping Credit Card Interest Rates
Credit card rates have soared to record levels, draining household budgets and padding bank profits. Laissez-faire policies aren’t protecting consumers.
Health Care
CMS Takes Aim at Medicare Advantage Fraud
A surprise proposal to rein in insurer upcoding could save billions—and sent Wall Street into a panic.
Russia’s War on Ukraine
Putin’s Energy Blitzkrieg is Backfiring
Far from freezing Ukrainians into submission, Moscow’s drone and missile strikes are stiffening their resolve.
Books
Before the Revolution
The young Bernie Sanders was an oddball and a perennial candidate. But even then, he saw a reality other politicians ignored.
Higher Ed Q&A
The Washington Monthly’s “Higher Ed Q&A” is a Special Advertising Section, where leaders in higher education answer questions on different topics that are challenging universities and colleges across the country, with solutions that are working for their schools and students. Click here to learn more.
