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Eric Levitz

Features Writer, Intelligencer
@EricLevitz

Eric Levitz is a features writer for Intelligencer. He covers politics and economics.

  1. vision 2020
    Millennials Have Formed a Human Shield Around the Bernie Sanders CampaignIf centrist Democrats mount a conspicuous effort to take out Sanders, they’ll risk taking down youth turnout along with him.
  2. war
    50 U.S. Troops Diagnosed With Brain Injuries As a Result of Iran StrikesLast week, Trump dismissed the soldiers’ injuries as “headaches” that were “not very serious.”
  3. fracking
    Will a Fracking Ban Doom Democrats in Pennsylvania?The political risks of running on the policy may outweigh the substantive benefits, given the dearth of Congressional support for a universal ban.
  4. vision 2020
    The Democratic Party Should Want Joe Rogan’s VoteDemocrats can’t protect marginalized groups unless they win elections. And they can’t win elections without the support of unenlightened voters.
  5. president trump
    Donald Trump Is Already Trying to Cut EntitlementsForget Trump’s vague public remarks. His White House has officially endorsed cuts to Social Security, and is trying to cut Medicaid by fiat.
  6. public health
    The Coronavirus Should Be a Wake-up Call for CongressAmerica has been recklessly underinvesting in pandemic prevention.
  7. vision 2020
    The Left-Wing Realignment of American Politics Has Already BegunAs centrist Democrats run to the left of yesteryear’s progressives, Republicans are pushing for green energy investment and aid to the poor.
  8. vision 2020
    Bernie Sanders Surges Into Lead in New CNN PollSanders is now tied with Biden among nonwhite voters, the survey suggests.
  9. new york times
    Should Newspaper Endorsements Exist?In the wake of the Times’ big reveal of its choice, Intelligencer staffers discuss whether this tradition makes any sense.
  10. 2016 presidential election
    Hillary Clinton Won’t Commit to Endorsing Sanders If He Wins Nomination“Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done,” Clinton said of her 2016 rival.
  11. vision 2020
    Joe Biden’s Agreeable, Terrific, Very Good, Not at All Bad WeekOver the past seven days, Biden’s top rivals turned on each other, polls turned his way — and Barack Obama did his campaign a big favor.
  12. david brooks
    Bernie Isn’t Trying to Start a Class War. The Rich Are Trying to Finish One.David Brooks argues that workers in America are paid what their labor is worth, accidentally proving the opposite.
  13. the economy
    Trump Tax Cuts Gave $18 Billion Bonus to Big Banks in 2019Last year, our “populist” president’s signature legislative achievement made Wall Street’s titans immensely richer.
  14. vision 2020
    Bernie Sanders’s Foreign Policy Is Too Evidence-Based for the Beltway’s TasteThe senator’s vision is less ideologically blinkered and radically ambitious than the bipartisan consensus it aims to displace.
  15. democratic debates
    5 Takeaways From the Democratic Debate in IowaAmong them: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren aren’t great at “deescalating,” and Iowans’ fetishization of politeness is a huge gift to Biden.
  16. vision 2020
    Bernie Boneheads and Liz Losers Unite!Or at least, fight with kid gloves on. You have nothing to win without each other.
  17. foreign interests
    Here’s How Trump’s Iran Policy Looks From Inside the SenateSenator Chris Murphy says his GOP colleagues know there’s no evidence that Soleimani posed an imminent threat. They just don’t care.
  18. vision 2020
    Bloomberg and Steyer Reveal That Billionaires Are Underinvesting In PoliticsBillionaires can afford to spend far more on politics than they have been. Bloomberg and Steyer are showing them that democracy is a bargain.
  19. republicans
    Kansas Just Proved That a Better GOP Is PossibleKansas GOPers used to worship Ayn Rand. Now they want their state’s Medicaid expansion to include more health-care subsidies than Democrats proposed.
  20. polls
    By 2-to-1 Margin, Voters Say Trump’s Soleimani Strike Made U.S. ‘Less Safe’In a new survey, a majority of Americans say Trump’s Iran policy is “reckless,” while just 24 percent say it made Americans “more safe.”
  21. qasem soleimani
    GOP Senator: White House Briefing on Soleimani Was ‘Insulting’Mike Lee called the administration’s case for assassinating Soleimani “the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I’ve seen.”
  22. iran
    Iran Is Not a Threat to Our Security. Trump’s Saber-Rattling Is.Trump wants Americans to see Iran as an irrational, terroristic menace. But Tehran’s response to the killing of Soleimani proves that it is not.
  23. foreign interests
    Trump Administration Accidentally Declares End of War in Iraq“We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure,” the U.S. wrote in a letter to the Iraqi government that it did not intend to send.
  24. qasem soleimani
    Trump’s Rationale for Killing Soleimani Makes No SenseThe White House has so little respect for the voting public, it didn’t even bother to make its case for war with Iran logically coherent.
  25. vision 2020
    The Secret to Joe Biden’s (Hypothetical) ElectabilityThanks to his idiosyncratic career arc, Biden boasts strong support from black voters and whites who resent the political power of black voters.
  26. john roberts
    Man Who Gutted Voting Rights Says Americans ‘Take Democracy for Granted’John Roberts wants you to know that the unelected judges who keep sidelining voters and empowering plutocrats are the guardians of our democracy.
  27. immigration
    U.S. Population Grows at Slowest Rate Since World War ITrump has succeeded in discouraging immigration — and thus, weakening the U.S. economically and geopolitically.
  28. iraq
    Iraqis Storm U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to Protest Air StrikesThe U.S. launched mass-casualty air strikes in Iraq in defiance of its government. Now, Iran-backed militants surround the U.S. embassy.
  29. foreign interests
    Trump Puts Business Above Democracy and Human Rights. So Did Jimmy Carter.As Iran’s pro-business dictatorship faced an uprising, Carter’s administration urged it “to kill as many demonstrators as necessary,” documents show.
  30. vision 2020
    The Public Option Is Politically Superior to M4A — But Only As a Sound Bite“Medicare for All Who Want It” plays well on the stump. But in Congress, it would face about as many political obstacles as single-payer.
  31. authoritarianism
    Why Trump Vilifies Whistle-blowers and Venerates War CriminalsIn Trump’s authoritarian worldview, real heroes don’t let the rule of law constrain their viciousness toward enemies of the cause.
  32. christian right
    GOP Lawmaker Plotted Insurrections to Establish Christian StateWashington state legislator Matt Shea engaged in “three armed conflicts of political violence” against the U.S., according to a new report.
  33. president trump
    Trump Conquered the GOP by Surrendering to Its EstablishmentThe president has forced congressional Republicans to put him above the law — but not above the conservative agenda.
  34. vision 2020
    Gabbard Wins Coveted Endorsement From Dennis ‘Kingmaker’ KucinichAmerica’s most influential former mayor of Cleveland says Gabbard is the antiwar candidate. He is wrong.
  35. british elections
    What the U.K. Election Does (and Doesn’t) Teach DemocratsThe U.K. election’s outcome did not prove your preferred 2020 strategy correct. But it does offer a few tentative lessons for the American left.
  36. brexit
    Tories Win Biggest Majority Since Thatcher in U.K. ElectionIt’s beginning to look a lot like Brexit.
  37. vision 2020
    White Democrats Are Leading the Primary Because Nonwhite Voters Support ThemNonwhite Democrats aren’t struggling because the primary process has silenced nonwhite voters, but because it has listened to them.
  38. congress
    Congress Learns Pentagon Wasted $1 Trillion, Promptly Gives It Bigger BudgetHours after learning that the Pentagon lied to taxpayers while wasting their money in Afghanistan, Congress awards the DoD a $22 billion budget hike.
  39. vision 2020
    If Biden Is Too Old to Serve Two Terms, He Shouldn’t Serve OneBiden is telling aides he won’t run for reelection in 2024. If that’s true, nominating him would be the opposite of pragmatic.
  40. democracy
    The Democrats Love Bipartisanship More Than They Fear TrumpAs Pelosi hands Trump a win on trade, and Biden defends the GOP’s good name, conservatives are entrenching their minority rule.
  41. vision 2020
    Does Joe Biden’s View of the Republican Party Make Any Sense at All?Intelligencer staffers discuss the Democratic front-runner’s latest head-scratching comments.
  42. vision 2020
    Joe Biden Still Can’t Answer Basic Questions About Hunter and BurismaThat should be disqualifying.
  43. michael bloomberg
    Michael Bloomberg Thinks You Proles Are Stupid and UngratefulThe only reason he waited so long to apologize for “stop and frisk” was that no one ever asked about it before, the billionaire baldly lied.
  44. the economy
    Jobs, Jobs Everywhere, But Most of Them Kind of SuckIn today’s economy, jobs are plentiful. But for millions of Americans, good ones are getting harder to find.
  45. vision 2020
    Poll: Democrats Can Reduce Third-Party Voting in 2020 by Getting High on WeedA new survey suggests that a Democrat who supports marijuana legalization would lose far fewer votes to third parties in 2020 than one who doesn’t.
  46. politics
    How Bad Are Billionaire Politicians for Democracy?Intelligencer staffers discuss the implications of superrich public servants.
  47. trade
    Trump Mulls Throwing Big Pharma Under the Bus to Save NAFTA 2.0The U.S. has long used trade deals as an excuse to export America’s high drug prices. Trump is reportedly willing to back away from that tradition.
  48. immigration
    ICE Didn’t Need McKinsey’s Help to Abuse DetaineesThe consulting firm provided ICE with inhuman cost-cutting recommendations. But the moral rot is coming from inside the agency.
  49. vision 2020
    Kamala Harris Dropped Out Because the Party Doesn’t DecideDemocratic donors and congressional leaders were higher on Harris than Biden, Buttigieg, Sanders, or Warren. It didn’t matter.
  50. underdogs
    In Underdog Story, Single-Digit Billionaire Buys Way Into December DebateSteyer’s net worth is only 3 percent of Bloomberg’s. But the humble hedge-fund manager pulled himself up by his bootstraps and onto the debate stage.
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