'America's conservative party has collapsed'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'America cannot sustain itself without a functional and sane center-right party'
Tom Nichols in The Atlantic
"Every nation needs parties of the left and the right," said Tom Nichols in The Atlantic. But the "carnival of abominable behavior" as Republicans steer the nation to a government shutdown nobody wants proves that America's conservative side has come undone. We no longer have a functioning "center-right party that represents traditional conservatism, or even respects basic constitutional principles such as the rule of law." We'll suffer the consequences long after "Donald Trump is gone."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'The mere passage of time doesn't change the fact that Kaepernick was done wrong'
Andre Gee in Rolling Stone
It's great that Usher was named to headline the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, said Andre Gee in Rolling Stone. The R&B icon is the latest Black performer honored with this "rite of passage for American music's top-tier stars." But spotlighting African American entertainers doesn’t make up for the NFL's "veritable blackballing of Colin Kaepernick," who has been denied a spot on a football roster since 2017 for his kneeling protests against police brutality.
'Why would a president take sides like that?'
Chicago Tribune editorial board
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
It's easy to understand why President Biden visited auto workers on the picket line, said the Chicago Tribune in an editorial. Michigan could be crucial in the 2024 election, "and Democrats need to shore up support." But if the strike drags on, it could threaten "the economic health of the country." It will be hard for Biden to act as an "honest broker" to settle the dispute "for the good of the nation" after "visibly" taking sides.
'Keeping a student suspended for having long hair is a step too far'
The Dallas Morning News editorial board
The suspension of Texas high school student Darryl George is "testing the limits of a new state law" protecting Black students from discrimination on the basis of their hair, said The Dallas Morning News in an editorial. Administrators argue the 17-year-old's loc hairstyle "violates the district's dress code." Fine. Let the court decide how far protection of ethnic hairstyles goes. Meantime, "show some good faith" by putting education first and lifting the suspension.
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
‘Peak consumption has become the Holy Grail of the energy debate’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killing
TALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purge
Speed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
‘It’s time for Congress to step up for us’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day