The Populist Sledgehammer Kills Amazon Jobs that Middle America Would Love to Have
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio—Tito Brown can’t imagine driving a perfectly good thing out of a town that hasn’t had a perfectly good thing come its way in […]
A Surprise Virtual Visit From the President
WEBSTER SPRINGS, W.Va.—No sitting president has ever visited here before. So it was a pretty big deal when 14 local high school students in a […]
Howard Schultz Unifies the Parties—Against Him
The endless fight between Republicans and Democrats seemed to pause last week. The cause: former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s announcement on “60 Minutes” on Jan. […]
Nostalgia and the American Dream Aren’t Airy Fantasies
BRYAN, Ohio—When the New England Confectionery Co. filed for bankruptcy in Boston last spring, there was such an immediate and deep sense of loss across […]
Amtrak Forgot Trains Aren’t Planes
PITTSBURGH—For nearly a quarter of a century, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited route has taken me from my beloved hometown to Washington, D.C. Sometimes for fun, almost […]
Rick Scott Chased the Hispanic Vote and Got It
Nine years ago Rick Scott, then a Florida businessman, sat down with a group of self-described jaded Republican strategists to discuss what it would take […]
From Tea Party Insurgent to Last Man Standing
There is an irony in the fact that Ron Johnson is the guy who will carry the mantle forward for the Republican Party in Wisconsin. […]
American Civic Life Tries to Make a Comeback
PITTSBURGH—It’s just before 7 p.m. on a frigid December night, and already the Allegheny Elks Lodge No. 339 on the city’s North Side is filling […]
America’s Love Affair With Small Business Rekindled
WEST NEWTON, Pa.—Bloom Brewery is the kind of Main Street business that shut its doors a generation ago when shopping malls lured customers to their […]
These Swing Elections May Not Really Be Wave Elections
BEAVER FALLS, Pa.—Mike Mikus speculates there are a fairly decent number of voters around here who have voted over the past 20 years in turn […]
Elites Are the Ones Who Are Dividing America
McCONNELLS MILL, Pa.—Darcelle Slappy says Democrats and Republicans who live in places like this part of Western Pennsylvania are a lot closer than how they’re […]
Trump Is Not the Reason the GOP Sputtered in Ohio
Last week, Republican Troy Balderson struggled to beat Democrat Danny O’Connor in a House special election in suburban Columbus — an Ohio district the GOP […]