Columns – The Columbian

Columns – The Columbian https://www.columbian.com Sat, 14 Nov 2026 04:18:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://www.columbian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/columbian-insignia-2025-1-150x150.png Columns – The Columbian https://www.columbian.com 32 32 Schrager: Affordability crisis isn’t about inflation https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/13/schrager-affordability-crisis-isnt-about-inflation/ Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:01:57 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2814059 The big message from the midterms is that Americans are struggling with the cost of living. In case anyone missed it, they need relief now. This will put even more attention on the Federal Reserve: Will Chair Kevin Warsh do all he can to bring down inflation or placate the White House, which wants lower interest rates?

]]> Klas: U.S. elections passed stress test https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/13/klas-u-s-elections-passed-stress-test/ Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:01:34 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2814060 It would be wrong to say there wasn’t any federal interference in the midterm elections. The electoral landslide was simply so thorough that the dangers experts had warned about never came to pass.

]]> Dowd: Politics may get back to decency https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/10/dowd-politics-may-get-back-to-decency/ Tue, 10 Nov 2026 14:01:22 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2813372 This is the time of year, as the leaves turn yellow and red, when I always promise to myself one thing: I am not going to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” this Christmas.

]]> Feldman: Dems can now fix high court https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/09/feldman-dems-can-now-fix-high-court/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:01:35 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812971 The Democrats’ big win in the Senate has major implications for the Supreme Court — and for how they should think about reforming it.

]]> Calmes: Despite rout in midterms, GOP won’t part with Trumpism https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/09/calmes-despite-rout-in-midterms-gop-wont-part-with-trumpism/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:01:24 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812813 Donald Trump long ago promised Republicans that with him as their leader, there’d be so many wins, they’d tire of winning. He didn’t say the wins ultimately would be Democrats’.

]]> Paz: Christian Democrats’ political tack pays off https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/09/paz-christian-democrats-political-tack-pays-off/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:01:10 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812860 Democratic Senate victories in Texas and Kansas on Tuesday were about more than turning two red states blue — which, to be sure, is historic enough. They also signal the rise of a new kind of Democratic politics in the late Trump era — a more explicitly religious one.

]]> Other Media Say: Crises needn’t be so costly https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/09/other-media-say-crises-neednt-be-so-costly/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:01:03 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812812 The following editorial was written by the editors at Bloomberg Opinion:

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]]> Schrager: AI could restore our autonomy https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/09/schrager-ai-could-restore-our-autonomy/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:00:45 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812815 Technology took us out of our homes. It gave us a boss, office politics and an alarm clock — and it was awful. We got used to it; we made it work. Now technology might take those jobs away. But perhaps it also will restore the autonomy and flexibility that once defined work.

]]> Donnelly: Council was right to suspend annexation https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/07/donnelly-council-was-right-to-suspend-annexation/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:01:35 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812619 On Oct. 26, the Vancouver City Council pulled from its budget proposal $1.4 million earmarked for a multiyear analysis of annexation. Under state law, parcels of Clark County adjacent to the city and lying within the city’s Urban Growth Area — such as Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek — are subject to annexation.

]]> Other Papers Say: Repudiation of Trumpism Simply put, voters realized Trump had gotten even worse https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/07/other-papers-say-repudiation-of-trumpism/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:01:32 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812630 The following editorial originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune:

]]> Brown: Passing out election awards https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/07/brown-passing-out-election-awards/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:01:30 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812621 I’ve been voting for almost 50 years and covering elections as a journalist for more than 40 years, so I feel justified in saying that this was the craziest and most stressful election in recent history. Now that it’s over some awards seem appropriate:

]]> Zagacki, Cherwitz: Opportunity to unite, help heal https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/07/zagacki-cherwitz-opportunity-to-unite-help-heal/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:01:17 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812620 As President Donald Trump continues to digest the results of the 2026 midterm elections, he has an important opportunity to embrace a long-standing presidential tradition: Using words not to inflame a wounded nation, but to help it heal.

]]> Harrop: Democracy won in midterms https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/07/harrop-democracy-won-in-midterms/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 14:01:16 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812627 Stop the talk about a triumphal arch at the gates of Arlington Cemetery. Stop bullying the Kennedy Center into putting the Trump name on its front. Stop obsessing over the Reflecting Pool. Stop cutting down trees at a public golf course in D.C. to make a championship course.

]]> McCloskey: Maybe a blue Texas is just what the GOP needed https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/06/mccloskey-maybe-a-blue-texas-is-just-what-the-gop-needed/ Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:01:54 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812472 Texas is far and away the biggest upset of the 2026 midterms. The resounding defeat of MAGA here also offers the Republican Party a chance for a hard reboot — if the GOP is brave enough to take it.

]]> Bouie: Trump remains a threat to U.S. https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/05/bouie-trump-remains-a-threat-to-u-s/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 14:01:32 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812267 There are two basic stories to tell about the 2026 midterm elections.

]]> Westneat: It was a blue ‘100-year flood’ https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/05/westneat-it-was-a-blue-100-year-flood/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 14:01:00 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2812264 In the end, it was obvious the election was going to come down to just one big thing.

]]> Crisp: Who’s greater threat to republic? https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/04/crisp-whos-greater-threat-to-republic/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:01:09 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2811981 It’s not often that I agree with Attorney General Todd Blanche. But when he was asked last week about the Two-Dan-Sullivans controversy in Alaska, he said, “If it’s cheating, if it’s fraud, is it illegal? And the answer is it certainly should be.”

]]> Other Media Say: Empower consumer watchdog https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/02/other-media-say-empower-consumer-watchdog/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:05:37 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2811315 Most Americans are ill-equipped to understand the dizzying array of financial products they encounter. Many struggle to contend with payday lenders, credit reports or novel payment apps. A growing share is falling behind on their debt. Meanwhile, a record $16 billion was lost to fraud last year. If only there was a federal agency empowered to protect consumers from predatory financial actors.

]]> Leubsdorf: This election really is vital Blue wave would offer chance to halt Trump’s destructive policies https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/02/leubsdorf-this-election-really-is-vital/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:01:35 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2811313 Every two years, campaigning politicians declare that it’s the most crucial election in many years. This year, it really is.

]]> Crook: Political breakdown that dare not speak its name https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/02/crook-political-breakdown-that-dare-not-speak-its-name/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:01:34 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2811318 The most pressing policy question facing the U.S. — how to restore fiscal control — has been conspicuously absent in campaigning for the midterm elections. Neither party is willing to frame a plausible way to solve the problem, so they’ve seemingly agreed not to discuss it. Their silence is an abject failure of governance. One wonders how much longer Washington will be able to get away with it.

]]> Calmes: Ex-presidents step up, but late https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/02/calmes-ex-presidents-step-up-but-late/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:01:17 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2811375 Early this year, I lamented that the nation’s former presidents had not come forward, forcefully and ideally as one bipartisan unit, to condemn the utterly condemnable incumbent.

]]> Wilkes: Guide young voters to democracy https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/nov/01/wilkes-guide-young-voters-to-democracy/ Sun, 01 Nov 2026 14:01:15 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2811322 Nearly 50 million young people ages 18-29 are eligible to vote this November, including an estimated eight million who have become newly eligible since the 2024 election. The conversation about this voting bloc tends to focus on two big questions: What will it take to get young people to the polls, and which party will capture their vote?

]]> Feldman: White House will fail to overturn any elections https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/oct/31/feldman-white-house-will-fail-to-overturn-any-elections/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:01:53 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2810890 If you’re a lawyer and your client tells you to file a meritless case, you’re supposed to say no. The U.S. Justice Department is apparently not constrained by this ethical obligation.

]]> Other Papers Say: How to lower costs in higher education https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/oct/31/other-papers-say-how-to-lower-costs-in-higher-education/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:01:27 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2810881 The following editorial originally appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

]]> Prokop: Young voters could be crucial https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/oct/31/prokop-young-voters-could-be-crucial/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:01:01 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2810882 If there is a Democratic wave in next week’s midterm elections, one of the biggest reasons for that will be young voters. While voters of all ages have soured on President Donald Trump and the Republican Party since his 2024 victory, polls show that the decline has been particularly pronounced among the young people who backed him in surprising numbers just two years ago.

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