Jeffrey Cavanaugh

Jeffrey Cavanaugh is a former MintPress political analyst and columnist specializing in international relations and US policy. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations, specializing in International Security and Conflict. He has worked as a political science and public administration lecturer at Mississippi State University.

George And Mitt: Of Republican Fathers And Sons

One of the earliest and greatest works of Russian literature is a novel written by Ivan Turgenev that explores the complex, often conflict-prone relationship between the generations. The story is as old as humanity. In it, a man finds that his son, gone to school and now returned, has developed tastes and beliefs at odds […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
In this Sept. 23, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets ready to board his campaign plane in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

One of the earliest and greatest works of Russian literature is a novel written by Ivan Turgenev that explores the complex, often conflict-prone relationship between the generations. The story is as old as humanity. In it, a man finds that his son, gone to school and now returned, has developed tastes and beliefs at odds with his own. What was once

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Marx’s Revenge And The End of American Exceptionalism

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the hammer and sickle fluttered over the Kremlin for the last time a few years later, it was widely supposed that a great victory for the West had been won. Articulated best by a young neoconservative by the name of Francis Fukuyama in 1992, the thesis […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
In this March 26, 2012, file photo, One World Trade Center towers above the Lower Manhattan skyline and Hudson River in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the hammer and sickle fluttered over the Kremlin for the last time a few years later, it was widely supposed that a great victory for the West had been won. Articulated best by a young neoconservative by the name of Francis Fukuyama in 1992, the thesis that emerged to explain the collapse of communism was

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Rape, Romney And Re-Launched Republicanism

It is a truism that politics breeds cynicism, but occasionally even those long inured to the idiocy that passes for political discourse on the right can have their breath taken away by the unexpected. In this case, it was the truly horrifying remarks by Congressman Todd Akin, the Republican (of course) candidate for the U.S. […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
In this Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 file photo, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., addresses members of the media in Chesterfield, Mo., where he confirmed his plans to remain in Missouri's U.S. Senate race despite a political uproar over remarks he made about rape and pregnancy. (AP Photo/Sid Hastings, File)

It is a truism that politics breeds cynicism, but occasionally even those long inured to the idiocy that passes for political discourse on the right can have their breath taken away by the unexpected. In this case, it was the truly horrifying remarks by Congressman Todd Akin, the Republican (of course) candidate for the U.S. Senate in

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Demographics, Globalization And The Conservative Base

Another day, another poll indicating just how reactionary and backward the GOP has grown. This time around it is a poll released Aug. 22 by Zogby for the Arab-American Institute that queries Americans on their general attitudes toward various religious and ethnic groups residing in the United States. One should not be surprised that if you […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
A supporter of Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds his book during a campaign event at Flagler college, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, in St. Augustine, Fla. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Another day, another poll indicating just how reactionary and backward the GOP has grown. This time around it is a poll released Aug. 22 by Zogby for the Arab-American Institute that queries Americans on their general attitudes toward various religious and ethnic groups residing in the United States. One should not be surprised that if you aren’t

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How The US Gun Lobby Killed The UN Small Arms Treaty

In the opening to the wonderful black-comedy satire on the international arms trade, Lord of War, we follow the life of a bullet as it moves from a Russian assembly line into the skull of an African child soldier. Set to the tune of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” it is a powerful testimonial […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, a plastic replica of a bullet is used to quickly remove a ammunition magazine from an assault rifle in a demonstration at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

In the opening to the wonderful black-comedy satire on the international arms trade, Lord of War, we follow the life of a bullet as it moves from a Russian assembly line into the skull of an African child soldier. Set to the tune of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” it is a powerful testimonial to the pernicious effects that one

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Bachmann’s Present-Day McCarthy-Style Rhetoric

Marx once said that history repeats, first as tragedy and then as farce. Today’s tragedy masquerading as farce would have to be the surreal accusations a quintet of deranged Republican lawmakers have made of late that come straight out the 1950s. I am referring, of course, to the hideous charges made by Reps. Michele Bachmann […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., right, accompanied by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 28, 2012, as the court concluded three days of hearing arguments on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Marx once said that history repeats, first as tragedy and then as farce. Today’s tragedy masquerading as farce would have to be the surreal accusations a quintet of deranged Republican lawmakers have made of late that come straight out the 1950s. I am referring, of course, to the hideous charges made by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent

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Twilight Of The Hydrocarbon Economy

On the arid plains of West Texas, the frigid North Dakota prairie and in the Ohio and Pennsylvania backcountry, a revolution is taking place. Led by the likes of Exxon-Mobil, Shell and other multinational oil companies, the American countryside is being scoured by oil and natural gas drillers wielding a new technological marvel designed to […]

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
With oil pump jacks as a backdrop, President Barack Obama speaks at an oil and gas field on federal lands Wednesday, March 21, 2012, in Maljamar, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

On the arid plains of West Texas, the frigid North Dakota prairie and in the Ohio and Pennsylvania backcountry, a revolution is taking place. Led by the likes of Exxon-Mobil, Shell and other multinational oil companies, the American countryside is being scoured by oil and natural gas drillers wielding a new technological marvel designed to provide

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