Here are our best politics stories of 2021
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Power Mad:
A weekly accounting of the rogues and scoundrels of America
The U.S. Capitol in the distance
Samuel Corum/Stringer
Did the year 2021 even happen, or was it just 12 more months of 2020? This year, it felt as though the angst of the Trump era never truly subsided—and lord knows the pandemic has not.
At TNR, we closed out the calendar year by asking each other, “What Now?” We speculated about what 2022 has in store for us and sought new, bold ideas that the country should pursue to stoke prosperity and knit up the civic fabric of the United States. But before we look forward—or dread—what’s to come, let’s take one last look back on the stories that most engaged us, enraged us, and illuminated a year in our lives.
For congressional Democrats, the past year was spent trying, and ultimately failing, to pass an ambitious agenda. At TNR, we heard readers, bored with endless reporting on the dramatics, call for details about what programs might actually be in the Build Back Better Act. Grace Segers stepped up with stories of substance—notably in her deep dives into the expanded child tax credit.
This doesn’t mean we skimped on coverage of the political scene. Soon after Beto O’Rourke announced his intention to run against Greg Abbott in the Texas gubernatorial race, Daniel Strauss scored an early interview during which he put the one-time presidential candidate’s theories of how he might succeed under the microscope. Daniel also followed the activities of the January 6 Commission with discerning vigor.
Matt Ford spent the year covering how the Supreme Court’s rightward slide threatens everything from reproductive rights to the functioning of the administrative state. But he also spent a considerable amount of time contemplating those remaining reverberations of Trumpism that threaten our democracy. His rumination on the death of Ashli Babbitt was among the pieces that truly resonated with readers this year.
Alex Shephard spent all year helping TNR’s readers make sense of the biggest stories in the news. The scandals that befell the Brothers Cuomo were tailor-made for his unique skills: navigating the fraught world of New York’s political scene and the chaotic cable news industry. Readers also flocked to his retrospective on Tucker Carlson’s career.
Timothy Noah offered pointed commentary on the pandemic labor market, the “Great Resignation,” and the ways workers have been left to fend for themselves amid multiple crises. Along the way, he’s illuminated our economic predicament in some invigoratingly offbeat ways: His jeremiad against the entire state of South Dakota remains a favorite.
Walter Shapiro continued to be TNR’s greatest deliberative body this year, lending a calm perspective to stories of titanic importance, including our withdrawal from Afghanistan and epoch-making moments like the passing of Senator Robert Dole. But sometimes it’s just nice to have him gently remind us of things that horse-race political news makes us lose sight of—such as the fact that we don’t actually have to worry about pundit prognostications three years ahead of a presidential election.
Readers have flocked to Natalie Shure’s regular dispatches to The Soapbox, where she typically provides in-depth analysis of the failings of our health care system—especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. But something great happens whenever her canny eye alights on off-center topics, such as the toxic wreck of excess that the Olympic Games have become or Katie Couric’s strange decision to admit to a breach of journalistic ethics to sell a memoir.
We’ve been blessed to have regular contributions from Osita Nwanevu, such as his critique of the “popularist” craze among Democratic thought leaders, as well as Alex Pareene, who wrote about how conservatives have embraced the idea that people should be allowed to attack protesters with their cars.
It’s been a privilege to publish a bevy of sharp pieces from guest writers as well. Some of my favorites include Jason Colavito’s historical examination of how Washington lawmakers came to be so keenly interested in UFOs, Elizabeth Spiers’s farewell to the Trump family, Meredith Shiner’s piece on the fate of “both-sides” journalism after the Capitol Riot, Audrey Farley’s account of the exorcists who are trying to fight the Black Lives Matter movement, and Emma Roller’s examination of how Wisconsin has become a laboratory for the right-wing fringes.
In short, it’s been a year of chronicling the big events in American politics, offering readers some respite from our civic exhaustion, and surfacing eclectic stories that provide unexpected fascination. But the common denominator has been your readership and support for this work, as well as our gratitude. With no small amount of trepidation, and no lack of hope, we look forward to sharing more stories with you in the coming year.
—Jason Linkins, deputy editor
From Atop The Soapbox ... This week in The Soapbox, we look ahead to next year’s most pivotal matters.
- Matt Ford discusses how the Supreme Court may, in one year’s time, upend American life in ways we haven’t really contemplated.
- Daniel Strauss takes an early glance at the landscape of 2022’s midterm elections.
- Casey Michel explains how the Biden administration might deal a killing blow to corrupt international kleptocrats.
- Natalie Shure outlines a plan to vaccinate the world and finally curb the pandemic. Meanwhile,
- Grace Segers takes a look at a grim story that got shoved out of the headlines by Covid: the rise in fatal opioid overdoses.
- Timothy Kudo presents the case for reparations after our 20-year scam in Afghanistan.
- Faiz Shakir pays tribute to the late Senator Harry Reid.
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