Mark Sumner

Chicago, Imperial, St. Louis

Senior Staff Writer at Daily Kos

Host at Remarkable! Radio

Author, journalist, old guy.

Articles

The Joe Rogan of the Left

4 weeks ago | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

In the never-ending quest to explain their utter failure at getting a message through to the public, Democratic politicians and white-shoe consultants have seized on one particular idea. They need a "Joe Rogan Of The Left" — a social media influencer who can crack the code and convince America's youths that Chuck Schumer is cool. Or swell. Or a skibidi toilet ... if that's a good thing. I'm not going to be that guy.
Democrats Don't Need To Apologize. They Need To Attack.

1 month ago | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

As I'm writing this, CNN commentator Van Jones and CNN host Jake Tapper are nodding sagely to each other, calling on Democrats to apologize for a "crime against the Republic." As charter members of the Joe Biden-so-old chorus, Jones and Tapper are adamant that every member of the Democratic Party needs to get on their knees, rend their clothing, and above all, acknowledge just how right Tapper & Co. were in being the first to board U.S.S. Backstab.
Democrats are losing the most important fight in history

1 month ago | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

The purpose of every protest, every call, every letter, every blog post, and every skeet being made in opposition to Donald Trump is the same: Show that what Trump is doing isn’t just wrong, it's also unpopular. Because popularity, like it or not, is important. Establishing the popularity of a position is key to political power. Mass protests alone may not be enough to move the needle, but that needle never moves without mass protests. And the calls. And the letters. It takes it all.
American economic carnage

2 months ago | unchartedblue.com | On Whetsday |Mark Sumner |Hunter Lazzaro |Laura Clawson

At this moment, the United States is in the middle of a concerted financial meltdown driven entirely by the destructive policies of Donald Trump. Trump's massive tariffs and incoherent actions are threatening a global recessionâif not depression. But they have already resulted in enormous, irreprabable harm to the United States. That's not a threat. It's a done deal.
Jeff Bezos has billions of reasons to grovel

Mar 3, 2025 | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

Jeff Bezos is currently the third richest person on Earth with a net wealth over $220 billion. In addition to being an absolutely obscene number, this seems like a very good reason Bezos should not have to get on his knees in front of anyone. Except there he is, putting a "libertarian" pro-Trump stamp on The Washington Post so blatant that editors are heading for the exits.
Elon Musk Is A Sophon

Feb 25, 2025 | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal published a detailed look at what Elon Musk and his DOGE bags have sliced from federal spending. As might be expected from a Rubert Murdoch propaganda outlet, the results were couched under the title "DOGE Claims It Has Saved Billions. See Where." However, no massaging of the headlines could make the truth of these cuts look good.
Ukraine Update: Trump And Putin Negotiate The Destruction Of The West

Feb 20, 2025 | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

Since the election—and especially since the inauguration—many people have been waiting for the moment Donald Trump begins arguing with Elon Musk. Those people are likely to be waiting a long time. Yes, Musk has assumed most of the authority of the White House. Yes, he's running on his own agenda, closing down whole departments and parking his anklebiter corps in one agency after another. He's assumed power beyond that legally available to the entire executive branch.
This Is What A Coup Looks Like

Feb 3, 2025 | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

In films—and too often in history—a coup d'état comes accompanied by the sound of explosions and gunfire. Military forces make their way through a capital city. The bearded colonel at the head of some new junta or rebel faction announces that he's now in charge. But it's not the only variety of coup. A coup can also come in the form of a "putsch," where the followers of a failed politician attempt to impose their candidate on the nation by force.
Media capture is no joke

Nov 28, 2024 | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

For the past week, Elon Musk has repeatedly commented about buying MSNBC. At the same time, Musk accused the news outlet of peddling "puerile propaganda" and derided MSNBC's ratings, which have—as might be expected—dropped since the election. The result has been a string of comments on Twitter and Fox News in which Trump supporters chortle over the thought of replacing Rachel Maddow with Joe Rogan and exult in the distress they believe Musk's comments must be generating on the left.
Look up! SpaceX may be NASA's greatest achievement

Nov 19, 2024 | dailykos.com | Mark Sumner

Several years ago, my wife took her sixth-grade science class to Huntsville, Alabama for a week-long stay at Space Camp. Two giant bus loads of kids, five hundred miles from home, delivered the expected number of kids getting sick, girls sneaking into the boy's dorms, boys sneaking into the girl's dorms, and parents calling to complain that little Jonnie had not checked in.