Bush 41: The Triumph of Manners Over Truth
Reading Time: 20 minutes Russ Baker looks into the telltale heart of George H.W. Bush and the real (and tragically under-investigated) legacy of the Bush family.
Russ Baker on Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen: Consigliere or Stooge?
Reading Time: 19 minutes Russ Baker talks about his deep profile of Trump-Russia connected lawyer Michael Cohen.
Russ Baker Talks Russiagate, the Media, and Much More
Reading Time: 1 minute Russ Baker speaks on a variety of important topics in this extensive interview with host Ricky Varandas on The Ripple Effect Podcast.
Russ Baker Talks Journalism, Bush Clan and Deep Politics
Reading Time: 45 minutes In a wide-ranging interview, WhoWhatWhy founder Russ Baker discusses the work we do, goes in-depth on the Bush family and the importance of good journalism.
Russ Baker Interviewed on KFNX Phoenix
Reading Time: 1 minute WhoWhatWhy editor Russ Baker was interviewed this week by Al Warren on the Phoenix-based radio station KFNX on a range of timely and timeless subjects.
Martin Luther King Also Had a Nightmare
Reading Time: 9 minutes In honor of Martin Luther King Day, WhoWhatWhy presents — through a fascinating collection of pictures — a brief history of American racism, a look at the kind of hatred, atrocities, and soul-searing humiliation that spurred King into action. Rather than the stuff of dreams, much of it was a living nightmare. We first published this piece in 2015, but it remains more relevant than ever — because we seem to be going backwards. We want you to see, with your own eyes, just how ugly it can get.
Russ Baker interviewed: Refugees, 9/11, and More
Reading Time: 1 minute What are the deeper issues in the Middle East that make it such a hotbed for violent conflict? And why are US fingerprints all over these crises? In this interview with California radio host Douglas Everett on Radio Parallax, Russ Baker discusses the surprising connections between them, including the explosion of Middle Eastern refugees in Europe, 9/11, and others.
Baker on Jeb! and Michael Hastings’ Mysterious Death
Reading Time: 1 minute Russ Baker back on with popular Denver radio host Peter Boyles, talking about Jeb Bush dropping his last name for campaign purposes—and the mysterious, fiery death two years ago of journalist Michael Hastings.
Please Stop Talking about Donald Trump
Reading Time: 2 minutes Talking about Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is about as useful as discussing Lincoln Chafee’s or George Pataki’s ambitions for the White House — except those two actually held elected office at one point. Yet, if you’re a ‘name’ in America, you can be a politician. Ok, ok, it’s a bit rich (pun intended) to request that Read More
Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are Running on the Same Ticket
Reading Time: 3 minutes Gore Vidal once quipped that there is only one party in the United States, “The Property Party…and it has two right wings.” Thus is the state of the 2016 campaign over the last 96 hours. Hillary Clinton ‘relaunched‘ her campaign on Roosevelt Island over the weekend and Jeb Bush, finally, declared his candidacy. While these Read More
Mitt Romney’s Coup
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the fourth consecutive year, Mitt Romney is hosting a summit of GOP political figures, money men, and right-leaning theorists. Some of these bigwigs include Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and Lindsey Graham. While many Romney voters feel the country made a big mistake in 2012 by re-electing Barack Obama and not Read More
Is Jeb Bush speaking for Obama? Or is Obama speaking for Jeb Bush?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jeb Bush and President Obama are both in Germany this weekend. Unsurprisingly, they both spoke about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Surprisingly, they both sounded a lot alike. What Jeb said: “There are things that we could do given the scale of our military to send a strong signal that we’re on the side of Poland, Read More
Scott Walker and the League of Small-Government Gentlemen
Reading Time: 2 minutes “Who do we want? Scott Walker! Why do we want him? Because we’ve filled his coffers in exchange for small government initiatives!” – say the Koch brothers, Bradley Foundation, and many others. OK, they didn’t actually say that, but they have poured money into small-government think tanks that have, you guessed it, supported small-government Wisconsin Read More
Jeb Bush: Keep the Muzzle On
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jeb Bush is heading to Europe this week. For other 2016 hopefuls, campaigning across the pond has caused some headaches. Chris Christie and Scott Walker both found out the hard way that a trip overseas is not a walk in the park. So how is Jeb Bush, who is plagued by a family legacy of Read More
Scott Walker, Professor of Education
Reading Time: 3 minutes Conservatives and Republicans supposedly love Scott Walker. Why? Because he is Union busting? Maybe, but recent data suggest that Unions aren’t as unpopular as they seem. Maybe it is down-home history (i.e. wearing Kohl’s sweaters), appeals against big government, and survival against a massive Democratic-led recall. These things can be very popular for a prospective Read More
Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio — Friends Forever, Momentary Enemies
Reading Time: 2 minutes A subtle jab carrying Marco Rubio’s 2016 campaign is that he is ‘new’ and other candidates in the race are ‘outdated’. Well Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are certainly getting on in years, yes. However, they are not Rubio’s immediate opponents. That can only mean Rubio’s dig is meant for someone in his own party. Namely Read More
Another Secret Revealed from Camp Hillary Clinton
Reading Time: 2 minutes Progressives are skeptical of a Wall Street-backed war hawk running for the Democratic nomination? No way! This is the unfunny irony plaguing the Clinton campaign. Hillary’s Super PAC director David Brock seems to have taken note of the hesitancy voiced by Progressives. And by Progressives, we (and he) mean rich liberal donors. Ahead of an Read More
Rand Paul and Political Rand-standing
Reading Time: 1 minute Rand Paul is, as John McCain once labeled him, a ‘whacko-bird’. No, it’s not because of his opposition to NSA. That actually has a lot of bipartisan and populist support. And no, it’s not because many Republican leaders think he should be running as a Democrat. What makes Paul a whacko-bird is his views on Read More
Popular Avant-Garde: The History of Bernie Sanders
Reading Time: 1 minute “When Bernie Sanders won by 10 votes in a four-way mayoral race, Ronald Reagan had just entered the White House, the Cold War was in full swing, and people were seriously freaked out. ‘You would’ve thought that Trotsky had come to Burlington.’”Admitted socialist don’t get much love in the States. Many blame the Cold War Read More
Martin O’Malley has a Race and Police problem.
Reading Time: 1 minute Martin O’Malley is in a tough spot. On one hand, he is far (faaaaar) behind Hillary Clinton. On the other hand, he doesn’t have the Progressive support (or revolutionary zeal) that Bernie Sanders has. And, worst of all, he is getting partial blame for the death of Baltimore’s Freddie Gray. So much so that a group Read More