National

First — read this: Feast of the Wingnuts (How economic crackpots devoured American politics.) This is a great article (teasing Chait’s book on the same subject) from about a year ago — it is sorta long, but stick with it. Here’s some of the intro:

American politics has been hijacked by a tiny coterie of right-wing economic extremists, some of them ideological zealots, others merely greedy, a few of them possibly insane. The scope of their triumph is breathtaking. Over the course of the last three decades, they have moved from the right-wing fringe to the commanding heights of the national agenda. Notions that would have been laughed at a generation ago–that cutting taxes for the very rich is the best response to any and every economic circumstance or that it is perfectly appropriate to turn the most rapacious and self-interested elements of the business lobby into essentially an arm of the federal government–are now so pervasive, they barely attract any notice.

Just read the whole thing. The conclusions will certainly resonate now.