David Corn

Washington Bureau Chief

Corn has broken stories on presidents, politicians, and other Washington players. He's written for numerous publications and is a talk show regular. His best-selling books include Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War.

Get my RSS |

Advertise on MotherJones.com

Bursting the Thatcher Bubble

| Mon Apr. 8, 2013 10:00 AM PDT

The canonization of Margaret Thatcher began with nanoseconds of news reports that the former British prime minister and conservative icon had died at the age of 87. On MSNBC, my pal Chuck Todd remarked, "We lionize her over here." There was insta-commentary about how she saved Britain from economic despair and the rest of the world from the Soviets (with some help from a guy named Ronald Reagan). Excess ruled. Two small examples: Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the Democrat running for Congress in South Carolina (and sister of Stephen Colbert) issued this statement: "When I talk to younger women about their careers, I point to Margaret Thatcher as a role model; she's a tough consensus builder who cared about everybody and put her country's fiscal house in order." Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) proclaimed,

Baroness Thatcher's record of creating explosive economic growth and a stronger nation by embracing conservative values makes the utter failure of Obama's stale liberalism starker and more disturbing…She is still hated by leftists who would rather live in equalized misery than allow people to achieve as much as they can work for, leftists who now hold the levers of government in the United States…While many mourn, Baroness Thatcher reminded us "I fight on I fight to win." The best way to honor Baroness Thatcher is to crush liberalism and sweep it into the dustbin of history. What are you doing this morning to defeat liberal politicians?

Watch: If House Lannister Had a Super-PAC

| Fri Mar. 29, 2013 7:22 AM PDT

Last year, we noted that HBO's hit show Game of Thrones—which features dragons, sword fights, and zombie armies—is at its core a tale of intense political intrigue. Alliances are forged and broken; backroom deals are cut; principles are sacrificed. It's a dirty game—and not just because there's no indoor plumbing. And we imagined what might happen if super-PACs and dark-money outfits existed in the Seven Kingdoms. The result: political attack ads that went viral. With the third season starting this week—and the show (according to our spies) becoming even bleaker—here are those ads once again. They remain a fitting commentary, for as in the real world, politics in Westeros is not getting any less sleazy.

Daenerys Targaryen: Wrong for Dragons, Wrong for the Realm


Joffrey Baratheon: What a Bastard!


Robb Stark: The Biggest Celebrity in the North

Created, written, and directed by David Corn, Dan Schulman, Nick Baumann, Adam Serwer, Tim Murphy, and Asawin Suebsaeng. Videos edited by Ethan Elliott-Williams and David Mullins. Narrated by Jason Williams. Actors: Jennifer Cutting, Patrick Plunkett, and Stephen Winick.

Read our interview with Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss. And click here to check out other TV and movie features from Mother Jones.

Thu Apr. 29, 2010 7:13 AM PDT
Wed Apr. 28, 2010 9:44 AM PDT
Mon Apr. 26, 2010 2:21 PM PDT
Fri Apr. 23, 2010 7:22 AM PDT
Wed Apr. 21, 2010 1:59 PM PDT
Thu Apr. 15, 2010 8:07 AM PDT
Thu Apr. 15, 2010 7:36 AM PDT
Wed Apr. 14, 2010 8:38 AM PDT
Mon Apr. 12, 2010 12:23 PM PDT
Thu Apr. 8, 2010 10:11 AM PDT
Tue Apr. 6, 2010 8:16 AM PDT
Mon Apr. 5, 2010 10:44 AM PDT
Mon Apr. 5, 2010 7:52 AM PDT
Fri Apr. 2, 2010 8:26 AM PDT
Thu Apr. 1, 2010 9:15 AM PDT
Wed Mar. 31, 2010 9:28 AM PDT
Thu Mar. 25, 2010 11:36 AM PDT
Wed Mar. 24, 2010 3:48 PM PDT
Sat Mar. 20, 2010 12:35 PM PDT
Wed Mar. 17, 2010 10:50 AM PDT
Wed Mar. 17, 2010 8:19 AM PDT
Mon Mar. 15, 2010 11:19 AM PDT
Mon Mar. 15, 2010 9:42 AM PDT
Mon Mar. 15, 2010 8:33 AM PDT
Fri Mar. 12, 2010 9:02 AM PST
Mon Mar. 8, 2010 9:23 AM PST
Fri Mar. 5, 2010 10:32 AM PST
Thu Mar. 4, 2010 10:18 AM PST
Wed Mar. 3, 2010 1:24 PM PST
Tue Mar. 2, 2010 9:06 AM PST
Mon Mar. 1, 2010 8:44 AM PST
Wed Feb. 24, 2010 3:11 PM PST
Wed Feb. 24, 2010 6:47 AM PST
Mon Feb. 22, 2010 1:01 PM PST
Mon Feb. 22, 2010 12:27 PM PST
Fri Feb. 19, 2010 10:59 AM PST
Wed Feb. 17, 2010 11:00 AM PST
Thu Feb. 11, 2010 7:01 AM PST
Thu Feb. 11, 2010 6:34 AM PST