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Category Archives: Columns
Who is Marco Rubio? – The Daily Beast
Marco Rubio’s memoir, American Son, is coming out on Tuesday. It will inevitably be a campaign document, scrubbed clean of unflattering details, intended to be an exhibit in his bid to be Mitt Romney’s VP nominee. Which is why The … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, Republican Reformers, The Daily Beast
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No Home-Field Advantage for Mitt Romney – The Daily Beast
There are a lot of things different about this presidential campaign: an African-American incumbent running against a Mormon, most obviously. But on a more mundane level, there is uncharted strategic territory as well: never before has a presidential candidate written … Continue reading
Jeb vs. Grover: Battle for GOP’s soul – CNN.com
This is what happens when politics starts looking like a cult: Jeb Bush gets attacked for being a traitor to the conservative cause. The former Florida governor has been speaking with the freedom of someone not running for office, saying … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, CNN, Elections, Fiscal Responsibility, Republican Reformers
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American Way: Wisconsin Recall Vote Shows Union Power is Problem for Democrats – The Telegraph
The biggest election before November took place last week in Wisconsin – and it didn’t go the Democrats way. Incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker had polarised the state by taking on public sector labour unions, rolling back their collective bargaining … Continue reading
Hyper-Partisanship Dragging Down Nation – CNN.com
It’s not your imagination: Our politics are more polarized than at any point in recent history. That’s the conclusion of a new survey from the indispensable Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. And if you needed more … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, CNN, Elections, Independent Voters, Wingnuts
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Past Scott Walker: Fight Crosses Party Lines as California Voters Back Pension Reforms – The Daily Beast
The most significant election on Tuesday wasn’t in Wisconsin. It was in San Jose and San Diego, where nearly 70% of citizens voted for public-sector union pension reforms, introduced by Democrats, that could save their cash-strapped cities billions of dollars. … Continue reading
Top Three Conclusions From Wisconsin Recall Election – The Daily Beast
It was a big win for Scott Walker and a big wake-up call for Democrats. The Wisconsin governor survived a recall effort that received more than a million signatures by gaining more votes in this special election than he did … Continue reading
Thee Wisconsinites Running the RNC Double Down on Walker Recall Fight – The Daily Beast
Local politics is national in Wisconsin this weekend. It’s not just because the attempt to recall conservative Gov. Scott Walker is a ground-game test case that foreshadows the super PAC–funded fight between big business and big labor in the fall … Continue reading
Mitt Romney’s Stockholm Syndrome Behavior – The Daily Beast
Mitt Romney’s long slog through the Republicans’ reality-show primary is over. After the party auditioned a cast of unlikely and occasionally unstable contenders ranging from Michele Bachmann to Herman Cain to a resurgent Rick Santorum, the most responsible man won. … Continue reading
American Way: Why Barack Obama Now Has a Battle on His Hands for the 2012 Election
There are storm clouds on the horizon for Barack Obama’s re-election. Democrats indulged in over-confidence during the Republican primaries. It was an understandable reaction to the chaos that came with all the pandering to the far-Right and the rise of … Continue reading
Grow Up, Congress: Make a Deal on Debt – CNN.com
Confronted with record-low approval ratings, Congress seems determined to drive them down even further by planning another game of chicken with the debt ceiling this fall. The last time they tried this game, the United States lost its Triple-A credit … Continue reading
New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Cory Booker Swap Partisan Bickering for Collaboration – The Daily Beast
Is this the Golden Age of New Jersey politics? After the chronic embarrassments of Governors James McGreevey and Jon Corzine, beyond the scores of mayors indicted for corruption, the Garden State is suddenly fielding a bipartisan team with national appeal. … Continue reading
Americans Elect Failure to Find Candidate Threatens Third-Party Dreams – The Daily Beast
The deadline for Americans Elect is here and they still don’t have a candidate. This failure threatens to kill the effort to field a bipartisan third ticket for president before it ever really began—despite $35 million spent and 420,000 people … Continue reading
American Way: Why Barack Obama’s Support for Gay Marriage is a Huge Political Gamble by the President – The Telegraph
It was a “profile in courage” moment from the American president, but one loaded with political risk. Consider the fact that just the previous day the citizens of North Carolina voted to ban same-sex marriage and all forms of civil … Continue reading
Gay Marriage’s Murky Constitutional Question – The Daily Beast
There is a small but telling irony beneath the gay-marriage debate: the Republican candidate favors changing the constitution; the Democrat is backing states’ rights. It’s a role reversal that reflects the outcome-based, situational ethics beneath many supposedly principled ideological and … Continue reading
Bush Solicitor General Ted Olson Hails Obama Gay Marriage Shift – The Daily Beast
It has been a historic 24 hours, with marriage equality rejected in North Carolina and embraced by the president of the United States. “I am gratified that the president has thrown his personal support and the authority of the presidency … Continue reading
North Carolina’s Same-Sex Marriage Showdown – The Daily Beast
It’s Bill Clinton versus Billy Graham in North Carolina’s vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Advocates have dispatched powerful surrogates to this newest front of the culture wars, with the former president voicing robocalls urging voters to … Continue reading
Will Dick Lugar Be The RINO-Hunters’ Latest Trophy? – The Daily Beast
It’s RINO hunting season, and Dick Lugar has a big target on his back. The six-term Indiana senator was once Richard Nixon’s favorite Republican Mayor—but Tricky Dick looks like a hippie compared to the Tea Party crowd, and Lugar has … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, Republican Reformers, The Daily Beast
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The Freedom Tower, Rising from Ashes – CNN.com
The World Trade Center is again the tallest building in New York one year after the killing of Osama bin Laden and more than 10 years after the attacks that brought them down. It is still a work in progress: … Continue reading
Barack Obama, the Unlikely Hero of War on Terror – The Telegraph
It’s been one year since Osama bin Laden was killed. I don’t imagine I’ll ever be as happy again to hear that someone was shot in the face. Revenge, justice, call it what you will, but it felt good, like … Continue reading