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Category Archives: Columns
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
Partisan Spin Denies Obama Credit for Immigration Success – The Daily Beast
The headline should be striking: U.S.A. Stops Illegal Immigration from Mexico in its tracks. That’s an underlying insight in a study by the Pew Hispanic Center released days before the Supreme Court heard arguments over the controversial Arizona illegal immigration … Continue reading
Mitt Romney’s Tax Idea Would Wallop High-Income Blue States – The Daily Beast
When candidates talk to high-level donors, they tell the truth. And so despite his campaign’s strenuous downplaying, Mitt Romney’s open-mike “gaffe” revealing some details of his tax plan at a closed-door fundraiser in Palm Beach is real news. Forget for … Continue reading
Where’s the Outrage Over Republican’s ‘Communist’ Claim? – CNN.com
“I have here in my hand a list of 205 communists …” The ghost of Joe McCarthy’s ulcerous accusations hung over a disturbingly casual comment this past week by U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Florida. When asked by a constituent at … Continue reading
Palin, Huckabee and the Lure of Star Power – CNN.com
It’s tough to get quality people to run for political office these days. There’s the cult-like polarization, the vicious mudslinging, and the cost to families and finances. But there’s a new trend which promises to make the problem much worse: … Continue reading
Sex Trafficking Survivor’s Inspiring Political Run in Portland, OR – The Daily Beast
In the summer of 1989, Jeri Sundvall-Williams was raped by 10 members of the Crips gang. She was then locked in a room, let out only from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night to turn tricks. She was required … Continue reading
Why the Right Turned Its Back on the Individual Mandate – The Daily Beast
This is it, showdown at the Supreme Court corral—or Three Days That Could End America, as one conservative website put it. At the heart of the apocalyptic rhetoric is the individual mandate—that not long ago was considered a conservative idea. … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged Fiscal Responsibility, Republican Reformers, The Daily Beast
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Crime Watch Groups Viewed Suspiciously After Trayvon Martin Killing – The Daily Beast
“This guy anointed himself as a watchman, and he was on a mission that clearly had paranoia as part of it. There were no checks and balances…He was a one-man army. It’s almost like he was Travis Bickle in Taxi … Continue reading
New Hampshire House Rejects Gay-Marriage Repeal – The Daily Beast
The Live Free or Die State stayed true to its name Wednesday, as an attempt to repeal same-sex marriage was rejected in the New Hampshire House of Representatives by a decisive margin of 211 to 116. The victory meant that … Continue reading
Mitt Romney Romps in Illinois, But the Long Race Continues – The Daily Beast
Mitt Romney stomped to victory in Illinois last night. It was a decisive win, his broadest in a contested mainland state since Nevada. He won among women voters, independent voters, and voters whose top issue was the economy, according to … Continue reading
Fed-Up Press Ready to Call the Republican Race, But the Math Matters – The Daily Beast
While the presidential primary was the lead story most days between December and February, FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver calculated that “in March, however, the nomination campaign has been the lead story just two times in 17 days.” The implicit editorial judgment … Continue reading
Republicans struggle in Land of Lincoln – CNN.com
The Illinois primary should be a Republican Party homecoming. After all, this is the Land of Lincoln, home state of the first Republican president. But the party of Lincoln is no longer an easy fit for the state of Illinois. … Continue reading