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Category Archives: Columns
Israeli Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni’s Strong Voice of Reason – The Daily Beast
“I resent the idea that Israel is part of the political agenda in United States’ campaigns, really,” says Tzipi Livni, the Israeli opposition leader and head of the centrist party Kadima. She is fresh off a flight from Tel Aviv, … Continue reading
George Clooney’s Sudan Focus Should Be Ours, Too – CNN.com
The slaughter of civilians in Sudan goes on with too little attention. But when George Clooney gets involved, the world takes notice. And that’s at least a step in the right direction. Clooney brought the media spotlight with him Friday, … Continue reading
Palin’s SarahPAC Embarrassment: Consultants Are Cashing In – The Daily Beast
The ex-governor and VP pick railed against political consultants at CPAC. But her latest FEC filings show they took millions of dollars from her in the last election cycle. She’s baaaack. Sarah Palin attempted to relaunch her political career and … Continue reading
Three Simple Ways to Make Congress Work – CNN.com
It’s not your imagination: Our dysfunctional divided Congress is the least productive and least popular in recent history. Some congressmen walk the halls like members of rival gangs. The simple job of reasoning together seems out of reach. A few … Continue reading
How Republicans Screwed Themselves With Their Own Proportional-Delegate Trap – The Daily Beast
In the Talking Heads’ song “Once in a Lifetime” there is a moment when lead singer David Byrne awkwardly belts out a question: “How did I get here?” That’s the question Republicans should be asking themselves right now. Facing a … Continue reading
Rush Limbaugh Scandal Proves Contagious for Talk-Radio Advertisers – The Daily Beast
Rush Limbaugh made the right-wing talk-radio industry, and he just might break it. Because now the fallout from the “slut” slurs against Sandra Fluke is extending to the entire political shock-jock genre. Premiere Networks, which distributes Limbaugh as well as … Continue reading
Despite Sandra Fluke Apology, Rush Limbaugh Advertisers Sign Off – The Daily Beast
If you want to know why Rush is freaking out over the Sandra Fluke fallout, follow the money. Being too extreme has never been a problem for el Rushbo. Appeals to conscience and individual kindness weren’t going to provoke an … Continue reading
How Partisan Politics Drove Olympia Snowe Away – CNN.com
The Vital Center is under siege on Capital Hill. “Congress is now more polarized than at any time since the late 19th century,” attests the data-driven blog Vote View. It has gotten so bad that Sen. Olympia Snowe is throwing … Continue reading
Rick Santorum Can Regain Momentum With Focus on the Economy, Not Religion – The Daily Beast
Rick Santorum can take some satisfaction from the fact that he split the delegates from Mitt Romney’s home state of Michigan. But this functional tie doesn’t help Santorum much with the perception of momentum going into Super Tuesday. So just … Continue reading
GOP Primary Results: A Suicidal Cage Match – The Daily Beast
Mitt Romney dodged campaign disaster last night, pulling off a 3-point win over Rick Santorum in his home state of Michigan, while splitting the state’s delegates. But the real question is why the race was so close—and that says as … Continue reading
Michigan’s Delegate Math Could Give a Big Edge To Rick Santorum – The Daily Beast
All eyes are on the too-close-to-call Michigan primary—but paying too much attention to the popular vote there could miss the point. The real prize in this nomination fight is delegates, and Rick Santorum could win a majority of them in … Continue reading
Could Pro-Choice Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval Be the GOP’s Great Hope? – The Daily Beast
Quick: Name a young Hispanic Republican swing-state governor with a record of reducing the size of government and cutting spending while passing education reforms like ending teacher tenure and establishing merit pay, all with a Democratic legislature. Stumped? Here’s another … Continue reading
GOP’s Radioactive Anti-Obama Rhetoric – CNN.com
The debates this presidential primary season have been less like Lincoln-Douglas than former heavyweight champ Buster Douglas — punch-drunk pugilism, providing entertainment and some great upsets along the way. But for all the excitement of the fights, there is a … Continue reading
Their Many Debate Missteps Could Haunt Romney and Santorum – The Daily Beast
The 20th—and possibly final—Republican primary debate was messy at times, but it will leave a mark, not so much for the candidates’ successes but because of the missteps that were made and that might soon show up in an attack … Continue reading
Lawmakers Pledge to Reform, But Gerrymandering Keeps Getting Worse – The Daily Beast
The rigged system of redistricting is quietly reaching new lows of collusion and cronyism in states across the country. It’s an update to an old story—the effort of legislatures to draw themselves partisan safe seats, known as Gerrymandering. Simply put, … Continue reading
The GOP’s Chaotic Primary Calendar Makes Early Nomination Clinch Tough – The Daily Beast
With Texas court-ordered to move its primary back to at least May 28, the delegate math it takes to win the GOP nomination just got a lot tougher. Now, the likelihood that any candidate will clinch the nomination before late … Continue reading
Maine, Iowa Caucus Mishaps Prove It’s Time for a Better System – The Daily Beast
After the epic fail of Iowa’s caucuses—falsely naming Mitt Romney the winner for more than a month—now it looks like there’s trouble brewing in the Maine caucuses as well. Romney was named the narrow winner in Maine on Saturday over … Continue reading
US Election 2012: the Ugly Republican Nomination Race is Only Helping Obama – The Telegraph
President Obama’s re-election strategy is focused on portraying himself as the defender of the forgotten American middle class. And, writes John Avlon, there are signs that this strategy is succeeding. For the first time since the short-lived boost after the … Continue reading
Rick Santorum, Family Values Candidate and Pro Wrestling Advocate? – The Daily Beast
Rick Santorum was a lawyer for professional wrestling. It sounds like a surreal plot of political pulp fiction, but it’s true. Back in the late 1980s, the family-values candidate played a central role in deregulating professional wrestling in Pennsylvania as … Continue reading
Why has GOP turnout taken a dive? – CNN.com
Beneath Rick Santorum’s stunning three-state sweep on Tuesday stands another stubborn sign of dissatisfaction with the status quo: Republican turnout is down. I’m talking embarrassingly, disturbingly, hey-don’t-you-know-it’s-an-election-year bad. It is a sign of a serious enthusiasm gap among the rank … Continue reading