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Category Archives: Columns
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
Newt’s Two-Man-Race Narrative Collapses After Santorum Victories – The Daily Beast
This is the story of Newt and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It is a tale of two caucus states where Newt was schooled by Rick Santorum in the ways of social-conservative voters and one state where … Continue reading
California’s Overruling of Proposition 8 Is a Civil-Rights Victory – The Daily Beast
“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.” With those words, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declared California’s Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super Bowl Ad Shows Obama Messaging Is Weak – The Daily Beast
“Killed bin Laden. Saved GM.” That’s a Dirty Harry–style slogan for Obama 2012—direct, unflinching, and unsentimental, no poetry or promises. It’s all about results. It can be remembered in a bar, and it fits on a bumper sticker.
Ron Paul’s Plan to Mess Up Mitt Romney – The Daily Beast
Money, momentum and Mormons: these three factors gave Mitt Romney a convincing win in Saturday’s Nevada caucus. Mr. Romney was long expected to roll to victory in a state where he captured 51 percent of the vote four years ago. The … Continue reading
Romney’s Gaffe About the ‘Very Poor’ Shows Him Courting the Middle Class – The Daily Beast
As if to prove the point that this nomination race is far from over, Mitt Romney took to the airwaves Wednesday morning and promptly stepped on his lip. The occasion was a post-Florida victory lap interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien. … Continue reading
Romney Ramps Up Attack Ads Against Gingrich to Unprecedented Levels – The Daily Beast
No, it’s not your imagination. Things are uglier than ever in the Sunshine State. A staggering 92 percent of the political ads run in Florida over the last week of the campaign have been negative.
American Way: Florida Battle of Strip Malls and Swamps May Decide Republican Nomination Contest – The Telegraph
Much of Florida is swampland covered by strip-malls – and in a similar attempt to impose order over chaos, Mitt Romney is blanketing the Sunshine State this weekend with negative advertisements bashing his chief rival Newt Gingrich. Romney, the establishment … Continue reading
6 Worthy Policy Ideas From Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Speech – The Daily Beast
President Obama’s election year State of the Union address was attacked in pre-buttals from the Republican presidential candidates and members of Congress alike. But there were thoughtful moments and policies with bipartisan potential that deserve attention beyond the predicable partisan … Continue reading
What Happened to Romney, the ‘Inevitable’ Candidate?
Newt Gingrich has pulled a Double Lazarus, coming back from the dead twice in this campaign to win decisively in South Carolina. Exit polls showed a broad and deep victory in this conservative state, with Newt winning tea partiers and … Continue reading