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Category Archives: Columns
Occupy Wall Street’s Empty Protests – The Daily Beast
“Do what you’ve got to do, but don’t climb on the walls because you might fall off and get hurt.” This was the voice of “the man”—in this case, a police officer with a megaphone—on the opening night of the … Continue reading
2012’s New Contenders – The Daily Beast
We are living in a “pox-on-both-your-houses” moment. Congressional approval is at an all-time low. More than 40 percent of Americans believe that both Republican and Democrat policies are moving the country in the wrong direction, while Tea Party approval has … Continue reading
Politics as Ideological Blood Sport – CNN.com
They just don’t get it. Two months after playing partisan chicken with the debt-ceiling limit and leading directly to a U.S. downgrade, our dysfunctional divided Congress was at it again — carelessly bringing the country to the brink of a … Continue reading
Jeers for a Gay Soldier – The Daily Beast
The GOP presidential debate in Orlando produced a profile in courage and nine profiles in cowardice. The profile in courage came courtesy of the brave active-duty solider named Stephen Hill serving in Iraq who chose the Republican debate as the … Continue reading
Independent Voters and 2012 Election – C-SPAN
John Avlon talked about the role of independent voters in the 2012 elections. Topics included voter attitudes on issues, the two political parties and Washington politics in general, and the viability of an independent political movement. He also responded to … Continue reading
Posted in Columns, Videos
Tagged 2008 Elections, 2012 Elections, C-Span, Elections, Independent Nation
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The Dark Money Shuffle – The Daily Beast
This is the second installment in a series by The Daily Beast, in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics, on the influx of money into the 2012 campaign. These articles were Co-authored with Michael Keller. Back in 2010, Justice … Continue reading
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Rick Perry’s Fantasy About Obama, Israel – CNN.com
Gov. Rick Perry unleashed an onslaught against President Obama’s Israel policy Tuesday in New York, calling it “moral equivalency,” “appeasement,” “naive and arrogant, misguided and dangerous.” All this sounds very bad, deepening the narrative that Obama is hell-bent on alienating … Continue reading
Could Obama’s new tax plan really incite class warfare? – CNN
President Obama will unveil a plan today to cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade. A large part of the proposal is expected to be based on raising taxes on Americans making more than $1 million a … Continue reading
Obama’s Debt-Reduction Dare – The Daily Beast
“This is not class warfare—it’s math.” President Obama was playing the happy warrior while presenting his $3 trillion debt-reduction plan in a Rose Garden address, welcoming a fight over raising taxes on the wealthy while a tough re-election looms.
Christine O’Donnell: Exhibit A for Getting Rid of Closed Primaries – CNN.com
One year ago this week, America got a wake-up call about a core problem in our politics that empowers ideological extremists and special interests. On September 14, 2010, both Delaware Rep. Mike Castle? and Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty lost closed … Continue reading
A Tax Reform Slam Dunk – The Daily Beast
Tax Day is nobody’s idea of a good time. But get ready for a year of heated tax debates ahead. In his deficit speech last week, President Obama made clear that he intends to continue his fight to raise the … Continue reading
Wake Up, Washington! – The Daily Beast
Republican Bob Turner won the special election to succeed Anthony Weiner last night, and conservatives are crowing that it signifies a tidal shift against President Obama. It’s true that this Queens-Brooklyn district, once represented by Geraldine Ferraro, hasn’t voted for … Continue reading
Islam’s Civil War – The Daily Beast
The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is over, but America is still wrestling with the role of Islam in our society. And Islam, no less significantly, is struggling with its own internal tensions as a faith battered between radicals, reactionaries, and … Continue reading
Forty-Five Foiled Terror Plots Since 9/11 – The Daily Beast
As news of a new “credible” threat swept across the nation on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Americans were abruptly reminded that terrorism is always one bad day away from being issue No. 1. In the latest case, one report … Continue reading
Can Obama overcome D.C.’s partisan poison? – CNN.com
In a call to action on the American economy, President Obama entered a deeply divided U.S. Capitol on Thursday to propose a decidedly bipartisan package of policies backed with an urgent message: “Pass this bill now.” The address before a … Continue reading
Church Massacre Response Reveals the True Spirit of Charleston
Tough times reveal true character. And it took the senseless slaughter of nine souls at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church by a deranged racist to force the great state of South Carolina to finally emancipate itself from Confederate ghosts. Over the … Continue reading
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Perry’s Smash-Mouth Debate Style – The Daily Beast
So much for the 11th Commandment. At the start of the Republican debate at the Reagan Library, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry came out swinging, with the former Massachusetts governor jabbing the Texan as a career politician, followed by a … Continue reading
The Recovery – The Daily Beast
Lower Manhattan is a living symbol of civic resilience; it is evidence of how free people can triumph over fear. The neighborhood surrounding Ground Zero has become the fastest-growing in New York City. Daniel Libeskind is part of the influx. … Continue reading
Bill Clinton to the Rescue – The Daily Beast
It’s Labor Day 2011, and all eyes are on the economy—both the stubborn 9.1 percent unemployment rate and President Obama’s upcoming “job creation” speech in front of a joint session of Congress. There’s evidence that Obama may be looking for … Continue reading
Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Palin – The Daily Beast
Sarah Palin’s “will-she or won’t-she?” act is getting pretty old. All eyes will be on her Saturday speech at a Tea Party rally in Iowa, but Palin’s 2012 expiration date is looming. The scattershot dysfunction that accompanied even this event … Continue reading