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Category Archives: Columns
Chris Christie’s 2012 Tease – The Daily Beast
As Hurricane Irene bore down on the East Coast on Saturday afternoon, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had a simple message: “Get the hell off the beach.” “You’re done. It’s 4:30 p.m. You’ve maximized your tan,” he bellowed from behind … Continue reading
When Good Candidates Go Bad – The Daily Beast
George Clooney is a political junkie. The son of a newsman explored the intersection of government and journalism in the Oscar-winning Good Night and Good Luck. Now he’s taking on presidential campaigns in The Ides of March, a political thriller … Continue reading
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Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, Music, Book and Movie Reviews, The Daily Beast
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Picking Bachmann or Perry is risky for GOP – CNN.com
A day can be a long time in politics, and that was certainly true this past Saturday. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll in Ames, followed by libertarian Congressman Ron Paul. Tim Pawlenty’s third-place finish pushed the two-term … Continue reading
Are Republicans at War with Reality? – CNN.com
So here’s what I learned watching Thursday night’s Republican debate: States’ rights should rule the day, unless you’re gay. Small government is the rule unless a rapist impregnates his victim. Loyalty oaths should be the new normal. Ten-to-one spending cuts … Continue reading
GOP Players’ Iowa Test – The Daily Beast
If you like sweet corn, or presidential politics, this is a good time to be in the heartland. On Thursday night, the GOP field will meet for a pivotal debate in Des Moines, Iowa. On Saturday, the only straw poll that … Continue reading
Gang of 6’s Supercommittee Diss – The Daily Beast
The day before the S&P downgrading of the United States debt, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal lauded the virtues of stubbornness at the Republican National Committee summer meeting in Tampa, Florida. “It pays to be stubborn,” Jindal said. “The press is … Continue reading
Ugly to Compare Terrorists with Tea Party – CNN.com
The cycle of incitement continued this week as Democrats frustrated with the debt-ceiling deal equated the tea party with terrorists, just weeks before the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It is an ugly and unacceptable comparison, especially coming — as it … Continue reading
Alan Simpson Is ‘Disgusted’ by the Debt Deal – The Daily Beast
Alan Simpson is ‘Disgusted’ by the debt deal. Hear him blast off about Washington’s incompetence. What do you think about the debt-ceiling deal? It’s a start, and that’s all you can charitably say. It really doesn’t get to the big numbers. … Continue reading
The Extreme Grouses as the Center Wins Debt Deal – CNN.com
The center can hold. That’s at least part of the big-picture takeaway after the House passed a lopsided if 11th-hour debt ceiling and deficit reduction bill by a refreshingly bipartisan margin of 269 to 161. The extremes were united in … Continue reading
Inflexible GOP Should Listen to Reagan on Debt – CNN.com
As the debt-ceiling deadline ticks closer, conservatives in Congress are fighting among themselves. The civil war is between responsible Republicans and extreme ideologues. The question is whether the collateral damage will include the American economy. House Speaker John Boehner abruptly … Continue reading
Our Stupid Self-Inflicted Debt Crisis – CNN.com
Let me get this straight. The people who have been preaching the most about the dangers of American decline are right now helping to hasten American decline. Because if America defaults on its debt, not only will we find ourselves … Continue reading
The Web’s Stealth Presidential Race – The Daily Beast
magine what our election system might look like if it were designed today: No Byzantine electoral college, no long lines on a random Tuesday, no closed primaries that force candidates into the arms of their party’s special interests. Modern Madisons … Continue reading
Good news: The Gang of Six is back – CNN.com
That’s thanks to the Lazarus-like resurgence of the Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of senators who have been working tirelessly to come up with a balanced plan to restore our nation to fiscal responsibility. Washington’s professional partisans and cynical … Continue reading
Where the GOP Went Wrong on Deficits and Debt – The Daily Beast
When did fiscal responsibility and fiscal conservatism get de-linked? That is the key question that underlies the fault lines in the current GOP civil war, playing out over the debt-ceiling debate as every day we get closer to default. It’s too simple … Continue reading
GOP’s Debt Kamikazes – The Daily Beast
Call them Debt Ceiling Deniers. Believers in faith-based fiscal policy. Math-challenged cause-and-effect-skeptics. And an uncomfortable chunk of the GOP’s 2012 contenders. The costs of courting conservative populists should be clearer than ever to reality-based fiscal conservatives inside the Republican Party. Their … Continue reading
In Debt Talks, Obama as Grown-Up in the Room – CNN.com
The enemy of problem-solving in politics is ideological inflexibility. That is the case President Obama made to the American people on Monday as ongoing debt and deficit talks try to stop the nation from default on August 2. The president … Continue reading
‘Palm-gate’ proves centrists’ Palin doubts – CNN.com
She was caught red-handed. The surreal scene of Sarah Palin referring to notes written on her palm during a Q&A session after her speech at the National Tea Party convention has validated skeptics even as it’s been dismissed by her … Continue reading
Our Pathetic Debt Debate – The Daily Beast
A cataclysmic game of chicken. Negotiating with a gun to your head. A Thelma & Louise-style full throttle off a cliff. The dire metaphors for the debt-ceiling debate proliferate as we get closer to the August 2nd due date.
Birth of a Nation – The Daily Beast
A new nation was born today, as the Republic of South Sudan officially became the 193rd country on earth. But the joyous celebration in the new capital city of Juba should not cause observers to think that the struggle for … Continue reading
In 2011, It’s Truly Independents Day – CNN.com
Our first president, George Washington said, “I was no party man myself, and the first wish of my heart was, if parties did exist, to reconcile them.” His vice president, John Adams, once wrote, “There is nothing which I dread … Continue reading