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Category Archives: Columns
Why Democrats don’t want Huntsman to run – CNN.com
With Mitch Daniels’ decision to opt out of the 2012 presidential race, Jon Huntsman is the lone standard-bearer of the center-right in a crowded GOP field. Historically, that should put the former Utah governor in a strong position to compete … Continue reading
NAACP Under Fire in New York Charter-School War – The Daily Beast
It was an inspiring sight: a protest rally 3,000 strong in the heart of Harlem. Students, parents, and teachers wielding signs and slogans, all standing up for their right to pursue a quality public-school education. But the target of their … Continue reading
When Medi-Scare Wins, Americans Lose – The Daily Beast
Medi-scare works. That’s the cynical lesson politicos in both parties will take from Democrat Kathy Hochul’s NY-26 special election victory on Tuesday. And that’s bad news for the nation. We’ve seen a rise in fear-mongering policy attacks in American politics … Continue reading
Sudan on the Verge of a New Civil War – The Daily Beast
Blood is flowing on the dirt roads of Abyei. Airstrikes and artillery fire have compounded the body count. The surviving population has been driven out, their town looted and burned. Sudan now faces the real prospect of a reignited civil … Continue reading
Pawlenty’s Fiscal Shell Game – The Daily Beast
Tim Pawlenty unveiled his presidential campaign Monday with a message centered on fiscal discipline and being the self-styled truth-teller in the 2012 race. It was only a matter of hours before his state’s previous Republican governor, Arne Carlson , unveiled … Continue reading
A Reality Check for the Doomsday Unhinged – The Daily Beast
Doomsday cults have a lousy track record. You’d think that alone would make it more difficult to dupe new recruits. But devotees of the Family Radio network have been taking to the streets and subways of New York, handing out … Continue reading
GOP Govs’ Popularity Plummets – The Daily Beast
The cycle of over-reach and backlash is in over-drive these days—with significant implications for the 2012 presidential election. In pivotal swing-states where voters narrowly elected Republican governors in 2010—like Florida and Ohio (with 47 electoral votes between them)—evidence of buyer’s … Continue reading
The Rigged Game of Redistricting – CNN.com
Across the country, state legislatures are debating redistricting right now. It’s a once-a-decade proposition: the opportunity and obligation to redraw political district lines to reflect the latest census. The problem is that the system is rigged — politicians choose their … Continue reading
The Right-Wing Talk-Radio Flameout- The Daily Beast
There’s new evidence to suggest a demand for something different than hyper-partisanship in the world of talk radio and political media. It’s not just the sunset of the Glenn Beck Show on Fox or the dispatch of Keith Olbermann from … Continue reading
Savor this moment, in the name of the 3,000 – CNN.com
I have never been so happy to hear that someone is dead. It’s not bloodlust — it’s justice. Ten years ago at this time, Osama bin Laden was in Afghanistan planning the terrorist attacks that killed more than 3,000 of … Continue reading
Birthers Who Won’t Give Up – The Daily Beast
Conspiracy entrepreneurs are, by definition, shameless. Nonetheless, it was impressive to see so many professional polarizers be forced to face facts—namely that the president was indeed born in the United States—and still find a way to weasel out of accountability. … Continue reading
A Better Ron Paul – The Daily Beast
It looks like Ron Paul is running for president again—and libertarians everywhere have reason to cheer. After the big government conservatism of the George W. Bush era, their ideas seem finally ascendant—and now they have two standard-bearers competing for the … Continue reading
Andrew Cuomo Renews Push for Gay Marriage in New York – The Daily Beast
New York is on the verge of becoming the nation’s largest state to legalize same sex marriage via its legislature. Supporters are hopeful that this historic civil rights measure will be brought to a vote in the state senate by … Continue reading
Glenn Beck: Farewell to a Fearmonger – The Daily Beast
The nightly nervous breakdown will not be televised. Glenn Beck is going off the air on Fox News. It is a remarkable reversal of fortune for a man who one year ago was banking $32 million annually, teaching Americans how … Continue reading
The Palin Implosion – The Daily Beast
Call off the coronation—the media’s caught on to the slow motion implosion of Sarah Palin’s popularity, and with it her prospective presidential campaign. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll found that Palin’s approval ratings among Republicans had declined by double … Continue reading
Wisconsin’s Nuclear Option – The Daily Beast
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has an un-played ace up his sleeve in the budget fights that have made Madison the focus of a national struggle between fiscal conservatives and public sector unions. A little-noticed provision in the Wisconsin State Constitution—Article … Continue reading
Why ‘The Newsroom’ Matters – CNN
Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show “The Newsroom” represents the reality of working in television news about as accurately as “The West Wing” captured working in politics — which is to say, not at all. But both dramas did something more worthwhile: … Continue reading
Clooney’s Not Kidding: Actor Adds ‘Arrested Activist’ to Credit Roll – Newsweek
As Hollywood scrambles through the final days of jockeying for Oscars, George Clooney’s attention is far away—9,000 miles away, to be exact. The veteran Academy Awards campaigner plans to walk the red carpet and crack open an envelope at Sunday’s … Continue reading
Is Right-Wing Talk Dying? – The Daily Beast
Here’s another sign that the tide might be turning against the Wingnuts—Glenn Beck’s TV ratings are down 50 percent and major market radio stations are dropping him. That’s not all—a look at radio ratings shows that hyper-partisan talk has been … Continue reading
Gay Group in Conservatives’ Gathering Splits GOP – CNN.com
The Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual Washington convention this week is not where you’d expect to find a new front in the gay civil rights movement. But that’s going to be the story this week at CPAC. America has been … Continue reading