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Tag Archives: The Daily Beast
House Republicans Cave to Sandy Aid Pressure – The Daily Beast
It was a congressional slap in the face to victims of Hurricane Sandy. More than two months after hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the tristate area were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Sandy, Republicans in the House … Continue reading
Congress’s Fiscal-Cliff Chaos: House Passes Last-Minute Deal – The Daily Beast
“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else,” Winston Churchill once said. But even by that standard, the scramble to avoid the entirely predictable fiscal cliff at the last possible minute was an … Continue reading
Picks for 12 Best Opinion Columns of 2012 – The Daily Beast
It can be hard to appreciate the present, because we have no perspective on it. But year-end “best of” lists help create a sense our times, even if it requires some instant nostalgia. And because I’ve always enjoyed annual lists … Continue reading
Our Pathetic Congress – The Daily Beast
Welcome back to Washington, House of Representatives. Hope you all had a great vacation. While you were out, your inaction caused markets to tumble, and now America is just hours away from collectively being pushed off the fiscal cliff. Your … Continue reading
Chuck Hagel Deserves Fair Hearing for Defense-Secretary Post – The Daily Beast
The preemptive strike on Sen. Chuck Hagel’s possible nomination to be secretary of defense has been relentless this holiday season. It is trial by Twitter, character assassination by media narrative, a steady drumbeat of accusations and innuendo all designed to … Continue reading
Favorite Books of 2012 – The Daily Beast
The Passage of Power by Robert Caro—Sometimes reality exceeds the hype. Robert Caro’s magisterial portrait of Lyndon Johnson hit new heights as this fourth volume chronicled his rise from a much-disrespected VP to a president capable of greatness and uniting … Continue reading
As Plan B Fails, GOP Imperils Fiscal Cliff Deal, Boehner’s Speakership – The Daily Beast
Extremes are always their own side’s worst enemy. Speaker John Boehner’s failure to cobble together enough conservative votes to pass his Plan B is not just bad news for Boehner. It is bad news for the Republican Party and the … Continue reading
Right Wing Needs to Stop Crazy Explanations for Newtown Slaughter – The Daily Beast
It’s definitely not too soon to condemn this craziness. The visceral shock of the Newtown school slaughter has provoked a reassessment on gun laws among many on the right—including Joe Scarborough and Rupert Murdoch. But there are still those on … Continue reading
Most Innovative Mayors in the U.S. – The Daily Beast
While Washington seems paralyzed by partisan bickering, America’s mayors are busy putting ideas into action. City hall is increasingly a place for bold experimentation. Unlike Congress, there’s no fiddling over the fiscal cliff or divisions into angry, ideological, debating societies. … Continue reading
One Tough Nerd—Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s Pragmatic Labor Stance – The Daily Beast
So this is what he meant by “One Tough Nerd.” Michigan’s Republican governor, Rick Snyder, has become public enemy No. 1 among liberals for his controversial decision this week to sign right-to-work legislation in Michigan—the birthplace of the American organized … Continue reading
George W. Bush to Republicans: Embrace Immigration – The Daily Beast
President George W. Bush’s first postelection speech was a call for immigration reform—and an implicit rebuke of the failed GOP nominee Mitt Romney. On Tuesday morning, the Bush Center held a conference on immigration and economic growth at the Federal … Continue reading
Will the Second-Term Quicksand Swallow Barack Obama? – The Daily Beast
Second terms come with instant historic legitimacy—and seemingly inevitable scandal. Watergate, Iran-Contra, the Full Monica all started snowballing a year after strong second-term presidential wins. The defining domestic disaster of President Bush’s second term, the response to Hurricane Katrina, also … Continue reading
Democrats Must Step Up on Entitlement Reform for Fiscal Cliff Deal – The Daily Beast
The good news is that Republicans are starting to recognize the need to break with Grover Norquist and his anti-tax pledge. But that’s only part of the way toward a genuinely balanced bipartisan deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. Listen … Continue reading
Republican Politicians Must Stop Pandering to Conservative Populism – The Daily Beast
Republicans need to “stop being the Stupid Party.” That was a blunt postelection declaration of independence by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. “We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism,” continued Jindal. “We need to stop being simplistic, we need to … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, Independent Voters, Republican Reformers, The Daily Beast
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The Final Insult: Mitt Romney’s Clueless Gift Gaffe – The Daily Beast
Mitt Romney made his final newsworthy post-election pronouncement, explaining to a conference call of big-dollar donors that he had fallen short because President Barack Obama had bribed liberal special interests with expensive gifts. Here’s what he said, according to The … Continue reading
Obama’s Strong Support Among Cuban Americans Underlines Demographic Shift – The Daily Beast
The depth, if not dimensions, of President Obama’s reelection victory is slowly resonating, even in Republican circles. After all the partisan spinning, it is clear that the combination of the Obama campaign’s ground game and demographic evolutions in our nation … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, President Obama, The Daily Beast
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Welcome to the Twilight Zone – Newsweek – The Daily Beast
Partisan politics is starting to look like a cult, and after this presidential election, Republicans will need some serious deprogramming. The overheated anti-Obama echo chamber on the far right led to a fact-free fanaticism, inspiring otherwise educated folks to ignore … Continue reading
Nightmare Scenario—Ohio’s Provisional Ballots May Be 2012’s Hanging Chads – The Daily Beast
There was a traffic jam on the highway leading to the early voting station in Franklin County, Ohio, on Monday. Inside the former box store, lines snaked around the showroom floor with voters waiting more or less patiently for an … Continue reading
Presidential Election Likely to Come Down to the Future vs. the Past – The Daily Beast
The fault lines in the 2012 election are the future versus the past—and not in an empty rhetorical “America is at a crossroads” sort of way. Something more fundamental and demographically measurable is at work. Consider this: President Obama’s largest … Continue reading
Posted in Columns
Tagged 2012 Elections, Elections, President Obama, The Daily Beast
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Sex, Drugs, and Ballot Initiatives – The Daily Beast
Ballot initiatives are direct democracy—the cutting edge of politics—but they don’t get the respect they deserve despite the huge consequences that can come from giving citizens the rebellious ability to do an end run around their slow-moving state legislatures. With … Continue reading