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The GOP is addled by extremist ideology and vengeful partisanship. As the debt-ceiling talks have demonstrated, the party makes the routine difficult and the necessary impossible.
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When undocumented immigrants like Jose Antonio Vargas "come out," it changes the debate over immigration—but at considerable personal risk.
In broad strokes Tim Pawlenty’s foreign policy speaks to the American religious right. But up close—like at a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations—he’s a hawkish version of Obama.
A sheriff who has stood up to Governor Walker and defended the rule of law is called in to investigate allegations that a Walker ally attacks a state supreme court justice.
As Republican threats not to raise the debt ceiling become more credible, the danger to the economy gets more serious.
As domestic workers win state-level struggles for workplace protections, their employers—many of them middle-class families—get stuck with the bill, while the government gets off scot-free.
Just like in the movies, Glenn Beck has served his purpose as the sidekick who saves the hero and is then offed by bigger powers that be.
With a decision barring matching funds to counter attack ads from privately funded candidates, the court has undermined one of the last tools for fair elections.
The Senate heard emotional tales of struggling middle-class families Thursday—but it‘s not clear they can do anything about it.
It's going to be hard for President Obama to run as an anti-war candidate in 2012, but a Republican might.
This article reflects on the withdrawal of Paul Hackett, an Iraq War veteran, from a race for an Ohio Senate seat the Democrats desperately want to win. Hackett insists he was pressured to quit the race by members of his own party. The article suggests that his challenger, Sherrod Brown, is a favorite of grassroots labor, civil rights and antiwar voters and is a better candidate who will bring more energy than Hackett, who had failed to make many inroads among Democrats outside of Ohio.
This article looks at Haiti and the victory of presidential candidate René Garcia Préval. During the February 2006 elections, guns went underground, kidnappings stopped and Port-au-Prince streets that had been extremely violent became accessible to voters. Haiti soon dissolved into protest, confusion and angry when it looked like Préval, the leading candidate, would be denied the election. Haiti's people were concerned that his fate would be the same as Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was twice voted in and both times forced out by military coups.
The article looks at the investigation by the United States Congress into the President George W. Bush administration's post-Hurricane Katrina response. The article analyzes Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown's testimony, where he explained the problem in response as a disconnect between FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The author states the real problem is weak leadership from the White House and declares the need of an independent investigation.
The article provides short reflections to United States political news stories. News stories looked at include the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing concerning the National Security Agency surveillance scandal, the investigation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Vice-President Richard Cheney's hunting accident, requests for replacement of Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown, and ways to lessen the effects of global warming.
The article looks at why the United States Congress passed the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the similarities between Presidents Richard Nixon and George W. Bush in their authorization of warrant-less wiretaps. Operation Shamrock and Operation Minaret were two abuses by the National Security Agency that prompted Congress to pass the Surveillance Act. The article examines other wiretap abuses by Nixon, including the Salisbury intercepts and the Huston Plan.
The article comments on current events and world politics. Socialist Party leader Michelle Bachelet, Chile's first woman president, is not expected to bring economic reform to the country. A quote from Al Gore focused on warrantless wiretapping in the United States. The Maryland legislature passed a bill that requires Wal-Mart to provide health insurance to their employees who have relied on Medicaid programs. Two economic studies, by Scott Wallsten of the Brookings Institution, and economist Joseph Stiglitz with Linda Bilmes of Harvard, indicate the costs of the Iraq War will be more than $1 trillion. An essay contest sponsored by "Nation" is mentioned.
Focuses on the gubernatorial campaign of Tim Kaine in Virginia. Overview of Kaine's career history; Review of how Kaine, Virginia's lieutenant governor, is in a tight contest with former Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore; Suggestion that a Kaine victory in Virginia will boost Democratic Party morale nationwide; Review of how the Democratic Party has lost popularity in the south in recent years.
Offers a look at a report called "The Politics of Polarization," by political strategists William Galston and Elaine Kamarck, regarding the steps the U.S. Democratic Party must take to win majority in the next elections. Advice that the Democratic Party focus on the opinions held by a majority of voters; Suggestion that Democrats focus their message on moderate voters; Statement that the report does not argue that the policies of a centrist strategy would actually be beneficial for the U.S. or the world; Criticism of Galston and Kamarck for scheming to win elections without providing a full-scale strategy for the Democratic Party.
Offers a look at the actions of Democratic Party legislators in the United States Congress that either hurt or helped the political party. Criticism of Democratic Representative Rahm Emanuel for refusing to take a concrete position on the Iraq War during his appearance on the television program "Meet the Press"; Praise for Michigan Senator Carl Levin for writing a "Washington Post" opinion editorial that indicated support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
Focuses on how the right-wing U.S. government is handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. View that New Orleans is a microcosm of the nation's afflictions and social inequalities; Concern over what New Orleans will be like once rebuilt if market forces are allowed to design the recovery program; Claim by Newt Gingrich that Republicans must abandon the politics of moral values or face big losses; Plans proposed for the recovery by Senator Edward Kennedy and John Edwards, which are modelled after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal.
