National Democrats
We Got Suckered?
President Obama’s great coalition to defeat Libya – NATO, France, Britain, Arab League and the U.S.A. – is fraying at the seams. The Arab League, the French say, is out of sorts with NATO. The French, as always, are marching to their own drummer and out of sorts with everyone. And our NATO allies…
Read MoreIt Turns Out…
Now that we’re bombing Libya the New York Times reports that, technically, we didn’t go to war to defeat Gadhafi. Technically, the Times says, all the UN Resolution did was set up a no-fly zone to stop Gadhafi bombing his own civilians. The General commanding our attack says pretty much the same thing: “Our mission…
Read MoreThe Republican Rush
I’m the last person most Republicans would listen to for advice. But I’m struck lately by the concerns I’ve heard from serious and nonpartisan people about the GOP’s ambitious legislative agenda. As one veteran at the legislature observed: “If the Republicans try to do everything now, there won’t be a later for them.” …
Read MoreOne Libyan Jet
Oh Lord, will we ever learn from our mistakes? There’s a restaurant near my office with a dozen television sets lining the walls (usually turned to basketball games) but the other night they were all turned to CNN and Fox as a Libyan fighter went down in flames and a cruise missile blew apart…
Read MoreAnother Quagmire?
Well, the United Nations has voted to go to war with Libya only it doesn’t call it a war it calls it a ‘no-fly zone’ – which is political double talk for filling the skies over Libya with American or French or British fighters blowing up Libyan tanks and artillery and air-defense batteries. The…
Read MoreThe Party Caucus
Once years ago at one of Jesse Helms rallies a local Republican official – one of the old-line party stalwarts Jesse used to call ‘pachyderms’ – cornered Jesse and pointing his finger started upbraiding him for not toting the party line up in the Senate and not voting the way the Republican leaders wanted him…
Read MoreHigh Finance Government Style
It’s hard to make heads or tails of this: The Republican Legislature raises taxes on hospitals $215 million – and the hospitals are delighted, tickled to death. In fact, newspapers report, the legislature raised the ‘tax’ at the request of the Hospital Association. The explanation gets even stranger. And more confusing: The $215 million…
Read MoreOnly a Politician Would Argue…
Last year, the state received $10.5 billion in ‘Stimulus Funds’ from the Obama administration – a staggering number equal to one-half the state budget. This year, the state faces a $2.7 billion dollar budget deficit. Does that sound a bit like fiscal mismanagement? The state gets a $10 billion windfall from Washington last…
Read MoreThe Trap
In thirty years in politics I’ve only seen a handful of problems with no solutions. None at all. For example once during Steve Forbes first Presidential campaign we got trapped in a corner in Iowa – and there was no way out. None. But, then, as usually happens in politics the tides shifted and…
Read MoreWisconsin
I don’t understand exactly what ‘collective bargaining’ means but if it means what it sounds like – a group of workers banding together to increase their power when they bargain for better pay – it seems they have a right to do that. At the same time, looking at what is happening in Wisconsin…
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