National Republicans
Battling Extremism
The headline and teaser on Politico today read: “W.H. counter-radicalization plan due: The administration plans to roll out its new strategy for countering extremism in the U.S. Wednesday.” Given how the debt-ceiling fight turned out, it’s about time the White House came up with a strategy for combating the Tea Party.
Read MoreMoody’s and the Meltdown
Barney Frank may be more liberal than Harry Reid or Obama combined but he doesn’t mind marching right into the lion’s den at Fox News and taking on any anchorman in sight. The other day in an interview Neil Cavuto put Frank on the spot, asking if the Democrats’ brinksmanship on the debt ceiling…
Read MoreThe Glass Debt Ceiling
A TAPster passes along a link raising the question: What if Congress was more than 13 percent women? A NPR commentator is quoted as saying: “In experiments, when men feel there are lots of other men around, they tend to pose more, they tend to talk tough, they become shortsighted, they take bigger bets.…
Read MoreIs the Center Right?
If both Tea Party Republicans and Democratic liberals don’t like the debt deal, does that make it a good deal for America? There is a line of thinking today that what is missing in politics is a “vital center” – those supposed wise men and women who find the right answer to our problems…
Read MoreTwo Facts about the Debt Ceiling Deal
It’s pretty hard to sort through all the facts and figures and the rhetoric and posturing about the latest debt ceiling deal – but two facts seem clear. President Obama, Speaker Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid all say the latest agreement will raise the debt ceiling $2.4 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion…
Read MoreThird-Party Dreams
“We need a third party.” That’s a recurrent fantasy among citizens and commentators frustrated by the bump and grind of politics as usual, like the current debt-ceiling stalemate in Washington. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times gave voice to this longing in recent columns. The fantasy goes like this: A heroic group…
Read MoreLong, Hot Summer
Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s that the dog days of summer always seem to fire up political passions. But this debt-ceiling kabuki in Washington has everybody hot and bothered. Democrats are mad at Republicans, and Republicans are mad at Democrats, of course. But conservative Republicans are also mad at Tea Party…
Read MoreArmageddon
Obama’s got just about everyone convinced we’re staring economic Armageddon in the face if we don’t raise the debt ceiling. John Boehner agrees, Mitch McConnell agrees and just about every TV pundit agrees. But here’s what’s hard to figure out: Obama, Boehner, McConnell and Harry Reid could avoid Armageddon with one simple bill that…
Read MoreExecutive Power Outage
President Obama and Governor Perdue may have gained political yardage by contrasting themselves to unreasonable, extremist Republicans. But – in light of what has happened to both of them in recent days – they may lose even more ground by looking weak. Weakness is a flaw voters will not forgive in an executive. President…
Read MoreTeed Up
News reports this morning say President Obama and Speaker Boehner are near a deal on taxes, spending and the debt limit. If it happens, the golfers among us will know why: They teed it up together a few weeks back. There’s nothing like 18 holes to build a friendship – and show you…
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