National Republicans
Erskine Rides Again
The Gang of Six’s “big solution” to the federal budget sounds a lot like the recommendations of the study commission that Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson chaired last year. It makes Democrats mad by reining in entitlements and by raising revenues about $1 for every $3 in spending cuts. It makes Tea Party…
Read MoreReagan and the Debt Ceiling
Republicans who venerate Ronald Reagan might be interested in what he said as President about raising the debt ceiling. “Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would…
Read MoreGOP Apocalypse Again?
Clearly, the Republican adults in Washington don’t want to drive off the shut-down-government cliff again. They remember how well that worked for Newt Gingrich in 1995 – and led directly to President Clinton’s reelection in 1996. The leaders’ problem is they can’t control the Tea Party kids who keep grabbing the steering wheel, with…
Read MoreRedistricting and Ruin
You can draw a straight line connecting the big political stories in Raleigh and Washington this week: redistricting in Raleigh and the debt stalemate in Washington. Itâs a cliché â but itâs nonetheless true â that under todayâs redistricting system voters donât pick their politicians; politicians pick their voters. And, yes, both Democrats and…
Read MoreObama’s Summer
Things are looking dim for President Obama. His poll numbers are lagging along with the nation’s economic numbers. He’s locked in three Middle East wars and a war with Republicans in Washington. Now he’s got Democrats and the AARP mad because he’s willing to cut Social Security and Medicare to get a budget deal. …
Read MoreWashington Politics
I asked a friend who works up in Washington for a Congressman, What’s going to happen on the debt ceiling? They’re all, he said, all the leaders, dying to raise it. The Republican leaders will agree to raise the ceiling $2 trillion in exchange for $2 trillion in spending cuts over ten years. …
Read MoreCarville’s Advice to Obama
James Carville is still one of the smartest and most perceptive people in politics. Most of all, he knows how to get the hay down to where the goats can get it. So itâs worth sharing his advice to President Obama about the economy, courtesy of CNN: Sir, I’m sure the last thing that you…
Read MoreLukewarm
“To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write…thou art neither cold nor hot…” Lukewarm seems to be a political watchword up in Washington when it comes to the war in Libya. The House just voted down legislation giving President Obama the authority to continue the war – so the House is…
Read MoreNever in the History of the World
Richard pointed to a newspaper article and said, We’ve built schools and hospitals and highways in Afghanistan to buy good will – but it’s backfired. On one project we paid Afghanistan contractors who turned around and gave $5 million to the Taliban. He went on to explain how a professor at Marine Corps University…
Read MoreThe Politics of War
President Obama promised last night – after 10 years of war – that America is finally going to do what some people suggested we do in Vietnam: Declare victory and leave. Nobody will like the comparison, but a lot of Democratic and Republican politicians today put me in mind of George McGovern’s 3 a.m.…
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