National Republicans
A Bare Cupboard
There’re two ways for a President to pass his bills: One is old-fashioned back-room arm-twisting, cajoling, and deal-making. Presidents like Lyndon Johnson have been masters of that art but, oddly, Donald Trump isn’t. The other path is the bully pulpit: A President explains his ideas, convinces voters he’s right and, after he does, it’s…
Read MoreDevilment
It’s called ‘leverage’ and last weekend President Trump tried it by tweeting: “If a new healthcare bill is not approved quickly BAILOUTS for insurance companies and BAILOUTS for members of Congress will end very soon!” The President was saying to the insurance lobby, Get onboard – or I’ll end $7 billion a year in subsidies…
Read MoreBridge builders? Carter and me? Seriously?
Carter and I will be talking about books and politics this Wednesday (August 2) at 7 pm at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. (Support your local independent bookstore!) Join us. We’re part of the store’s “Bridging the Divide” series, designed to bring together people from the left and the right. Now, cynics might say Carter…
Read MoreEarthquake
Now and then in politics, you feel the ground shudder beneath your feet. The world isn’t shaking yet, but the tectonic plates are grinding, the pressure is growing and something big is coming. So it is these last couple of days. In the Senate, the Republican promise to repeal Obamacare collapses. In the White House,…
Read MoreSigns
Twenty-four years ago newly elected President Bill Clinton had a ‘Disapproval’ rating of 51%, and Democrats lost the next election in a landslide. In 1994 Republican gained 54 seats in Congress. President Trump has a ‘Disapproval’ rating of 58% – 7 points higher than Clinton’s – but, like most people, Republican politicians shrug, That won’t…
Read MoreNo One in Congress…
Republicans won four straight elections campaigning against Obamacare – it was that unpopular. But, now, they’ve laid out their own healthcare plan and guess what: Voters favor Obamacare over the Republican Plan by 2 to 1. Who’d have thought it was possible? Can no one in Congress…fix anything?
Read MoreRedistricting
Only a rare politician can resist it and no politician can cure it;—I first laid eyes on it twenty-six years ago when Jack Hawke asked me to drive over to Republican Headquarters for a meeting with a dozen legislators; an hour later standing around a conference room table covered with maps a legislator – enthusiastically…
Read MoreRevelation
They’re mad. They’re livid. They’re out for blood. One angry Republican said, “We got them the House, we got them the Senate and even the White House and they still can’t get it done. If we leave Ryan and McConnell in charge, nothing’s going to change.” That was the gist of the newspaper story but…
Read MoreMore Harm Than Good
I haven’t seen this much howling and gnashing of teeth since I can’t remember when: Mention the word Russia and The New York Times and the Washington Post start hopping up and down and Anderson Coopers turns steely-eyed while, over on the other side of the aisle, Tucker Carlson turns downright snarky. The liberals are…
Read MoreClick Bait
Most times the roots of blindness – whether it’s blindness due to pride or meanness or fear – run down into the clay-footed soil of human nature but the other day Peggy Noonan spotted an odd phenomenon. Noonan wrote: “News bias now is in part a financial decision.” Back in the old days the New…
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