The Politics Of The Economic Recovery Act By Scott Rasmussen
Something shifted in the political dialogue last week when the House version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act failed to pick up a single Republican vote.
Political Commentary
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January 31, 2009
January 31, 2009
Shelve the Stimulus By Lawrence Kudlow
Wednesday night's House tally on the Democratic stimulus package, where not a single Republican voted in favor, was another shot across the bow for this incredibly unmanageable $900 billion behemoth of a program that truly will not stimulate the economy.
January 31, 2009
The GOP Should Go Upscale By Michael Barone
There's a debate going on in some Republican circles over which groups of the electorate the party should target.
January 30, 2009
Let the Limbaughs Whine By Joe Conason
How fortunate for Barack Obama that Rush Limbaugh, big radio personality and leader of the instinctual far right, has yet to retire to a sunny island with his bottles of pills. At a moment when Republicans on Capitol Hill feel they must pretend to negotiate with the popular new president over spending to revive the economy, he blurted out what they really feel.
January 30, 2009
Stop Those Checks By Susan Estrich
This is the Republicans' big contribution to our economic recovery: They want to make sure that undocumented immigrants who pay taxes using tax identification numbers don't get a cent of their tax money back in the refunds enacted by Congress. Oh, yes, and they want rich people to get tax refunds.
January 30, 2009
The Georgia Senate Runoff: The First Shot of 2010? By Rhodes Cook
The 2008 election these days may seem long ago and far away. But it is worth remembering that while the Republicans had a bad time at the polls in November, they fared well in the array of contests that concluded the election cycle in December.
January 30, 2009
Obama Is Essential To Passing the Economic Recovery Plan Analysis by Scott Rasmussen
Public support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress is modest, but the proposal is likely to pass for a very simple reason: Voters want to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt.
January 29, 2009
Stimulus Criticism Mounts By Lawrence Kudlow
Last night’s House vote on the Democratic stimulus package, where not a single Republican voted in favor, was another shot across the bow for this incredibly unmanageable $900 billion behemoth of a program that truly will not stimulate the economy.
January 29, 2009
Sports Man Therapy for Tough Times By Froma Harrop
I envy Sports Man. He can rise above his own problems by focusing on the triumphs or setbacks of The Team.
January 29, 2009
The 2008 Election in Perspective By James E. Campbell
Some political analysts have interpreted the 2008 presidential election as an ordinary retrospective election. With a very unpopular Republican incumbent presiding over unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a weak economy, 2008 appeared to be a Democratic year.
January 29, 2009
Obama's Wounded Treasury Man By Lawrence Kudlow
Over a third of the Senate voted against Tim Geithner's confirmation as treasury secretary, though he did pass the test by 60 to 34 early Monday evening.
January 29, 2009
Obama Should Act on Medical Marijuana By Debra J. Saunders
During the campaign, President Obama said he would stop federal raids of medical marijuana clubs in states (like California) that had passed medical marijuana laws.
January 28, 2009
History Lessons By Susan Estrich
On Jan. 27, 1945, Soviet soldiers entered the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Poland and liberated the 7,000 prisoners who were still there, most of them sick and dying.
January 28, 2009
Obama's Collectivist Nationalism By Tony Blankley
President Barack Obama is a beguiling but confounding figure. As he said of himself in "The Audacity of Hope," "I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views."
January 27, 2009
Out of the Closet on Proposition 8 By Debra J. Saunders
I voted against Proposition 22, the same-sex marriage ban, in 2000. I figured that if same-sex couples want to marry, why not let them? I believe in marriage. I don't want gay people to feel marginalized. But 61 percent of California voters thought otherwise.
January 27, 2009
Getting Off the Dog Track By Froma Harrop
I know a lot of greyhounds. A greyhound track operates near my house, and many of its retirees end up in the neighborhood. Something you notice about these dogs: Greyhounds are built for speed, but once they move into a comfy home, they're in no hurry to go anywhere.
January 24, 2009
The Obama-Kennedy Connection By Michael Barone
Last Tuesday, for the 22nd time in 220 years, Americans saw the peaceful post-election transfer of power from one political party to another. In our great outdoor national ceremony, scheduled for some reason on a day that is as likely as any other to be the coldest of the year, Barack Obama took the oath as our 44thth president and spoke to the nation for 19 minutes in a speech that was far more somber than the mood of the crowd of 2 million on the Mall.
January 23, 2009
Caroline's Exit By Susan Estrich
I do not know what ultimately persuaded Caroline Kennedy to withdraw her name from consideration for the U.S. Senate. Maybe it was something about taxes or a housekeeper, the two rumors that seem to have the most "juice" as I write this. To be honest, I don't care.
January 22, 2009
What Bipartisan Means Now By Joe Conason
On the eve of Barack Obama's ascension to power, at candlelit dinners across Washington sponsored by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, the designated theme was bipartisanship. From the speeches delivered to the choice of honorees, which included Sen. John McCain, the former secretary of state Colin Powell, and the incoming vice president, Joe Biden, the new administration expressed its fond wish for a return to the respect and civility of a bygone era.
January 22, 2009
Gilded Age for Institutions Also Over By Froma Harrop
Mark Twain was thinking big in 1874 when he moved into his new 19-room mansion in Hartford, Conn. The Missouri-born writer was not one to economize. Following the success of "Tom Sawyer" in 1881, he hired none other than Louis Comfort Tiffany to "do" the interior.
