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New Jersey, Virginia, New York Races Show Republican Need to Expand the Tent
Tweet Share on Facebook October 30, 2009 Comment (8)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
It's pretty clear what's going to happen in next week's gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and the Congressional special election in New York's 23rd district—both parties will start passing out blame for defeats by the time the polls close Tuesday.
The Virginia race in particular gives the GOP an opportunity to redefine itself. Bob McDonnell shunned the far-right angry rhetoric and stuck to kitchen-table issues—like jobs, taxes, and transportation—that conservatives, moderates, and independents wanted to hear about. The latest Gallup poll this week shows that many of those same independent voters nationally have started to move to the right, and between now and the midterm elections the Republican Party has an opportunity to keep that momentum from the Virginia race going if it sticks with McDonnell's winning strategy.
David Frum predicts a win in Virginia, and then takes a look at the other races:
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Liberals Should Stop Complaining About Obama's All-Male Basketball Games
Tweet Share on Facebook October 29, 2009 Comment (4)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
My colleague Bonnie Erbe went after President Obama earlier this week for his all-male basketball game, which led her to this conclusion about him:
Whether it was his treatment of Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail (as in his condescending remark that she was "likeable enough") or his clearly career-oriented mate who has been toned down and remorphed into a Stepford Wife, I just don't get the impression this man is comfortable with women. Nor do I believe he cares about them beyond needing women's votes. It's an act and a thoroughly see-through, amateur one at that.
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No Soda Tax--Government Can't End Obesity in America
Tweet Share on Facebook October 28, 2009 Comment (23)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Obesity is a public health crisis in the United States. There's no debating that it is caused by Americans' sedentary lifestyles and poor food choices. And, before we go any further, I should disclose that I am an active supporter of both the Obesity Institute and the Diabetes Care Complex at Children's National Medical Center. So I care very much about bringing down the rate of obesity in this country.
Having said that, controlling what we put into our mouths is not a job for the government. Ads are running on local TV here in Washington, D.C., urging Congress not to impose a tax on soda and juice drinks. Last month, in an interview, President Obama suggested that a soda tax was worth exploring. Currently a group in New York City supporting Gov. David Patterson's proposed soda tax is sponsoring an ad campaign in New York subways which, according to the Boston Herald, shows soft drinks morphing into yellow globs of human fat. (Actually I don't have a problem with the ads, just the tax.) Over the weekend, a Princeton University professor suggested a tax on red meat in the New York Daily News, since "high taxes on cigarettes have saved many lives." The difference is that cigarettes have been proven to kill people—I'm not sure the tax is what made people quit—while no one has proven that soda kills people.
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As Independents Move Right, Virginia is Likely to Follow
Tweet Share on Facebook October 26, 2009 Comment (7)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The Virginia governor's race will be held a week from tomorrow—see my column this week on the lessons it holds for the national parties—and the independents are a key factor in that race, as they are in the New Jersey governor's race. According to RealClearPolitics, a website that aggregates the latest news and polls, Americans' attitudes are "changing rapidly," and independent voters have "flipped negative," according to executive editor Tom Bevan. Here's an excerpt from the site:
The first gubernatorial races since Democrats took control of Washington, in New Jersey and Virginia, show voter angst and ire. Those races appear to be heading in different directions but are two sides of the same coin.
In Virginia—which swung Democrat first in 2006 to Jim Webb in his Senate race, then further to Obama in 2008—Republican Bob McDonnell leads Democrat Creigh Deeds by widening margins.
In New Jersey—which last went for a GOP presidential candidate in 1988—Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine averages about 40 percent. GOP challenger Chris Christie has fallen more than six points in two weeks. The beneficiary is independent Chris Daggett, winning double-digit support.
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Anglican Deal Could Lead to Married Catholic Priests
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2009 Comment (28)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Earlier this week, the Pope announced that Anglicans who are dissatisfied with their church could join the Catholic Church, yet still have parishes that celebrate Anglican rites and use the Book of Common Prayer. What makes this interesting is that the Anglican Church allows married priests, unlike the Catholic Church.
It's good that the Pope is reaching out to people of other faiths—even if it is only to those who are as traditional as he is. According to CNN, "The number of Anglicans wishing to join the Catholic Church has increased in recent years as the Anglican Church has welcomed the ordination of women and openly gay clergy and blessed homosexual partnerships, said Cardinal William Joseph Levada, the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith." It's mostly the conservative Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, because they're upset with their own church over the ordination of women and homosexuals. And it's one of the most conservative offices at the Vatican—the one that deals with the Doctrine of the Faith, that the Pope headed when he was a Cardinal—that negotiated the deal.
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Georgetown Student Seeks Personal Assistant? More Power to Him
Tweet Share on Facebook October 22, 2009 Comment (89)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Today's Washington Post contains the story of Georgetown University sophomore Charley Cooper, who is advertising for a personal assistant to help him with his busy life:
Cooper, 19, logged on to the university's student employment Web site last week and posted an ad for someone to tackle "some of my everyday tasks," such as organizing his closet, dropping him off and picking him up from work, scheduling haircuts, putting gas in the car and taking it in for service, managing his electronic accounts and doing laundry (although the assistant will be paid only for the time spent loading, unloading and folding clothes, not the entire laundry cycle).
The successful applicant can expect to work three to seven hours a week and make $10 to $12 an hour, although "on occasion it will be possible to work additional hours and/or receive bonuses at my discretion." Preference will be given to Georgetown undergraduates, Cooper says in the listing, and the assistant can spread his or her tasks throughout the day.
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The Obama-Bush Love In
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2009 Comment (11)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
There's been a lot of talk lately about bias in the media. We all have biases, based on our life's experience and the opinions we've formed along the way. The problem is when people don't admit they have one. So I'm going to do what the folks on cable news aren't willing to do: I'll admit I'm biased, especially when it comes to President George H.W. Bush. I worked for him years ago, and now I'm on the advisory board of his presidential library. He's like a dad to me, and I love him very much. If you're looking for disparaging remarks about him—or Mrs. Bush—you won't find them here.
So when President Obama traveled to College Station on Friday to honor President Bush on the anniversary of the Points of Light initiative, friends sent me all kinds of coverage: the White House transcript, the Washington Post coverage, the C-Span video (just watch the first few minutes and you'll see how funny he is these days). But there wasn't much commentary. None of the pundits in Washington seemed to say much about the visit.
That's a shame for two reasons.
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Shriver Report Skips Frustrating Family Issue of the School Year
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2009 Comment (7)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
As promised on Friday, I spoke with Maria Shriver and John Podesta of the Center for American Progress this morning, along with about 30 other bloggers. We were discussing the findings in The Shriver Report: A Women's Nation Changes Everything," which states that for the first time, women make up half of the U.S. workforce and that women are either breadwinners or co-breadwinners in two thirds of American families.
While they paint a very comprehensive picture of the changes taking place in America, the authors call for a "transformation" of the way our major institutions function—government, businesses, media, and faith-based institutions—in order to better accommodate the ways women now work and live.
I asked what readers thought of that, and many of you kindly responded. After sifting through some very thoughtful comments from readers—including a funny one that suggested that perhaps Monday Night Football be moved to a daytime broadcast for all the unemployed men to watch, and Oprah move to prime time so that all the female breadwinners can watch it when they get home from work—I found a question that jumped out at me. (It was from a reader who had put the question out on a Twitter feed to working moms!)
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Your Questions About the 'Shriver Report' on Women in the Economy
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2009 Comment (17)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I wrote yesterday about the fact that women are now driving the global economy, controlling more of it than the economies of China and India combined. This coincides with the news today that for the first time in America, women make up half of all U.S. workers. In addition, according to the just-released Shriver Report titled "A Woman's Nation," mothers are now the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two thirds of American families.
Here is today's question for my readers: I'll be participating in a conference call for bloggers on Monday morning with the author, Maria Shriver, and John Podesta of the Center for American Progress, and I'd love to have your suggestions for questions to ask them. I've got a few ideas of my own, but I'd love to hear from you.
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Women Drive the World Economy But Still Take a Back Seat
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2009 Comment (10)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Today's must-read from the current issue of the Harvard Business Review, on the fact that women now drive the world economy:
Globally, [women] control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years. Their $13 trillion in total yearly earnings could reach $18 trillion in the same period. In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined—more than twice as big, in fact.
Who knew?
