-
Obama's Oil Spill Hypocrisy--Where's the Outrage?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 24, 2010 Comment (37)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Yesterday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said to reporters outside of BP’s Houston offices, “I am angry and I am frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this well from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading ... We are 33 days into this effort, and deadline after deadline has been missed.”
Angry and frustrated that BP has missed “deadline after deadline”? Yes. Surprised? No. That’s because there isn’t much pressure from the administration to fix the situation. Sure, Secretary Salazar has been saying that BP really, really, really needs to fix this. And sure, President Obama announced on May 14 that he was imposing a moratorium on drilling new wells and granting environmental waivers. But since then, take a look at what the administration has actually been doing, according to today’s New York Times.
-
Is the Washington Post's News Sexist?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 24, 2010 Comment (11)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander had an interesting post on sexism at the institution he writes about. He gave several examples of recent pieces of writing in the paper which drew reader criticisms for gender bias. Most recently he cites a review by TV critic Tom Shales, known for his lavish use of language to take down TV programs with which he is not in love, of a news PBS public affairs program. (Full disclosure: I too host a PBS public affairs program) and an interview it aired with former President Bill Clinton.
-
The Problem With Rand Paul's Convictions
Tweet Share on Facebook May 22, 2010 Comment (40)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I wrote yesterday that Rand Paul may be a modern Barry Goldwater, someone so wedded to his philosophy that he either doesn't realize that his views reside well outside of the main stream of American political thought or doesn't realize that voters aren't just one explanation away from seeing the libertarian light. The more I think about Paul, though, the less I think this is the case.
Instead, I am starting to think that his problems stem in part from the fact that he does know that his philosophy is rooted in the political fringe, and can't figure out a balance between being truthful about his beliefs and actually getting elected.
-
Republicans Must Stay Out of the Fringe
Tweet Share on Facebook May 22, 2010 Comment (13)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
There’s a lot of commentary out today about the future of the Tea Party and Republicans. The biggest danger to Republicans is that if they pander too much to angry voters, they’ll sound anti-government. Small government is mainstream, but anti-government is fringe.
-
Senate Democrats' Financial Reform Bill Keeps Wall Street Happy
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (5)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The Senate financial reform bill is good, but not good enough. It does create several layers of consumer protections. But it does not reinstate the protections of the Glass-Steagall law. That post-Depression law prohibited commercial banks from investing in risky stocks and later derivatives. Not too long in historical terms, after that prohibition was lifted in the 1990s, the Great Depression was replaced by the Great Recession. Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell fought long and hard to reinstate Glass-Steagall but did not succeed, not at least in the version of financial reform approved by the Senate early this morning. [See which industries donated the most to Cantwell.] According to the Financial Times:
-
Rand Paul, the Gift That Keeps on Giving
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (33)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Rand Paul is truly the gift that keeps on giving--to Democrats and to the political media. Paul has spent the last day and more trying to walk back his stated discomfort with the Civil Rights Act while maintaining his intellectual honesty and fidelity to principles. Simply put, Rand Paul seems to have a Barry Goldwater problem: He doesn't know when to be quiet. And the Civil Rights Act question has put a spotlight on that vulnerability for his political opponents and the press. (And despite what Paul might say about the so called liberal media, the only bias in play here is journalists' love of live train wrecks.)
-
Newt Gingrich Hits Back at Secular-Socialist Critics
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (38)By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is pushing back against those who say his criticisms of President Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress in his new book, To Save America, cross the line.
"I have asserted that the secular-socialist machine is a mortal threat to the future of America as we have known it, just as totalitarian regimes were mortal threats to the survival of America in the past,” Gingrich says in a statement explaining what he is trying to do, discounting claims that he equates the people currently in power in Washington with some of history’s darkest regimes.
-
Republicans Should Beware Rand Paul's Utopian Delusion
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (22)By Scott Galupo, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Rich Lowry makes a lot of sense when he says, “I’m sympathetic to libertarianism, but it sometimes has a weakness for theoretical exercises removed from reality." But that doesn't go far enough. Sometimes? How about: Libertarianism is a utopian fantasy. It has never existed, and will never exist, outside the confines of academia. Period.
-
The Rand Paul Lesson: Stick to Spending Issues, Not Social Ones
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (22)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Thank God it’s Friday. It’s been a cringe-worthy few days for Republicans. As my middleschooler would call it: “awk!” (As in “awk-ward!”) As in Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul when he went on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show the day after his primary win, and was less than clear about whether he actually supported the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act that outlawed segregation.
-
National Debt Gives Republicans an Opening With Young Voters
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (6)By Brandon Greife, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
A great chess player has the ability to see several moves ahead. He visualizes the board, predicts his opponent’s moves, and acts proactively. He dictates the flow of the game. Politics is the ultimate chess game. Unfortunately, neither team appears to be playing it very well.
For much of the recent past Republicans have relied on older voters. These are likely to be married, white, and Christian--three traditionally conservative voting blocs (especially in combination). Unfortunately, these groups are growing smaller as a proportion of the electorate.
