Ok, yes, I know that’s unlikely, especially considering my dearth of posts lately. But after listening to his speech tonight (while proctoring a final exam for my students), I noticed this first part of James Fallows’ assessment: 1) Citizen Obama. The most interesting “new”-ish approach in the speech was the theme that ran through the final one-third…
Abstractly
Institutional Norms and Moderate Politics
James Fallows today touched on one of the foundations of political moderation as I’m defining the term here. That is a commitment to institutional norms that supersedes (or at least compliments) other values. Say, for instance, you’re a conservative Republican U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. Most of the time, fine, act like a Republican and vote with your…
Taxation and Slavery
In his recent comment,* Jacob made several references to slavery, both historical and metaphorical. I’d like to unpack them a bit since they reflect the foundation of some of our differences. In his first reference, Jacob references the historic institution of slavery. He suggests that “the majority of Americans were better off as a result…
On Taxation, Redistribution, and the “General Welfare”
In my last post I leaned heavily on “promot[ing] the general welfare” as justification for action by our government. This phrase is necessarily vague and calls for some clarification as to what I perceive as it’s boundaries. Jacob has offered what I would characterize as a conservative/libertarian reading. In his view, “the general welfare” implies…
The Foundations of My Constitutional Beliefs
Jacob asked me to explain why I think it’s acceptable for the federal government to get involved in health care, education, etc. In many ways, this gets to the central purpose of the whole blog, but I think it’s worth trying to give a more succinct answer to the specific issues he raised. So here is a…
On Compromise and Obstruction
First, my apologies for the recent silence. Who knew a new baby would take so much time away from blogging!? (Ok, yes, we all knew.) In response to my last post, Jacob raised some excellent questions. As I mentioned on the Facebook page, I think they are worth everyone’s consideration. I’ll respond to Jacob’s simpler points…
Why I Still Revere an Imperfect Constitution
Recognizing that the U.S. Constitution is imperfect and rejecting Constitutional originalism are not reasons to throw the document out. Let me explain some of the reasons that I think the Constitution does need to be defended as the foundation of our government and how I think we can do so. 1. Its survival. The United States has…
A Roosevelt for Our Day
In popular imagination, Theodore Roosevelt is remembered as swashbuckling hero, a trust buster and champion of American greatness. In 1900, while serving as governor of New York and running for the Vice Presidency, he published a collection of speeches and articles in The Strenuous Life, a title designed to capture the forcefulness of the former…
Semantics: Moderate v. Centrist II
My earlier post (here) received a thoughtful response this week from Solomon Kleinsmith over at Rise of the Center, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to continue that conversation here. Readers may want to take a look at his comment on the earlier post, to which I’ll be replying. (Also, if you’re interested in…
Our Lost Faith in Professionals
Lately, it seems that every profession is under serious attack. Of course, lawyers have long been the butt of jokes. But now teachers are portrayed as leeches sucking the taxpayers dry, protecting their cushy jobs at all costs, and failing our children. Everyone seems to openly scoff at the idea that government “experts” know anything…