One of the problems with our contemporary political discourse is the assumption of extremes. It shapes how we read the statements of opponents and how politicians speak to their base. Two examples have caught my attention of late: A recent conversation with a conservative revealed that he interpreted Elizabeth Warren’s remarks on claims of…
Partisanship
Another Kind of Bipartisanship
When groups of legislators from both parties come together in agreement on a particular piece of legislation, we have a word for that: bipartisanship. But what if their agreement is that the legislation be defeated? And what if they come not from the moderate wings of each part but from the extremes? That’s a bipartisanship…
Reagan Presidential Library Debate
A few troubling (to me) themes that emerged from tonight’s debate: The Magical Presidency – Worse than the imperial presidency, this is the idea that a president can (and should be able to) accomplish anything he wants. Only Ron Paul seems concerned about this model. The others are happy to imagine that it’s already a…
The Debt Ceiling Agreement
Well, the president and congressional leaders have all agreed to a framework for the debt agreement. Actually getting the law written and passed in time to avoid missed payments will take a set of behind the scenes miracles. But there’s a good chance the agreement will pass tomorrow and become the law of the land….
Budget Gut Checks
As we draw closer to the deadline for a deal to avert federal government insolvency, I think two questions get to the heart of conservative Republicans’ true motivations. 1. Why not end the Bush tax cuts as part of this deal? Those tax cuts, originally passed as a temporary stimulus measure, have now cost us…
Pundits, Part I
There was a time when I really enjoyed reading George F. Will. His regular Newsweek columns challenged me to think more deeply about my political views. Though we don’t generally share a perspective, he sometimes convinced me of his position. In many ways, he seemed to be the model of the politically engaged intellectual. This…
McConnell v. Cantor, et al
So far, Sen. McConnell’s proposal on the debt ceiling seems to be playing out as I expected. In an interview today, McConnell focused plenty of attention on the political calculation of his problem. His biggest fear: that the Republicans will share responsibility for the economy. Um, aren’t they in control of half of the federal…
McConnell’s True Colors
Yesterday Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made a new, and complex, proposal regarding the debt ceiling. The proposal boils down to this: Congress would give the President authority to raise the debt ceiling in increments over the coming year. The only check to this power would be a joint congressional resolution halting the raise, but…
Political Shorts
Here are a few items that have caught my interest but don’t require a full post. More good news from Eric Cantor (previously here and here): He won’t be signing the “Cut, Cap, Balance” pledge. Members of the House Republican leadership (Cantor included) keep telling Obama that there simply aren’t votes to pass a deal…
Cantor and the Budget, Update
I recommended earlier that we’d need to watch Rep. Eric Cantor’s future statements to see whether he was serious about negotiation and compromise or not. Today he’s made a statement that I would characterize as a half-step in the right direction. By accepting at least the principle of raising some taxes (by “closing loopholes”) as…