A few days ago, former Senator Judd Gregg penned an opinion piece in The Hill about the events of October 6. As an example of historical amnesia deployed for partisan ends, this piece provides an excellent opportunity to correct some misconceptions about the Senate and its rules. Read the piece here and then return for…
How to Compromise
I appreciate the Gail Collins/David Brooks exchanges, and this week’s was especially good. They played at a sort of reverse one-upmanship, exchanging concessions of liberal or conservative sacred cows as an example of bipartisanship. Beyond their ideas (which I think are good), the exchange is worth considering for why it is possible. I see at…
Running to the Side of the Economy
Chris Cillizza recently raised an important question: “What if the 2012 election doesn’t change anything?” He pointed to pollings indicating that most Americans, especially independents, don’t believe that the economy would be any different if another party controlled the White House. This brought me back to my earlier question: “What if the government can’t fix…
The End of the Senate As We Know It?
On Thursday night, the U.S. Senate may have changed forever. The Senate invoked the once dreaded “nuclear option,” potentially changing the rules governing filibuster for the foreseeable future. Those who find the details unnecessary should skip the next paragraph. What happened was this: As the Senate was debating a bill on China’s currency, a dispute…
Hearing Extremes
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…
What If Government Can’t Fix This Economy?
David Brooks has suggested as much in two columns this month. It used to be an article of faith among conservatives that the economy was self correcting and the government should simply stay out of the way. While moderates usually favor some federal government intervention in preserving rights and enforcing regulations, they have often been…
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…
What is “Rich”?
An opinion piece in Friday’s Washington Post purported to tackle five “myths” about the millionaires. In general I’ve enjoyed these ‘five myth’ pieces. But this one seemed to reflect a major problem with how we talk about wealth in this country. The first “myth” tackled in the piece was “Millionaires are rich.” The author, John…
Does the U.S. Bear ANY Responsibility for the War on Terror?
Among the more fascinating exchanges in last night’s debate was an argument between Ron Paul and Rick Santorum about the root causes of 9/11 and the War on Terror. (You can read a transcript of their exchange here.) Paul is famous (or infamous) for suggesting that U.S. foreign policy is responsible for these attacks by…
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…