Steve Hochstadt: Imaginary patriotism of right-wing extremists has been translated into a surge in demand for assault weapons, not for hunting or for protection against criminals, but to make war against our government.
Republicans Down, Not Out
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Berry Craig: Don’t get me wrong. I fervently hope I’m off base in sweating a GOP comeback. Yet I don’t see the Republicans going the way of the dinosaurs, at least not any time soon.
The Proto-Paul Ryans of My Salad Days
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Berry Craig: Like the college Republicans of my day, Ryan is crazy about all things military. He also opted for college over military service.
Romney at the NAACP
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Karen Finney: Romney could strike his own legacy and tell the audience that while he and President Obama differ on many issues, they are both children of God and sons of America.
Will the GOP Add Color to the Presidential Ticket?
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David Love: Surely, as Romney etch-a-sketches his way back to the center, Republicans are thinking that a brown or black face on the ticket will help them with moderate and independent voters.
What’s the Matter with Arizona?
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Victoria Defrancesco Soto: Western states have their own personality. Arizona’s brand of cowboy politics is largely unbridled by partisan institutions and a republican form of government.
It’s Halftime in America, Ya’ll
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Scott Prosterman: Karl Rove’s articulated objections to the Chrysler ad, which is paraphrased as, “How dare anyone take the high road with a positive message unless is it also trashes Obama and promotes Republican ideals.”
I-Ronnie of I-Ronnies
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Tom Degan: The Republican party has sunk so deep into the ideological cesspool since January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan is starting to look like Theodore Roosevelt!
Time to Get Moving
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It would seem to me in recent weeks that President Obama’s week-kneed moderation is starting to give way to a bit of moxie. This has been welcome news indeed. This guy needs to engage in some serious political ass whupping.
Rick Perry, Social Security, and the Ghost of Barry Goldwater
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Mark Nevin: In the 1964 presidential campaign, Republican Barry Goldwater initially criticized Social Security but then backed away from that criticism after he fell under attack from fellow Republicans. Despite his backpedaling, Goldwater could never shake the label of Social Security foe. Might current Republican front-runner Rick Perry be in a similar situation?
Die! Die! Die!
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Tom Degan: I’ve been saying for quite some time that the GOP is the party of the plutocracy, and that it has been hijacked by a cabal of white-collar criminals, half-wits and crazy people. I’m not giving away any state secrets here.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Mitt
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Robert Reich: With Trump, Gingrich, Bachmann, and possibly Palin now in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, “GOP” is starting to mean Goofy, Outrageous, and Peculiar. Mitt would pose the most serious challenge to a second Obama term.
It’s Time To Remember Tom Bradley (Part 2)
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Michael Sigman: Just as Bob Dylan wouldn’t be possible without Woody Guthrie, or Ronald Reagan without Barry Goldwater, the idea of a direct line from Tom Bradley to Barack Obama can give us perspective on the contemporary political scene.
Rewriting History
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Tom Degan: So let’s all take a deep breath, shall we? These silly Republicans (in their present incarnation anyway) are about as much responsible for the gains of the civil rights era as I am for the invention of Cheese Doodles. Get a grip.
It’s the Country, Not the System, That’s Stacked Against Liberals and Progressives
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Berry Craig: The poll numbers hint at the biggest GOP edge: the U.S. is the most conservative country in the Western democratic world. “Liberal” — which means centrist or center-left in other industrial democracies — is as far left as mainstream American politics flows. The U.S. is the only industrial democracy that doesn’t have a significant democratic socialist or social democratic party.
Invisible Hands, Invisible Liberty
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Mark Bowen: Kentucky does appear to be a state red enough that Rand Paul, no matter how many times he slips up and tells his constituents how he really feels, is still likely to be their next Senator. But in many ways Republicans will be hurt more nationally if he is, making it a minimum of six more years, rather than six more months, that he’ll be their problem.
Downsizing the Prison-Industrial Complex
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Cathy Cockrell: California’s obsession with incarceration — at $50K a year per adult, $250K per juvenile — is unsustainable, says criminologist Barry Krisberg
Specter Dumps GOP; Few Rats Remain on Sinking GOP Ship
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Arlen Specter’s stunning announcement that he is changing parties to become a Democrat is merely the latest example of the how the Republic Party is losing its grip on America. “Since my election in 1980 as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right,” Specter tells reporters, not [...]
Neo-Confederacy Erupts with Governors’ Rejection of Stimulus Money
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Southern Republican Governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Perry of Texas, and Mark Sanford of South Carolina are making noises about “refusing” federal dollars from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. They are posturing in a way reminiscent of an earlier generation of Southern governors who stood for “states’ rights,” which [...]
Progressives Must Claim The Political Center
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by Davd A. Love, JD — What’s all this talk about politicians moving to the political center? Every four years, we hear about the need for presidential candidates to move to the center in order to appeal to the audience beyond their party’s base.
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