Berry Craig: A lot of liberals think the nuttier these tea party-tilting Republicans talk, the more likely they are to turn off John and Jane Q. Public. I hope my fellow lefties are right.
Republicans Have a Gambling Problem
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Tina Dupuy: When you double down – you lose twice as much – twice as quickly. And that sums up Speaker John Boehner’s tenure just perfectly.
My Political Prediction for 2012: It’s Obama-Clinton
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Robert Reich: Obama needs to stir the passions and enthusiasms of a Democratic base that’s been disillusioned with his cave-ins to regressive Republicans. Hillary Clinton on the ticket can do that.
A Vote for Newt, Willard, and Chums Is a Vote Against the Unemployed
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Julie Driscoll: In their zeal to see that President Obama is a one-term president, it does not behoove Republicans to roll out anything that would actually improve the economic outlook for the unemployed. They barely pay lip service to it.
Challenging Ron Paul’s Followers on Racism
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Mark Naison: Ron Paul’s presidential run, either as a Republican or an independent, cannot gain traction without gaining support from at least some people of color, leftists and liberals.
What Speaker Boehner Should Have Told House Republicans about Compromise—A Year Ago
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Walter Moss: Rather than using his leadership position as House Speaker to help educate new House Republicans and others, including American voters, about the noble history of political compromise, he succumbed to ignorance, displaying a lack of leadership.
Why the Republican Crackup Is Bad for America
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Robert Reich: Two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, the Republican crackup threatens the future of the Grand Old Party more profoundly than at any time since the GOP’s eclipse in 1932. That’s bad for America.
GOP Payroll Tax Disaster
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Brent Budowsky: As President Obama and Democrats battle during this holiday season to enact a tax cut for the 99 percent of Americans who constitute the heart of the nation, House Republicans are making a seismic political blunder reminiscent of the self-destructive overreaching of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) that rejuvenated the Clinton presidency during the 1990s.
The Defining Issue: Not Government’s Size, but Who It’s For
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Robert Reich: Not a day goes by without Republicans decrying the budget deficit. But the biggest single reason for the yawning deficit is big money’s corruption of Washington.
Republicans to Veterans: No Thanks
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Hans Johnson: Provoking some of the growing anger against Tea Party Republicans is the tone of callousness toward people of color, women, and the sacrifice of veterans who voice frustration at the toll of cuts and barriers in the democratic process itself.
The GOP Is Occupied with Amending the Constitution
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Tina Dupuy: English author Samuel Johnson famously said patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. For Republicans, talking about amending the Constitution is the first defense against having actual policy discussions.
REVISED: How to Avoid Being a Principled Republican on Taxes
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Robert Reich: Republican leaders are trying to get rank-and-file Republicans to go along with an extended payroll tax holiday — but by paying for it without raising taxes on the very rich.
Friday Feedback: “Occupy” Occupies Burlingame
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Friday Feedback: The Democratic Party, like the Republican Party receives THE MAJORITY of its funding from corporate sources. Democrats have supported the insane wars and the THREE NEW NAFTAs.
Back to the Future: Why Republicans Hate the 1960s
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Steve Hochstadt: Republicans avoid talking about their leadership and power in Washington for the past 30 years, because they are fighting to undo the changes in our political system that came earlier, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
GOP Debates: Shock and Aww Two More This Week!?
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Tina Dupuy: You know what’s never been said? “We should have MORE Republican primary debates.” Why? Because there are (by my count) 734,589 debates this election cycle and not enough hours in the day (spent working harder for less money) to watch eight Republican candidates stand around agreeing with each other for two hours every night.
The Tea Party Trickle
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Berry Craig: “I have a message,” Paul also said in his victory speech, “– a message from the people of Kentucky, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: ‘We’ve come to take our government back!’”
The Norquist Factor
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Brent Budowsky: Pledges such as the Norquist pledge should be flat-out discarded, as a matter of policy and principle, by all legislators, to achieve a bipartisan agreement at a time of economic crisis.
Hillary Wins Big in 2012
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Brent Budowsky: The true political state of the union is best revealed in a recent poll in Time magazine that found that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would win an epic and possibly realigning landslide in a presidential election against any Republican candidate.
Are Republican Candidates Good Businessmen?
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Steve Hochstadt: The Republican candidates for President often say that government should be run like a business. Yet businesses take a very different attitude toward the science of global warming than Republican politicians.
Drinks Are on the House (and Senate)
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Walter Brasch: “As long as the Republicans control Congress,” said Marshbaum, “the American way of life will be preserved. Want a drink now?”
Republican Candidates Do Not Resonate With Latinos
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Pilar Marrero: Among the eight candidates, there is no one equivalent to George W. Bush who would attract a significant percentage of the Latino vote.
Contemplating the Supremes
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Tom Degan: It’s time we have a serious discussion regarding the ramifications of a Republican victory in 2012 – and what it would mean for the future of this Republic if even one more right wing extremist is appointed to sit on that court.
The Rise of the Regressive Right and the Reawakening of America
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Robert Reich: Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and the other tribunes of today’s Republican right aren’t really conservatives. Their goal isn’t to conservative what we have. It’s to take us backwards.
The Triumph of Dogma, and a Sad Goodbye to David Frum
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Robert Reich: The American public doesn’t want or need to hear “representatives” from the so-called right or left. It wants insight into what’s best for America.
Is Mitt Romney Ready for the World?
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Lawrence Wittner: Mitt Romney seems likely to become the Republican candidate and the next president, so we should carefully examine his first major foreign and military policy address
Can Republicans Cure the Jobs Crisis?
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Steve Hochstadt: Republicans believe that continuing high unemployment will bring Obama down, so they want to preserve what they feel is their winning card: a bad economy.
Friday Feedback: Are Republican Politicians Good for Jews?
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Friday Feedback: This week, frequent commentator Joe Weinstein comments on author Steve Hochstadt’s article, “Are Republican Politicians Good for Jews?” Steve then responds.
Reason for [Not] Being a Republican
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Ted Vaill: The party of Lincoln has become the party of the Old Confederacy. There is no way Abraham Lincoln would be a Republican today – he would be a Democrat.
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Cain Case Shines Light on Workplace Sexual Harassment
Michael Sigman: If the credible-sounding charges from Sharon Bialek — a conservative Republican — are to be believed, Herman Cain’s behavior was a bridge way, way too far.