Reading from Reagan’s Book By Mark Meckler
Ronald Reagan had a vision for the future of the country and an incredible ability to communicate it.
Political Commentary
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August 6, 2013
August 6, 2013
Democrats Own Obamacare, and Its Political Cost Keeps Rising By Michael Barone
Nothing is free in politics, but there is some question when you pay the price.
That's been a saying of mine for many years, though I may have unconsciously plagiarized it from someone else. I think it applies to Obamacare.
My American Enterprise Institute colleague Norman Ornstein has been shellacking Republicans for trying to undercut the implementation of the Obama health care legislation. He calls it "simply unacceptable, even contemptible."
August 2, 2013
Forget the Old South: Trayvon Martin Was No Emmett Till By Michael Barone
Why are so many people so desperate to hold onto the idea that America is as racist as it has ever been?
August 2, 2013
To See Where Country is Heading, Ignore Washington by Scott Rasmussen
It's no secret that both political parties are struggling to connect with voters. Strategists dream up marketing plans to increase their party's appeal to this constituency or that group. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. But they never establish a deep and lasting connection with voters.
That's because most of what the parties talk about is yesterday's news and is largely irrelevant to the realities of the 21st century.
August 1, 2013
We Don't Need Political Mini Royals By Froma Harrop
Can Huma save Anthony Weiner? Why Huma "stands by her man." What is Huma thinking? These and other pseudo questions top our political news these days.
August 1, 2013
Measuring GOP Extremism: What Carville and Greenberg's Latest Polling Reveals By Joe Conason
It is becoming increasingly plain that the most formidable obstacle to national progress and global security is the Republican Party -- and specifically the extremist factions that currently dominate the GOP.
July 31, 2013
Are We Rome Yet? By John Stossel
Unfortunately, the fall of Rome is a pattern repeated by empires throughout history ... including ours?
A group of libertarians gathered in Las Vegas recently for an event called "FreedomFest." We debated whether America will soon fall, as Rome did.
Historian Carl Richard said that today's America resembles Rome.
July 30, 2013
Both GOP and Democrats Have Party Problems By Michael Barone
Since last November's election there has been a lot of punditry about the fissures and schisms in the Republican Party. The divisions are real, and some of the commentary has been revealing.
July 30, 2013
America's Wilderness Gets Crowded By Froma Harrop
Ever since Yosemite National Park won fame for its natural Western splendor, it's gone on many a register of things to see before one dies. It remains a bucket-list favorite, only nowadays there are millions, if not billions, more buckets. The park's crowds have become such that officials there are struggling to find ways to ease the crush of humanity.
July 26, 2013
Obama Economy Emphasis Is all Talk By Michael Barone
We have a president who loves to give campaign speeches to adoring crowds, but who doesn't seem to have much interest in governing.
July 26, 2013
Cheap Labor Is Nobody's Right By Froma Harrop
The Declaration of Independence says nothing about a right to cheap labor, but not everyone has noticed. Companies routinely pay market rates for electricity, real estate and legal services. But many find great injustice in market economics, as applied to wages they must pay to attract unskilled labor.
July 25, 2013
If Republicans Love Competition, Why Do They Still Hate Obamacare? By Joe Conason
When asked what makes the world work, any self-respecting right-wing Republican knows the politically correct answer: competition! (With at least one exclamation point.) It is the paramount principle and universal solvent perennially touted by the right to cure whatever ails us -- in the abstract.
July 24, 2013
Stalled Motor City By John Stossel
MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry -- the same TV commentator who said Americans need to stop raising kids as if they belong to individual families -- had an extraordinary explanation for why the city of Detroit sought to declare bankruptcy last week: not enough government.
July 24, 2013
Straying Politicians' Five Shades of Gray By Froma Harrop
Much has been written about adulterous politicians and the public's apparent willingness to look past their infidelity. This lumps very different kinds of cheating into one neat sin, equally applicable to all sneaks. But just as "theft" covers everything from armed bank robbery to lifting a bag of chips, cheating on one's spouse may entail a wide range of misdeeds and gray areas.
July 23, 2013
The Second American Revolution Has Begun By Mark Meckler
The first American Revolution was fought over the simple principle of self-governance. For over 150 years, approximately five generations, the British Crown had practiced “benign neglect” towards the colonies, and the people of America had governed themselves. However, by the mid-1760s, England was asserting control over the colonies and their residents.
July 23, 2013
A Woman in Full: Thatcher Gets Her Due in New Biography By Michael Barone
The first volume of Charles Moore's authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher, covering her life up to Britain's victory in the Falklands, is out, just weeks after her death. It takes its place among the finest political biographies of all time.
July 19, 2013
A Better System for Picking Presidential Candidates By Michael Barone
You can get agreement from almost all points on the political spectrum that the worst aspect of our political system is the presidential nomination process. It is perhaps no coincidence that it is the one part of the system not treated in the Constitution.
That's because the Founding Fathers abhorred political parties and hoped that presidents would be selected by something like an elite consensus. But we have political parties, the oldest and third oldest in the world, and they are not going away.
July 19, 2013
The Pitfalls of Public Exercise By Froma Harrop
The most memorable scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" is Eva Marie Saint hanging from the side of Mount Rushmore in a perfectly tailored red suit, sheer stockings and pumps. The character hadn't planned for that situation, but her dress was nonetheless deemed proper, circa 1959, for touring South Dakota's Black Hills. In the previous Chicago and New York City shots, she, Cary Grant and most everyone else wore business or evening attire. No shorts, no flip-flops, not even jeans without rips.
July 19, 2013
Confronting America's Racial Divide By Scott Rasmussen
Sixty-four percent of Americans say that it's possible to have an honest discussion about race in America. I would like to believe that, but I am skeptical.
July 18, 2013
Not Listening: What Republicans Could Learn From George W. Bush By Joe Conason
During most of the Obama presidency, George W. Bush has maintained a decorous silence. Keeping quiet may not always have been easy for Bush, watching his successor repudiate and unwind his legacy, from Iraq to Afghanistan and beyond, but his discretion was wise under the circumstances. Suddenly, however, he is speaking out to urge a "positive resolution" to the debate over immigration reform -- and the time to listen to him has surely arrived.
