Long-time readers here know I’ve never joined the Palin-bashing. I’ve always thought she was pretty smart, and that most of the negative hype about her was exaggeration and/or outright lying, based not only on political animus but also on class … Continue reading →
I think the invitation Boehner extended to Netanyahu to address Congress on the issue of Iran was one of the most clever moves Boehner has made. Which isn’t saying all that much, since Boehner hasn’t made too many clever moves. … Continue reading →
What to make of all of this? I wake up to a huge brouhaha about the report that a bill banning late-term abortion—a bill that’s hugely popular with the American people when polled, and which President Obama swears he’ll veto … Continue reading →
…by taking away their committee positions? And remember how angry conservatives got about it? I wrote a post on it here. But the next day I made this comment: …[T]here’s no real evidence that the retribution [by Boehner against his … Continue reading →
This piece by Ezra Klein may describe the way the power of Congress used to work. But it certainly isn’t the way it’s worked during the Obama administration. How is Klein wrong? Let me count the ways. One: The real … Continue reading →
Regular readers of this blog know that I supported Mitt Romney heavily in the 2012 election. I think he’s a smart guy, and also more conservative that many other people believe. I’m not going to rehash those arguments; we did … Continue reading →
What’s planned for the new Congress: The House plans to vote next week on legislation that would defund President Obama’s executive action on immigration. Republicans also plan to include language rolling back a 2012 order from the Obama administration that … Continue reading →
The number of US citizens who call themselves “Independents” has risen in recent years. Here’s the graph: You can see that the increase in Independent affiliation has come at the expense of both parties, although slightly more from Democrats during … Continue reading →
According to Randy Weber, R-Texas, Boehner has already begun to retaliate against those who voted against him. Weber claims he’s been removed from sponsorship of a bill, but Boehner’s office denies the allegations of targeting. Who’s telling the truth? We … Continue reading →
Boehner has been an underwhelming and frustrating Speaker of the House. As his challenger Louie Gohmert states, Boehner has broken a number of promises, including one that may have been in the nature of a final straw for Gohmert and … Continue reading →
I’m not sure when it happened, but I fear there’s been an insidious change in attitude towards Obama. It occurs to me that the right may have gone through the clichéd five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression—and reached cynical … Continue reading →
Have you noticed all the end-year political summaries about how great Obama has been in 2014, despite some setbacks? Not to mention Obama’s own glowing assessment? And the approval polls climbing upward into comfortable territory again? Its the meme the … Continue reading →