Post-election musings
It was a good night for the Republicans, a bad night for Obama and liberal Democrats. Especially in New Jersey. Obama will never admit it. But will he take it to heart? I doubt it. It will be full steam … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Politics
Election 2009
[NOTE: I’ll be adding comments as the night goes on.] So far McDonnell is projected the winner by a longshot in Virginia. New Jersey is unknown, and New York 23 likewise. Random observations: (1) I was watching CNN for a … Continue reading →
Republican rebirth in New England?
New England used to be fairly solidly Republican, with the exception of Massachusetts, and even Massachusetts retained a periodic tendency to vote for Republican governors. But the New England brand of Republican was always a combination of fiscal conservative and … Continue reading →
The NY 23 race: does Joe Biden really think…
…he speaks to rank and file upstate New York Republicans when he asks them to show conservatives a lesson by voting for Owen? I’m not a Biden fan, but I thought he had a little more political savvy then that … Continue reading →
Conclusion: the Democratic Party does not want to make private health care insurance work
I find it difficult to believe that the Democrats (with the possible exception of the Blue Dogs) have any interest in reforming the health care insurance business so that private insurance works better. It would be relatively easy to pass … Continue reading →
Swallowing the leviathan: the House health care reform bill
The news is full of commentary on the House health care reform bill released yesterday. Since it consists of 1990 dense and legalistic pages, I’m not about to read it soon. Others will, however, and in days to come I … Continue reading →
The public option: by hook or by crook (continued…and continued…)
In the last couple of days I’ve noticed a new strategy from certain Democratic pundits, bloggers, and commenters: act as if the public option’s a done deal, or very close to it. It’s the power of positive thinking in action. … Continue reading →
The public option: by hook or by crook
It’s no secret that the health care reform bills in both the House and the Senate are both almost certain to contain some version of the public option. We don’t know the details yet, but the intent to include a … Continue reading →
Estrich has another moment of non-partisan good sense
Susan Estrich is a Democratic operative who sometimes shows the rare ability to criticize her own, and in the past she’s borne some of the consequences. Last night she spoke out again, this time in an interview with Greta Van … Continue reading →
In the interests of fairness…
…I’d like to show you another ad featuring children. Yesterday I criticized this one about man-made global warming. It features a child actress, and is designed to appeal to children especially, and to frighten them into pressuring their parents to … Continue reading →
FDR and the expansion of the executive branch
There’s been a great deal of discussion on this recent thread about whether Obama is contemplating a tyrannical takeover of the statist type, and whether he can possibly succeed. I’m not going to address that topic again right now (perhaps … Continue reading →
Robert Reich’s September Songs: on health care reform, what a difference two years makes
Please watch both of these videos in their entirety. First we have Robert Reich on health care reform, September 2007: Now we have Robert Reich on health care reform, September 2009: Compare and contrast. [NOTE: If you’re not familiar with … Continue reading →