In Iraq, Messy is Better
A close election indicates a strengthening democratic process
On the Newsstand:coal
Divining the Progress of the Climate Bill
Since the recent explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the politics of the climate bill have become more complicated, according to the New York Times. The newly perceived safety risks make it difficult to include increasing offshore drilling as part of any new policy. The Kerry-Graham-Lieberman bill is being pitched as an energy independence and climate ... Read More
Politics Is About Doing Things
Matthew Yglesias has written an excellent analysis of the relationship between Republican obstructionism and the size and scope of the health care reform bill. He calls Mitch McConnell the “unsung hero of comprehensive reform”: We should also, however, spare a thought for the unsung hero of comprehensive reform, McConnell and his GOP colleagues, who pushed their “no c ompromise” strategy to ... Read More
The State of the Union – LIVEBLOG
Follow us as we watch President Obama’s State of the Union! Summary: Obama’s State of the Union Address was reminiscent of his victory speech on the day he was elected. He appealed to voters on all parts of the political spectrum by focusing on issues that are at the forefront of the minds of most Americans. Obama touched on nearly ... Read More
Quelling Qualms
A look at marijuana decriminalization in Massachusetts On Nov. 4, 2008, Massachusetts became the twelfth state to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Known as the Massachusetts Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative, Proposition 2 was passed by a sweeping 65-35 margin, a more decisive showing than even Barack Obama in the famously blue state. The widely used drug ... Read More
Conditional Solidarity
Trouble Ahead If Democrats Cannot Deliver to Labor In a speech to the AFL-CIO convention on Sept. 15, President Obama reminded his labor allies that any public insurance option “would just be an option.” Two days later, the AFL-CIO unanimously endorsed single-payer Medicare for all. Clearly a mere option is not the union’s preference when it comes to health care ... Read More
Strategy and Lord of the Rings
It’s a rainy afternoon, and so I’m watching The Two Towers, the second film in the Lord of the Rings series (Ed: I hated the books and didn’t even finish, but those movies are great). Tolkien’s politics are not my own, not so much because of their noxiousness as simply their anachronism. Regardless, the novels are rich in pretty interesting ... Read More
Securing the Homeland
Tom Ridge on the creation and evolution of the Department of Homeland Security and the future of the Republican Party. Tom Ridge is the first Secretary of Homeland Security. He is a former Representative and Governor of Pennsylvania. He was very visible in the 2008 Presidential Race as an aide to Senator John McCain. Harvard Political Review: Can you describe ... Read More
