Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution reads: The President… shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint… Judges of the supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States…” (Pay particular attention to the usage of the words “Advice and Consent,” for that phrase is what this entire debate revolves ... Read More
One point that stands out to me about the failure to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is the irrelevance of public opinion on this issue. Polls have consistently shown that DADT is extremely unpopular—clear majorities of the American people support repeal. Since DADT was introduced in 1993, it has become consistently more unpopular. Now, 57 senators voted for repeal and ... Read More
When Sarah Palin’s first interview with Katie Couric aired, I laughed along with everyone else. I remember marveling at how inept a decision the McCain camp made in selecting Palin as his running mate. How could anyone take this woman seriously? Then when the Tea Party first emerged in early 2009, I thought, alright: there are some “punny” radicals out there who ... Read More
Let me begin this by saying that I do not consider myself a member of this self-identified political movement that now claims 28% of the national public. However, I do believe they have unfairly gotten a bad rap from Democrats and even many Republicans, and I think everyone needs to know more of their story. When polled recently, this “Tea-Party” ... Read More
Nowhere has the clash between the Tea Party movement and the “GOP establishment” been more apparent than Arizona, where former Rep. J.D. Hayworth has been a constant thorn in McCain’s side (his suddenly shrunken left side, to be precise). For a while, it looked like McCain might get tripped up enough in his clumsy race to the right to put the self-styled Tea Party ... Read More
“Nobody’s perfect.” That’s what Detriot Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga told reporters after umpire Jim Joyce blew a call at first base and cost Galarraga his perfect game in the 9th inning with two outs. After reviewing the replays once the game was over, Joyce admitted he was wrong. He provided a heartfelt apology and wiped tears from his face during ... Read More
Just before its Memorial Day recess, the House passed a bill that, according to The New York Times, would raise the taxes that investment managers pay on carried interest, just at the moment new long-term investment is most needed. General executive partners of long-term investment partnerships, including investments in real estate, venture capital, private equity, and other investments, are paid ... Read More
At Harvard’s Reserve Officer Training Corps commissioning ceremony this Wednesday, Drew Faust urged Harvard’s class of 2010 future officers to: Help reinforce the long tradition of ties between Harvard and the military, as we share hopes that changing circumstances will soon enable us to further strengthen those bonds. What does the vague latter half of her sentence mean? By “changing ... Read More
Sam Barr’s most recent post makes the rather shocking claim that Rand Paul, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky being vacated by the retiring Jim Bunning, is a racist, or at least that he is not a non-racist. Sam deduces this from the fact that Mr. Paul is not a “consistent libertarian,” that he “picks and ... Read More
As I said yesterday, the Kentucky Senate race between Rand Paul and Jack Conway should be a real battle. Paul is probably not helping himself by insisting, as many libertarian ideologues but few Senate hopefuls do, that the 1964 Civil Rights Act was wrong to ban racial discrimination in private establishments like restaurants and movie theaters. INTERVIEWER: Would you have ... Read More
Sometimes the only way to properly criticize someone with ridiculous views is to quote them at length, and then, channeling Seth and Amy from “Saturday Night Live,” say with as much surprise and disdain as one can muster, “Really?!” I found myself saying “Really?!” a lot this morning when I read Rachel Wagley’s “defense of manliness” in the Harvard Crimson. ... Read More
Goldman Sachs has been making headlines (again) after charges were filed by the SEC alleging that the company sold a financial product whose components were decided on in part by Paulson & Co., a company who made bets in a hedge fund that the product would see losses, without disclosing this to investors and thereby creating a conflict of interest. ... Read More
Disgrace is the only word apt to describe Governor Charlie Crist these days. After being passed up as John McCain’s VP choice, perhaps the apex of his political success, Crist decided to abandon running for reelection for the governorship of Florida, a position he would likely have won easily. Instead, Crist continued a lifelong power-grab, running for the US Senate ... Read More
In this issue, the HPR has stepped outside its comfort zone by choosing a Covers topic on a region which often gets short shrift in political circles around Harvard and the Institute of Politics. Africa might not seem as current as health care reform, and it might not seem as sexy as drug politics or financial reform, our two most ... Read More
That’s right. That’s Mark Warner, junior Democratic Senator from Virginia, who won an astonishing 65% of the vote in 2008 (besting Obama by 12 percent), after a highly acclaimed term of Governor from 2002-2006. That’s the same Mark Warner who was rumored to be considering a Presidential run in 2008, a favorite among the establishment elite for his mixture of ... Read More
