The Republican Party’s post-election reckoning is not going well.
democrats
How Libya Makes Obama Vulnerable — and the GOP Knows It
Rally-around-the-flag time is over. For the most part, Republicans — with the exception of Mitt Romney — had held their fire in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. embassy in Cairo and consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens. But as …
Virginia’s Virgil Goode: Could this Man Cost Mitt Romney the Presidency?
Virgil Goode glides through the doors of a McDonald’s in Farmville, VA, at 11:52 am and instantly three construction workers in the back booth rise to their feet. “I’ve been wanting to shake your hand a long time, sir,” says …
The NAACP Boos Romney: A Double Standard and a Breach of Civility
It’s politically fashionable to question the relevance of the 103-year-old National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. But the NAACP is still one of America’s most revered institutions, and deservedly so – …
Barack Obama’s Occupy Wall Street Anthem
The campaign-rally soundtrack is typically as stale as one of those radio stations that promises the hits from each decade. More often than not, the opening bars of U2′s “City of Blinding Lights” welcomes Barack Obama to the stage, despite its ironic lyrics “The more you see, the less you know/ The less you find out as you go.” …
Las Palabras de Mitt Romney
Steve Schmidt, the strategic manager of John McCain’s 2008 campaign, got a friendly New York Times profile over the weekend, complete with some funny vision quest photos of Schmidt amid trees. The story is notable mainly for the perfectly sardonic way he summarizes the art of modern campaign strategy: “I’m not sure I want to spend …
How Polarization Explains Republicans’ and Democrats’ Governing Priorities
The headline on Pew’s new 25th anniversary American Values survey is probably not surprising to anyone attuned to Washington’s frequency the past few years: political polarization has risen sharply, not just in Congress but …
Over-Selling a Comeback: The Big Risk in Joe Biden’s First Campaign Speech
Pop quiz: What’s the difference between an Obama campaign event and an Obama White House event?
Answer: At a White House event, Republicans are called “folks” or “politicians.” At a campaign event, names are named.
Vice …
What’s Ailing Democratic Super PACs?
The New York Times takes a good look today at Democratic super PACs and their continuing fundraising troubles, tracking down various donors and cash-wranglers to find out where the problems lie. The answers are pretty interesting: There’s run-of-the-mill policy disagreement and radio silence from George “Not Much Difference Between …
Two Wrongs and the Right: Overreaction to Conservatives Leads Liberals to Hypocrisy
Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred needs to join the 21st century. Or the 20th. Last week, amid the well-deserved outcry over Rush Limbaugh’s stunningly loutish remarks about Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke — whom Limbaugh called a “slut” and a “prostitute” for supporting mandated contraception coverage — Allred made a …
Bill Daley, a Weakened White House Chief of Staff, Steps Down
For months now, Bill Daley has been living in a sort of Washington purgatory. His title, White House chief of staff, usually the second most powerful job in Washington, remained the same. But his role was something less. Over the …
Can Well-Heeled Insiders Create a Populist Third-Party Sensation?
In a city that thrives on power, being attacked is often a sign that you have some. So in mid-December, when President Obama’s advisers took aim at Americans Elect, a bipartisan clutch of political elites planning to bankroll a …
PolitiFact’s Semantic Distinction of the Year: Ending Medicare
The ubiquitous fact-checking outfit PolitiFact has chosen Democrats’ charge that Paul Ryan’s budget would “end Medicare” as its Lie of the Year. This dubious honor, which follows 2009 and 2010 rulings that both went against the …
