There’s a tired fight raging in Washington between anti-government people who want spending cuts and pro-government people who don’t. Here’s a crazy thought: Maybe we should spend more on good things and less on dumb things. I’m in the pro-government camp, but I’d be thrilled to eliminate almost all of the $380 billion worth of …
republicans
In the Midwest, Obama Grapples for an Economic Fix and a Political Narrative
Barack Obama hit the road Monday for his three-day Midwestern bus tour toting an array of political baggage: a downgraded national credit rating, a faltering economy, a stretch of wild market vicissitudes, an approval rating that …
Articles of Faith: Why Republicans Don’t Want to Debate Birth Control
In the midst of what has already been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad summer, the Obama administration last week appeared to stumble into the kind of culture war skirmish that nearly shut down the government earlier this …
In Wisconsin Recall Fight, Republicans Hold the Line
Wisconsin Democrats knocked off two GOP state senators on Tuesday night, exacting a hard-fought political price on Republican lawmakers for restricting collective bargaining rights of state and local employees. National advocacy …
Articles of Faith: Did Austerity Politics Kill Compassionate Conservatism?
In the wake of the debt-ceiling debate, young voters might find it hard to believe that just ten years ago, “compassionate conservative” was a mantle worn with a straight face by many GOP leaders. In fact, you could argue that …
Mutually Assured Revulsion: Why Americans Hated the Debt Debate and Why It’s Not Going to Change
Pew came out with a new poll on Monday confirming what we all already knew: The American people think the last several weeks in Washington have been a disgrace. In fact, the words most often volunteered to the pollsters were …
Reid Endorses Debt Deal, but Partisan Reservations Remain
Updated, 6:35 p.m.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ‘s office announced late Sunday that he had signed off on a deal to raise the debt ceiling and enact $2.4 trillion in budget cuts, pending agreement from his …
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Republicans Don’t Care If Default Boosts Deficits, Because They Don’t Care About Deficits
The Republican Party, after converting huge surpluses into huge deficits during the Bush era, after opposing deficit-reducing health reforms, student loan reforms and big-bank taxes during the Obama era, after continuing to clamor for trillions of dollars in deficit-expanding tax cuts while gutting House pay-as-you-go rules to make it …
What Can Mitt Romney Say About Health Reform?
Mitt Romney hasn’t officially filed to run for President. He has no campaign manager. He hasn’t been to first-in-the-nation Iowa so far this year. Yet at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center …
The Awkward Republican Coalition
Even before Osama bin Laden got whacked, some smart people declared that 2012 election would be a crashing bore because Barack Obama is likely to coast to re-election. I don’t think it’s so obvious. But even if we do see a …
Why John Boehner Needs to Reassure Wall Street
House Speaker John Boehner will address the Economic Club of New York City on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Monday night. Though Boehner has long been an avowed friend of business – he received a 94% Chamber of Commerce rating …
Parties Divided on Admonishing Pakistan
How do you react when you suspect a friend has been aiding your worst enemy? If you’re Rep. Ted Poe, you demand they prove their loyalty. “Pakistan has a lot of explaining to do. It seems unimaginable that Osama bin Laden was …