Texas Governor Rick Perry is not just any federalist. He is the grand poobah of federalists, an alpha-dog federalist, a federalist other federalists dare not challenge. His call for state sovereignty and a limited federal …
2012 Election
Big Oil’s Big Presence in Iowa Presidential Politics
Last week I wrote about the dark side of the Iowa straw poll. Today comes new reason to be down on that strange Republican ritual, which will be held 10 days from new in Ames. The context is that Tim Pawlenty’s campaign is taking flack over the revelation that two of its key Iowa advisers are on the payroll of the Iowa Energy Forum, an …
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 …
Corporate Interests Back the Debt Deal. Do They Regret Funding the Tea Party’s Rise?
Of the few clear truths in Washington’s nearly resolved debt debate, there is this: House Republican freshmen made good on their promise to vigorously push President Obama, and Democrats, toward fiscal austerity. They were elected to Congress last November with the help of some $34 million in campaign advertising from the U.S. Chamber …
As Obama Calls For Tweets, Conservatives Blast Faxes
President Obama is not the only one calling on Americans to reach out to their members of Congress by any means possible, phone call, email or tweet. A 501 (c)4, called GrassTopsUSA has been fundraising around a good-old “blast fax” campaign. As I have argued before, reading the fundraising solicitations on the right is a great way to …
The Debt Fight and Public Opinion
Two smart points about how the circus in Washington is being viewed by American voters:
Indeed, pollsters have warned that what’s unique about this crisis is the consequences are so big but the facts also so new to the average American. That’s because Washington has never quite had a debt ceiling fight like this one and
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Iowa’s Straw Poll Madness
Item updated below with Pawlenty campaign response
GOP primary reporters and junkies should read Walter Shapiro’s latest New Republic story (subscription required) on the absurd overhyping of Iowa’s quadrennial Republican primary straw poll, whose 2012 edition will be held in Ames on August 13. In Shapiro’s persuasive telling, the …
GOP Touts Latino Recruits, but Immigration Tension Remains
During a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus boasted that the GOP is producing some of the country’s most promising Latino elected officials. “We’ve got Marco Rubio there in Florida, who’s an absolute star,” Priebus said, referring to Florida’s junior U.S. …
The Weak Speaker: How a Failed Debt Vote Disarmed the Nation’s Top Republican
House Speaker John Boehner failed to muster enough GOP votes to pass his plan to raise the debt limit on Thursday night, throwing into question the fate of Boehner’s proposal as well as that of his speakership. Republican leaders …
Rick Perry Not Worried About Default
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rwvP7g8_xg]
There’s some question whether, as a presidential candidate, Rick Perry would present himself more as a Tea Party fighter or a level-headed Establishment Man. (The trick, of course, is to straddle the two worlds, but it’s not easy.) In his comments on Wednesday about the debt limit …
Ron Paul, the Debt Ceiling and the GOP’s Apocalyptic Wing
Ron Paul, who is spending a ton of money in Iowa right now, is expected to finish in the top three at the Ames Straw poll in a couple weeks. There is a solid chance that he beats either Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, or both of them. Though Ames is not predictive of the outcome of the presidential nomination contest, it is a key test of …
Republican Establishment Tries to Leash the Tea Party
As John Boehner hunts for enough votes to pass his debt-limit proposal, the Washington-New York Republican establishment is coming out in vehement support for his plan. on Tuesday, the Chamber of Commerce announced its backing of the Boehner plan, calling the legislation “critical” and saying that “default is not an option.” (The …
How Republicans Compromise (With Themselves)
Yes, House Republicans can “compromise,” or at least they can try. Right now they are struggling to compromise with themselves, of course, over a bill Speaker John Boehner has put forward that both the White House and the Senate majority leader says can’t go anywhere. But the exercise, as fruitless as it may be, gives Republicans the …