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Free Speech, Cinco de Mayo and the Politics of the Flag
With the debate over Arizona’s new immigation law raging, it was inevitable, perhaps, that this year’s Cinco de Mayo festivities would be politically charged. In Washington, where every shindig serves some political purpose, President Obama used the occasion to blast SB1070 and urge Congress to press ahead with immigration reform. But at …
Obama Gets Hands-On With Financial Reform
The White House’s general approach to legislation has been to be an interested party — a nudge here, a supportive statement there — while the president himself stays out of the nitty-gritty day-to-day process. Many a commentator insisted he was too aloof on health care, letting petty and parochial interests in Congress hijack his …
In the ArenaIraq
Iran’s Iraq?
I’m just catching up with some important news out of Iraq: the two exclusively Shi’ite political parties seem destined to form a government, joined by the Kurds, leaving Ayad Allawi’s secular-Sunni coalition–which received the most votes–out in the cold.
This is potentially dangerous in several different ways:
The Trader’s View On Derivatives Reform
Wallace C. Tubeville, a former Goldman Sachs VP and former CEO of derivative broker VMAC, has done us all a service. In a post on New Deal 2.0, he lays out the over-the-counter derivative trader’s view of why financial reform is a bad thing.
A level playing field is anathema to the trader. Successful traders must have advantages over
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When Hollywood And Politics Meet: Machete, Arizona And Immigration Reform
Yes, “Machete” is actually a real movie, due for release in September, just in time for the midterm election season. And yes, it actually stars Steven Segal and Robert DeNiro and Jessica Alba and Lindsay Lohan (as a socialite/nun, of course) and Cheech, who plays a homicidal priest. But the interesting part, aside from the explosive …
DSCC Doubles Down on “Demon Sheep”
In a gambit to recapture the fascination with Carly Fiorina’s bizarre web video, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has thrown together this number to prebut the California Republican Senate debate tonight in Los Angeles. It features, among other things, an endless stream of ovine …
Morning Must Reads: The Brits
Photos by Oli Scarff-Pool/Getty Images; Dan Kitwood/Getty Images; Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
–The UK’s general elections are today. Our colleague Glen Levy has a nice walk-up and Nate Silver runs over possible outcomes.
—Damian Paletta has more on the Republican plan for Fannie and Freddie I mentioned last night. It would …
The FCC To Try Again On Net Neutrality
Close readers of Swampland will remember that the Federal Communications Commission lost a big battle in the broadband regulation war back in April, when a federal court ruled that the agency did not have the legal authority to regulate what happens over broadband wires. Today, the FCC will come back with a plan to reestablish its …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Latest Column
On managing the new legislation that the Democrats have passed.
Today in Financial Reform: Not Much
The Senate began voting on amendments to their financial re-regulation bill in earnest Wednesday with changes from Barbara Boxer and the Shelby/Dodd tag-team sailing through on bipartisan votes. The ultimate impact to the bill? Not a lot. Boxer’s amendment was a three-paragraph gimmee explicitly stating in plain language what the …
Department of Unwise Words
Ben Smith points to this remark from John Thune buried in a Politico profile of Bob Corker today.
“I think he’s a guy who’s willing to get down into the weeds,” said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, who is No. 4 in GOP leadership. “Because he immerses himself in that and understands it so well — the positions he adopts may not always
…
BP And Obama: Playing Internet Gotcha With Campaign Finance Numbers
Politico has a scoop today tailor-made for the online, read-a-headline-and-click-away culture. “Obama Biggest Recipient of BP Cash” it blares, gaining the coveted Matt Drudge link with a dollar sign in the word “CA$H” to prove the point. In the print copy of Politico, the Drudge-bait is toned down, “Before Spill, BP Pumped Money Into …