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Entries from January 2009

American Politics, Global Obsession

Lorne Gunter wrote on January 31st, 2009 at 9:52 pm

It might strike Americans as odd that people in other countries gather to watch U.S. presidential elections as if they were their own. But they do.
Every four years on the first Tuesday in November, for example, I host a dinner for fellow political junkies. We eat, drink and watch the returns come in with almost   more

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God Save The Queen, and Fast!

Joshua Glatter wrote on January 31st, 2009 at 9:52 pm

U.S. counter-terrorism strategy may be in disarray but it’s a paradigm of consistency compared to our closest ally across the Atlantic… A recent article in the Daily Mail details the strange story of Azad Ali, an IT administrator for the UK Treasury, and President of Britain’s “Civil Service Islamic Society” (the “CSIS”).  As reported in the   more

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History Is Unkind To Weakness

John Vecchione wrote on January 31st, 2009 at 9:52 pm

“I just voted and I’m very happy,” Mukhalad Waleed, 35, said in the city of Ramadi, in Anbar. “We could not do the same thing the last time because of the insurgency.”
So the New York Times reported yesterday.
Saddam Hussein did not promote voting while “children played soccer on closed-off streets in a generally   more

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An Unwelcome Revolution

David Frum wrote on January 31st, 2009 at 1:04 pm

With the election fo Barack Obama, American voters are about to get the sharpest left-turn in public policy since the middle 1960s.  more

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Insults Aren’t Policy

Ken Kurson wrote on January 31st, 2009 at 11:07 am

I’m a political consultant. So I understand the utility of over-the-top populist rhetoric, even when it’s kind of silly. But Claire McCaskill isn’t a candidate in a campaign. She’s a Senator amid a crisis. Her demand that employees at any bank that receives TARP funds receive no more than the President’s $400,000 yearly salary is   more

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But Wait, There’s More Waste!

Moira Bagley wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pm

An internal document obtained by NewMajority on Friday details even more wasteful spending in the now-$1.2 trillion spending bill that the Senate will take up next week.
The bill is so large that only 7 percent will be spent by the end of fiscal 2009. Yet even with this massive spending – if they divvied   more

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Plan For Failure

Thomas Gibbon wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pm

Here you are in a school identified as being persistently dangerous and that performs below average on every city and state-wide exam. You’re standing in front of 30 or more kids; many of the kids are identified with some form of learning, behavioral or emotional disorder. Some of them can’t read. You have no aid   more

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Go Nukes

Stanley Jevons wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pm

Fortunately, the US has experienced only a few black-outs and regional power outages in the last three decades. The biggest happened on August 14, 2003 Ñapparently the result of a tree branch falling in Ohio–and affected much of the Northeast, the Midwest, and Ontario.  Such incidents may not remain rare much longer, however.
Our capacity   more

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Steele Is The Right Guy For The Job

John J. Pitney wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

Some Democratic spinners will attack the Republican National Committee for indulging in tokenism.  And yes, some members may have voted for Michael Steele because he is … Catholic.  But never mind what the other guys say:  they would have found grounds to attack any of the choices.  What matters is that Steele is the right   more

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I’m Betting On Michael Steele.

John S. Gardner wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 3:17 pm

I’m thrilled with Michael Steele’s victory.  His outsider persona, record of success in Maryland government, strong rhetorical skills, and boundless enthusiasm all bode well for a rejuvenated RNC.  But we all have work to do, as Steele will remind us.
I think it’s great as well that he was elected on the same day as   more

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Big News At Rnc Meeting

FF Washington Insider wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 3:17 pm

Ken Blackwell is out; backing Michael Steele. 
Ben Smith has the latest:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0109/Blackwell_backs_Steele.html  more

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We Greet Our Presidents With High Expectations

Karlyn Bowman wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

The late Richard Scammon, the great psephologist, told me a story years ago about presidential mandates.  It is probably apocryphal.  A young reporter was meeting with the newly elected president John Kennedy.  “What is the meaning of your election? What is your mandate,” he asked.  The new president reportedly turned   more

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Update: No Mail On Tuesdays?

John S. Gardner wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

As an update to my piece on USPS, Joe Davidson’s Federal Diary column in today’s Washington Post notes that “The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government, which controls the federal portion of the U.S. Postal Service budget, says no way. Rep. José E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) said “I will retain   more

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Steele Wins!

FF Washington Insider wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

MICHAEL STEELE ELECTED RNC CHAIRMAN:
Ben Smith at Politico with the report. 

From The NewMajority Scroll:

John Gardner – “I’m betting on Michael Steele.“ John J. Pitney – “Steele is the right guy for the job.” John Avlon – “Michael Steele for RNC Chair.“ Brad Wine – “Mr. Steele Goes to Washington?“
 
Michael Steele Videos:
  more

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Obama At Gettysburg

David Frum wrote on January 30th, 2009 at 1:26 pm

Barack Obama’s speech contained not one memorable phrase. It stumbled again and again into cliché.  more

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Democrats Earmark Ban Didn’t Last Long

Moira Bagley wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

It took less than a month for congressional Democrats to jettison President Obama’s call for an earmark moratorium.
With $819 billion in new spending roaring out of Washington, anonymous Democratic legislators could not resist slipping in a few pet projects of their own while writing the legislation.
As the stimulus package arrives in the Senate,   more

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Why This Republican Worries About Climate Change

John Murdock wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 10:14 pm

My recent post advocated getting over Al-Goraphobia and looking at the science, not merely a polarizing political personality.   Now it is time to lay out some data. The headlines give a confusing array of information.   Are we really cooling? Is ice melting or expanding? It snowed the day Al Gore testified to Congress, does that mean anything? 
The effect,   more

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Michael Steele For Rnc Chair

John Avlon wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 10:14 pm

The RNC committee members are meeting to decide the next party chair – and the best choice would be Michael Steele.
First, the selection of Steele would be a decisive step in the right direction toward addressing the diversity deficit the GOP faces.  Selecting Steele would not solve that gap, but it would offer undeniable   more

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No Mail On Tuesdays? Blame Congress

John S. Gardner wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 10:13 pm

There’s been a lot of press on Postmaster General John Potter’s testimony asking Congress to repeal the legislative provision requiring the Postal Service to maintain mail delivery six days per week.
Why are people in Washington so surprised? Blame it on the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), passed with bipartisan support and the backing of   more

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The Caroline Of The Catskills – Update

Moira Bagley wrote on January 29th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

NM can now confirm that Sen. Gillibrand, then Tina Rutnik, did not qualify for the UCLA law review and received no academic prizes in law school. This with her non-membership in the Order of the Coif, a merit society for students in the top 10% of their class, further suggests that the future senator’s career-launching   more

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