Category Archives: Politics
Speculative Political Speculation on Mitch Daniels
Christopher Rants, writing in the Sioux City Journal, had a trenchant critique over the weekend of Mitch Daniel’s record as OMB director. Daniels of course is not the only person responsible for the expensive policies that were enacted between 2001 … Continue reading
Filed under Politics
George Will on Birtherism
I give George Will a B+/A- for the response he wished Huckabee had given when he was recently asked about Obama’s birth certificate: ”I’ve seen paranoia, goodbye.” The correct answer is “The president released his birth certificate in June 2008. Goodbye.” … Continue reading
Filed under Politics
Cutting Discretionary Spending is a Admission of Reality, Not a Bauble
In trying to weave my own disparate reactions to the Simpson-Bowles proposal into something more coherent, I’ve read a lot of smart commentary in past several days. Some of the best has come from Kevin Drum, whom I’ve always respected … Continue reading
Centrists v. "Centrists"
So here I was yesterday, ready to agree with Ross Douthat’s first post-election broadside against "centrists" Evan Bayh, Charlie Crist, and Arlen Specter: All three were frequently praised for their moderation by credulous reporters, and their political difficulties were constantly … Continue reading
Filed under Health Care, Politics
Gentrification for thee…
I don’t live within the DC limits, so I really didn’t have a dog in the Fenty-Gray matchup. The totality of my interest in Fenty’s administration was via the arc of Michelle Rhee’s tenure as the head of DCPS. But … Continue reading
Filed under Politics
VAT Bastards
The Washington Post–or its op-ed page at least–is on a VAT tear, with two columns in as many days. Two! Now, George Will’s is more incendiary than Robert Samuelson’s. But the differences end there. Both are from the right. Both … Continue reading
FTFY Charles Krauthammer, PART 1
Charles Krauthammer’s latest is a watershed moment in our fiscal discourse: it’s not the first column on health care reform (not by a long shot), and not the first column on the VAT (ditto), but it’s the first column to … Continue reading
Filed under Economics, Health Care, Politics
A Tale of Two Tom Campbells
Once upon a time, Tom Campbell was a brutally honest candidate for governor of California. Two things changed, however, in a matter of months, one trivial and one portentous. Respectively, I left the state, and Tom Campbell, facing Meg Whitman’s … Continue reading
Filed under California, Economics, Politics
Four Quick Thoughts on Massachusetts
Candidates matter, even in polarized states. If Barrack Obama is the poster child for the advantages of the primary system, Martha Coakley embodies its defects. No smoke-filled room of cigar-chomping party bosses would have ever given her the nomination. I … Continue reading
Cap & Trade v. Carbon Taxes
There’s a sort of epic environmentalist civil war that’s arisen over the past few days, ignited by a column by climate scientist James Hansen in which he skewers the House cap-and-trade bill: Because cap and trade is enforced through the … Continue reading
Filed under Economics, Environment, Politics
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