Elections & Political Parties

In my first foray into political life in the 1970s, I worked during college on the staff of a liberal Democrat in the Texas state Senate. Only a few years earlier, Patty Hearst had been kidnapped and brainwashed by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and a moral panic about cults seducing college kids was sweeping the nation. One result was the rise of a new, thankfully ephemeral profession: "deprogrammers" who for pay would kidnap a young person from a cult and break the spell, by means of isolation, interrogation… more

With the recession continuing to hurt city budgets, "these early recalls could be the beginning of a deluge of local political battles," said Joe Mathews, ...

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, so-called birthers claim Barack Obama can't be President. They dispute proof that he was born in the United States. It's a constitutional requirement, but why? Why shouldn't an immigrant be eligible to lead the nation?

The presidential election of 2009 is the first in American history in which questions about the citizenship of both major party candidates were raised. Article II of the Constitution says that "No person except a natural-born citizen ... shall be eligible to the office of president." During the campaign, some argued that this disqualified John McCain, because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone where his father, a naval officer, was stationed. Also during the campaign, some conservatives raised questions about whether Obama was born on… more

Who are the Blue Dog Democrats? In theory, they are a caucus of moderate to conservative Democrats in the House, most of them hailing from rural and suburban swing districts. As Republican members melted away in 2006 and 2008, many were replaced by Blue Dogs, who essentially promised to be like Republicans, only anti-war and protectionist and economically populist. They've now emerged as the most serious threat to the Obama agenda.

Sameer Lalwani, research fellow at New America Foundation, discusses the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan. Original clip

“At the end of the day, these are robust human beings who occupy the Oval Office, and they are skilled with robust language,” said Ted Widmer, a presidential historian at Brown. Original article

AFSHIN MOLAVI, New America Foundation: This is a hugely important moment, Judy. I mean -- and it's important historically, not just in the context of today's events.

Here you have Hashemi Rafsanjani, a lion of the revolution, a man of the system, standing forward in this importantly symbolic venue, the Friday prayer hall, and saying, "Something has gone terribly astray here."

And then he's also speaking for the voices of millions of Iranians who did feel that these elections were rigged.

In a recent article, New America Foundation's (NAF) Flynt Leverett noted that the Iranian crackdown following massive demonstrations against the disputed reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had "far less bloodshed" than Tiananmen Square...

Could Colin Powell run against Barack Obama as a Republican and win? The idea is more than a little fanciful. Alma Powell, Colin Powell's wife, has long opposed her husband's political forays. And of course a presidential campaign would be an ordeal for a man Powell's age, his robust health notwithstanding. It doesn't help that there is no clamor for a Powell presidential campaign.