Elections & Political Parties

America's House of Lords Debates Health Care

Kate Schuler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:35:00 -0500

The health care debate has been like a tennis match, bouncing from the Senate to the House and back again. Now it's back in the Senate, as the United States tries to end its status as the only advanced economy without universal health care for its people. One hundred Senators from 50 states will decide what lives and what dies, health-care wise.

With so much at stake, it makes sense to ask: who are these 100 Senators? Might that give us a clue as to what to expect from America's upper chamber?

The Right Role For Sarah Palin

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:33:00 -0500

When Sarah Palin resigned on July 4th weekend, it certainly looked as though she had decided to abandon politics, or at the very least given up on running for president in 2012. And despite the saturation coverage of Palin's Going Rogue book tour, it's not obvious that she hasn't. As Republican political strategist Patrick Ruffini has observed, a Palin presidential run would have profited from releasing the book a year from now, maximizing media exposure in the crucial year before Iowa. Granted, John McCain also capitalized on his political

The Assassination of Greg Craig

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:50:00 -0500

Gregory Craig, White House counsel to President Obama and national security advisor to Obama during the presidential campaign, resigned his post this past Friday. But when rumors broke Thursday of his imminent departure, Craig had not written his farewell note and may not have planned to leave -- yet.

What Ails the Senate

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:05:00 -0500

In 1994, after Democrats lost control of the Senate, Senator Joe Lieberman called a press conference with his colleague Tom Harkin to announce their plan to reform the filibuster. "[People] are fed up--frustrated and fed up and angry about the way in which our government does not work," Lieberman said. "And I think the filibuster has become not only in reality an obstacle to accomplishment here, but it is also a symbol of a lot that ails Washington today." Lieberman and Harkin's proposal to weaken the filibuster came to a floor vote and was

Behind the Democratic Wipeout

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:54:00 -0500

After Republican victories in Virginia and New Jersey and a near-miss in upstate New York, conservatives have supposedly gotten their groove back. But it's not the same old groove. In the late 1990s, it was social issues that obsessed the American right: abortion, gay rights, gun control, Monica Lewinsky. After 9/11, it was the war on terror. Now both obsessions have faded. Doug Hoffman-the right-wing insurgent candidate for Congress in the 23rd District of New York-didn't even list his position on the Afghanistan surge on his Web site. Bob

Why Newsom Dropped Out

Erin Drankoski — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:56:00 -0400

Don't mess with Moonbeam.

The most striking thing about San Francisco Gavin Newsom's decision to withdraw from the race for California governor is that no one else is in the race. Newsom's only opponent-Jerry Brown, the former governor and attorney general-may be the frontrunner in the polls, but he isn't a declared candidate. Brown only recently set up an exploratory committee.

America's Worst Governor?

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:42:00 -0400

Charlie Crist is an extraordinarily gifted politician, known for his unpretentious and warm demeanor. He might also be America's worst governor. Given that there is a great deal of competition for this dubious honor, that's saying rather a lot.

After Obama | Washington Post

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:20:00 -0400

Every Wednesday, Reihan Salam examines the ideological struggle for the future of American conservatism and how to revitalize the Republican party. ...

Is There "Hope" for Shepard Fairey?

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:03:00 -0400

Shepard Fairey may have hoped to teach something new about art and copyright with his iconic "Hope" poster of Barack Obama. Instead, he is accused of lyring about which Associated Press photo he used. (He says he made a mistake.) But if Fairey's lying has probably made a hash of his case and lost him a lawyer, it has also raised that pesky question yet again: Just what is fair use? Was it legal for Fairey to take an AP photo and turn it into this piece of artwork?

Getting at the Roots of California’s Deep Political Schizophrenia

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:24:00 -0400

Maybe we Californians have such a hard time figuring out how to fix the state because we are too close to the problem. How might an analyst sent here from another world--think of him as an extraterrestrial Alexis de Tocqueville, well read in California history and deeply versed on political practices elsewhere on this globe--diagnose California's ailments?