The Democratic Strategist (co-edited by William Galston, Stan Greenberg, and Ruy Teixeira) aims to provide “serious, data-based discussion of Democratic political strategy.” Today, a special “Urgent” issue was published, regarding the Supreme Court and warning about the “covert extremist agenda” of the Republican right. The report raises an alarm about the legal agenda currently promoted […]
Archive | Politics
Is the tax power infinite?
By David Kopel on March 22, 2010 8:05 pm in Commerce Clause, Congress, Constitutional History, Economic LIberties, Federalism, Guns, Health Care, Necessary and Proper, Politics, Supreme Court, Taxes
One source of the impending constitutional challenge to the Obamacare mandate is that exceeds the enumerated powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8. For example, that the people’s grant to power to Congress to regulate commerce among the several states does not include the power to compel people to engage in commerce. Jack […]
Bloggers: Both side critical of party chairs. Disagree somewhat, but not entirely, on health care chances, and Obama as a one-term President
This week, the National Journal poll of political bloggers moves to a new spot on the NJ website, “The Hotline Blogometer.” Besides the weekly poll, the Blogometer contains a daily report on what leading liberal and conservative political bloggers are writing about the controversies of the moment. In this week’s poll, bloggers were asked “On […]
Telos Returns to ‘New Class’ Analysis and the Critique of the ‘Wholly-Administered Society”
The critical theory journal, Telos, returns to one of its earliest themes, the critique of what its editors in the 1970s and 80s termed the “wholly-administered society” and “New Class” analysis. It shifted away from those themes and modes of analysis for a long time, but it has re-opened that discussion with a bang. Editor […]
Bloggers foresee big political benefits in health bill. Split Ax vs. Rahm
This week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked left-leaning political bloggers “If Congress enacts something close to President Obama’s latest health care reform plan, how would that affect the Democratic Party in the midterm elections?” The right-leaning bloggers were asked the same question about the effect on Republicans. On the Left, 40% said that enactment […]
“Birther” claim about Obama and the Bush National Guard hoax: Fruit of the same poisonous tree?
So suggests John Avalon, in a Daily Beast column “The Secret History of the Birthers.” He traces birtherism to a Texas woman named Linda Starr, who was a Hillary Clinton delegate to the 2008 Texas state Democratic Convention. Avalon writes that Starr “was also cited as a key source for CBS’ discredited election year investigation […]
Bloggers estimate Dem House losses. Agree that more Obama question times would be good
Last week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked for an estimate of House Democratic losses in the 2010 election. While the answers are reported in clusters of 10, the median estimate for the Left appears to about 20 seats. The median on the Right was in the mid-30s. I estimated 38, adding “Could be […]
The “Demon Sheep” Video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo7HiQRM7BA[/youtube]I’m at an academic conference at Stanford Law School this weekend and have had my attention drawn to the latest internet sensation: The “Demon Sheep” Video. The video was produced for Carly Fiorina’s Republican Senate campaign. It is a 3 and 1/2 minute “attack ad” against Tom Campbell, a respected former Stanford law professor and congressman. […]
Bloggers: Scaled-back health legislation is likely. Split on effects of Citizens United.
Last week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked “What’s the most likely outcome this year of President Obama’s health care reform initiative?” The plurality choice on the Left, and the majority choice on the Right, was “Scaled-back legislation will be enacted.” I agreed: “Remember, even after the defeat of Hillarycare, many of its sub-elements […]
Bloggers agree: Jobs would be best politically. So would House passing Senate health bill
This week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked “Which of these pieces of legislation, if enacted, would help the Democrats’ political prospects in the midterm elections?” Bloggers could choose more than one. The leading choice for both Left and Right bloggers was “job creation.” The only other items which got more than 50% from […]
“Every State Is in Play”
Politico has an interesting story on how Democrats are responding to Tuesday’s election results, in which Senator Barbara Boxer is quoted saying that “Every state is now in play.”
Advice for nervous state legislators, and candidates
Get out and knock on doors. My father’s latest column explains why, based on his own experience as a candidate (with an 11-2 election record). Six months of door-knocking–every two years–helped him far outperform his party, and win some tough elections. The column also examines how the Colorado state Department of Regulatory Affairs might regulate medical marijuana […]
My take on the Massachusetts election
From a segment on the Russian station for Radio Liberty. (Transcript, plus audio link.) For those of you who don’t read Russian, the short explanation is: The desire of voters to send a message of their disapproval of George Bush is considerably less significant than it was in 2006. Generally speaking, American prefer divided government.
Is Libertarianism on the Rise? (And Should We Thank the President?)
An interesting tidbit from Sunday’s Washington Post about a new Washington Post-ABC News poll: The poll also shows how much ground Obama has lost during his first year of trying to convince the public that more government is the answer to the country’s problems. By 58 percent to 38 percent, Americans said they prefer smaller […]
Bloggers agree: Dems will keep House in November; Obama economic performance not good
This week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked for a prediction about how many House seats the Democrats would lose in the November 2010 elections. Significantly, not one of the bloggers predicted a large enough loss to change control of the chamber. On the Right, 45% predicted a loss of 31-40 seats, while the […]