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Can Obama Be to Democrats What Reagan Is to Republicans? by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | January 22, 2013
As I watched Barack Obama's speech yesterday, I couldn't help thinking of Ronald Reagan and what he has meant to conservatives since the day 32 years ago when he delivered his first inaugural address and said, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." Some have lamented the fact that no single line from Obama's speech stands to be repeated as often as that one. But could this speech, and the four years to follow, make Barack Obama into the Democrats' Reagan? I don't necessarily mean that Obama will be treated with the kind of creepy fetishism Republicans treat Reagan. But the question is whether, like Reagan, Obama can define an era that continues even after he leaves office (in many ways, the Age of Reagan didn't end until January 2009), and give succor and guidance to his followers for years and even decades. read more »A New Obama by Paul Begala, thedailybeast.com | January 22, 2013
Back in November more than 60 million Americans thought they were voting to reelect the man who has served as our president for the past four years. Little did we know that a very different man would place his hand on the Bibles of President Lincoln and Dr. King. The new Obama is more combative. He signaled this even before his speech. His nomination of Chuck Hagel is a slap in the face of the neocons, and his post-Newtown advocacy of gun-safety laws is a direct assault on the entrenched power of the NRA. Perhaps he is becoming less obsessed with process than with results, less convinced his mere presence will transcend partisanship, and more committed to mastering and manipulating our messy, imperfect democratic system to advance his notion of a more perfect Union. “Our journey is not complete,” the president said. Nor is his. read more »The GOP Will Lose on Guns by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | January 17, 2013
Among the moon-howling reactions to the president’s surprisingly bold gun-control proposals on the right, the one that most struck me was the boiling indignation that he had the temerity to speak of, and surround himself with, school children. Rush Limbaugh led the way as usual: “He’s using these kids as human shields ... He brings these kids who supposedly wrote letters to the White House ...” And so on. It was a shocking rant, even for that flatulent pile of gelatin, and amazingly out of touch with how the country feels about what happened in Newtown, and what is happening in our political culture generally. And it made me realize: they’re going to lose. Their excess outrages America, and even if they prevail for the time being in Congress, in the long run, they’re cooked. read more »We Don't All Live In Newtown. But I Do. by Greg Dworkin, dailykos.com | January 16, 2013
Thank you, Mr. President. Others may call it grandstanding. I call it "leadership." This is the most comprehensive gun violence and safety proposal in decades. Not all of it will pass (and arguably, maybe there are ways to make the proposals better). Cynical reporters trying to be neutral will undoubtedly list all the reasons this will be diffucult without listing the 26 reasons why this is different (they all have names and 20 of them were children). It's already started. That's okay, they don't live here. read more »Much Ado about Nothing on Obamas White Guy Appointees by Earl Ofari Hutchinson, news.newamericamedia.org | January 14, 2013
Politics made for strange bedfellows in those taking swipes at President Obama’s white guy appointees. Staunch GOP conservative Mike Huckabee took the first hard whack. The swing then went over the political spectrum to Harlem Democratic congressman Charles Rangel who called the president’s diversity record, “embarrassing.” Here are the problems with the criticism. One is Obama’s actual record on diversity. It’s easy to cherry pick a picture of his four prominent white male nominees, Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, CIA Director John Brennan and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as a score of prominent national newspapers did and finger this as the supposed proof that Obama has a chronic penchant for plopping white men in high and any other places in his administration. But Obama has, in fact, appointed quite a few minorities and women. More than forty percent of his appointees to sub cabinet positions have been women and a significant percent of them have been minority women. read more »Japan Steps Out by Paul Krugman, The New York Times | January 14, 2013
For three years economic policy throughout the advanced world has been paralyzed, despite high unemployment, by a dismal orthodoxy. Every suggestion of action to create jobs has been shot down with warnings of dire consequences. If we spend more, the Very Serious People say, the bond markets will punish us. If we print more money, inflation will soar. Nothing should be done because nothing can be done, except ever harsher austerity, which will someday, somehow, be rewarded. But now it seems that one major nation is breaking ranks — and that nation is, of all places, Japan. read more »What Executive Actions Should Obama Hand Down? by The Nation, The Nation | January 11, 2013
What do the successful “Mini-DREAM Act” policy and last year’s executive order capping student loan payments have in common? They didn't require the approval of Congressional Republicans. And what do finally ending the War in Afghanistan, directing the EPA to regulate carbon and methane emissions, and ratcheting down the War on Drugs have in common? They wouldn't require the approval of Congressional Republicans. Progressives should take note. In this era of Congressional intransigence, Obama should be encouraged to exercise his constitutionally mandated authority when it comes to a wide range of needed changes. Although the expansion of executive power, particularly after 9/11, has led to a number of dangerous policies--and we do not wish to see a further consolidation of such authority--there is a time and place for the president to issue executive orders that seek to realign the country with its values and with the needs of Americans. read more »Debt Ceiling and Guns: Using Presidential Authority to the Fullest by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | January 10, 2013
Anyone who thinks congressional Republicans will roll over on the debt ceiling or gun control or other pending hot-button issues hasn’t been paying attention. But the President can use certain tools that come with his office – responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution and in his capacity as the nation’s chief law-enforcer. On the debt ceiling, for example, he might pay the nation’s creditors regardless of any vote on the debt ceiling – based on the the Fourteenth Amendment’s explicit directive (in Section 4) that “the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.” Or consider guns. There are executive orders, executive action that doesn't require congressional approval. No doubt such executive orders and regulations would be challenged in the federal courts. But it’s a fair argument that when the nation is jeopardized – whether in danger of defaulting on its debts or succumbing to mass violence – a president is justified in using his authority to the fullest. read more »Paul Krugman for Treasury Secretary by Dean Baker, Huffington Post | January 9, 2013
That headline has all the D.C. insider types rolling their eyes right now, since they know it is absurd to imagine that President Obama would pick Krugman to be Timothy Geithner's replacement as Treasury Secretary. They aren't wrong, it is absurd. This fact tells us a great deal about what is wrong with the shape of the economic policy being debated in the nation's capital. First of all, let's get the obvious out of the way. No one can question Krugman's qualifications. He is a winner of both the John Bates Clark award and the Nobel Prize. Arguing that he lacks the background is just silly. The major reason that Krugman is not on anyone's short list is that he has been right about most of the important issues in economic policy over the last decade. The list where Krugman has been right and the Washington insiders have been wrong is a long one. read more »Assault-Weapon Bans Are Not Enough by David Kairys, prospect.org | January 9, 2013
The Newtown elementary school massacre has finally sparked a discussion about what to do about the 80 gun deaths in America each day, seven of which are children. But the dialogue remains constrained, as if we know we have to talk about gun control but we’re still afraid the National Rifle Association (NRA) will scold us as anti-freedom oppressors or start shooting. Beyond the obvious—banning assault weapons and limiting the size of gun clips—there is little information or analysis about concrete reforms that could make a difference. Gun crimes are usually discussed as if the transactions and guns involved are illegal, but the truth is that most guns that end up being used in crimes are obtained legally. The problem is not illegal guns, but the essentially unregulated market in devices designed to kill. The unsurprising result is something we know all too much about—easy access for anyone who wants a gun, and for those so inclined, the capability to rather effortlessly inflict death and misery. read more »
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If GOP wins, Expect More Obstruction, The Washington Post | October 19, 2010
I'm cautious about the conventional wisdom that the Democratic Party is about to get flattened by a Republican steamroller. Pollsters are less certain than they'd like you to believe about who's a "likely voter" and who isn't. more »
Joe Manchin's oddly inspiring debate performance, salon.com | October 19, 2010
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The Feds New Bubble (Masquerading As A Jobs Program), tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com | October 19, 2010
That Sinking Feeling, The New York Times | October 19, 2010
Sen. Schumer: ‘Sour’ Electorate Reluctant to Give Democrats Credit for Efforts, thehill.com | August 13, 2010
Asked why the Democrats are still expected to lose seats in November after passing major bills like healthcare reform, credit card reform, a fair-pay act and Wall Street reform, Schumer said voters are frustrated and don’t feel the effects of the legislation. more »
'Enforcement First' Has Already Happened on Border with Mexico, The Washington Post | August 13, 2010
We were eight Mexican peasants, one smuggler and me -- desperately stretched out in dirt furrows in the night. The Border Patrol helicopter with its huge searchlight kept coming closer. It stopped, hovered and turned the other way.
"Madre," whispered Pablo, who at 17 was the youngest among us. more »
Senate Passes Border Security Bill, Los Angeles Times | August 13, 2010
In Senate, Two Democrats Get the Job Done, thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com | August 13, 2010
In a highly unusual session, the chamber of filibusters and anonymous holds temporarily came back from its summer recess on Thursday to send a border security measure to President Obama’s desk and to pass a resolution honoring former Senator Ted Stevens — with only two senators present, Charles E. Schumer of New York and Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, both Democrats.
Hispanic Media Turn on President Obama, Politico | August 11, 2010
Univision’s Jorge Ramos, an anchor on the nation’s largest Spanish-language television network, says Obama broke his promise to produce an immigration reform bill within a year of taking office. And Latinos are tired of the speeches, disillusioned by the lack of White House leadership and distrustful of the president, Ramos told POLITICO.
