Doris Kearns Goodwin on Morning Joe:
What happened to [political] parties in this country? I mean, I think it’s a deadly thing – parties used to be part of peoples’ identity. There used to be parades, they used to go running around feeling like ‘I’m a Catholic, I’m a Democrat, I’m a Protestant, I’m a Republican. [...]
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Quote of the Day
Posted in Political Parties, Politics, tagged Democrats, doris kearns goodwin, independents, Political Parties, Republicans on November 6, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Vote Republicrat!
Posted in Political Parties, Politics, tagged Alan Grayson, Joe Lieberman, LBJ, Ned Lamont, Netroots, Ron Paul, Russ Feingold, two-party system on October 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Two things are undeniable:
1) Electoral politics are changing in ways that hurt the two-party system. Online fundraising and alternative media outlets have robbed both the Democratic and Republican parties of their most basic functions. An independent candidate could easily mount a competitive campaign – even for President – in the very near future.
2) Pretty much [...]
Ken Burns gets a seat on the good boat
Posted in History, Libertarianism, Media, Politics, tagged Ayn Rand, Bedford Falls, FDR, Frank Capra, Ken Burns, Mr. Potter, New Deal, Norman Rockwell on September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yup… just as there’s a boat for the wicked, there’s also a boat for the good.
Coming up with the list for the “good boat” just isn’t as much fun in general, but if I ever do set up such a boat, I will have to remember to save a seat for Ken Burns.
Just watched him [...]
The coming extinction of protests
Posted in History, Libertarianism, Politics, tagged 1960s, Cindy Sheehan, extremists, Fox News, International ANSWER, Iraq war, protests, tea party on September 14, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Tens of thousands of conservative activists, assembled loonies, birthers, deathers, tenthers, conspiracy theorists, Confederates, libertarians, militia members, haters, and opportunistic Right-wing politicians gathered on the National Mall and around the country for Saturday’s “tea party” protests, and – aside from the freak-show quality of the whole thing – one fact stood out: they were so [...]
The 86th Congress Project
Posted in History, Politics, Top, tagged Al Gore Sr, Chris Dodd, Claire McCaskill, Dick Durbin, Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, LBJ, New Left, Olympia Snowe, Senate, Sherrod Brown, Shirley Chisholm, Ted Kennedy, Tom Harkin on September 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I watched most of the coverage surrounding the death of Ted Kennedy over the past couple of weeks, and was really taken with one particular point that was repeated several times by many commentators and reporters – Are there any “giants” left in the Senate?
Politico even ran a top story contemplating which sitting Senators could [...]
How ’bout legislating from the legislature, for a change?
Posted in Majoritarianism, Politics, tagged amendments, breathing document, Bush v. Gore, Constitution, legislate from the bench, Liberals, living, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court on June 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I like Judge Sotomayor. I think she was a great pick, think she is likely to be confirmed without too much trouble, and I’m not the least bit surprised (or outraged) by any of the back and forth about her.
But, I start getting philosophically tangled up when the general debate on court appointees breaks down [...]
Happy Days are Here Again
Posted in Libertarianism, Political Parties, Politics, Post '08 Campaigns and Elections, tagged Club for Growth, Dick Cheney, Jim DeMint, Kentucky, libertarian, Lindsey Graham, Mark Sanford, Michael Steele, Objectivist, Rand Paul, Ron Paul on May 19, 2009 | 4 Comments »
What a fun turn the Republican Party has taken…
Over the weekend, Lindsey Graham was heckled at the South Carolina Republican Convention for urging the Party to embrace moderates who can “win in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.” Interesting, but not surprising. Of course, it does make for an odd Senate delegation from South Carolina: Jim DeMint said [...]
The Truman Anomaly
Posted in History, Politics, tagged Bill Clinton, Dwight Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, legacy, Lyndon Johnson, Presidents, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan on April 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This is actually a mini-project I started working on a while back and then forgot about…
As Bush was preparing to leave office, his Cabinet/staff/friends/allies were working to defend his legacy in the face of historically low public approval numbers. There were the inevitable comparisons to the rising stock of Harry Truman who left office [...]
