Uncategorized
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Making judicial elections even worse?
As longtime readers of this blog know, I despise judicial elections, which destroy legal norms and create extensive conflicts of interest. But things could get even worse — the Supreme Court is considering a case from West Virginia about whether a state supreme court justice there should have recused himself from a case involving a
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A gridlock model of the Senate stimulus vote
It’s interesting to note how precisely the vote to end debate on the economic stimulus legislation corresponds to the gridlock zone model of the political scientist Keith Krehbiel. In the current configuration of power, the model predicts that the 59th most liberal senator — the so-called filibuster pivot — determines the fate of any legislation
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Michael Steele’s know-nothing populism
Recessions bring out the worst sort of pandering in politicians. Here’s a choice excerpt from GOP chairman Michael Steele’s weekly radio address opposing the stimulus legislation that is making its way through Congress (ellipsis): Democrats in Congress want a one-trillion dollar spending bill. You’ve heard about the pork-barrel programs they want to fund… 45 million
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Obama jumps off bipartisanship bandwagon
I’ve repeatedly mocked Barack Obama’s previous suggestions that he would eliminate division and partisanship in Washington, so it was great to see him prioritizing good policy over “bipartisanship for bipartisanship’s sake” in an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson yesterday (key quote in bold, my emphasis): CHARLES GIBSON: And talking of politics, you have said you
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Post-Super Bowl education policy
How football-crazy is Pittsburgh? I mocked Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl for holding a news conference to pretend to change his name to “Luke Steelerstahl” before the AFC championship game between the Ravens and the Steelers, but that’s nothing compared to the fact that the local schools opened two hours late yesterday to try to reduce
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Obama, like Bush, can’t “change” Washington
It was amusing to see Today’s Matt Lauer suggesting on Thursday that Barack Obama had failed to achieve change in Washington (nine days into his presidency!) because the House GOP voted against the stimulus bill: You say it’s the third inning, but let me say that sentence over again. The bill passes the House, but
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The unwelcome advice of Rove and Lindsey
Can you believe Karl Rove and Lawrence Lindsey are offering advice on how to run the White House? Remember, these guys were leaders of the Mayberry Machiavellis whose attempts to “create [their] own reality” led to an almost unparalleled string of policy failures. What’s next — memos from Donald Rumsfeld on improving civilian-military relations in
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Metaphysical Super Bowl questions
Question: Why does the lede of an AP story state that “Jennifer Hudson returned to the spotlight Sunday with a flawless performance of the national anthem” when the very same story reports that she lip-synced? Under those circumstances, how could it not be a “flawless performance”?
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When mixed metaphors attack!
NPR’s Andrea Seabrook makes English teachers cry during a story on the rumor about GOP senator Judd Gregg being appointed Commerce Secretary: You could almost feel the pipe dreams wafting through the Capitol today.
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Headlines that embarrass my current home
From The Durham News, a free paper distributed by the News and Observer here: Call us the ‘City of Butter,’ because we’re on a roll Um, no.