His Legacy Strong 50 Years Later Fifty years ago, in the span of just a few seconds, the course of American history was altered. President John Kennedy became the fourth U.S. president to become the victim of assassination when he was shot while riding in an open limousine through downtown Dallas, Texas, on November […]
Christie Rising for 2016
Republican Civil War Unresolved There’s a tendency to read too much into off-year elections as implications for the national picture, so I’ll try to resist that here. But it is worth noting that the election results from Virginia and New Jersey do tell us a few things that may or may not indicate where national […]
Shutdown Winners and Losers
The Republicans’ Waterloo? “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.” —T.S. Elliot, “The Hollow Men” And so as the curtain comes down on ‘The Great Shutdown of 2013’, many Americans are left mulling over one simple question—why? A few months back in this column I noted […]
Republicans Take a Beating on the Shutdown
Leaders Try to Find a Way Out The American public is starting to weigh in on the government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate, and it’s not a pretty picture for the Republican Party. The latest public opinion polls show that Republicans are getting hammered over the shutdown and fears that the U.S. could default […]
Showdown Looms Over Government Shutdown
Tea Party Republicans Take a Risk The U.S. government faces a partial shutdown Tuesday unless cooler heads prevail in the showdown over Republican attempts to defund President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform law. But from what we’ve seen in recent days, some of the Republicans peering over the budget abyss seem inclined to jump […]
Obama’s Syria Quandary
The Political Stakes of an Uncertain Outcome So how did we get to the point where Russian President Vladimir Putin conceivably saved President Obama from a very embarrassing defeat in the U.S. Congress over the use of force in Syria? Well first off, we aren’t there yet. And secondly, you get the feeling that this […]
Obama’s Syria Gamble
Reaching Out to a Reluctant Congress Fasten your seat belts. This could be a bumpy ride. President Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional approval before any military action against Syria is the kind of high stakes gamble rarely seen in Washington. Few would have been surprised had the president decided to go ahead with cruise […]
U.S. Public Wary on Syria
Public View Limits Obama’s Options First off, a little history, please. Remember Barack Obama’s election as president in 2008? Sure. Remember why? Well, in part it was a reaction to the seemingly endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that were launched under the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush. There was more to it […]
Republican Immigration Split
Appease the Base or Reach out? There are plenty of signs that the Republican Party is in various stages of disarray at the moment. Arguably, their biggest challenge in the years ahead is finding a way to appeal to Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans and young people – voters outside their comfort zone. […]
The Coming Republican Civil War
2016 Battle Looms for Heart and Soul of Party The last two Republican Party presidential candidates—John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney last year—have something in common. Neither one could ever qualify as a true life-long conservative. And a lot of self-described “real conservatives” want Republicans to keep that in mind as they begin to […]