House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia gave a speech today to the Values Voter summit. Most have focused on how Cantor refers to the Occupy Wall Street protests as “growing mobs.” I would point to how Cantor badly mangles the English language. Here’s the relevant clip: Here’s the transcription: “If you read the newspapersContinue reading “On Eric Cantor’s Struggles with English”
Category Archives: Politics
On Student Loan Relief and the Potential for the American Economy
This morning, while checking some of the news and pundit websites I follow, I found a link to a chart at Mother Jones on student loan debt. To describe the charts in words, over the last decade, student loan debt in the United States has quintupled. Americans now owe more in student loans than theyContinue reading “On Student Loan Relief and the Potential for the American Economy”
On the Debt Ceiling Crisis and Its Endgame
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past two months or been hiding in a cave in the mountains of Afghanistan, you are doubtless aware of an impending, though entirely manufactured, fiscal crisis about to hit the United States. Quite simply, on August 2nd the United States will reach its statutory debt limit. InContinue reading “On the Debt Ceiling Crisis and Its Endgame”
On Cynicism, Mitch Daniels, and the Thin Republican Field
Mitch Daniels, the former Bush administration Office of Management and Budget director and current governor of Indiana, has decided not to seek the Republican nomination for President in 2012. Many Republicans saw him as a viable candidate in a weak field, yet Daniels has decided to join former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who would himselfContinue reading “On Cynicism, Mitch Daniels, and the Thin Republican Field”
On Making Non-Factual Statements about Jon Kyl
Mockery can be fun. And when Stephen Colbert took to mocking Arizona Senator Jon Kyl yesterday, I had to join in on the excitement. Why was Kyl the target of Colbert’s mockery? Several days ago, Kyl took to the floor of the Senate to claim that 90 percent of Planned Parenthood’s operations were abortion services.Continue reading “On Making Non-Factual Statements about Jon Kyl”
On the Aftermath of an Averted Government Shutdown
When I woke Saturday morning, the crisis I expected on Friday — a government shutdown — had been averted. At the last possible moment, President Obama and Speaker Boehner reached an agreement, the Republicans would give up on defunding Planned Parenthood and the EPA, and in exchange the Democrats would agree to slightly deeper spendingContinue reading “On the Aftermath of an Averted Government Shutdown”
On the Looming Government Shutdown
So, it’s likely to happen. Sometime later today, the United States federal government will shut down. Even though the Democrats and the Republicans are within a few billion dollars of spending on the 2011 budget, the real issue for Republicans isn’t the overall spending but specific funding for Planned Parenthood and environmental regulations. Democrats wantContinue reading “On the Looming Government Shutdown”
On Policy Debate and Actual Politics
I drove to work today; I needed to get a few extra things done at the office. It was, surprisingly enough, a peaceful, even pleasant drive. Normally I hate driving the Beltway. I had NPR on this morning, and I heard a story that, somehow, provoked a random thought. I can’t imagine how policy debateContinue reading “On Policy Debate and Actual Politics”
On the Future of Health Care Reform
I have been thinking about health care reform and what the future holds if, as the Teahadists want, President Obama’s signature achievement is thrown out in the courts in its entirety. Consider the individual mandate. Proposed in the mid-90s by Republicans as an alternative to Bill Clinton’s plan, the individual mandate is a profoundly conservativeContinue reading “On the Future of Health Care Reform”
On a Calendar in the Mail
An unexpected package arrived in the mail today. “The Hidden History of the United States 2011 Calendar,” courtesy of The Progressive. I subscribed to The Progressive for a few years, from ’98 to ’02. What soured me on the magazine was Howard Zinn’s response to 9/11, which I seem to remember as a “We broughtContinue reading “On a Calendar in the Mail”