Something political has been nagging at the back of my mind for a few days. Sometime very soon, Barack Obama will endorse Hillary Clinton and throw his full support behind her. He hasn’t yet officially, not while there are still Democratic primaries to be decided, but he has been quietly telling donors and major DemocraticContinue reading “What Will Happen When Obama Endorses Clinton?”
Category Archives: Politics
The 2016 Conservative Third Party Option
There’s chatter among conservative thinkers, who are really annoyed that the Republican primary voters have selected Donald Trump to be their standard bearer in this fall’s election, about running a conservative third-party candidate. I can sort of understand the why — “Trump doesn’t represent us, he’ll be gone after this cycle and we’ll be backContinue reading “The 2016 Conservative Third Party Option”
Ted Cruz Throws a Hail Mary Pass
I had Ted Cruz’s announcement of Carly Fiorina as his Vice President pick running in the background while I worked with spreadsheets. This was a pure Hail Mary pass. Some immediate takeaways… First, Ted Cruz’s relationship to the Constitution is exactly like a fundamentalist Muslim’s relationship with the Qur’an. Both believe their Holy Writs areContinue reading “Ted Cruz Throws a Hail Mary Pass”
Bernie Sanders, the Candidate of Aspirations, not Actions
Let me be upfront — whoever is the Democratic nominee in November will have my vote. Pennsylvania will certainly be critical in November, and I cannot in good conscience cast a vote that could possibly lead to a Trump or Cruz presidency. Some men, like Cruz, want to watch the world burn, while other men,Continue reading “Bernie Sanders, the Candidate of Aspirations, not Actions”
The Supreme Court and the Norms of American Political Behavior
To follow up on yesterday’s post about the nomination to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, I want to point out a few articles that I found noteworthy in the day since. However, I want to start with this series of tweets, because it says something that’s puzzled me about the events of Saturday. MyContinue reading “The Supreme Court and the Norms of American Political Behavior”
After Scalia: The Coming Clash of the Executive and the Legislative Branches over the Judiciary
Saturday afternoon, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died. I was having dinner with friends at Farpoint. One of my dinner companions happened to look over at the flatscreen televisions hanging over the bar at Northern Lights, and she audibly gasped. “Scalia died.” The rest of us turned, looked, and gibbered things like “Wow” and “Damn.”Continue reading “After Scalia: The Coming Clash of the Executive and the Legislative Branches over the Judiciary”
David Brooks’ Historical Perspective
David Brooks penned a column in today’s New York Times about how the presidential campaign has made him realize how much he has taken President Obama for granted and that, all things considered, he (Obama, that is) is not a monster. I can see the two reactions this column will generate. On the right, theContinue reading “David Brooks’ Historical Perspective”
The Aggrievement of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump
James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake is more coherent than Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Donald Trump yesterday in Iowa. I made a valiant effort at listening to it. It was difficult. Palin’s voice was a high-pitched screech with the speed and fury of a gale behind it, a freestyle ramble of slights, real and imagined by theContinue reading “The Aggrievement of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump”
Bernie Sanders, Renowned Tormenter of Windmills
Although my policy preferences more closely match Bernie Sanders than any other candidate — an unscientific Facebook survey put me something like 96% in line with Sanders — I’m not excited by his presidential candidacy. I have given him five dollars (as I also gave to Martin O’Malley and Hillary Clinton) to get on hisContinue reading “Bernie Sanders, Renowned Tormenter of Windmills”
Marco Rubio, Marriage, and the Supreme Court
The composition of the Supreme Court, in my view, is the major issue of the 2016 presidential election. It’s possible that the next president will nominate between 2 and 4 justices. The conservative-leaning court we have now could, by 2020, lean liberal or be strongly conservative, based on who the next president is. This, ofContinue reading “Marco Rubio, Marriage, and the Supreme Court”