Friday Talking Points [139] -- Three Years Of FTP
[ Posted Friday, September 17th, 2010 – 16:42 UTC ]
First, though, we simply must wish ourselves a happy third anniversary. Woo hoo! Three years of FTP columns!
Archive of Articles in the "Domestic Policy" Category
The Elizabeth Warren "Trial Balloon" Leak
[ Posted Thursday, September 16th, 2010 – 17:28 UTC ]
And the Left really shouldn't complain, either. On many other issues, they've been begging Obama to flex his Executive muscle much stronger than he has (on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," for instance). So why should anyone be upset now that he's doing exactly that?
Demand Full Media Disclosure: What's Your Tax Bracket?
[ Posted Monday, September 13th, 2010 – 16:04 UTC ]
There's an upcoming debate on taxes and tax cuts which is likely going to define the rest of the 2010 midterm election season. This will be reported on and commented on by a wide array of people in the media, from all sides of the political landscape. But why is it that media "full disclosure" rules seem to be completely ignored during such debate by the punditry? Because by all rights, anyone in the media talking about raising income tax rates on the top two income brackets should have to disclose their possible conflict of interest in the debate. It wouldn't take much, just a simple declaration: "Full disclosure, I fall into the top tax bracket myself, so I would personally be affected by changing this rate."
Friday Talking Points [138] -- "Candidate" Obama Returns
[ Posted Friday, September 10th, 2010 – 16:36 UTC ]
And dominate he did. Monday, he gave a rousing pro-worker Labor Day speech, Wednesday he gave a rousing speech on the economy, and Friday he held the first press conference he's held in months. Finally, the White House seems to have woken up and realized that "overexposure" of a president is a myth propagated by those who oppose him. The "bully pulpit" is there to be used, in other words, not there to gather dust until Fox News decides it is OK for the president to speak to the public.
Will Obama Nominate Elizabeth Warren Tomorrow?
[ Posted Thursday, September 9th, 2010 – 17:24 UTC ]
President Obama may be on the verge of a significant announcement -- the nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the newly-formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This is pure conjecture on my part, I have to admit right up front. But politically, it would indeed give the president a boost right when he needs it most, heading into the midterm election season.
Obama's Bipartisan Obsession (Finally) Ends
[ Posted Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 – 17:06 UTC ]
President Barack Obama gave a wowser of a speech today. In it, he signaled that he's completely over his obsession with chasing the non-existent pipe dream of bipartisanship from Republicans. Obama dove into the 2010 election season fray with this speech, and appeared much more like the "Candidate Obama" that so many of his supporters have been missing for so long. In a speech that was touted as an announcement of a legislative package to get the economy moving faster, Obama not only rolled out his economic ideas, but also did a better job of defining the Democratic narrative than he's done in quite a while.
San Francisco Mime Troupe's Latest: "POSIBILIDAD, or Death of the Worker"
[ Posted Monday, September 6th, 2010 – 15:08 UTC ]
The play is unabashedly Leftist, in the classic meaning of the term. It tells two parallel stories of factories facing shutdowns, and the possibilities open to them; one from modern-day San Francisco and one from a few years ago in Argentina, and it manages to link these two stories in a very personal way through the lead female character.
Friday Talking Points [137] -- Listen To Westen And Lakoff, Democrats!
[ Posted Friday, September 3rd, 2010 – 16:24 UTC ]
Jollification aside, though, we're still one week away from Congress returning to briefly do their job (or at least give the appearance of doing so), before they award themselves another month or so off, in order to campaign. Labor Day is right around the corner (or perhaps blowing past the corner at 75 miles per hour, if you live in the hurricane zone -- which contains, my television assures me, everything east of about Denver).
Borderline Truthiness
[ Posted Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 – 16:57 UTC ]
But politics isn't social science, where causality must be rigorously proven. Politics is, to be blunt, whatever you can get away with saying to the voters. Think not B.F. Skinner, but rather P.T. Barnum, in other words. "Event X happened because party Y passed legislation Z" is an expected statement from a politician, on any subject under the sun. Call it "spin" if you will, but a large part of it lies in convincing the American public that you have a right to claim credit because of your policies.
Turning The Page On Iraq
[ Posted Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 – 18:53 UTC ]
Obama struck a rather humble tone in his remarks, which seemed just about right for the situation. He didn't go out of his way to either claim personal credit, or point the finger of blame. He even included President Bush, by name, in his remarks, after phoning him earlier today.