Mitt's Tax Returns
[ Posted Thursday, January 12th, 2012 – 17:19 UTC ]
What is hiding in Mitt Romney's tax returns?
Archive of Articles in the "Taxes" Category
Obama Poll Watch -- December, 2011
[ Posted Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 – 16:07 UTC ]
President Obama had a pretty good month last month in the job approval polls, bettering his standing in both approval and disapproval by roughly three-fourths of percentage point. This may not sound like that big a deal, but it was the second straight month of solid gains for the president in both categories.
My 2011 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 2]
[ Posted Friday, December 23rd, 2011 – 15:08 UTC ]
Her campaign so far has been the populist model for every other Democrat to mimic if they want to catch the wave of anger at Wall Street, and use it to their benefit. Without question, Elizabeth Warren is Destined For Political Stardom.
Obama Looking Stronger
[ Posted Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 – 16:58 UTC ]
President Obama is looking a lot stronger these days. Today, especially, the president emerges as the big winner in the showdown with John Boehner and the House Republicans. But Obama's been looking better and better all month, so Boehner caving should be seen as just the icing on the cake for Obama.
My 2011 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 1]
[ Posted Friday, December 16th, 2011 – 18:36 UTC ]
As always, if you disagree with any (or all) of my picks, feel free to make your own in the comments. The categories are completely open to interpretation, and don't forget that there will be a "Part 2" column next week, so I can likely squeeze things I forgot in there.
Friday Talking Points [191] -- The White Knight Is Talking Backwards...
[ Posted Friday, December 9th, 2011 – 17:01 UTC ]
You know, it strikes me that this week may be one politics-watchers look back on when proving the thesis: "Anything can happen in politics, and usually does." I can picture seeing some wise pundit a few years down the road making the historical reference: "Yeah, but remember when Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul were leading the polls in the Iowa caucuses? Anything can happen... just anything..."
Teddy Roosevelt's "The New Nationalism" Speech
[ Posted Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 – 17:53 UTC ]
President Barack Obama gave a speech today in a small town in Kansas. The reason he chose this venue for this speech was to draw historical comparisons with a speech given there by Teddy Roosevelt, over one hundred years ago. While you may see some clips of Obama's speech in the news, few will bother to look up the original speech. Which is a shame, and which is why we present it today. We leave comparisons with Obama's speech to others, for now, mostly because the speech itself is a long one. But it is worth reading to the end, to see where the real (capital-P) Progressives stand in American history.
Obama Poll Watch -- November, 2011
[ Posted Monday, December 5th, 2011 – 15:34 UTC ]
This month Obama poll watchers got some good news, and some bad news. This was capped off, at the end of the month, by the Washington punditocracy making an incredibly stupid comparison between polling for Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter -- which we will address at the end of the column (complete with a "guess the president" graph quiz, for your amusement).
Friday Talking Points [190] -- Fine With Me!
[ Posted Friday, December 2nd, 2011 – 16:47 UTC ]
So here's my proposal: Congress should pass a new schedule of fines. Each would be worded thusly: "the fine shall be $10 million, or 10 percent of the profits the company reported on its annual shareholders' report last year, whichever is larger." That'd be for a minor fine, of course, like a parking ticket. A bigger infraction would lead to, say, "50 percent," or "100 percent," or even higher.
Three-Dot Thursday
[ Posted Thursday, December 1st, 2011 – 18:14 UTC ]
Collins is, I remind everyone, nominally a member of the Republican Party. She's right -- this could defuse a major talking point for Republicans, and do it in a very elegant way. As I said, Democrats should be beating a path to her office door, to quickly work this idea up into legislation that Democrats can support. It is one of the best ideas I've heard all year, and it deserves serious consideration not only because the idea itself is so workable, but also for the sheer politics of it all -- this could take away a big GOP talking point, right before election season begins. Democrats: take note! Please....