The New Republic

There's a paradox at the heart of the Senate's last-minute filibuster deal. On the one hand, most observers believe Senate Democrats had neither the votes nor the public outrage necessary to prevent Republicans from deploying the so-called nuclear option. On the other, the conventional wisdom among both liberals and conservatives is that Democrats got the better end of the bargain. As conservative legal journalist Mark Levin sneered on National Review Online, "[W]e've gained 3 judges we would have gained had READ MORE >>

  READ MORE >>

The emerging narrative on John Bolton's now-likely confirmation as U. N. ambassador has produced an unexpected good guy: Ohio Senator George Voinovich. According to the accepted story line, a host of Republican Senate moderates sat shifty-eyed while Bolton's nomination rolled through the Senate; Voinovich at least had the presence of mind to bloody Bolton's nose along the way. The editors of The New York Times wrote approvingly of Voinovich's now- famous anti-Bolton soliloquy last week. Chris Dodd of Connecticut mused READ MORE >>

READ MORE >>

There is unappreciated genius in the words of Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic front-runner in New York's mayoral primary. They don't pack the emotive punch of a Bill Clinton or the soaring brilliance of a Barack Obama. Ferrer's gift is actually a little lower-brow--for the snide one-liner of the sitcom trade. For example, when asked at a recent candidates' forum who he blamed for the shooting of Amadou Diallo, the Guinean immigrant gunned down in 1999 by four nypd officers, Ferrer shot back, with impeccable READ MORE >>

The latest twist in the Social Security debate isn't progressive benefit cuts or add-on accounts. It's a growing belief among Democrats that the party needs to offer an alternative to the president's proposal. Proponents of this view argue that, while George W. Bush may not have sold many voters on privatization, he has begun convincing them there's a crisis, which Democrats could be blamed for ignoring.At first glance, this logic seems so uncompelling that you're at a loss to explain how anyone could embrace it. There is simply READ MORE >>

Much of the press coverage of the Schiavo case focused on a now-familiar split within the Republican Party between social conservatives—who insisted nothing mattered more than prolonging Terri Schiavo's life—and anti-government libertarians, who tut-tutted about the Republican leadership's encroachment on local autonomy. Some in the media, citing apocalyptic predictions from activists on both sides, went so far as to call Schiavo the beginning of a GOP schism. READ MORE >>

Among the most jarring statistics from last fall's election is John Kerry's 23-point deficit among white, working-class voters. For several months now, liberals have blamed this on Kerry's timid economic message. And, for several months now, the many other explanations for why working-class voters might distrust Kerry--from national security to his Brahmin vacation habits-- have made this economic argument easy to ignore. But, last month, polling expert Ruy Teixeira stumbled onto a data point that made READ MORE >>

If I were a congressional Republican, the thing I'd worry about most is ... well, the thing I'd worry about most is the unwritten rule requiring me to get a really bad haircut. But the second thing I'd worry about is why my party's leadership keeps lying to me about the politics of Social Security. My most recent cause for concern would have been a closed-door meeting between Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman and Republican senators last Tuesday. (No lowly House member I.) One person in attendance told READ MORE >>

Say what you will about George W. Bush, he has never been one to underestimate the malleability of human behavior. He touted the transformative power of faith as a candidate in 2001. In 2004, he promised that the mere act of owning stock or a home would imbue citizens with virtues like hard work and self-reliance. And, anticipating this week's Iraqi elections, he stressed the "transformational power of liberty."  READ MORE >>