Bill Clinton
On Sex Scandals, Republicans and Democrats Have Switched Places
Democrats used to forgive wayward pols, and the GOP used to banish them. No more.
Republican Mark Sanford’s convincing victory over Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch in the South Carolina special election to fill a vacant House seat may mark a turning point in the politics of GOP sex scandals. Simply put, Sanford refused to pursue the traditional GOP path of settling into a new life of disgraced obscurity. He went for the comeback, and he pulled it off. READ MORE >>
If the Germans covered Albany, they’d have a word for the ambivalence that Andrew Cuomo provokes in those with fond memories of his father. READ MORE >>
In Defense of Polarizing Politicians
What Margaret Thatcher could teach Obama-era pundits
Political opponents are wont to describe Barack Obama as a polarizing figure in American politics. In fact, they angrily note, the most polarizing of all presidents. They decry this in the context of his 2008 campaign, during which he presented himself as a figure almost above partisanship, or at least capable of transcending it for the common good. READ MORE >>
Marco Rubio Is Not the Republican Savior
Appealing to Latinos alone won't solve the GOP's woes
Senator Marco Rubio's quick ascent in Republican politics, as Jonathan Chait has pointed out, is the product of a convenient, simplistic electoral calculus: Mitt Romney lost partly because his opposition to immigration reform alienated an historic percentage of Latino voters. So who better to lead the GOP than Rubio, a charismatic Latino who promises to reverse the party's stance on immigration reform? READ MORE >>
Roe v. Wade Is More Popular Than Ever—A Fact the Supreme Court Is Unlikely to Ignore
On this fortieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the abortion case, Roe v. Wade, a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 70 percent of U.S. adults support the decision, compared to 58 percent in 1989. That marks an all-time high. 2012 saw a huge number of abortion restrictions passed through state legislatures (though significantly less than 2011). But the feminist movement’s main victories last year came on the national stage: not just the defeats of Senate wannabes Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, but also the election of President Obama himself. Fifty-five percent of women voted for Obama, making him the first president in history unambiguously elected by women when men wanted the other guy. (Bill Clinton won women in 1996, but his loss among men was within the margin of error of exit polls.)The surge of support for Roe in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reveals that the core groups in the liberal coalition that elected Obama have a surplus to offer others. The pollsters found the new support for abortion rights, long seen as the effete preoccupation of middle class white women, was concentrated among African Americans, Latinos and women without college degrees. These highly religious groups tasted political power as the Obama campaign scrambled for re-election. Now the polls show them supporting a new cause: women’s right to abortion. And so a virtuous cycle begins. READ MORE >>
Waiting for Bill Clinton at the Arkansas Ball
“Is that abortion asshole still up there?” A man behind me, walking out of today’s inauguration crowd, was asking the question on everyone’s mind—and phrasing it just right. The asshole in question was an apparently spry older white gentleman who had managed to climb a tree inside the green ticketed area, and hoist a sign reading “Pray to End Abortion.” But instead of praying silently, he’d decided to shout, with quite a set of pipes, through the whole ceremony. “Babykillers!” was a favorite refrain “What about the bayyyy-bies?” He screamed during hushed moments. The guy had timing, too. As President Obama invoked history—our “certain inalienable rights”—and paused for dramatic effect the man answered him “WHAT ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF THE BABIES?” There were occasional boos and “shut ups” (and plenty of attention) from the crowd, and the Capitol Hill Police had brought a ladder to the scene, but the asshole got to do his thing. He was half comic relief and half annoyance, but mostly he was just another person living out his political dreams. After all, on inauguration weekend, everyone gets the heightened, idealized version of Washington they want—and that includes the nutters who love to test everyone else’s belief in the First Amendment on the largest possible stage. READ MORE >>
Franklin Roosevelt: The Father of Gun Control
Gun control is one of the great pieces of unfinished business for the Democratic Party. Although the party has never been unified in its support of restrictive gun laws – indeed, gun control historically transcends the usual party lines – for the past century Democrats have pushed for a more vigorous role for government in regulating guns. They’ve been largely unsuccessful, however, and lately Democrats have made Avoid Gun Control an informal plank in the party’s platform. READ MORE >>
The Politics of Gun Control Have Changed, But Will Democrats Notice?
Over the last four presidential elections, gun control has been as settled as any political question, with Democrats all but conceding the issue to Republicans in national elections. A spate of mass shootings during the first four years of the Obama presidency didn't change this, but there is some reason to think that the terrible elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut could be different. READ MORE >>
