The New Republic

The lady has been an old crone for more than half a century. So it was inevitable that some people in the profession would feel sympathy for Helen Thomas, even in her wicked quintessence. And not only merciful to her person but concerned for her lost job. Yes, Hearst pushed her, but Thomas, intuitively sensing that she would no longer be deferred to by the president or the press corps, went gently. Her wacky game was up. READ MORE >>

READ MORE >>

Do you live in the “Rust Belt” or the “Sun Belt?” Are you a West Coaster, an East Coaster, or a resident of “flyover country?” Perhaps you’re a proud New Englander, Midwesterner, or Texan. More to the point, does any of that matter? (For the full-size map click here) READ MORE >>

The key dynamic as far as passing important laws is the 60-vote requirement in the Senate. Passing laws through the reconciliation process, which only requires 50 Senate votes, is therefore crucial. Senate Democrats are preparing another reconciliation bill this year: The budget resolution being drafted by Senate Democrats will include reconciliation instructions, according to Democrats briefed on the matter. READ MORE >>

We’ve been warning about the coming local government fiscal crisis for months now (see this paper and  event we did with the National League of Cities (NLC) last fall). Now, the crisis is no longer coming. It’s here. Just check out the headlines from the relatively resilient Mid-Atlantic region. READ MORE >>

I don't usually wring my hands about partisanship, but this, per Luke Russert, is pretty extreme: READ MORE >>

WASHINGTON -- In a city where the phrase “bipartisan initiative” is becoming an oxymoron, the urgency of containing the damage the Supreme Court could do to our electoral system creates an opportunity for a rare convergence of interest and principle. READ MORE >>

News on health care reform will increasingly be about individual members, as President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi try to accumulate the 216--er, now 217--votes House Democrats need to pass the Senate bill. The widely held assumption among insiders is that the Democrats can count upon about 200 "yes" votes right now, or maybe a few more. There are, meanwhile, somewhere between 30 and 40 House Democratic votes up for grabs. READ MORE >>

Sunday's New York Times had a terrific investigative story about the Congressional Black Caucus's use of creative fundraising tactics to soak up corporate cash: READ MORE >>

Our political debates, our public discourse—on current economic and domestic issues—too often bear little or no relation to the actual problems the United States faces.  What is at stake in our economic decisions today is not some grand warfare of rival ideologies which will sweep the country with passion, but the practical management of a modern economy. What we need is not labels and clichés but more basic discussion of the sophisticated and technical questions involved in keeping a great economic machinery moving ahead. READ MORE >>