The New Republic

The news that the Washington Post is looking to sell its 15th Street headquarters, where it’s resided since 1950, makes me very sad, because my first job in journalism was in that newsroom. Or rather, an ersatz version of that newsroom. Perhaps I should explain. READ MORE >>

Well, now we know: the Scott Brown Era lasted almost exactly three years, from January 2010, when he upset Martha Coakley to win the “Kennedy seat,” and thereby robbed the Democrats of their filibuster-proof Senate majority, imperiled and greatly complicated the prospects for passing Obamacare, and set the stage for the Republican wave the following fall. READ MORE >>

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel didn’t acquit himself well in the hearings that the Senate Armed Services Committee held today on his nomination to be Secretary of Defense. He was equivocal, often unconvincing, and seemed taken aback by questions that had been swirling around the rightwing blogosphere for weeks. READ MORE >>

It wasn't so long ago that Alec Baldwin—his never-all-that-imposing days as a leading man well behind him—was just another Hollywood dolt with a waning grip on our attention and an apparently well-deserved reputation as an arrogant putz. However you define "cultural cachet" in the 21st-century infotainment thunderdome, betting on him to achieve it would have made predicting a Newt Gingrich inaugural seem like the consensus opinion of reasonable people everywhere. READ MORE >>

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association was back in the spotlight on Wednesday—this time to appear before a congressional committee contemplating new gun violence legislation. READ MORE >>

My father's Iver Johnson .410 shotgun, which he promised would be mine soon, leaned on its stock in a closet off the kitchen filled with other guns and camping gear. The shotgun was given to him by my granddad, who'd bought it at an Ohio sporting goods store in the early 1950s. It was a squirrel gun that took only one shell and had to be manually cocked to fire; my father said it would teach me to shoot safely. I was months away from turning 15 and felt that a gun was the proper acknowledgment of oncoming adulthood. READ MORE >>

For more than twenty years, the word “liberal” seemed to have disappeared from the political world. But President Obama’s speech appears to have revived it—even though the word did not appear in his inaugural address.  READ MORE >>

1 Complete Fox News CEO Roger Ailes’ explanation as to why he gave Sarah Palin a three-year contract as a commentator: "Because ______________________"a) I figured it was worth three million dollars to be sure we’d have the exclusive when she announced her decision about running for president in 2012.b) I listened to Bill Kristol.c) she was hot and got ratings. READ MORE >>

When Republicans recently announced plans to manipulate how states apportion their Electoral College votes, they were met with a public outcry: An unfair, sneaky exercise in goalpost-moving, critics said. Some architects of the proposed changes have since appeared to back off. READ MORE >>

Last week I wrote that the appellate decision striking down President Barack Obama’s January 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board identified a real constitutional problem. READ MORE >>