Conservatives are really good at acting like victims. The latest injustice they are suffering is the proposed use of reconciliation to pass the health care reform bill. Conservatives are calling this method of covering an additional 30 million people and reducing the national deficit by 118 million dollars a parliamentary “trick,” an “assault on the democratic process,” and an attempt to “cram health care down our throats.”
If you look at Wikipedia.com, you can see that, since 1980, 17 of 23 reconciliation bills were signed into law by Republican Presidents, undermining current claims that the Democrats are doing something underhanded. Under ...
Thirty to thirty-five years ago Lee Atwater and other Republican strategists figured the Republican Party had a symbiotic interest with Southern black Democrats. The regular redistricting mandated by the United States Supreme Court and the federal Voting Rights Act had come around once again. It was, Atwater figured, in the interest of both conservative, white Republicans and liberal, black Democrats to create districts so prohibitively black in population that it would be virtually impossible for a white Democrat to win. If the African-American populations of the various Southern states could be concentrated into super majority black legislative and state senatorial ...
In my article about the forthcoming Tasmanian election I made reference to the role played by the Exclusive Brethren (EB) in past campaigns and to its hypocritical stance on politics. At the time I left Australia, its world head, Bruce D Hales, the "Elect Vessel," was a fellow citizen – though I use the term loosely and with regret – and this is one reason I follow the activities of this cultist sect. A worldwide organization, there are claims that the Exclusive Brethren also interfered in elections in New Zealand, where they have been accused of "threatening the government", and that ...
The “Southern strategy,” supposedly put in place by Richard Nixon and his minions in response to the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, is generally evaluated on the basis of results — a disenchanted previously Democratic regional population electing Republicans to national office on the basis of vague promises to promote their sense of exceptionalism and moral superiority.
That no tangible benefits were forthcoming to these voters has long been obvious and still the Republican base has not only remained loyal, but morphed into the Religious Right. Democrats scratch their heads in puzzlement. This Sunday’s article on Corrine Brown in the ...
For those Dewers who’d like a change from US politics, may I offer up an alternative entertainment? The people of far-away Tasmania go to the polls next weekend when the fate of the incumbent Labor government will be decided. Australia’s island State is among the most beautiful places on earth but if you ever wish to see the consequences of unfettered corporate power, political hypocrisy and politico/religious bastardry, then Tasmania is the place to look at – though Western Australia looks set to soon be its equal in these attributes.
First, though, a bit of background. Tasmania, like the Federal Government ...
It being 2010, it’s time once again for the Great Decennial Head-Count here in the United States. Yes: the Census!
The process is simple, really. You get a form in the mail, you fill it in, and you send it back. [How easy it is to fill in depends largely on whether it’s the short form or the incredibly nosy long form.] And if you merit special attention, a real live census taker may show up at your door.
Now, there’s a profession that might just be trickier than it sounds at first blush. Asking people how ...
With spring upon us, many high school teens across our land turn their thoughts to that annual rite of passage, the senior prom. If you are gay and attend Agriculture High-school in Itawamba County, Mississippi, however, you won’t be welcome. This follows a recent decision by the local school board that had the school district cancel the planned senior prom rather than allow an 18-year-old lesbian student attend wearing a tuxedo and accompanied by her girlfriend.
The story of Constance McMillen has been reported in a number of media outlets including CBS news and tells of the flap caused by McMillen’s ...
Rockin' The White House, part 7
A Wicked Messenger? No, Kevin Mattson is a fine political reporter. His recent book, "What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?" is an observant and thorough account of the strange days of July '79. America was reeling from inflation, oil shortages, and a sense, as Mattson phrased it, that the American century was dead. President Jimmy Carter was trying to maintain his political viability, all the while imploring Americans to renew the country's spirit.
Mattson understands the lack of confidence Americans felt. He understands the challenges Jimmy Carter faced. As he's shown in his other excellent books, ...
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