"Words that make actions speak louder."
The deal is down. Liberals irate. The press trolling for firebrand denunciations of the president. So it is worth noting the obvious that could otherwise be lost in the noise. This was a negotiation in which the wealthiest Americans were represented by a unified Republican Party that put the rich above most Americans, the afflicted […]
David Brooks is always a good marker of establishment conventional wisdom. Today, in a column grandly entitled, “A Tax Reform Vision,” Brooks celebrates the growing beltway consensus on tax reform, suggesting that a bipartisan accord could be built around lowering tax rates, simplifying the code, erasing most tax deductions and loopholes. He touts a bill […]
The following was originally published at Politico. "The era of deficit denial is over," crowed former Sen. Alan Simpson, the garrulous co-chair of President Barack Obama’s deficit reduction commission. But the debate about what is to be done has just begun. Simpson likes to describe his position as the center against ideological extremes, reason against […]
We all despair of the chump Charlie Brown. Each fall Lucy promises to hold the football. Charlie trusts her. And –bam — she pulls it away at the last moment each time. Well, the clownish Alan Simpson, dyspeptic co-chair of the president’s deficit commission, is replaying the Lucy game. And Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, chair […]
Robert Reich pleads with Democrats, and President Obama to give Americans a clear explanation about why the economy stinks. He gets it right. The newly liberated leadership of the Democrats in the House would be wise to make this their message and their agenda: Quiz: What’s responsible for the lousy economy most Americans continue to […]
Let’s go through it one more time. A simple truth: You can’t get the right answer if you ask the wrong question. The furious debate over how best to cut the deficit illustrates the point. The debate is about how we best enforce austerity. How do we bring the federal budget into "primary balance" by […]
1994 was dubbed the “bloodbath.” Bush called 2006 a “thumpin.” 2010 will clearly be remembered as a “shellacking,” the president’s term for an election rout in which Republican picked up over 60 seats in the House, a record for post-World War II elections. Republicans now have a majority in the Congress not seen since 1946 […]
In the wake of what he described as a shellacking, President Obama repeatedly detailed his willingness to sit down with Republicans, share ideas, find areas of agreement, compromise. But the press didn’t mention the elephant in the room — so to speak. There is little reason to believe that Republican leaders have either the desire […]
It is, once more, the economy, stupid. This election was overwhelmingly about one thing—the lousy economy. Democrats paid the price as voters expressed their discontent. Conservatives in both parties are simply wrong to claim that the vote represents an ideological shift to the right. It wasn’t because President Obama tried to do too much or […]
The following was originally published in Politico. Republicans dub their congressional challengers the Young Guns, who proclaim a reborn conservative fealty to balanced budgets, small government and free markets. At the same time, their campaigns are fueled by what The Washington Post calls a “frenzy” of special-interest money, a tsunami of independent expenditures, many anonymous […]