The most dreadful thing about a Hillary victory at this late stage will be all the bloviating pundits speculating on what her crying had to do with it. If you thought the discourse was stupid before now, they're just now getting started.

Posted at January 8, 2008 6:41 PM in response to Results Open Thread

Ken Baer's post is yet another illustrative point arguing that the Democratic party needs an completely new stable of foreign policy advisors. The people who fell for Bush's fraudulent Iraq War simply cannot be trusted. They are devoid of good judgment.

Posted at April 9, 2007 8:14 AM in response to Springbreak in Syria

Based on your interview on Meet the Press, I have to say that your book thesis sounds like it was written back in 1990, if not earlier. The Democratic party needs to reach out to Reagan Democrats and middle America and stop being beholden to the "special interests." Does this thesis really hold water in the party that elected and continues to revere Bill Clinton?

The Democrats-are-captive-to-the-special-interests line of argument has long been a coded way of saying that the party is too concerned with civil rights and the needs of African Americans. I assume that you aren't sending this coded message yourself, but why allow yourself to be used by the people who are?

Posted at January 29, 2007 8:34 AM in response to Senator Schumer at TPMCafe

I'm curious as to how Rajiv Chandrasekaran would respond to Dan Senor's op-ed in the Washington Post today. He argues that the top levels of the CPA were staffed with experts, even if the lower level positions were not. The failure, Senor contends, reflects the difficulty of the task, not the lack of relevant talent and expertise.

Posted at October 10, 2006 2:28 PM in response to Welcome to the Emerald City

Still, one can only welcome any cracks in the Stalinist unity of the conservative movement.  It shows that at least a few key activists are prepared to uphold their misguided principles at the risk of losing power (and/or close ties those in power).  After watching conservatives fail to object to Medicare Prescription Drugs, spiralling deficits, & dramatic federal spending growth, it looked as if not one of them was going to let a little principle get in the way of holding on to power.  Sure, it's not much, and it doesn't make them progressive allies: but at least it suggests that their cynicsm has run up against some kind of limit. 

Posted at January 18, 2006 3:00 PM in response to The Enemy of My Enemy--Still My Enemy

Democrats cannot prevent a quorum in the House of Representatives or otherwise shut down the chamber. A quorum, as established by one of the few rules of legislative procedure in the Constitution, is only a majority of members. If Democrats didn't show up, Republicans would continue to legislate, just as they do now--without Democratic input. A Democratic walkout might make a statement, but unlike Reid's "close the Senate" maneuver, it would only expose how utterly ineffectual Democrats in the House are.

Posted at December 20, 2005 5:19 AM in response to Lawlessness and Disorder