Here are a few scattered thoughts about last night’s entertaining Democratic Debate. There is always a balance between electability and issue or ideological purity. Democrats are confronting it now. In my mind, Sanders and Warren are not electable. Klobuchar and Buttigieg could be. We will know about Bloomberg in the next week. Bloomberg would have […]
Archives
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The Democrats Go Hard in Vegas
20 Feb 2020
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I hope and pray we have heard the death knell of the pre-eminence of the Iowa Caucus, but, for now, it still happened and may be exercising an influence on the New Hampshire Primary, which takes place today. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg tied, at least statistically, in Iowa. Politically, Buttigieg probably won, while Joe […]
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What a week!
07 Feb 2020
I suspect many of you are just like me in that life is busy, and your interest in politics has waned–especially as there seems to be no one to root for, only someone to root against. So the temptation is to either be numbed by the continuing dysfunction and just settle in for the ride, […]
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**Over several posts, I hope to look at 1) what the Constitution says about impeachment, 2) presidential impeachments in history, and 3) how President Trump’s actions should be judged in light of the Constitution, history, and other standards frequently brought to bear.** The third presidential impeachment trial unfolds before us. Our Senators will soon cast […]
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“I have a plan” is the mantra of the maven of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren. But thanks to the folks at Cornerstone Macro (HT WSJ) we can see her plan for taxes, as well as the other near competitors.* None of these competitors has provided these numbers in this summary form, but each have proposed or […]
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**Over several posts, I hope to look at 1) what the Constitution says about impeachment, 2) presidential impeachments in history, and 3) how President Trump’s actions should be judged in light of the Constitution, history, and other standards frequently brought to bear.** Impeachment is often described as the nuclear weapon of the legislative arsenal. Though […]
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President Trump’s impeachment and trial, like everything else with his administration, defies dispassionate analysis. The partisan trenches are deep and the tenets of objectivity bring few rewards. Social media encourages extreme opinions, and more traditional media outlets narrowcast to their ideological adherents. Academia is also a mixed bag of reliability. I can hardly claim to […]
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If it’s indeed “the economy stupid,” its hard for me to see anything that derails his reelection, and that likely convincingly (especially if the nominee is Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders). The yawning drama of the impeachment may have something to say about it of course. But I doubt it. The predetermined impeachment is simply […]
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Christianity Today, a magazine founded by Billy Graham, published an editorial by Mark Galli calling for President Trump’s removal from office. The magazine tends to stay away from partisan politics, but President Trump’s actions, and his continued evangelical support, were enough for the magazine to depart from precedent. Galli sees President Trump’s actions around Ukraine […]
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Some Preliminary Thoughts on Trump’s Impeachment
19 Dec 2019
For only the third time in our history, a President of the United States has been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate will conduct a trial some time next month. Like Presidents Johnson and Clinton, President Trump will almost certainly be acquitted in the Senate, but his presidency will be defined, […]