Mark Twain famously said, “There’s lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Lord only knows what he would have said about polls. In modern politics, polls often serve as the canary in the mine — an early warning signal of danger or trends. But polls can also be used to wag the dog — diverting attention from […]
Read MoreWork Together or Die by Suicide 0
In his Farewell Address, George Washington warned us about the excesses of political parties. He said: Political parties … serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party.” He added, “(Parties) are likely in the […]
Read MoreWe need people in Washington to expand the vote 0
This month, we’re marking the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer, when more than a thousand out-of-state volunteers joined local Mississippians to register African-American voters. At the time, Mississippi had the lowest percentage of eligible African-Americans registered to vote in the country — and those brave Americans recognized that the only way to give all […]
Read MoreAn Insider Is Outed 0
The favorite term to describe Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s primary loss to an unknown was “Earthquake!?” The New York Time’s 2012 election-predictor guru Nate Silver — now with his own firm — even produced graphs comparing all 3.5 or higher Southern California earthquakes since 1999 to House incumbent loses in primaries since 2010. […]
Read MoreGoodbye GOP; the tea party has won 0
For many political observers, last night’s loss by Eric Cantor was one of the biggest shocks of our political careers. The Republican House majority leader was easily defeated by an almost unknown challenger whom he heavily outspent. It’s been reported that Cantor’s team spent more on steakhouses than his opponent did on his entire campaign. […]
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