Republicans, stop living in fear 0
As Senate negotiators, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell huddle for another day to avoid the nation’s default this week, we’ll know in a few days if Congress — more accurately, House Republicans — will choose to plunge this nation into a second recession, possibly triggering a global financial meltdown, […]
Read MoreDemocrats Won’t Vote for ‘Independent’ Republicans 0
While a plurality of Americans are somewhere between the two parties when it comes to ideology and would be open to independent candidates in theory, the infrastructure of the two parties and the partisanship of districts makes it nearly impossible for an independent candidate to win. The only way independent candidates could be successful is […]
Read MoreDischarging their duties 0
To give credit where credit is due, House Speaker John Boehner is the best spinmeister in Washington. He could argue that a skunk is a midget zebra with the stripe running the wrong way. And probably believe it himself. No one does political melodrama as well as the speaker. Witness his performance on ABC’s “This […]
Read MoreTed Cruz forgot to plan his endgame 0
We’re used to theatrics in Washington. Often, there are games to be played before the people’s business gets done. There are rules to the games, though they’re sometimes squishy, since no one wins all the time and payback can be a problem. Also, despite the egos running higher than a kid on candy corn, politics […]
Read MoreDonna Brazile takes on food stamp critics 0
After the vote in the House of Representatives to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, I wrote a column against cutting food stamps. This column generated more than 5,200 online comments and hundreds of e-mails. Comments reflected, not surprisingly, the tone and tenor of the political debate: a lot of partisan passion, some mutual understanding, […]
Read MoreBrazile: Quaterback Obama calls the signals 0
September is over, and even though we have most of fall and a small part of winter to go, for some, the end of the year is nigh. For baseball and its fans, for instance, the year ends in October. And for my Jewish friends, the old year ended about three weeks ago and the […]
Read MoreShut down extortion tactics, not the U.S. 0
Congress has a number of deadlines, but then again, everyone has them. The trick is to deal with deadlines before they loom. It’s a lesson many parents teach their children. If you deal with things in a timely manner, deadlines merely approach and then disappear quietly, having been met. However, Congress isn’t good with getting […]
Read MoreFood stamp cuts a cruel proposal 0
We are in the middle of a fight to preserve the dignity and grace that makes all of us Americans. We have big hearts and great souls. I know. I have seen them, felt them and watched them in wonder when my family was lost and unreachable in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I cried, […]
Read MoreChess moves on Syria likely to hold 0
This past week, on 9/11, we paused. This “where-were-you-when” event resonates so deeply that we must assign a symbol, a group of numbers, to encapsulate the inexpressible — the horror and response, the tragedy and resolve. We are still coming to terms with the repercussions of 9/11, and what they say about us as a […]
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