Outside the Beltway, Democrats Are Winning
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 27th, 2011 4:31 am by HL
Outside the Beltway, Democrats Are Winning
John Nichols, The Nation
Democrats looking to Washington during the long, hot summer for signs of their party’s renewal got little in the way of relief. President Obama’s approval ratings tanked after he compromised away historic Democratic positions in the debt-ceiling fight. The party’s Congressional leaders, who in the spring had seemed prepared to fight off Republican attempts to erode Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, sent so many mixed signals that it was difficult to tell whether the party wanted to fight austerity or embrace it.Yet beyond the Beltway, a different story has…
NYT’s Bill Keller, Just Asking Questions
Alana Goodman, Commentary
New York Times executive editor Bill Keller"‹, who never expressed much curiosity about the religion of Democratic presidential candidates, is suddenly burning to find out more about the Republican field’s religious beliefs:This year’s Republican primary season offers us an important opportunity to confront our scruples about the privacy of faith in public life — and to get over them. We have an unusually large number of candidates, including putative front-runners, who belong to churches that are mysterious or suspect to many Americans.
Big Business for the Federal Government
Fed Policy Props Up Wall St., Kills Main St.
Camden Fine, Washington Post
After nearly a decade of living inside the Beltway, I have learned not to be surprised by much in Washington. But I was astounded this month when the Federal Reserve announced its intention to keep interest rates at zero percent for at least the next two years. I kept staring at that number, 2013, assuming that it was a mistake. Surely the governors meant 2012, which would have been bad enough, I thought. But at least 2013? What is going on, I wondered. Why put a fixed date on it at all? Now their hands are really tied!I have been a community bank owner and was president of a bank that served…
Obama’s Race-Based Spoils System
Pat Buchanan, Pittsburgh Trib-Review
