If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Ninety percent -- a super, super, super majority -- becomes a narrow minority as a result of gerrymandered districts, a flood of money into the political system and the misuse of the Senate filibuster. And this isn't the only issue where this happens.
If the IRS or DOJ were serious about ensuring that so-called social welfare organizations are not abusing their tax-exempt status by engaging in political activities, they could start by taking a close look at IRS forms 990 and 1023.
It's a shame that a party can get away with opposing something that has majority support, let alone 90 percent, but that's where we are with the GOP today. Most of these Republicans are blinded by the fear that they'll face a primary challenge if they buck the fringe of their vocal base.
Another filibuster and another headline for Rand Paul. The junior senator from Kentucky seems to be on a roll. First there was his attention-grabbing filibuster of America's drone policy, and now he is threatening the same on gun control.
Fellow Republicans: As you know, our party is in a wilderness right now so it is incumbent upon us to blast our way out of this jungle of doom with a veritable buckshot spray of repackaged ideas.
The road to political and economic ruin for the Democrats began in the late spring of 2013, when President Obama agreed to a budget grand bargain that cut deficits by 2.8 trillion dollars over ten years, deflated a fragile recovery, and left no room for more than token domestic spending on jobs or infrastructure. The cuts were somewhat "back-loaded" -- bigger later in the decade. But in 2014 they took $200 billion out of the budget. According to CBO, that cut the growth rate by a full percentage point. As part of the deal, more Medicare costs were shifted to patients, and the cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security was cut. Both changes, proposed in Obama's own budget, reduced purchasing power by over $100 billion among the elderly -- who surprised experts by backing Republicans by a margin of 59-41, according to exit polls. The 2013 budget deal, according to Roger Hickey of Campaign for America's Future, "left the Democrats with bragging rights as deficit hawks, but not on the real economy."
Before she decides to completely give up a career in public service, here are five things that Ashley Judd should know.
Rather than an exercise in policy-making, the congressional budget process has metamorphosed into political theater.
Today is a very special day for the memory of my friendly acquaintance and sometimes political rival, Gatewood Galbraith.
You've let down the very same Kentuckians you were elected to represent, by choosing to first represent the interests of those who write your campaign checks.
Doesn't matter how much you schmooze, unless you find a way to muzzle the home district pit bulls on their right, you might as well blow those flirty kisses at a brick wall.
Republicans want us to believe they're still the "Grand Old Party." At first glance, or really first listen, they sound like they've done some pretty...
As Judd has maintained a low profile while she considers challenging Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky in 2014, the media has applied Talmudic scrutiny onto every rumored utterance by the actress.
Rand Paul deserves credit for one thing in his windy 13-hour one-man filibuster against the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA director. He demonstrated that the deal that Harry Reid cut last January with Mitch McConnell to go easy on overhauling the filibuster rules was worthless.
Obama changed political gears last week, and decided to take a new direction in his dealings with Republicans in Congress. This "charm offensive" will either later be seen as a meaningless photo-op gesture, or a brilliant strategic maneuver on the political chessboard. Time will tell.
Ashley Judd's all but declared Senate campaign has the potential to have an impact far beyond Kentucky politics.
