Political Rhetoric

Lessons From Chancellorsville

William McGrath | Posted 04.21.2012

Read More: Political Rhetoric, Political Polarization, Lessons of Chancellorsville, American History, Civil War Virginia, Civil War Battles, Red State/Blue State, Bipartisanship, Chancellorsville, Partisan Politics, Politics News

As I watch America become more polarized, I worry that a balanced approach to the biggest problems of our generation will elude us as a country. I worry the lessons of Chancellorsville will be lost, and the battle lines will be drawn again.

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Bored to Death

Cole Hill | Posted 04.19.2012

Read More: Taxes, David Foster Wallace, Irs, Political Humor, Books, David-Foster-Wallace-the-Pale-King, Politcal-Reporting, David Foster Wallace's the Pale King, Government Language, The Pale King, Government Rhetoric, Political Rhetoric, Language in Government, Books News

"The IRS knows very well that such qualities help insulate them from public protest and political opposition, and that abstruse dullness is actually a much more effective shield than is secrecy," says David Foster Wallace's in "The Pale King."

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"Obama? I Wouldn't Vote for That Socialite"

Bernard Starr | Posted 05.26.2012

If you don't know the difference between a socialite and socialist, you are a prime candidate for the U.S. Republican debate team.

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Rhetoric to Reality Ratio High

Jared Bernstein | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Mitt Romney, Political Rhetoric, Economy, Politics News

Often politicians pack so many misleading strains into a sentence that I step back in awe, almost impressed by the linguistic gymnastics. In that regard, and speaking exclusively in policy terms, I found recent statements by Gov. Romney to be deeply troubling, though potentially effective.

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Counterproductive Rhetoric: Why President Obama Is Right on Iran and Israel

Cody Pomeranz | Posted 05.06.2012

Read More: Israel, Iran, Political Rhetoric, Obama Israel, Obama AIPAC Speech, Israel Iran, Politics News

The threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is real -- the goal of preventing Iran from doing so is of utmost importance and the consequences of failure are dire. But the consequences of capricious war, of giving up on diplomatic solutions when not all have been exhausted, are equally grave.

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Football, Pizza and Power

Mark Osler | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Christianity, Political Rhetoric, Football, Religion News

We will be remembered by how we used that power, by what we did with those abilities, not by how much power we had.

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Gabrielle Giffords: How Quickly We Forget

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 08.13.2011

Read More: Anthony Weiner, Jared Lee Loughner, Tucson Shooting, Violent-Political-Rhetoric, Christina Taylor Greene, Gun Control, Automatic Weapons, Gabrielle Giffords, Nra, Political Rhetoric, Politics News

Somehow I feel that what may prohibit Gabrielle Giffords from returning to Congress is more important than what may prevent Anthony Weiner from remain...

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John Dunsworth of Trailer Park Boys on Liquor and Politics

Ben Evans | Posted 05.31.2011

Read More: John Dunsworth, Jim Lahey, Trailer Park Boys, Fogged Clarity, Cbc, American Exceptionalism, Jim Lahey Interview, Political Rhetoric, Commercialism, Entertainment News

These are some truly choice answers taken from an audio interview I recently did with Canadian actor John Dunsworth, who played Jim Lahey in the famed Trailer Park Boys TV/movie franchise.

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Let's End Bi-Partisan Hatred by Changing the National Language to French

James Napoli | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bi-Partisanship, Union-Busting, Unions, Right-Wing, Madison Wisconsin, French, French Language, Political Rhetoric, Governor Scott Walker, Left-Wing, Vitriol, Political Debate, Comedy News

Let's face it, once the language is absorbed into the culture, even if things do get ugly, doesn't merde sound nicer than the alternative?

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The Religious Case For Less Civility And More Passion

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics, Religion, Gabrielle Giffords Shooting, Congress, Political Rhetoric, Passion, God, Health Care, Civility, American Civility, Civil Discourse, Religion News

All this talk about civility is beginning to make me uncomfortable. Civility refers to courteous and polite behavior. But courteous and polite behavior is not, in and of itself, a religious value.

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Obama State of the Union Speech will be Predictable for the Middle Class

Lloyd Chapman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama-Broken-Promises, Northrop Grumman, President Obama, Lockheed Martin, Fraud, Campaign Promises, Boeing, Bechtel, American Small Business League, Abuse, Political Rhetoric, Nobel Peace Prize, Middle Class, Barack Obama, Business News

The American Small Business League (ASBL) is predicting that President Obama will rely on the same tired rhetoric regarding economic stimulus, while continuing to ignore the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

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How To Create A 'National Conversation'

Steve Knight | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics, Gabrielle Giffords Shooting, State of the Union, Obama State of the Union, Martin Luther King Day, Congress State of the Union, Civility, Violent Rhetoric, Political Rhetoric, Religion News

Have you noticed that "national conversations" are really hot right now? There seems to be a new one starting every week. And there seems to be a really simple formula for creating one.

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Tea Party Senator: Toning Down Political Rhetoric Means 'The Shooter Wins'

The Huffington Post | Nick Wing | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Arizona Shooting, Senator Mike Lee, Video, Mike Lee Arizona Shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, Mike Lee, Mike Lee Utah, Arizona Shooter, Political Rhetoric, Gabrielle Giffords, Politics News

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) seemed to imply recently that any change to the behavior of elected officials spurred by the shooting in Arizona earlier this m...

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Fatal Triangles

Robert Kuttner | Posted 05.25.2011

President Obama is now Mr. Reasonable Centrist -- except that in substance there is no reasonable center to be had. Just how far right do we have to go for Republicans to cut any kind of deal?

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Religious Beliefs Inform Americans' Views On Political Rhetoric, Arizona Shooting

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Arizona Shooting, Religion and Politics, Politics, Religion News, Religion Poll, Barack Obama, Political Rhetoric, Religion News

By Nicole Neroulias Religion News Service As President Obama prepares to assess the state of the union, three out of four Americans grade the country...

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Traumatic Events Can Alter View Of Language

npr.org | By Geoff Nunberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Language, Language Codes, Trauma and Language, Words, Political Rhetoric, Rhetoric, View of Language, Books News

There are more threats on politicians on both sides now, but not a lot of people are unhinged enough to actually try to carry out attacks. And once so...

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House Dean: Current Vitriolic Climate Is Similar To Before JFK Was Assassinated

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: House of Representatives, JFK Assassination, Rick Perlstein, Violent Rhetoric, Political Rhetoric, John Dingell, Rep. John Dingell, Barry Goldwater, Jfk, Rhetoric, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- While pundits debate whether the tone in Washington will change in the aftermath of the tragic shooting in Arizona, the dean of the U.S....

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Interdependence or Death

Ben Brandzel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Political Rhetoric, Gabrielle Giffords Shooting, Tucson Shooting, Sarah Palin, Tucson Massacre, Tucson, Politics News

How the debate about rhetoric is missing the "big lesson" that must define the post-Tucson Massacre world.

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The Pathos of Sarah Palin

Hoyt Hilsman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Blood Libel, First Amendment, Tea Party, Tuscon Shooting, Violence, Sarah Palin Blood Libel, Gabrielle Giffords, Right Wing, Partisanship, Sarah Palin, Political Rhetoric, Extremism, Politics News

In what will hopefully be her political "last hurrah" as a presidential contender, Sarah Palin has revealed her small-minded approach to leadership. ...

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Guns In U.S. Politics: 10 Recent Examples

HuffingtonPost.com | Lucia Graves | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Peter King, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Shooting, 112th Congress, Political Violence, Arizona Shooting, Congressman Peter King, Gun Control, Political Rhetoric, Paul Helmke, Rep. Pete King, Pete King, Sarah Palin, Carolyn McCarthy, Political Threats, Violent Political Rhetoric, Giffords, Joe Miller, Arizona Rep. Giffods, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, Congresswoman Shot, Gabrielle Giffords, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Congresswoman Giffords, Gun Control Legislation, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Gun Control Reform, Sarah Palin Crosshairs, Slidepollajax, Politics News

In the wake of the Saturday shooting in Tucson, Ariz., Rep. Peter King (D-N.Y) announced he will introduce legislation to make it illegal to bring a g...

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The Libel of "Blood Libel"

Noah Baron | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Climate of Fear, Political Rhetoric, Arizona, Tea Party, Representative Giffords, Sarah Palin, Uc Berkeley Giffords Statement, Uc Berkeley Arizona Statement, Uc Berkeley Arizona, College News

A culture of not only paranoia, but also of persecution itself, contradicts the possibility of a healthy political discourse.

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Sarah Palin Revealed

Rabbi Irwin Kula | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Arizona Shooting, Blood Libel, Guilt, Hate, Sarah Palin, Political Rhetoric, Arizona, Civil Discourse, America, Jewish, Politics News

Here we go again. Sarah Palin has ratcheted up the rhetoric. In her words, chastising the media, she proclaimed, "within hours of a tragedy unfolding,...

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Sarah Palin: Libeled or Liable?

Karen Dolan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Blood Libel, Political Rhetoric, Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona, Vitriol, Jared Loughner, Sarah Palin, Politics News

For the life of me, I couldn't find anyone accusing Sarah Palin of being Jewish. I was prepared to point out how the media are succumbing to the pape...

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Mark DeMoss Disbands 'Civility Project,' Citing Conservative Attacks, Grim View On Discourse

The Huffington Post | Nick Wing | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Arizona Shooting, Political Discourse, Civility Project Mark Moss, Mark Demoss Civility Project, Political Rhetoric, Mark DeMoss, Civility, Civility Project, Politics News

Mark DeMoss, director of the Civility Project, a two-year-old effort launched at the beginning of the Obama presidency to prompt legislators across th...

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Pastor Bill Clinton's Lessons From Oklahoma City for Professor Barack Obama in Tucson

Michael Takiff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bill Clinton, Political Rhetoric, Gabrielle Giffords, Oklahoma City Bombing, Tucson Shooting, Barack Obama, Politics News

Barack Obama may be too good a person -- too well-behaved, too self-controlled -- to be pastor to the nation like Bill Clinton was after Oklahoma City. But, in this teachable moment, he can be teacher to the nation.

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