Politics of Spite
Paul Krugman continues to demonstrate that brilliance in one field doesn't necessarily translate into sound insights into others. He's upset that some Republicans took pleasure in President Obama's embarrassment in not landing the Olympics for his adopted Chicago and their cynicism in positioning themselves as the defenders of Medicare in order to fight his health care reform proposals. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 5, 2009 15:24
Palin Comeback Advice from Gingrich
Newt Gingrich has weighed in with a plan for a Sarah Palin political comeback which Taegan Goddard summarizes as: Write a book. Land a regular commentator slot on television. Consider getting a condominium in New York or Washington. Write and master three types of speeches: to make money, to project her brand, to gain attention. Create some sort of national project or center. Plan on working ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 14, 2009 09:41
Congressional Revolution Needed?
Ezra Klein and Steve Benen are recirculating this somewhat interesting chart on political polarization in America by political scientists Nolan McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal. Ezra argues that "this level of polarization makes it virtually impossible to govern in a system that is designed to foil majorities and require a constant three-fifths consensus. It's not good if the country ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 2, 2009 08:08
Republican Party of Whites?
A Gallup poll released yesterday finds that, "More than 6 in 10 Republicans today are white conservatives, while most of the rest are whites with other ideological leanings; only 11% of Republicans are Hispanics, or are blacks or members of other races. By contrast, only 12% of Democrats are white conservatives, while about half are white moderates or liberals and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 2, 2009 08:14
Quote of the Day – GOP Edition
"The base is plenty excited already, as you know if you've ever read a comment thread on a conservative blog. Comment-thread conservatives, like their mirror-image warriors on the left ("Worst person in the woooorrrlllddd!") are perpetually agitated, permanently enraged. They don't need to be revved, they're already revved. Newt Gingrich twitters that Judge Sotomayor is a racist. Does anyone believe ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 29, 2009 10:03
Titles for Former Officials
Josh Marshall has noted something peculiar in the recent media tour of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich: He seems to insist with members of the press that he still be referred to as "Speaker Gingrich." And actually his website is speakergingrich.com. Not former Speaker Gingrich, Speaker Gingrich. And it goes beyond him. On Meet the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 26, 2009 07:12
Obama Winners and Losers
I mentioned Newt Gingrich's article "Are You an Obama Winner? Or an Obama Loser?" at the tail end of Wednesday's episode of OTB Radio ("Republican Party, RIP?") but never got around to blogging it. It is both a classic Frank Luntz-inspired use of obnoxious language to paint a dire picture of the Democrats -- and thereby quite amusing -- and ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 8, 2009 06:31
Three Strikes
Matt Yglesias justifiably has some fun with the news that twice divorced, thrice married Newt Gingrich is charging that "The Democratic Party has been the active instrument of breaking down traditional marriage." And one can't blame him for being amused that twice divorced, thrice married Rudy Giuliani is championing traditional marriage as a cornerstone of a possible gubernatorial bid. To be ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 20, 2009 19:13
Newt Gingrich at CPAC
I attended a breakfast this morning with Newt Gingrich as part of the rollout for the American Solutions Winning the Future effort. As usual, he was an extremely forceful speaker and passionate strategist. [caption id="attachment_32263" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Newt Gingrich CPAC 2009 Bloggers Breakfast"][/caption] He opened by saying that he is an optimist and that "President Obama is doing us a huge favor" ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on February 27, 2009 10:25
Would Reagan Recognize Today’s Republican Party?
Former Texas congressman and minor Reagan administration official Mickey Edwards claims his old boss wouldn't recognize the modern GOP were he alive today. He believes modern Republicans are simply reflexively anti-government with no agenda otherwise. What would Reagan think of this? Wasn't it he who warned that government is the problem? [...] Reagan, who spent 16 years in government, actually said this: "In ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 25, 2009 08:33
Tony Blankley: Bring Back the Draft
Tony Blankley, former press secretary to Newt Gingrich and editorial page editor of the Washington Times, has a new book out that, among other things, argues for reinstatement of the military draft. Unlike liberals like Charlie Rangel or even centrist Phil Carter, he doesn't do so on the basis of "fairness" or spreading the burden but rather on the sheer ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 16, 2009 11:45
Jack Kemp Has Cancer
UPDATE 2 May 2009: Sad news. Jack Kemp Dead at 73 Jack Kemp has been diagnosed with cancer. The office of Jack Kemp says the former housing secretary, congressman and Buffalo Bills quarterback has been diagnosed with cancer. A statement issued in Buffalo, N.Y., says Kemp is undergoing tests to assess the origin of the disease and the best treatment. The statement issued ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 7, 2009 15:08
Conservative Policy Solutions
Kevin Drum seconds my concerns about conservative public intellectuals and offers two example where the Right isn't offering useful policy alternatives. Conservatives on Global Warming Take global warming. Here's the rough conservative reaction to it starting in the early 90s: It doesn't exist. It exists but it isn't manmade. It's manmade, but it's too expensive to do anything about. Even this is a generous assessment. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 24, 2008 15:44
Obama Waffles – Racist or Fair Satire?
Attendees at a Family Research Council convention were buying up "Obama Waffles" like hotcakes before organizers decided they contained images that could be deemed racist and suspended sales. Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap. Values ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 14, 2008 08:12
Newt: No Boring White Guys
Newt Gingrich is counseling the GOP not to pick any more boring white guys: With speculation mounting that John McCain may be close to choosing his running mate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Wednesday went public with his recommendations for the GOP vice presidential nominee. First choice: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Runner-up: Alasaka Gov. Sarah Palin. “What I’m afraid of is that ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 23, 2008 15:43
