Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs
I wholly agree with James Joyner’s statements earlier today about the general uselessness of any straw poll, including the one conducted annually at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which this year was won by Mitt Romney. Which is why I find Rick Santorum’s whining about the process rather amusing: A groggy Rick Santorum, donning suit [...]
While I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with the degree that CPAC has embraced the worst elements of the conservative movement in recent years, it does appear that there is a line. ThinkProgress (“EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Board Unanimously Condemned Gaffney’s ‘Reprehensible’ And ‘Unfounded’ Attacks“): A year ago, anti-Sharia conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney leaned against a column in the basement of [...]
Whitney Houston, once one of the biggest stars in American popular culture, has died.
The Massachusetts Moderate has won the Conservative Political Action Conference poll for a fourth time.
The popular notion that the United States military is monolithically Republican is mistaken.
At the very least, nominating Santorum would let the GOP test a hypothesis that’s been debated for years.
If the reaction at this year’s CPAC is any indication, Mitt Romney still has some work to do to seal up his party’s base.
Late yesterday, the nation’s Catholic Bishops came out with a statement that noted at least two strong objections to the revised contraceptive coverage plan unveiled yesterday by the White House: Hours after calling the Obama administration’s contraceptives compromise a “first step,” the Catholic bishops said Friday night they have “two serious objections” to the new [...]
A new poll shows Santorum surging ahead of Mitt Romney nationally
Yesterday, rumors swept the Internet, primarily via Twitter, that the new leader of North Korea had been assassinated in Beijing: The claim that Kim, supreme leader of North Korea since the death of his father Kim Jong Il in December, had died apparently stemmed from a message sent out by a man who works near [...]
Via the AP: US Marines posed with Nazi symbol in Afghanistan The Marine Corps on Thursday once again did damage control after a photograph surfaced of a sniper team in Afghanistan posing in front of a flag with a logo resembling that of the notorious Nazi SS — a special unit that murdered millions of [...]
Tony Manfred at Business Insider reports on some statistics from the NCAA on the likelihood that a college athlete will become a professional athlete: Even if your kid is good at sports in high school, gets a scholarship, and excels in college, there’s almost no way they are going to go pro. Scott Soshnick of [...]
The Obama Administration’s proposed solution to the impasse over contraceptives is unlikely to end the debate.
French mothers do not have some magical formula for raising well behaved children.
Pepsi’s profits and revenues are up. Naturally, it’s time to fire 3 percent of its global workforce.
There must not be any serious problems left for the Arizona State Legislature to worry about, because they are presently considering a bill that would bar teachers and professors from using bad language: In what has to be the most hilariously unconstitutional piece of legislation that I’ve seen in quite some time, senators in the [...]
ABC News’s Jake Tapper is reporting this morning that the Obama Administration will be offering a compromise of some form regarding its controversial new rule requiring employers to provide coverage for contraceptives to their employees: With the White House under fire for its new rule requiring employers including religious organizations to offer health insurance that [...]
Most people forget most of what they learn in school. Should we call the whole thing off?
Should we just hand “marriage” over to churches and have civil unions for everyone else?
William F. Buckley Jr. was once quoted as saying that he’d rather be ruled by the first 400 names in the Boston telephone directory than the faculty at Harvard. Apparently, most Americans feel the same way: The public’s perception of Congress has sunk to yet another new low, with 43 percent of likely voters believing [...]
Maggie Gallagher’s anti-gay marriage argument is an example of pure conservative thinking.
One analyst sees a way that the current GOP race could indeed lead to a brokered convention.
Mitt Romney has apparently realized that people don’t like him much, so he’s working to come across as less robotic.
Andrew Kaczynski at Buzzfeed uncovers this video from 2008 when Rick Santorum not only endorsed Mitt Romney, but campaigned with him: As conservatives gather here at CPAC, it’s a pretty good refection of how much things have changed in four years. Back then, Mitt Romney was the conservative hero fighting against John McCain and Mike [...]
Via the BBC: Greece bailout: Coalition fails to agree cuts Greek PM Lucas Papademos has failed to secure the support of his coalition for a raft of new austerity measures, after more than seven hours of talks. [...] A statement issued by the prime minister’s office said the aim of the meeting with the troika [...]
Jonathan Chait begins a column titled “Why I’m So Mean” thusly: People often ask, “Why is Jonathan Chait so mean?” It is a fair question, one that has been raised by my close friends, colleagues, wife, and parents, and it merits a suitably thoughtful reply. The latest person to ask it is ubiquitous right-wing misinformation [...]
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti admits that the fight over the eurozone crisis is opening some old wounds.
I know that Doug Mataconis has already noted the turnout figures, but I like the way Ron Elving put in it in a write-up for NPR: Not only was the Missouri vote a "beauty contest," binding no delegates, but the turnout there was less than 6 percent of the voting-age population — a paltry number [...]
Are culture war issues about to make a comeback in the 2012 campaign?
It may be time for Republicans to start worrying about turnout in their primaries. With the exception of the South Carolina primary, voter turnout in all the primary and caucus contests this year has been down from 2008 levels, and yesterday’s numbers were among the worst of all: Missouri 2008 Turnout —- 588,720 voters 2012 [...]
Rick Santorum swept three states that are off the media radar screen. Will it revive his campaign?
Romney polls the winner in any head-to-head matchup within the GOP candidiate pool.
Once again, a government entity thinks the average person is too dumb to take care of themselves.
There are some signs that the Obama Administration may be looking for a way out of the controversy it has found itself in with Catholics and other religious groups: The White House may be open to compromising on a new rule that requires religious schools and hospitals to provide employees with access to free birth [...]
A victory for proponents of same-sex marriage today in the Ninth Circuit.
The Obama Campaign is being criticized for agreeing to play the SuperPAC game like everyone else does.
Last week, Doug Mataconis noted the claim by Mitt Romney that Americans “are the only people on the earth that put our hand over our heart during the playing of the national anthem.” Doug linked to some photographic evidence that contradicted that claim. For those who prefer moving pictures, I give you Glenn Kessler. Why [...]
If one has views that one will not change even in the face of the best case scenario for new data against those views, then one cannot claim to be an analyst.
