If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
The most peculiar thing about Obama Term I has been its subversion of the electorate's expectations. Obama the president has largely failed where Obama the candidate was meant to succeed, and thrived where he was meant to flounder.
Does Congress ever learn... to butt out of things that aren't its business? This may sound like a rhetorical question, but it's actually a very serious one that needs to be answered if we are ever going to restore public confidence in our leadership.
This is the story of the only U.S. Congressmen ever sent to an insane asylum.
Anyone who wonders how we got into our current fiscal mess need look no further than the latest farm bill.
House Republicans' unanimous decision to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt is continued evidence Congress is willing to do anything except work on creating policies to help the American people prosper.
Sports and politics have so much in common we often use the same terminology. You know how they say strong teams have a deep bench? We have the same theory at EMILY's List, where we are always working to building a pipeline of future leaders.
We've hated presidents. Screamed challenging questions to them. Protested them virulently. But people in positions of responsibility have always treated the President of the United States with respect. Because they understand that the office represents our country before the world.
Let me humbly suggest that as an alternative to a mandatory system rejected by the majority, we return to the idea of covering most people by attracting them to quality public and private programs through consumer choice. It's called Medicare and it works splendidly.
Today's political commenters often misuse the concept of "checks and balances" to refer directly to politics. This is just flat-out wrong.
Daily, we are bombarded with stories of how money influences the direction of laws and regulations. Apparently, that is not the view of both congressional staff who works on Capitol Hill and the lobbyists who are paid to influence them.
Were they the least bit interested in exercising any oversight at all into the war that American soldiers are still fighting and dying in -- and that Chinese bond buyers are still providing the cash for -- members of Congress wouldn't have to go very far to find some excellent questions.
As Congress once again threatens to hold the nation's credit rating hostage by refusing to lift the debt ceiling, the president need not play the victim. He should take the lead by ignoring the ceiling and heeding only the legislature's last word: spend.
Who among the Board of Directors and senior management does not understand that this is in conflict with at least the "spirit and intent of the law" recently passed by Congress?
The New York Times reports that "just 44 percent of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing." May I be permitted an "I told you so?"
The U.S. Supreme Court has created a system of campaign finance where dirty money is king. Just watch in the next few months as that tsunami of dirty money washes over the American political landscape.
