Jim Bunning’s Finest Hour
Sen. Jim Bunning cut a deal with Democrats to release the
hold he had blocking a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits
and subsidized COBRA health insurance. But the impact of his
stand against more deficit spending will hang over Washington for
some time. When he said on the floor Tuesday night [...]
Contract Renewal
You’ve must admit, there’s something Churchillian about Newt
Gingrich. He may not be the most beloved politician on the
national scene, but Newt always has his eye on the ball. Nobody
does the issues better.
This casts Newt in the role that Churchill played when he
was an [...]
Zugzwang: Democrats’ 2010 Dilemma
I first encountered the word Zugzwang in a 1985 New York Times Magazine column by the late William Safire. It’s a chess term that means “compelled to move, but imperiled by doing so.” The word’s political implications are profound.
For the past 25 years, I’ve regularly witnessed the repercussions of that hard-to-pronounce term. During the 1990s, [...]
Opponents of Reform Cry "Repeal," Vow to Fight On for the Insurance Industry
Yesterday POLITICO reported that, before it even becomes law, opponents of health care reform – including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – are already talking about repealing it. Certainly there is a fundamental disagreement here, since many opponents of reform – again including Gingrich – appear to think that insurance companies can do no wrong.
First, it [...]
Opponents of Reform Cry Repeal, Vow to Fight On for the Insurance Industry
Yesterday POLITICO reported that, before it even becomes law, opponents of health care reform – including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – are already talking about repealing it. Certainly there is a fundamental disagreement here, since many opponents of reform – again including Gingrich – appear to think that insurance companies can do no wrong.
First, it [...]
Another Blue Dog Bites the Dust
Bart Gordon of Tennessee says no thanks to next year’s political environment:
Another senior Democratic congressman from a competitive district said Monday he would retire, heightening pressure on party leaders seeking to avoid a 1994-style election defeat that would change control of the House.
The planned departure of Rep. Bart Gordon (D., Tenn.), chairman of the House [...]
