Vice President Joe Biden has been pondering the 2016 presidential race and lately that thinking has been done in a more public way: meeting with Sen. Elizabeth Warren over the weekend, receiving President Obama’s blessing to run, and seeking out senior Democratic staff members and fundraisers. The question is, if Biden enters the race now, … Continue reading »
Democratic Party
The filibuster and the environment
In the short run, limiting the filibuster will strengthen the hands of environmental regulators. What about the long run effects? The filibuster arguably served a useful function when it allowed the minority to block action in extraordinary cases where its views were especially intense. It became no longer tolerable when it became a routine barrier … Continue reading »
The new Southern strategy
When President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he told an aide that Democrats had “lost the South for a generation,” anticipating a white backlash in the South. Since the end of Reconstruction, the South had been dominated by the Democratic Party. The national party’s efforts to promote civil rights at the national … Continue reading »
Occupy elections, with a simple message
What’s next? That’s the question being asked as cities close down Occupy encampments and winter approaches. The answer is simple. Just as the Tea Party gained power, the Occupy Movement can. The Occupy movement has raised awareness of a great many of America’s real issues and has organized supporters across the country. Next comes electoral … Continue reading »
The Wall Street occupiers and the Democratic Party
Will the Wall Street Occupiers morph into a movement that has as much impact on the Democratic Party as the Tea Party has had on the GOP? Maybe. But there are reasons for doubting it. Tea Partiers have been a mixed blessing for the GOP establishment – a source of new ground troops and energy … Continue reading »