Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
G-20 in Seoul: real conflict, but not a return to the 1930s
Conferences like last week’s G-20 gathering usually produce bland communiques and not much change. But the Seoul summit took this to an extreme: it involved real conflict which the final statement could barely conceal. As I recently described in spiked (here), the ostensible issue has to do with currencies and monetary policy, particularly between the austerity/trade […]
Buffalo: New York’s Midwest city
This video about Buffalo, produced by tourist and preservation groups, is quite impressive and reminded me of a few broader issues. First, we often forget that New York State encompasses what we know as the Midwest. In his New York Times op-ed yesterday, David Brooks argues that the trajectory of American politics is being determined by the working class of the Midwest: If Balzac […]
A protest vote not a Republican revolution
The real lesson of the US midterm elections was that voters have little faith in either party to solve America’s problems. Read my spiked article in full here.
Democrats’ comfortable self-delusions
In today’s New York Times, David Brooks argues that the Democrats are self-worhsipping and self-deluding, and “have done a maginificent job in maintaining their own self-esteem”. Brooks is right on point, and it’s worth quoting him at length: For example, Democrats and their media enablers have paid lavish attention to Christine O’Donnell and Carl Paladino, […]
Juan Williams and illiberal liberalism
National Public Radio’s firing of its reporter and pundit Juan Williams is disturbing for advocates of free expression and debate. NPR is, of course, free to hire and fire whoever they want; Williams did not have a job for life. And, in my opinion, he’s not a particularly insightful commentator. But the circumstances of his firing are problematic. […]
The rent is too damn high
At a seven-candidate debate for governor of New York, Jimmy McMillan of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party stole the show. Here is a video clip of his performance. His catchphrase was remixed into a dance-beat tune, which is catching on quickly.
Obama blames “scared” voters
Mickey Kaus says that Obama has returned to blaming voters for not agreeing with him, just like when he spoke of people in Pennsylvania that “cling to guns and God” during the 2008 election campaign. At a recent fund-raising event in Massachusetts, Obama said: “Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and […]
Focus on the Tea Party, miss what’s going on
Two op-ed pieces today provide some badly-needed perspective on the Tea Party and party politics generally. First, the Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman is in America, and he has a very sensible opinion piece on the Tea Party in today’s edition. As Rachman rightly points out, the Tea Party “is not as ‘mad’ as its opponents sometimes claim”. […]
Christie’s tunnel vision
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie yesterday cancelled the largest public transportation project in the country, a commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River to Manhattan. It is a very short-sighted move. The project originally was financed by about $3 billion each from the federal government, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the […]
“I’m not a witch”
Well, “I’m not a witch” is not what you expect to hear coming out of a candidate’s mouth. But what’s even more disturbing is Christine O’Donnell saying “I’m you”. That really creeps me out.