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- Are all politics local? Nate Silver looks at the truism coined by Tip O'Neill and finds trends toward nationalization at the presidential, country, and congressional level. But what does this mean? If the parties are increasingly nationalizing races, does this change the basic calculus that outside of presidential contests (which shouldn't even be considered for this question) politicians need to pay special attention to their constituents? Or does this all hinge on how we interpret Mr. O'Neill's truism? I appreciate the data, of course, but does it tell us anything interesting about contemporary politics?
- My faith in Barack Obama's personnel decision-making skills gets shaken when a potential chief of staff says things like this: "They miscalculated on health care. The election of '08 sent a message that after 30 years of center-right governing, we had moved to center left -- not left." So many things wrong with this statement, but if Daley actually believes that the Affordable Care Act was some sort of gift to the (implied) far left, he is too out of tune with politics to be a serious consideration for an important White House job. Moreover, this nonsense about what flavor of "centrist" country we truly live in needs to end. The American public is nonideological and incoherent on policy; on this point there are reams of data to support the conclusion.
- I think the upcoming health-care "repeal" vote is definitely something John Boehner simply wants to get out of the way to appease the base, but I wonder, as Kevin Drum does, whether this is a "genuine signal to Obama that he's kinda sorta willing to work with him on future legislation?" Obviously, the past two years of Republican behavior should make anyone skeptical. But that was when republicans were in the minority in the House. It's Boehner's turn to call the shots now, and I can't help but think that he might -- gasp -- actually want to get something done in this Congress. I certainly hope so because the alternative is gridlock, government shutdowns, and endless investigations into Obama's socialist Kenyan past.
- Remainders: The search for a “Tea Party foreign policy” is a waste of time; a history of filibuster reform; and this interview with Daniel McCarthy showcases the type of conservatism I wish liberals could have a debate with.
--Mori Dinauer
