- A majority of Americans might support additional economic stimulus and regulating "energy output" and financial institutions. But you know what? They also prioritize deficit reduction, reducing foreign aid, lowering taxes, and a bazillion other contradictory things. The lesson here is that the public does not have a coherent vision for government priorities and that politicians ought to do the right thing on policy, even if it's unpopular.
- Funny, but the only interesting thing about the "top ten campaign gaffes of 2010" is that I had completely forgotten about them until now. And I'm neck-deep in politics on a daily basis! I can only imagine the impact these gaffes have had on people's votes -- oh wait, they didn't.
- It's time again to dispel the idea that because a plurality of political independents prefer theoretical 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul, we are entering a "libertarian moment." The definitive rebuke to this nonsense can be found here; I'll only add that referring to your beliefs as "libertarianish" seems an admission of their limited appeal.
- Remainders: Some smart proposals for dealing with unemployment -- if we had a bolder Congress; new and better Democrats pushing carbon pricing; and the GOP's desire for a presidential scandal could be its undoing.
--Mori Dinauer
