Scott Lemieux

THE POLITICAL FAILURE OF LIBERTARIAN TAX CUT JUSTIFICATIONS. Brian Beutler has an intelligent intervention into the discussion surrounding Jon Chait‘s new book. To add on a bit to his argument, I’d like to address this from McArdle: My quarrel is with the notion that supply-side theories have enormous influence on Republican policy. Supply-siders haven’t had […]

TAKING TAX POLICY ADVICE FROM L. RON HUBBARD. A significant number of Republican candidates — including Fred Thompson — have endorsed the “Fair Tax,” a plan to replace income and payroll taxes with a national sales tax (in its most recent congressional iteration, at a rate of 23%.) Bruce Barlett has an interesting piece noting […]

THE WAR ON GORE. Until Bob Somerby gets a book contract, this fine Vanity Fair article on the history-changing media war on Al Gore will do. In particular, what’s important about the piece is that it’s not just about the “right-wing noise machine” but calls out, by name and with detail, figures in the so-called […]

SUCKERED BY SPECTER. While this certainly doesn’t let Dianne Feinstein off the hook for casting the decisive vote to let Southern-Fried Alito Leslie Southwick onto the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Christy Hardin Smith argues that Judiciary Committee Chair Pat Leahy could have preempted the nomination from coming to a vote. He failed to do […]

ENDANGERED SPECIES SIGHTING. We have a sighting of that increasingly rare beast, the principled, internally consistent pro-lifer! In response to an Anna Quindlen column that produced the usual outpouring of comically transparent illogic and evasion from anti-choicers, Matt Abbott is willing to actually apply his principles with some measure of consistency: That said, I do […]

COME VOTE FOR THE PARTY OF FORCED PREGNANCY, LADIES! Kimblerley A. Strassel argues that the majority of women who vote Democratic are out there for the Republican plucking. What, might you ask, is the strategy? Well, apparently women no longer care about such trivial “70s” issues as whether they will be discriminated against in the […]

SOCIAL CONSERVATISM FOR THEE … Matt says: A reasonable politics of “family values” needs to contain some penalties for heterosexuals with anti-family behavior (see, e.g., Dick Vitter, Rudy Giuliani) and support for gays with pro-family behavior. What they have right now is just loathing of gay people masquerading as defense of the traditional family. This […]

THE VOTE FRAUD FRAUD: THE COVER-UP. Via Marcy Wheeler, Tova Andrea Wang, a member of the Election Assistance Commission, explains how the report was whitewashed: We said that our preliminary research found widespread agreement among administrators, academics and election experts from all points on the political spectrum that allegations of fraud through voter impersonation at […]

AVOIDING THE CENTRIST ABORTION REGULATION TRAP. As a follow-up to Dana‘s post below, it’s worth noting that there’s no way of writing prohibitions on particular forms of abortion into an enforceable legislative enactment. Attempt to use cries of “eugenics” notwithstanding, the real choice remains stark: you can trust women, or you can trust affluent women […]

AT LEAST HE HASN’T COMPARED LIBBY TO THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS. YET. It’s not exactly news that the very reactionary but relatively sane Robert Bork who wrote The Antitrust Paradox has vanished forever, but just for a reminder a reader points us to these ravings: More recently, we have witnessed the disgraceful performance of Patrick Fitzgerald, […]