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Partial-Birth’s Trojan Horse

This month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Gonzales cases, which concern the constitutionality of the Federal Partial-Birth Abortion Act. (There were two cases because the law was struck down by two different circuit courts.) There are three central questions about this case to consider as we await the Court’s decision next year: […]

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MCCAIN AND ABORTION: THE DANCE OF DISINGENUOUSNESS.

MCCAIN AND ABORTION: THE DANCE OF DISINGENUOUSNESS. John McCain has come out for overturning Roe. Frankly, I’m not sure what this tells us that we didn’t already know. McCain has already expressed support for the draconian ban in South Dakota, and voted to confirm Robert Bork and Samuel Alito. And in case McCain apologists once […]

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FOCUS ON THE GOVERNORS

FOCUS ON THE GOVERNORS: As the unofficial vice-president of Ezra‘s Gore/Sebelius ’08! fan club, I would be remiss not to link to Matt‘s argument here. The Washington press corps’ bias towards politicians already in the Beltway does seem to be the most convincing explanation for the gross overrepresentation of senators, beltway politicians, and scions of […]

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IF YOU LIKED TRENT LOTT…

IF YOU LIKED TRENT LOTT… I see that right-wing Kos-wannabe site RedState is prominently displaying a “Jeff Sessions for RPC Chair” banner. This is…highly instructive. First of all (as anyone who watched the Roberts hearings knows) there’s the fact that in terms of sheer intellectual firepower Sessions makes George W. Bush look like Oliver Wendell […]

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PLUS, THE SHOW SUCKS

PLUS, THE SHOW SUCKS If I may be permitted to add an aesthetic topper to Charlie and Ezra‘s discussion, it should also be noted that Sorkin is an egregiously overrated writer. Trying to avoid falling into the film trailer method of criticism being practiced by some quarters of the right, I gritted my teeth and […]

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WHEN “CHARACTER” WAS…

WHEN “CHARACTER” WAS KING: As Donald Rumsfeld is finally thrown under the bus, it seems appropriate to return to Jon Chait‘s recent account of the Rumsfeld-worship of the early Bush era. (The nadir was probably Midge Decter‘s book, which seems to have been expanded after Seventeen rejected her initial article because it was too puerile […]

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ROVE, MANDATES, AND…

ROVE, MANDATES, AND POWER. I agree with Matt and Garance (who has a new blog) regarding Karl Rove — 2006 should finally put to rest the idea that having a better record running national elections than Bob “Losing Pitcher” Shrum makes you some kind of super-genius. I would add to Matt’s analysis and say that […]

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BACK TO THE CLOWN SHOW.

BACK TO THE CLOWN SHOW. The defeat of South Dakota’s abortion ban is evidently good news on the merits, and will also hopefully put to rest the ideas that abortion criminalization necessarily represents popular majorities. Even in one of the most conservative states in the country, an even minimally consistent (and the South Dakota legislation […]

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