View image | gettyimages.com Among the things we’re learning about the New Romney, concerned for the downtrodden and bristling with authenticity, is that he’ll be talking more about his religion. I think this is a fine thing for him to do-in fact, I want to hear from other candidates about the subject, too. Not only […]
Blog: Paul Waldman
Posted inLaw and Justice
Photo of the Day – Nomination Hearing Edition
View image | gettyimages.com This is from the confirmation hearings for Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General; that’s her in the center. I think Cruz is saying to himself, “Can I be president and serve on the Supreme Court at the same time? I don’t think the Constitution says otherwise. Yeah, that’d be real nice…”
Posted inEducation in America
The Terrifying Political Power of the Upper Middle Class
Today’s Plum Line post concerns the plan to eliminate the tax benefit of 529 plans, which the Obama administration proposed and then withdrew in the face of opposition from both Republicans and Democrats: The Republicans who are crowing about the White House’s retreat ought to remind themselves that this is yet another illustration of a […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
For Republicans, Medicaid and Medicare Are Mirror Images
Yesterday, Indiana governor and possible presidential candidate Mike Pence-a conservative’s conservative by any measure-announced that he had come to an agreement with the federal government to accept the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid. Like other Republican governors, he wanted to change the plan a bit, just to make sure poor people knew that getting […]
Posted inPaul Waldman
Photo of the Day, British Silliness Edition
View image | gettyimages.com The photo of this guy swimming with a Dalek on his head was apparently taken at some sort of whimsical British swimming competition, but the context is really irrelevant. The point is, this is a guy swimming with a Dalek on his head. Godspeed to you, good sir.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Kochpublican Party
In my Plum Line post today, I take a look at the announcement that the Koch brothers and their allies plan to spend $889 million (an awfully specific number) on the 2016 elections. My guess is they’ll blow through that and make it to $1 billion, what with their can-do American entrepreneurial spirit and all. […]
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Bobby Jindal’s Doomed Crusade
Flickr/Gage Skidmore Bobby Jindal has been something of an odd man out in the emerging 2016 presidential race. While people like Rand Paul and Marco Rubio (not to mention Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney) get headlines for their every contemplation of the race, Jindal is largely ignored by the national media. Yet for years he […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Charts of the Day, Declining Deficit Edition
If you’re like me, you can’t wait for an excuse to head on over to the historical tables of the president’s budget and grab some data to make a couple of graphs. O.K., so you’re not like me in that respect, because you’re not a weirdo. But I am, so when I saw that the […]
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Photo of the Day, Snowstorm Edition
View image | gettyimages.com This one is from 1910, in New York City. So you people with your plowed streets, ergonomic shovels, and fully functioning wifi should just shut up and be thankful you don’t live a hundred years ago.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
News From Elsewhere
Republicans have now reached the point where they agree that things like inequality and wage stagnation are important, and they should discuss them with voters. Which isn’t a bad first step, but I’m skeptical about whether they can take the obvious next step. That’s the topic of my Plum Line post today: The current Republican […]
