On Tuesday reports came out that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is considering jumping into the GOP presidential race. Just two days earlier, sitting members of the House of Representatives – Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul — finished in first and second place in the Iowa Straw Poll. Though none of these candidates (and potential candidates) […]
Blog: TAPPED
Posted inEducation in America
Rick Perry Talks About Sex
We sure are talking about Rick Perry a lot. But why stop now — he’s not only new, but interesting in ways that some of his opponents aren’t. Jonathan Chait brings us this video of Perry seemingly flummoxed when confronted with the fact that his preferred policy of abstinence education doesn’t work to stop teen […]
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Republicans Can’t Seem to Go a Day Without Insulting Black People
Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn went on something of a speaking tour yesterday, warning of impending economic disaster and predicting the demise of Medicare. It has been an exercise in sensationalism – at one point, while voicing his frustrations with the Senate, Coburn said that “It’s just a good thing I can’t pack a gun on […]
Posted inEducation in America
Rick Perry’s Higher Education Woes
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s has had a tough go with higher education. Costs to attend the state’s college have shot past the support the state provides to students. State community colleges, for example, are 90 percent more expensive since 2000 while, over the same period, government spending increased only 23 percent. The disparity is even […]
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HHS Apparently Incapable of Producing Non-Crappy Information Form
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed some new rules that will allow people to easily compare plans when shopping for health insurance. Good news! The Obama administration has been fairly proactive in working to make information more accessible and easier for people to understand, often through thoughtful design. So I went over […]
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Obama Takes to the Bully Pulpit to Push Job Creation
For the last several months, President Obama has used his considerable rhetoric talents to turn the public’s attention to deficits, arguing that the government needs to tighten its belt in response to mounting debt. This has driven liberals insane, especially since the president has yet to present any major ideas for job creation, despite 9.1 […]
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Bob Moser talks Rick Perry with Democracy Now!
Our new executive editor, Bob Moser, went on Democracy Now! this morning to talk about Rick Perry’s record in Texas. Moser is the former editor of The Texas Observer, where he spent three years covering Perry’s governorship. Watch the video below or go here for a full transcript.
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Where are the Young Liberal Judges?
Because of both Senate obstructionism and the relatively low priority placed on them by the Obama administration, the pace of appointments to the federal judiciary has been regrettably low. But quantity isn’t the only issue. Under current norms, Supreme Court justices tend to come from the federal appellate courts. Particularly since the Reagan administration, Republican […]
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The Tea Party Revealed
The op-ed of the day is from political scientists David Campbell and Robert Putnam, reporting on surveys they have done that contain in-depth analysis of Tea Partiers. What’s different about their data is that they did a panel study (where the same respondents are interviewed at multiple times) that began in 2006, before the Tea […]
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Wisconsin Recall Part Deux
Last week, Wisconsin Democrats were on offense, winning two races against Republican state senators in a historic slate of recall elections. Yesterday, however, the situation was reversed, with Democrats defending two of their lawmakers from GOP attempts at recall. The state senators in question – Robert Wirch and Jim Holperin – were among the 14 […]
