May 31, 2014
It is striking how much in agreement so many Republican and Democratic congressional leaders seem to be in their response to Gen. Eric Shinseki‘s departure as secretary of veterans affairs. Both House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had said, rightly, that getting rid of Gen. Shinseki would not solve the systemic problems in the veterans’ health system.Please click here to read the full article.
May 29, 2014
“[Y]our dead kids don’t trump my constitutional rights,” Joe Wurzelbacher–popularly known as Joe the Plumber–wrote this week. It is a sad reflection of our polarized politics that Mr. Wurzelbacher, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2012, would seek to turn last Friday’s shootings in Isla Vista, Calif., into a political slugfest.Please click here to read the full article.
May 28, 2014
A group of senators led by South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham thinks that the way to ensure that the GOP wins control of the Senate in November is by offering voters a new Contract With America-style agenda. As Politico has reported, Sen. Graham–who entered the House with the Class of ’94 and is seeking reelection to the Senate–is pushing for a campaign agenda of four or five action items.Please click here to read the full article.
May 26, 2014
The allegations of false recordkeeping, years-long waits for medical appointments and even reports of some veterans dying while awaiting health care bring a sad and disturbing shadow to this holiday to honor the service of America’s military veterans. An ongoing CNN investigation into the conditions at Veterans Affairs facilities recently revealed that one hospital in Phoenix shredded the evidence of more than 1,400 vets who were placed on a secret waiting list created to make wait times look shorter and at least 40 veterans died waiting for care at the facility.Please click here to read the full article.
May 25, 2014
Although millennials are a significant portion of the electorate, their generation has almost no representation in Congress. Voters 30 and younger were 19 percent of the electorate in 2012, while voters 65 and older were 16 percent of those who cast ballots. Currently, no member of Congress is younger than 30. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a 31-year-old Democrat from Florida, is the youngest House member. Rep. Aaron Schock, a Republican from Illinois, is to celebrate his 33rd birthday on May 28.Please click here to read the full article.
May 24, 2014
Gallup reported this week that voters are seriously unhappy with both Democrats and Republicans and don’t believe either party should have total control of Congress. What’s worse this election year is that a lot of people don’t think it really matters who is in charge. Thirty-six percent of Americans think control should be divided in the House and Senate, and a quarter of Americans don’t think it makes a difference.Please click here to read the full article.
May 23, 2014
When former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown moved to New Hampshire with the intention of running for another Senate seat in what he perceived to be a friendlier political environment, he badly misjudged how Granite State voters would perceive his carpet-bagging. Mr. Brown was elected to the Senate from Massachusetts in a special election in 2010 but defeated for reelection two years later. He formally announced his challenge to incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor of New Hampshire, in April. Recent surveys by Republican pollster Vox Populi shows that Mr. Brown faces an uphill battle.Please click here to read the full article.
May 22, 2014
The seven political races billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer has picked to play in this year are instructive not only for those he has chosen but also for those he has ignored. As The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, Mr. Steyer has pledged at least $50 million of his own money for a $100 million effort to boost the candidacies of Democrats running for the Senate in Colorado, New Hampshire, Iowa and Michigan and for governor in Florida, Maine and Pennsylvania.Please click here to read the full article.
May 20, 2014
The latest Gallup poll confirms that Americans believe unemployment and dysfunctional government are the nation’s most important problems, followed closely by the economy. Independent voters are more dissatisfied than are partisans and consider government dysfunction, poor political leadership, corruption and abuse of power the country’s biggest problems.Please click here to read the full article.
May 16, 2014
The Wall Street Journal’s Beth Reinhard reports that secretary-of-state positions are the latest front in election war. Both parties see an advantage in controlling the offices that oversee election law and voting, especially in swing states such as Ohio, Colorado and Iowa. The 2000 presidential election, which came down to questionable and very partisan vote counting and legal challenges in Florida, is a perfect example of why election administration should be nonpartisan.Please click here to read the full article.
