A New Kind of Politics

Mark Davis calls blacks and Hispanics “Criminals”

Charles — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:43:59 +0000

That's not what he meant, but that doesn't mean we're not 15 minutes away from a Media Matters post bemoaning his bigotry that will be picked up by any opportunistic commentator who remembers Davis subs for Rush.

Obama goes Cosby at NAACP 100th

Charles — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:46:13 +0000

As much as Bill Cosby is chastised for the things he says to African-American groups, I never expected President Obama to take his views to the NAACP. Of course, we are talking about a national organization that refers to us as “colored”: President Barack Obama had a tough-love message for fellow African-Americans on Thursday, urging black [...]

Empowering Your Opponents

Charles — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:40:27 +0000

This week in Philadelphia a group of black kids were kicked out of a private swim club, which informed them that they were afraid the children would “change the complexion” of their club. Quite the appropriate pun, I think. Allison Kilkenny @ trueslant.com, along with NBC, covers well the most apparent angle on this story: [...]

Rasmussen Rundown 7.2.09

Charles — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:13:57 +0000

[It's been a while. Think of June as my Lost Month] Rasmussen has some unpleasant news for President Obama as relates to healthcare, climate change, and the economy: Thirty-three% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-five percent (35%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential [...]

Larry Summers and “Innate Differences”

Charles — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:37:10 +0000

In 2005 Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard, was assailed for suggesting that “innate differences” between men and women may account for the lack of female professors in the hard sciences. Several attendees walked out of his speech, deeply offended. One woman, an MIT biologist, said if she hadn’t, she would have “passed out or [...]

Quick Hits 6.4.09

Charles — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:17:49 +0000

Sotomayor: In 1994 the “wise woman” wasn’t necessarily a Latina Apparently during a speech in 1994 Supeme Court nomine Sonia Sotomayor made a statement almost identical to the one from 2001: “I would hope that a wise woman with the richness of her experience would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion,” she said in the [...]

Rasmussen: The People Love the Fair Tax

Charles — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:30:29 +0000

Rasmussen released a poll on Friday showing 68% opposition to a national sales tax. That isn’t the least bit surprising. Democrats, and even a good number of Republicans, have invested time over the last few years maligning the concept in the form of the Fair Tax. Now they know their strategy worked. Except it didn’t. While [...]

Op-Ed: Republicans, Sotomayor, and Supreme Diversity

Charles — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:00:38 +0000

“If the 40 remaining Republican senators end up voting for Sotomayor, her race will be the reason.” Michael Kinsley, in the Washington Post, puts into play a scary idea. Is Sotomayor facing a basically uncontested nomination due solely to her race (and gender)? She’s certainly intelligent, well-educated, and experienced. Even the unfavorable opinions of lawyers who [...]

Sotomayor the Centrist

Charles — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:30:25 +0000

Just as I said the other day, the op-eds are coming out calling President Obama’s nominee a centrist. E.J. Dionne: Liberals should not take the bait of the right-wingers by allowing the debate over Sotomayor to be premised on the idea that she is a bold ideological choice. She’s not. But if conservatives succeed in painting this [...]

The Gov’t Shouldn’t Be in the Marriage Business

Charles — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:44:33 +0000

Polarization is a fact of life. On any subject you’ll find zealots on all sides. Some, such as the divisions over abortion and capital punishment, can’t really be avoided. You’re either allowed to kill people are you’re not. There’s not a lot of room for compromise. But the polarization over the question of same-sex marriage can [...]