Politics
For Capuano, Demography was Destiny
The Hill | Op-ed | September 13, 2018 The story of Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley’s “upset” primary victory over 10-term Congressman Mike Capuano is a compelling one: young, progressive woman trounces Democratic establishment icon. The district wanted “change.”...
The Extortion of Big Pharma
The National Review | August 24, 2018 President Trump has proposed suing the drug industry over its role in the opioid crisis. Like most such suits, this one would be an opportunistic cash grab. To Donald Trump, it seems, capitalism is less a matter of the market’s...
Impeccable Civil Rights Credentials: Confirm Kenneth L. Marcus
From THE HILL
Confirmation battles that pit one party’s nominee for federal office against senators from the opposition party long have been spectator sport in Washington. But when extremists from the nominee’s own party attack, well now, there’s a “man bites dog” story.
The most recent example is the curious case of Kenneth L. Marcus, President Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of education for civil rights. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is charged with ensuring equal access to education through enforcement of the nation’s civil rights laws.
Marcus is well-suited to the task. He ran the same office under a grant of delegated authority in the administration President George W. Bush, while simultaneously serving as deputy assistant secretary of education for civil rights enforcement. Marcus later served as the staff director to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (a bipartisan federal civil rights agency), where we overlapped for several years when I was one of USCCR’s eight commissioners. Currently, Marcus is president and general counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center, a civil rights organization dedicated to combating anti-Semitism on college campuses.
The Ghost of Pauline Kael
New Boston Post | November 11, 2016, 9:12 EST On February 26, 2016, I wrote a public cautionary note to my liberal friends, warning them to to take Donald Trump seriously and predicting that, if nominated, Trump would beat Hillary Clinton in November. Below is that...
Should Republicans let History (and Ohio?) be their Guide?
New Boston Post | April 7, 2016, 14:57 EST Ted Cruz’s decisive victory in Wisconsin over Donald Trump now makes the possibility of a contested convention, once dismissed as remote by many commentators (myself included), ever more likely. To clinch the Republican...
Donald Trump and the Kardashification of US Politics
New Boston Post | February 22, 2016, 11:58 EST With Donald Trump’s spectacular win in South Carolina and his massive popularity here in the Bay State, I am starting to believe that Republicans might actually nominate this guy. Back in the summer, I scoffed at the...
President Obama and Justice Scalia’s Funeral
New Boston Post | February 19, 2016 One piece of advice my father always gave me was this: Never miss a funeral or a wedding. “It’s important to show up at these things,” he said, “And you will never regret going.” Apparently, this is not a lesson that was ever taught...
You Say You Want a Revolution?
Originally published in the NewBostonPost | February 11, 2016 New Hampshire has spoken. In voting for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders on Tuesday, Granite State Republicans and Democrats sent a clear anti-establishment message. Although the anger on both sides of the...
The Case for Rubio
New Boston Post | February 9, 2016, 10:22 EST Almost every American journalist covering the 2016 presidential campaign will vote in this election. And, by now, almost all have decided whom they will support. Journalists at other new outlets won’t tell you where they...
Rock, Paper, Scissors (Part IV): Which 2016 GOP candidate can beat Hillary?
Bill Clinton once said that the difference between a Democratic presidential primary and a Republican one is that “Democrats want to fall in love. Republicans just fall in line.” Clinton may have been correct about the way that primary voters in the two parties have...
Rock, Paper, Scissors (Part III): Hillary Clinton, leadership styles and political campaigns
New Boston Post | January 11, 2016 Readers of this blog may be familiar with my Rock, Paper, Scissors theory of modern electoral politics, in which Beer Candidates beat Technocrats; Technocrats beat Careerists; and Visionaries beat practically anyone. The theory is...
Eight Political Predictions for 2016
New Boston Post | January 4, 2016 2016 is finally here. And, although much can change between now and the Iowa caucuses (February 1) and New Hampshire primary (February 9), below are eight political predictions based on presidential campaign history and the current...
Rock, Paper, Scissors (Part II): Leadership styles of Massachusetts pols
New Boston post| December 15, 2015 Massachusetts “Technocrats”: Better than political hacks Last week’s blog post introduced my theory that, in the modern television/internet era, the candidate who is most personally “likable” wins. In short, the theory is that there...
People Died, Hillary Lied — but not to Chelsea
It is now clear that Hillary Clinton lied to the American public abut the nature of the Benghazi attacks in order to protect her president in an election year.
The End of Identity Politics?
The Boston Herald | Op-Ed | May 6, 2015 Presidential candidate and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina wants to put "an end to identiy politics." In a not-so-vieled attack on Hillary Clinton, Firoina suggested Monday that voters need to focus less on the...
“Advocates for ‘change’ are, inevitably, frustrated with our deliberately inefficient government. And so when they do not get their way, they complain that the system is ‘broken.’ But it is not. This is how it is supposed to work. Gridlock prevents the majority from running roughshod over the minority. Gridlock ensures that dissenting voices are heard. Gridlock forces compromise — often painful compromise, but compromise nonetheless”
