Tomorrow is the Nevada Caucus, and even though South Carolina really means more, the Nevada results will bring a lot of breathless hype from everyone talking about how this “changes the race!” As they’ll now say everytime any state votes, and another good reason that it’s a little crazy that basically the entire month of…
Category: Larger Editorials
Is Thinking Black Leaders are Sell-Outs the Ultimate White Privilege?
In episode 9 of “A Year Long Conversation” we dissect the divisions in the progressive movement between age, gender, and particularly race. Because there’s a weird phenomenon out there: young, white progressives who have had relatively good lives seem to think that even black leaders are now part of “The Machine.” They seem to view themselves as more…
Why Bernie Can’t Beat ANY of the Five GOP Potential Nominees
I know, I know, Bernie’s fans won’t believe a word I say about him or his electability chances, but I’m hoping against hope that I can convince at least some people before it’s too late. Realistically, there are five GOP candidates who could be the nominee (sorry Ben Carson). When you really start to crunch…
Why Obama Should NOT Go for the Recess Appointment
Quick legal summary: When there is a vacancy on The Supreme Court, the President gets the power to nominate a replacement. If they filibuster his nominee, it doesn’t get through, and he could technically not fill that vacancy even if they filibuster all his nominees for years. [Although so far a nominee has never been filibustered.] However, if congress is in…
Live-Blogging the GOP Debate…This Should Be a Good One
6:00–How will Scalia’s death affect this debate? We’re about to find out… 6:01–It should be a barn-burner. Chief asshole Ted Cruz has already said he wants to wait until next year for a replacement which would be unprecedented. 6:02–This phony debate begins with a moment of silence which is more than most candidates gave before…
Does Anton Scalia’s Death Make 2016 Race More Real?
It’s never a great thing to celebrate the passing of the dead, but Supreme Court Justice Anton Scalia wasn’t a great person. In fact, he was a really awful person, and having him on the Supreme Court is the rough equivalent of Justice Fred Phelps. [Or as long-suffering Alabamaians know all too well, Chief Justice…
Another Day, Another Dem Debate (But No Dollars)
6:02–It took me a minute to find what channel PBS is. 6:03–It looks like a Bernie crowd, he got slightly more enthusiastic applause than she did. 6:06–Bernie’s opening speech is seemingly endless. He’s talked for several minutes straight. Might wear himself out by the end of this. He talked too long in his New Hampshire…
For GOP, South Carolina and New Hampshire Are Actually Great Predictors
For the Democrats, Iowa and New Hampshire are not always accurate and they don’t even usually pick the same winner. [It’s also been known to happen that the winner of neither goes on to win the nomination, just ask Bill Clinton.] Then South Carolina has gotten it right…about 66% of the time. Not exaclty a…
Could Trump Actually Be the Nominee? It’s Looking That Way…
Trump’s “stunning” win in New Hampshire (so says a media that thinks a months-long polling advantage is surprising) may be a bigger deal than it at first appears. “But Alabama Liberal, you just said Bernie’s win was no big deal?” That’s right, but that’s because the state is Bernie’s backyard, lilly-white, and he’s not polling well…
Hillary’s Campaign Isn’t In Trouble
This instance that her campaign is in trouble is a perception that the media is more desperate to create than a reality. Hillary fully expected to lose New Hampshire to Bernie. She as much as said so in last Wednesday’s Town Hall meeting and last Thursday’s debate. She spoke freely about the polling data and the Senator…
Why Does the Media Hate Hillary Clinton?
Anyone who says the media doesn’t go after Hillary Clinton must be insane or Karl Rove or currently running for president against her. Back in 2008, SNL even had a hilarious parody of it with reporters openly showing their love for Obama while giving Hillary disdain. Right now, Bernie’s New Hampshire win was nothing short…
New Hampshire and Iowa are Not Only VERY White But Regional
Before the media gets too caught up pretending that New Hampshire and Iowa are great indicators of what the “folks out there” are thinking, it’s a little crazy to think that these two states weed out our presidential candidates when both of them put together don’t have the populations of New York (which isn’t voting…
Larger Editorial: Actually, Rubio May Be In Trouble…
It’s tempting to overthink New Hampshire—a state that is not really indicative of America, but has huge influence over its presidency—and reconfigure the race for about a week…until the next primary reshuffles it again. All the breathless coverage usually misses the point, but perhaps not in the case of Rubio’s stingingly weak showing. A week…