The Breitbart/Sherrod saga feels like so much political drama. It is a kind of spectacle custom-made for Politico reporters and political junkies — mildly entertaining, for a little while, but signifying virtually nothing in the end. Witness, for instance, some of the ridiculous accusations that have been thrown around in the past two weeks. In the last fortnight: … Read more
Sometimes you read a Tyler Cowen post and you think to yourself, simply: Did he really just say that? Here’s Cowen on payday loans and unprotected sex: The unprotected sex is riskier and less prudent than borrowing money at an annualized rate of two hundred percent. Why prohibit one and not the other? Many of … Read more
Recent Harvard Law graduate Joel Pollak, running for Congress against Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), has invoked Steve Biko, the martyred South African anti-apartheid activist, in defense of Andrew Breitbart, the amoral media commentator who recently went after an innocent civil servant in order to advance his race-baiting political agenda. According to Pollak, Breitbart embodies Biko’s “simple … Read more
This post was originally published on the blog of THE WEEKLY STANDARD. In their desperation to cut losses in the 2010 midterms, Democrats are relying ever more heavily on their message that Republicans care nothing about the poor. The GOP, we are told, has opposed tax relief for working class families, subsidized health insurance for … Read more
Ross Douthat has a wonderful way of casually saying things that you don’t hear many conservatives say. For instance, his statement on Monday that “the note of white grievance” that Pat Buchanan struck in a 2000 speech at Harvard is now “part of the conservative melody.” Wow, a prominent conservative who acknowledges that politics in … Read more
HuffPo is reporting that Tim Geithner has expressed opposition to Elizabeth Warren’s nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a department that she helped create. The article isn’t sourced well — it comes from an unnamed “source with knowledge of Geithner’s views” — and in response to the report Michael Barr, Assistant Treasury … Read more
Recent headlines are not encouraging for Democrats facing midterm elections this November. Based on polling, the National Journal wrote 7/3 that Democrats can expect to lose four to six seats in the Senate, and it is not inconceivable that they might lose the majority. The House numbers also threaten the majority. Voter anger is strong. … Read more
Last week, Peyton argued that, “If the goal of policy is full employment, there are likely much better ways to accomplish this than unemployment insurance, and the drawbacks of this program [to extend UI benefits] are not to be rejected out of hand.” As he accurately points out, “The debate among economists is not about … Read more
A similar post originally appeared on the blog of THE WEEKLY STANDARD. The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Arizona’s controversial immigration law, S.B. 1070, which enforces federal immigration law at the state level. Whereas the outcry in the national media has focused on the legislation’s racial implications, the Obama administration contests the law … Read more
Earlier this week, Jeff Kalmus responded to Will Rafey’s post “China in the Lead,” in which Rafey argues that China is poised to overtake the U.S. and “seize control of the emerging clean energy economy” (Max Novendstern weighs in here and Rafey responds here). Jeff weighs in to argue that it doesn’t particularly matter if … Read more