July 2009
3 posts
Getting What They Paid For: The Health Insurance...
The Washington Post has a pretty good story today documenting how one of the greatest impediments to passing strong, progressive health care reform in the House — the Blue Dog coalition — has experienced an upsurge in campaign contributions in recent months, from among others, the health insurance industry:
[T]he [Blue Dogs] set a record pace for fundraising this year through its...
On Taxes and Patriotism
Professor Stephen Walt had an interesting post yesterday over at Foreign Policy pondering the implications of how the debt obligations of the U.S. resulting from the current recession and President Obama’s health care agenda might impact our foreign policy stance. He suggests that perhaps the realities of our debt will necessitate the a reductions in the sacred cow of defense spending :
One...
The Senate's Proud Tradition Of Standing Against...
At the recommendation of my friend Matt Yglesias, I’ve been reading Robert Caro’s chronicle of Lyndon Johnson’s years in the Senate. A good portion of the beginning of the first volume is dedicated to beating into the reader’s psyche an expectation that the Senate – no matter how pressing a crisis the nation may be facing – can be counted on to ignore the needs of the American people. The...