Democracy
TOP NEWS: DEMOCRACY: June 27, 2012
- Inquiry Looks Into a Shield for Donors in Election
- On health care, the public doesn’t like its options
- Immigration Ruling Leaves Issues Unresolved
- Democrats Feel Pressure From Gun Lobby on Contempt Vote
- Obama Clings to a Narrow Lead
Excerpts and More Top Stories
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Inquiry Looks Into a Shield for Donors in Elections
Nicholas Confessore , NY Times - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York has begun investigating contributions to tax-exempt groups that are heavily involved in political campaigns, focusing on a case involving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce [...] The investigation is also looking at connections between the chamber’s foundation, the National Chamber Foundation, and another philanthropy, the Starr Foundation, which made large grants to the chamber foundation in 2003 and 2004.
HEALTH CARE/POLL: On health care, the public doesn’t like its options
Chris Cillizza, Scott Clement and Aaron Blake, Washington Post - Fifty-six percent of Americans rate the nation’s current health care system unfavorably in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, while 52 percent regard the “federal law making changes in the health care system” in a negative light.
SUPREME COURT: Immigration Ruling Leaves Issues Unresolved
Julia Preston, NY Times - The Supreme Court suggested it was open to new challenges to the Arizona immigration law based on any adverse impacts on civil rights.
CONTEMPT/NRA: Democrats Feel Pressure From Gun Lobby on Contempt Vote
Jonathan Weisman, NY Times - The National Rifle Association has joined a Republican push to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress, turning the matter into a proxy war over gun control.
2012 ELECTION/POLL: Obama Clings to a Narrow Lead
Janet Hook, Daniel Lippman, Neil King Jr., WSJ - The president outpolls Mr. Romney, his presumed Republican rival, 47% to 44%, a lead within the survey’s margin of error and similar to the advantage he enjoyed a month ago.
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HEALTH CARE: And if the Supreme Court upholds Obamacare?
Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, OPINION - In sum, a “victory” for Obamacare would be a blow to judicial conservatives, but a boon to Republicans in this election.
IMMIGRATION: GOP grasps for ideas on immigration
Scott Wong, POLITICO - Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions says Congress must first “end the lawlessness” by illegal immigrants. Arizona Sen. John McCain still wants his protégé, Marco Rubio, to roll out his version of the pro-immigrant DREAM Act, though the ambitious freshman senator has all but ruled out doing so anytime soon.
ENVIRONMENT: Court Backs EPA on Warming
Brent Kendall, WSJ – Federal Appeals Court decision on Greenhouse-Gas Rules Is Victory for Obama, Blow to Coal Industry.
HEALTH CARE: Americans Divided on Health Law
Neil King Jr., Daniel Lippman, WSJ - With the court’s decision on the law set for Thursday, nearly four in 10 Americans told a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll that they would have “mixed feelings” if the justices struck down the whole law. Just over a quarter said they would be very pleased, while 17% said they would be very disappointed by that outcome.
SUPREME COURT: Sentencing Ruling Reflects Rethinking on Juvenile Justice
Ethan Bronner - The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday barring mandatory life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder suggests a shift in how the American judicial system views young felons.
SUPREME COURT: Waiting on the Supremes
John Fund, National Review, OPINION - Obamacare is bad politically for Obama whatever the decision is.
2012 ELECTION POLL: Obama Leads Romney In Polls Of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania
Mark Blumenthal, Huffington Post - The new Florida survey is the second from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in June, and both give Obama a lead of four percentage points over Romney: 45 percent to 41 percent on the just completed survey and 46 percent to 42 percent on a poll conducted two weeks earlier. In Ohio, Quinnipiac gives Obama a nine-point advantage over Romney (47 percent to 38 percent). In Pennsylvania, the new Quinnipiac survey shows Obama with a six-point lead over Romney (45 percent to 39 percent).
2012 ELECTIONS: Is Rubio Romney’s Ideal Veep?
Michael Medved, DailyBeast - The plausible candidates for the second spot on Romney’s ticket all have baggage of one kind or another—except Florida’s Sen. Marco Rubio, the Democrats’ worst nightmare.
SUPREME COURT: Did Justice Antonin Scalia go too far this time?
David G. Savage, Washington Bureau - Some say the tone of Justice Scalia’s dissent targeting President Obama and illegal immigrants was too strident and partisan, even for the high court’s longtime conservative firebrand.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: The Supreme Court was not about to reconsider Citizens United
Michael McGough, LA Times, OPINION - Whatever you think of Citizens United, the idea that the high court would upend such a fresh precedent is fantastic. In upholding the Montana law, that state’s Supreme Court was cruising for a judicial bruising.
SUPREME COURT: Children in Prison for Life
The Supreme Court’s ruling prohibiting mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of murder is an important step in juvenile justice.
HEALTH CARE: Why the Whole Health Care Law Is in Jeopardy
Sean Trende, RealClearPolitics, OPINION - Roberts is the likely author of the health care decision, [meaning] the law could be in deeper trouble than most imagined. But, there is also a chance that the law could be upheld.
2012 ELECTIONS: Incumbent-friendly night, with an exception
Alexander Burns, POLITICO - In the end [...] there will be another term for New York Rep. Charlie Rangel. In Utah, incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch ended a challenge from former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist, taking the GOP runoff primary by 33 points. In Colorado, Rep. Doug Lamborn beat self-funding challenger Robert Blaha, 62 percent to 38 percent. [In] Oklahoma, where GOP Rep. John Sullivan went down to insurgent Navy veteran Jim Bridenstine.
POPULISM: Dems go AWOL in class war
Jonathon Martin, POLITICO - Labor unions hoped to turn the Wisconsin recall election into a rallying cause for their ailing movement. But a Democratic president couldn’t be dragged off the sidelines for the fight.
HEALTH CARE: The Liberal Embrace of Judicial Restraint
Ross Douthat, NY Times - No matter how they feel about Obamacare, conservatives should welcome the left’s rejection of activist judges.
2012 ELECTIONS: Obama Campaign Banks on High-Tech Ground Game to Reach Voters
Jackie Calmes, NY Times - A cadre of volunteers has been formed to “break through the clutter” of an expected wave of negative television ads from Romney supporters.
STOP AND FRISK: Rude or Polite, City’s Officers Leave Raw Feelings in Stops
Wendy Ruderman, NY Times – The officers asked for ID. They threw in the word ‘sir.’ They are trying to belittle you by saying ‘sir,’ like being sarcastic in a way, like, ‘I’m really your sir. You have to do what I say.’
