Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: August 16th, 2012
- PA Judge Keeps Voter ID Law Intact, Heads to Higher Court
- Health Care Leads Campaign Dialogue in Midwest
- Mitt Romney: I paid ‘at least 13 %’ taxes in past 10 years
- Illegal Immigrants Line Up for Deportation Deferrals
- Politicians and Press Overstate Military Cuts by $100 Billion
Excerpts and More Top Stories
VOTER ID: Pennsylvania Judge Keeps Voter ID Law Intact on Its Way to Higher Court
ETHAN BRONNER, NY Times – An appeal to the state Supreme Court was planned after opponents of a requirement for photo identification were denied an injunction.
VOTER ID: Missed Chance to Reject Voting Barriers
NY Times, EDITORIAL – A Pennsylvania ruling requiring a government-issued photo ID card to vote is a disturbing illustration of the way Republicans have manipulated legislation for their own ends.
VOTER ID: Pennsylvania’s new law passes a legal test, as it should on the merits.
WSJ, OPINION – Chalk up another one for voter ID laws and representative politics. On Wednesday, a Pennsylvania judge refused to block a new Keystone State ID law from going into effect, handing a defeat to the ACLU and Attorney General Eric Holder’s campaign to demonize such laws as racist.
VOTER ID: Small surprise but much anger in Pa. ruling on voter ID
Annette John-Hall, Philadelphia Inquirer, OPINION – Four years ago, record voter turnout for Barack Obama, – young, old, rich, and poor, of all races and religions – voted to choose this country’s first African American president. That kind of democracy was a beautiful thing to see. But a whole lot of people on the other side of the political spectrum had already begun plotting to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.
ELECTIONS 2012/HEALTHCARE POSITIONS: Health Care Leads Campaign Dialogue in Midwest
By HELENE COOPER, NY Times – Medicare and the Affordable Care Act took center stage at stops in Ohio and Iowa.
ELECTIONS 2012/OBAMACARE: Switzerland Has Its Own Kind of Obamacare and Loves It
HELENA BACHMANN, Time, OPINION – The country requires everyone to purchase health insurance but it appears to work efficiently while keeping costs under control
MEDICARE: Campaign’s fierce rhetoric on Medicare dims hope for a solution
Rosalind S. Helderman, WP – Deficit-reduction advocates are worried; they had hoped for a serious debate on the issue, but instead the presidential candidates are attacking each other.
*MORE ON ELECTIONS 2012 BELOW
ROMNEY TAXES: Mitt Romney says he paid ‘at least 13 percent’ in taxes annually for past 10 years
Philip Rucker and Rosalind S. Helderman, WP – In describing his payments over the past 10 years, Republican presidential candidate offers the fullest explanation to date of his tax status.
IMMIGRATION LAW: Illegal Immigrants Line Up by Thousands for Deportation Deferrals
JULIA PRESTON, NY Times – People who arrived in the United States as children and wish to stay lined up for blocks in several cities on the first day to apply for deportation deferrals and work permits.
MILITARY SPENDING: How Politicians and the Press Overstated Military Budget Cuts by $100 Billion
Justin Elliott, Pro Publica – Opponents of military budget cuts set to go into effect next year — as well as the media — have repeatedly cited an inaccurate, inflated figure
MILITARY SPENDING: Navy special forces units: How many needed?
Walter Pincus, WP, Opinion – Questions remain about how much money the Navy is spending on irregular warfare and counterterrorism forces that are different from activities better performed by other services.
DC POLITICAL SHOOTING: Family Research Council guard shot by gunman in D.C.
Paul Duggan and Mary Pat Flaherty, WP – An armed intruder, spouting opposition to social conservatism, walked into the Washington headquarters of the Family Research Council and shot a security guard, authorities said.
FEDERAL BUDGET/FOREIGN AID: Can’t Afford Foreign Aid, or Can’t Afford to Cut It?
NY Times, ROOM FOR DEBATE, OPINION – With so many Americans struggling, and with the federal budget in dire straits, aiding other nations may be profligate.
CLIMATE CHANGE/DROUGHT: Drought and climate scepticism in corn belt
Gregory Meyer, FT – Many farmers’ attitudes help explain why carbon emissions are off the US legislative agenda despite the hottest temperatures on record
NATIVE AMERICAN OIL: Tapping Into the Land, and Dividing Its People
By JACK HEALY, NY Times – Elders of the Blackfeet in Montana have decided to utilize their land’s resources to transform a reservation scarred by poverty, but many in the group see the land as sacred.
COLLEGE LEADERSHIP: U-Va. and Penn State crises reveal leadership failures, not a broken system
Alan G. Merten, WP, OPINION – Should the events at these two schools should lead to a revision of the governing structure at universities? In a word: no.
More on Elections 2012
ROMNEY HISTORY: Romney the Unknowable
TIMOTHY EGAN, NY Times, OPINION – The Republican presidential candidate has too many narratives to hide from.
ROMNEY BANKING POLICY: Donor urges Romney shift on banks
Matthew Garrahan, Richard McGregor, FT – In place of Dodd-Frank Paul Singer wants more stringent capital requirements and a regulatory framework that forces big banks to be more transparent
ROMNEY-OBAMA: Mitt: No more Obama’s Mr. Nice Guy
REID J. EPSTEIN, Politico – As the campaign grows intense, Romney drops the idea that he has any admiration for Obama. Mitt Romney’s declaration that President Barack Obama is leading a campaign of “anger and hate” marked a new phase of the campaign — one in which he’s willing to attack Obama in personal terms.
CAMPAIGN ATTACKS: Ex-Officers Attack Obama Over Leaks on Bin Laden Raid
SCOTT SHANE, NY Times – Former special operations and C.I.A. officers accused President Obama of leaking information for political advantage, an attack Mr. Obama’s aides compared to the Swift Boat ads in 2004.
RYAN CHOICE: Choice of Paul Ryan Shifts the Focus From Economy to Ideology
JEFF ZELENY, NY Times – For both contenders in the presidential race, winning over the small group of undecided voters seems less important than appealing to the base.
RYAN/YOUNG VOTERS: Why The Screwed Generation Is Turning To Paul Ryan
Kirsten Powers, Daily Beast, OPINION – Boomers don’t want to give up their sweet deal, but the rest of us have reason to embrace Ryan’s “radical” plans, writes Kirsten Powers.
OBAMA/RYAN: How Obama Created the Greatest Threat to His Presidency
Ezra Klein, Bloomberg, OPINION – Here’s the weird thing about Paul Ryan being named to the Republican presidential ticket: It’s all part of Barack Obama’s campaign plan — a plan that’s working better than his strategists could have hoped. It could also backfire more disastrously than they have ever imagined.
BIDEN COMMENTS: Mission Impossible: Managing Biden
By JONATHAN MARTIN, Politico – Biden’s two-day swing through small-town Virginia also offered a perfect example of why this brand of control-freak politics has emerged. His unrehearsed comment made national news as an example of rhetorical excess.
BIDEN CAMPAIGNING: Biden’s challenge
Peter Wallsten and David Nakamura, WP – The selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as the Republican vice presidential candidate presents a new set of challenges for Vice President Biden.
BIDEN RHETORIC: Mr. Biden’s Social Security promise falls flat
WP, Editorial – While most people were debating Vice President Biden’s infamous Tuesday commentary on shackling, we found ourselves more disheartened by his pandering comment on Social Security.
CHANGING SIDES: Artur Davis backed Obama in ‘08, will speak at GOP convention
David Fahrenthold, WP – The former congressman says he will focus on areas where Obama failed to deliver on 2008 promises.
CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING: Good Obama, Bad Obama
By Greg Sargent, WP, OPINION – There’s no reason the Romney campaign and its outside allies shouldn’t strike different tones and messages in attacking Obama. But this particular contrast goes to the very heart of the type of campaign Romney has decided — belatedly — to run.
CAMPAIGN RHETORIC: Now Democrats are employing harsh tactics.
Dana Milbank, WP, OPINION – Yes, it’s ugly out there. But is this worse than four years ago, but what’s different this time is that the Democrats are employing the same harsh tactics that have been used against them for so long, with so much success.
TEXT DONATIONS: Need to donate on run? Send a text
T.W. Farnam, WP – The FEC has approved legal guidance that would allow small political donations to be added to cellphone bills when a campaign supporter sends a specific text message.
RYAN/GOP: How Ryanization threatens the GOP
E.J. Dionne Jr., WP, OPINION – If conservative ideologues are over the moon at having their favorite conviction politician as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate, many Republican professionals — particularly those running this fall — are petrified.
VOTER RESPONSE: Enthusiasm — and Signs of Trouble — on Obama’s Iowa Bus Route
Tom Bevan, RCP, OPINION – Yet despite the meticulously scripted events and adoring crowds during the president’s three-day visit, there were small signs along the way, as Bruce Springsteen famously sang, of trouble in the heartland.
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