Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: September 10th, 2012
- Five Crucial Factors to Watch with 58 Days Left
- Romney backs away from healthcare pledge
- Charles G. Koch: Corporate Cronyism Harms America
- Obama Tops Romney in August Fundraising
- Campaigns Duel Over Early Voting, ID Laws
More top stories and excerpts below:
SWING STATES: Five Crucial Factors to Watch with 58 Days Left - NYT
JEFF ZELENY, JIM RUTENBERG: Two months before the election, President Obama and Mitt Romney agree on at least one thing: the collection of states where the race will be decided.
SWING STATES: 9 states where the race will be won - POLITICO
Here’s the state of play and the forces at work in the key battleground regions.
SWING STATES: Romney Struggles in Battleground States – WSJ
With two months to Election Day, Romney faces the disconcerting reality that he isn’t winning most of the states he would need to beat President Obama.
ELECTIONS 2012/ROMNEY PLAN: Romney backs away from healthcare pledge - FT
Republican says he would keep some Obama reforms.
HEALTHCARE PLAN: Romney, Easing, Says Health Law Isn’t All Bad – NYT
In a rare interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mitt Romney offered praise for some of President Obama’s policies, and said he would retain some aspects of his health care overhaul.
ROMNEY TAX PLAN: Romney’s Tax Plan Leaves Key Variables Blank - NYT
Mitt Romney has pledged to cut individual income tax rates for everyone, but he has provided few specifics, confounding analysts and leaving himself open to attack from Democrats.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Charles G. Koch: Corporate Cronyism Harms America - WSJ
When businesses feed at the federal trough, they threaten public support for business and free markets.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Corporate Contributions and Disclosure - NYT
A new ruling blocks an effort to overturn Minnesota’s corporate contribution ban.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Obama super-Pac in push to raise $150m - FT
Priorities USA seeks to counter expected Romney ad blitz
ELECTIONS 2012/FUNDRAISING: Obama Tops Romney in August Fundraising - WSJ
President Obama’s campaign had its best fundraising month yet in August in this election cycle, raising more than $114 million with the Democratic National Committee, and topping rival Mitt Romney for the first time since April.
CONVENTION BOUNCE: Obama Rides Convention Bounce Into Fall Campaign - WSJ
Obama got a bump in the polls following the Democratic convention, while a small lift for Romney didn’t last.
CONVENTION BOUNCE: Did Obama Really Get an 8-Point Convention Bounce? - THE ATLANTIC
That figure might be exaggerated, but Mitt Romney should still be reaching for his Xanax.
DC GRIDLOCK: GOP must end obstruction and delay - POLITICO, OPINION
SEN. HARRY REID: Opinion: Democrats need cooperation from Republicans to move the economy forward.
VOTERS: The Deciders - NYT
The 2012 presidential election will hinge on the ballots cast by voters in swing states like New Hampshire, Florida and Colorado. Meet voters living in states that could make a difference in this election.
*MORE ELECTIONS 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW
VOTER RIGHTS: Campaigns Duel Over Early Voting, ID Laws - WSJ
A series of political and legal changes to U.S. voting practices is sparking an important struggle this election season to determine who exactly will cast votes.
MEDICAID: Insurance Can Serve Seniors Better Than Medicaid - BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
As the dust settles from the political conventions in Florida and North Carolina, one issue important to the health care of older Americans is rising into the sunlight and finally getting some of the attention it needs.
LEGISLATION: Congress Comes Back to a Face-Off With Angry Farmers - NYT
JENNIFER STEINHAUER: Lawmakers, fresh off their parties’ conventions, appear to favor action this fall on bills that emphasize their political agendas over actual lawmaking.
LEGISLATION: Lawmakers Face Big Policy Questions, Little Time - WSJ
U.S. lawmakers return to Washington Monday after a five-week recess facing a daunting list of unfinished legislative business and just a brief work period left before the November elections.
BUDGET TALKS: House GOP has issues to resolve – POLITICO
The government must be funded past Sept. 30, and drought relief has yet to be approved.
9/11 MEMORIAL: Concerns over Sep 11 memorial price tag - FT
Foundation estimates the project will cost $60m a year to operate
9/11: How Resilient Is Post-9/11 America? - NYT, OPINION
Can the United States learn resilience without suffering the repeated murderous attacks that have bloodied such nations as Israel and Britain?
HEALTHCARE: Study: More Young Adults Have Insurance After Health Care Law - NYT
SABRINA TAVERNISE: The share of young adults without health insurance fell by one-sixth in 2011 from the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
EDUCATION: Chicago Teacher Strike Begins Amid Signs Deal Isn’t Close - NYT
As about 350,000 students got an unexpected day off, parents were frustrated over having to scramble for child care.
EDUCATION: More Isn’t Better for Special Ed - WSJ, EDITORIAL
A new study shows how school districts can get better results.
POWERTY/TECHNOLOGY: In One City, Internet Signups Becomes Civic Cause - NYT
Leaders pushed to sign up poorer, predominantly black neighborhoods of Kansas City, Mo., to qualify for Google’s new Internet service, fearing that otherwise they will lag further behind.
GAY MARRIAGE/NFL: Players’ Support of Gay Marriage Alters N.F.L. Image - NYT
Two players in the National Football League, Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe, have lent their support for gay marriage, helping alter the league’s stigma of having a homophobic culture.
HEALTH: Cancer Study Points to Tighter Pairing of Drugs and Patients - NYT
Research on a common lung cancer could foretell a type of treatment in which drugs — many of which are in the pipeline already — are chosen to match the genetic mutation in each patient.
HEALTH/SMOKING: FDA’s New Cigarette Labels Go Up in Smoke – WSJ
Mark Joseph Stern: ‘Compelled speech’ is a free-speech infringement, even against Big Tobacco.
HEALTH: Study: Letting Babies Cry a Bit Is OK - WSJ
Letting babies cry for short periods of time while teaching them to sleep by themselves doesn’t cause long-term psychological problems or damage the parent-child relationship, says a study.
DRUG WAR: To Smuggle More Drugs, Traffickers Go Under the Sea - NYT
American authorities have discovered models of a new drug-ferrying submarine capable of traveling, unseen from the surface, from Ecuador to Los Angeles.
IMMIGRATION:Young Immigrants Pause on ‘Deferred Action’ Offer - NYT
The flow of applications for a program allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. and work legally has been slowed by concerns about what they must disclose and uncertainty about who will be the next president.
IMMIGRATION: The Border is Vanishing as Mexico Pushes North - NEWSWEEK
Like it or not, Mexico is pushing north into the United States. a look at the future, from a new book by Robert D. Kaplan.
NUCLEAR WASTE: Waste-Plant Dispute Builds - WSJ
The Department of Energy is slowing construction of a facility to process the country’s largest accumulation of radioactive waste, amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute about the project.
CLIMATE CHANGE/ENERGY: U.S. power plants feeling the heat - NYT
Lake Mead and Hoover Dam show how energy production suffers from the impact of climate change.
MORE ELECTION 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
CAMPAIGNING: Race Is On in Earnest as Candidates Hit the Road – NYT
JEREMY W. PETERS, HELENE COOPER: As the campaigns go into high gear, voters can expect a blur of ads and an endless number of unsolicited phone calls.
DEMOCRAT MESSAGING: Cutter emerges as Obama’s top messenger - FT
President’s one-woman political combat unit goes for jugular
SCOTT BROWN: Hitching His Wagon to Obama’s Star: a Republican Senator – NYT
A TV ad for Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts, who is in a tight race with his Democratic rival, Elizabeth Warren, features a compliment from President Obama.
MITT ROMNEY TAX PLAN: Mitt on Meet: No tax cuts for rich – POLITICO
He talks tax cuts, Medicare and more.
MITT ROMNEY: The Truth About Mitt: Do We Know the Real Romney? – TIME, OPINION
JON MEACHAM: He isn’t the guy the Democrats attacked last week. In fact, he isn’t even the guy he said he was at the Republican convention.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGNING: Romney Makes Pledge of Allegiance Framework for Criticism- NYT
ASHLEY PARKER: At a rally Saturday, Mitt Romney did not just recite the Pledge of Allegiance; he metaphorically wrapped his stump speech in it, using each line of the pledge to attack President Obama.
ROMNEY JOBS PLAN: Is Mitt Romney’s 12 Million Jobs Plan Really Doable? - RCM
Alfred Tella: Mitt Romney’s plan to create 12 million jobs in his first term as president is being criticized as hyperbole, political fantasy, and pie-in-the-sky.
RYAN BUDGET: The Ryan Sinkhole - NYT, OP-ED
THOMAS B. EDSALL: Let’s talk about where the $897 billion of unspecified cuts in Paul Ryan’s budget will come from.
OBAMA/MEDICARE: Obama Tries to Turn Focus From Jobs to Medicare - NYT
HELENE COOPER: President Obama’s advisers have indicated that they are eager to re-engage their opponents on their Medicare plan, while the Romney camp would prefer to talk about the economy.
OBAMA/JOBS: Obama’s Lofty Rhetoric Is Mugged By a Grim Jobs Reality - RCM
Louis Woodhill: On Thursday night, President Obama gave the nation some soaring rhetoric about his plans for jobs and the economy. On Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) delivered a grim dose of reality.
OBAMA/CHINA/JOBS: How China Became Issue of Domestic, Not Foreign, Policy - TIME, OP-ED
AUSTIN RAMZY: American grandstanding about human rights in China has been replaced by more pressing fears over jobs and prosperity.
OBAMA LEAD: Obama Is Winning – and Has Been All Year - SALON
Steve Kornacki: The presidential race is not, and has not been, a virtual tie – Obama is, and has been, winning.
OBAMA LEAD: State of the race: Advantage, Obama - POLITICO
Jim VandeHei,Mike Allen: He heads out of the conventions with a much clearer path to winning, Romney advisers say privately.
OBAMA LEAD: Niall Ferguson: Why Obama Is Winning - NEWSWEEK
The economy’s in the tank, yet Romney can’t seem to gain an edge. One thing’s for sure: this election is about personal likability. It’s not the economy, stupid.
ADVERTISING: New Priorities USA Ad Hits Romney on Tax Plan – NYT
JEFF ZELENY: The leading outside Democratic group supporting President Obama’s re-election released a new television advertisement on Saturday suggesting that Mitt Romney’s plans would raise taxes on the middle class while cutting them for the wealthy.
POLL/BACHMANN: BACHMANN IN DANGER - SALON
A new survey provided exclusively to Salon shows the Minnesota congresswoman’s lead down to just 2 points.
POLLING: What September Polls Say About Election’s Outcome - BLOOMBERG, OP-ED
Albert R. Hunt: Over the last 40 years, the shape of most presidential races was evident in the September polls that followed the convention.
ISSUES/ECONOMY: Democrats Face a Juggling Act Over Economy Message - NYT
JACKIE CALMES: For President Obama, the Democratic National Convention captured his tricky balancing act: a four-year struggle to show that pro-worker does not mean antibusiness.
VOTING: A Tight Election May Be Tangled in Legal Battles – NYT
ETHAN BRONNER: With federal and state courts handing down decisions on ballot casting and counting, the presidential election may hinge partly on last-minute legal battles by both parties.
VOTERS/CONVENTIONS: Conventions Draw Crowds but Sway Few Voters – NYT
ADAM NAGOURNEY: There is growing evidence that this year more than ever, the political significance of the extravagant and costly Republican and Democratic conventions was on the decline.
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES: Ideological Opposites Prepare to Meet in Debate - NYT
TRIP GABRIEL: Ahead of their matchup, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Representative Paul D. Ryan are lobbing personal barbs while stalking each other across the same few Midwestern states.
SENATE/AKIN: With Senate at stake, eyes on Akin - WP
Three weeks after the “legitimate rape” controversy, Republicans and Democrats alike wait to see if Todd Akin will stay in the Missouri race, which could tip the balance of Senate control.
CONVENTION WRAPUP: Conventional Wisdom – NEW YORKER
Steve Coll: The Democrats framed a clear choice, less about Obama versus Romney than about the future of the American commons…
CONVENTION WRAPUP: The five best speeches from the two political conventions – WP
CONVENTION WRAPUP: At the National Conventions, the Words They Used - NYT
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