Democracy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Democracy: October 3rd, 2012
- In Debate, Obama and Romney Stand on Equal Footing
- Blue Truth, Red Truth
- Priorities USA Action Pulls Florida and Wisconsin Ads
- Fallout Over Voter Efforts
- Almost empty House approves federal workforce bills
More top news and analysis:
DEBATES: In Debate, Obama and Romney Stand on Equal Footing – NYT
Wednesday’s debate will provide ample opportunity for robust exchanges and a level of specificity that both sides have often sought to avoid.
DEBATES: Obama, Romney Look to Win Over the Undecided - WSJ
After jousting from afar for months, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will meet Wednesday night in one of their last best chances to sway undecided voters and solidify support among the party faithful.
DEBATES: Claims Likely to Surface in Debate and Facts Behind Them – NYT
Here’s a look at some of the claims the sides have been making on important issues and how they measure up against facts.
DEBATES: Gaffe-Checking the Debates – BLOOMBERG, OPINION
MICHAEL KINSLEY: A gaffe, as the fellow once said, is when a politician tells the truth. We might add: Or unintentionally reveals his or her true thinking.
DEBATES: A Better Approach to Presidential Debates – NYT, OPINION
Changes large and small could improve the presidential debates. Or are they a lost cause?
ELECTIONS 2012: Blue Truth, Red Truth – TIME, OPINION
MICHAEL SCHERER: Both candidates say White House hopefuls should talk straight with voters. Here’s why neither man is ready to take his own advice
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney’s Middle-Class Tax Sale – WSJ
How the Republican can win the debate he’s now losing by default.
ELECTIONS 2012: What a second-term Obama economic team might look like – WP
In the high campaign season, the clash between President Obama and Mitt Romney demands most of the attention of the two rivals and their aides: how to attack, when to parry and so on.
ELECTIONS 2012: Ahead of presidential debate, polls show Obama favored on key issues – WP
President Obama continues to lead Mitt Romney among likely voters, polls show, suggesting that the president has been able to maintain a post-convention bounce as the Republican candidate struggles to regain traction.
*MORE ELECTIONS 2012 STORIES AND ANALYSIS BELOW
CAMPAIGN ADS: Priorities USA Action Pulls Florida and Wisconsin Ads - NYT
The pro-Obama “super PAC” that has spent millions of dollars attacking Mitt Romney in ads is pulling commercials from Florida and Wisconsin, part of what the group says is a realignment of its advertising campaign.
CAMPAIGN ADS: Obama Outspending Romney on TV Ads - NYT
Democrats had predicted that President Obama would be outgunned on ads by Mitt Romney, but the president, at least for now, has the advantage.
CAMPAIGN ADS: Ad Watch: Obama accuses Romney of using miners as ‘props’ – WP
“Seen the coal miners in these ads? Turns out they were told that attendance at Mitt Romney’s rally was, quote, “mandatory.” Their mine was closed, lost the pay they needed, all to be props in Romney’s commercial.”
CAMPAIGN ADS: Ads Attack Wall Street Ties, No Matter How Flimsy - NYT
PETER LATTMAN: In elections across the country, candidates are flooding the airwaves with ads linking their opponents to bankers and bailouts.
VOTING: Fallout Over Voter Efforts – NYT
Republican Party leaders in four more states have fired a consulting firm that was hired to register new voters, after suspect forms linked to the company were discovered in Florida.
VOTING/GOP: Republican Party Aims to Remake Florida Supreme Court - NYT
Republicans are asking voters to oust three justices and give the legislature more power over the court.
VOTING: Voter ID Law Gutted for 2012 in Pennsylvania – NYT
A Pennsylvania ruling was the latest and most significant in a series of legal victories for those opposed to laws that they charge would limit access to polls in this presidential election.
VOTING: Voter Restrictions Not Likely to Have Big Impact - TGPW
The New York Times notes that “disputes around the country over new voter ID requirements, early voting, provisional ballots and registration drives are looking far less
VOTING: Why Hispanic voter turnout isn’t higher, in two charts – WP
The rapid growth of the country’s Hispanic population has added millions of voters in recent years. But new data from the Pew Hispanic Center show that Latinos are responsible for a smaller portion of the electorate than many might expect.
TRANSPARENCY: Almost empty House approves federal workforce bills – WP
The House chamber was almost empty Friday morning when the acting speaker turned to two pieces of legislation important to the federal workforce.
TRANSPARENCY: Congress financial forms now online – WP
Financial disclosures of members of Congress became more readily available Monday as required by the Stock Act. Access to such forms filed by many senior career federal employees will remain restricted for at least two more months, however.
GAY RIGHTS: Voters May Approve Gay Marriage in Maine, Maryland, Washington – NYT, EDITORIAL
JULIET LAPIDOS: No state has ever legalized same-sex marriage through a referendum. But that may change on Nov. 6.
LOBBYING: Congressman Who Compared Cigarettes to Smoking Lettuce Becomes Lobbyist for R.J. Reynolds – PRO PUBLICA
A former 18-year member of Congress who was a longtime friend of the tobacco industry while in office has become a paid consultant and registered lobbyist for tobacco giant Reynolds American.
LOBBYING: For election losers, many paths through the political wilderness – WP
Rick Santorum formed a new fundraising organization. Jon R. Huntsman Jr. joined the Ford Motor Co. board of directors, whose members are paid an average of $260,000 per year. George Allen opened a consulting firm bearing his name but steered clear of lobbying.
EDUCATION/POLITICS: A new presidential debate curriculum for schools - WP
Teachers and parents who want to educate and engage students (and themselves) in the democratic process have a new tool: a free presidential debate curriculum developed by Lynn University in Florida and available for free on iTunes.
EDUCATION/POLITICS: Op-Docs: ‘Electoral College 101’ – NYT, OPINION
In the latest episode of the Op-Docs series “Electoral Dysfunction,” the political humorist Mo Rocca consults a third-grade class on the fairness of the Electoral College.
IMMIGRATION: Romney Has a Visa Problem – NYT, EDITORIAL
LAWRENCE DOWNES: Does the G.O.P. candidate know the difference between deferred action for unauthorized immigrants and actual visas?
IMMIGRATION: Decline in immigrant entrepreneurship threatens U.S. competitiveness - WP
The once steady rise in immigrant entrepreneurship has stalled in the United States, threatening to further slow an already sluggish economic recovery.
ENERGY/JOBS: Interior approves first phase of 146-mile high-voltage transmission line - WP
The Obama administration gave a green light to the first section of a proposed 146-mile transmission line Tuesday, calling it a critical upgrade to the faltering Northeast power grid and saying it will eventually create 2,000 jobs.
ENERGY: Colorado’s fracking fight gets ugly – SALON
It’s scheming pols and dirty industry against small-town America.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: Law Enforcement in the Age of Twitter - WSJ
CYRUS VANCE: How police, prosecutors and tech companies must cooperate in solving 21st century crimes.
*Cyrus Vance was a guest speaker at The Common Good earlier this year, and spoke about cybercrime and the use of technology in counter-terrorism. Watch the video here.
DRUG WAR: ‘Dividends’ of U.S.-Mexican ‘Cooperation’ on Drug War - THE ATLANTIC
Openly attacking the cartels just made the violence worse. But it’s not clear that institution-building has accomplished much, either.
HUMAN RIGHTS/CIVIL LIBERTY: Justice Under the Law of Nations – NYT, EDITORIAL
Noncitizens should be allowed to sue international corporations that do business in the United States for human rights abuses abroad.
CIVIL LIBERTY: DHS ‘fusion centers’ portrayed as pools of ineptitude, civil liberties intrusions – WP
An initiative aimed at improving intelligence sharing has done little to make the country more secure, despite as much as $1.4 billion in federal spending, according to a two-year examination by Senate investigators.
MIDDLE CLASS: Fighting Inequality Without Class Warfare – THE ATLANTIC
Jonathan Rauch has an interesting piece in National Journal on inequality. He argues that a longstanding consensus among economists may be dissolving–the idea that inequality is not really a problem in its own right, rather a symptom of other ills that are better confronted directly, like poverty, stagnant middle-class incomes, and excessive rewards for people working in finance.
POPULATION: Baby bust continues: US births down for 4th year – SALON
U.S. births fell for the fourth year in a row, the government reported Wednesday, with experts calling it more proof that the weak economy has continued to dampen enthusiasm for having children.
HEALTH/ELDERLY CARE: The growing burden on caregivers - WP, OPINION
MICHELLE SINGLETARY: Once again, my husband and I have joined the millions in this country providing care for an elderly relative.
HEALTH/MEDICAID: Are High-Volume Dental Chains Exploiting Kids on Medicaid? - PRO PUBLICA
Heath and Rosenbaum reported that Georgia-based Kool Smiles, the biggest Medicaid dental provider, has been accused by state regulators of giving shoddy or unnecessary care to some of America’s poorest kids.
FOOD: That Flawed Stanford Study – NYT, OPINION
MARK BITTMAN: Sorry, but there really is a difference between organic and conventional foods.
MORE ELECTION 2012 NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
ELECTIONS 2012: Emperor Obama Has No Clothes – CHICAGO SUN TIMES
Conventional wisdom is that Wednesday night’s presidential debate is a huge opportunity for Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
ELECTIONS 2012: Romney Makes Obama’s Job Easier - BLOOMBERG, OPINION
MARGARET CARLSON: Whatever happened to, “He’s a nice guy, he just isn’t up to the job”? That was Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s initial critique of President Barack Obama — employing the challenger’s usual strategy of making the campaign a referendum on the incumbent.
PAUL RYAN: Paul Ryan won’t say whether he’d close carried interest loophole – WP
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan declined to say Tuesday whether he and his running mate, Mitt Romney, would seek to close the “carried interest loophole,” the tax code provision that allows some private-equity executives to pay a lower rate on their earnings.
PAUL RYAN: Paul Ryan Fears the 30 Percent - NYM
Mitt Romney, in his infamous secretly recorded remarks, divided the American electorate into the lazy-entitled-non-taxpaying 47 percent who support President Obama, and everybody else. Ryan Grim has a speech by Paul Ryan using a different (and, from the right-wing perspective, more hopeful) division of 70-30.
JOE BIDEN: Introducing the Joe Biden Gaffe-o-Meter – WP
Whoops, he did it again. Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at a campaign event in Charlotte, North Carolina today, had this to say about the policies supported by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan: “How they can justify … raising taxes on the middle class that has been buried the last four years?“
JOE BIDEN: Biden gaffes, Romney pounces – WP
The Romney campaign is moving swiftly to capitalize on Vice President Biden’s comment in Charlotte on Tuesday that the middle class had been “buried” during the past four years.
JOE BIDEN: Biden says middle class has been ‘buried’ in past four years, and Republicans agree – WP
Vice President Biden said Tuesday that the middle class has been “buried” during the past four years, prompting a rare moment of concord with Republican Mitt Romney’s campaign.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Ann Romney Takes Larger Campaign Role - NYT
When Mitt Romney’s campaign has struggled, the candidate’s wife has been a relentlessly upbeat figure inside the Boston headquarters and on the trail.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Campaign Stops: What Mitt Should Tell the 47 Percent - NYT, OPINION
ROSS DOUTHAT: On taxes, health care and Medicare reform, Romney should strike a more populist note.
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Republican brand: Still ‘dog food’ - WP
Mitt Romney’s got his own problems, but the letter behind his name isn’t helping things.
OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Media Ignore the Facts of Obama’s Failure - RCP
Media enablers ignore the facts of Obama’s failure.Did you know that one-third of children in Ohio are enrolled in Medicaid?
OBAMA VIDEO: Here’s the Obama clip you will apparently see tonight on Hannity – WP
The Drudge Report is currently hyping a video of a “race” speech by President Obama to be aired tonight on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity.”
OBAMA VIDEO: Obama’s Wright Ties Highlighted Again - NYT
Conservative sites seized on a five-year-old video of President Obama to highlight his ties to a pastor known for his incendiary comments.
ROMNEY TAX PLAN: Biden’s claim that the Romney tax plan would raise Social Security taxes - WP
Having repeatedly — misleadingly — beaten up the GOP presidential ticket for its plan to overhaul Medicare, Vice President Biden traveled to Florida last week to allege that Mitt Romney plans to raise taxes on Social Security benefits.
OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Media Ignore the Facts of Obama’s Failure - RCP
Media enablers ignore the facts of Obama’s failure.Did you know that one-third of children in Ohio are enrolled in Medicaid?
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
