• Amy Sullivan has an excellent piece in the May 2006 issue of The Washington Monthly, called "Not as Lame as You Think." In it, she completely dismantles the idea that the Democrats, especially in Congress, are weak, passive, or ineffective. It's more than a feel-good piece; there are numerous supporting examples. Among other things, it also removes any remaining shreds of belief in the notion of a liberal media. (Thanks to Jonathan Chait for pointing this one out.)
• Paul Krugman and Robin Wells coauthored an article called "The Health Care Crisis and What to Do About It," which appears in the 23 March 2006 edition of The New York Review of Books. The piece is putatively a review of three books on this topic, but it is really an excellent summary of where we stand these days. Unlike virtually every other article on health care problems in the US, this piece is neither shrill nor killingly dull.
• For some shorter but equally insightful words, check out Molly Ivins on immigration, Jack Shafer on the underlying causes of media bias, and last but never least, EarlG on this week's Top Ten Conservative Idiots.
1 comment:
Interesting article by Amy, but even if we grant that the democrats have had some legislative victories, what exactly is the democratic position on the Iraq War? The last I heard Joe Biden and John Kerry thought we needed MORE troops there and Hillary is trying to decide if she's against torturing prisoners or for it and she voted for extending the patriot act.
What we need from the democrats is not some little legislative victories that thwart the Bush agenda (although that doesn't hurt.) What we need is some bold leadership and a clear position. What's the democratic position on immigration and healthcare and the patriot act? While they are trying to figure that out Reid has managed to get 88% backing against some Republican bills? That reminds me of the body counts from Vietnam where we knew we were winning because we killed more of them than they did of us. Of course in the long run we're not in Vietnam any more, so it's not clear if those were really victories or not. The democrats can beat back some Repube issues, but what are they for?
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