Politics
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5 Political Reasons Obama Seems Soft on Race When He’s Not
Everyone wants skin in a State of the Union; every interest group kneels down and prays it’ll get a slice or a nod in what is arguably the most important political speech of any year. So it came as no surprise this week to find aggrieved schools of thought convinced that President Barack Obama wasn’t pushy…
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The Economy? 30 Mentions. Race Relations? Eh—About 5. Here’s Obama’s SOTU Speech by the Numbers
While the rest of you were playing State of the Union drinking games (taking a shot every time Speaker of the House John Boehner grimaced, eh?), we over here at The Root were hunkered down, scouring over every word the president spoke to get an understanding of what issues he wanted to zero in on.…
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Supreme Court, Don’t Gut the Fair Housing Act
Before former Sen. Edward Brooke (R-Mass.) died earlier this month, one of his final acts of advocacy was an effort to save the Fair Housing Act—and the Supreme Court should pay close attention to Sen. Brooke’s defense of this landmark legislation as it considers the future of this law. Sen. Brooke was the first African…
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5 Takeaways From the President’s Muscle-Flexing SOTU
In his next-to-last State of the Union, a revived and unmistakably ultradefiant President Barack Obama let loose a post-midterm-election liberation song on a chamber of fattened Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Even with the somewhat humbled plea for “better politics” by the end of an hourlong speech, seemingly dire political realities were ignored for…
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I Spent MLK Day With Presidential Hopeful Ben Carson. Here’s What I Learned
If you want a better idea about what Dr. Ben Carson sees as the driving force behind his presidential campaign-in-waiting, perhaps look no further than Carson’s own explanation for his rise in popularity on the conservative political circuit: “It’s not so much me as it is the courage to say what needs to be said.”…
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State of the Union, Part 6: What Obama Will Say and Why
President Obama’s sixth State of the Union address may sound a lot like his second way back in 2011. Which means the president has to stand before the public and lay out his agenda for the future while knowing full well that after a horrible showing by the Democrats during the midterms, much of what he…
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Who’s Joining the First Lady for the State of the Union Address?
On Tuesday the president will deliver his State of the Union address, and some special guests will have a front-row seat from first lady Michelle Obama’s box. The White House released the invite-only list on Monday; the special invited guests include the Maryland Senate majority leader, a mother saved by surgery received through the Affordable…
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Congressional Black Caucus’ Trip to Ferguson Shrouded in Hope and Uncertainty
The photo optics will be rich and the weekend will be full of symbolism. Eyes will be on Ferguson, Mo., when a 10-strong delegation of Congressional Black Caucus members stops through the troubled St. Louis suburb this weekend in a bid to spotlight growing tensions and a bubbling social-justice movement that has been going viral…
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Eric Holder Wants Concrete Data on How Often Police Officers Have Had to Use Force
In a speech to honor Martin Luther King Jr., Attorney General Eric Holder said that more data should be collected to quantify how often police officers use force, as well as how many times they themselves are attacked or killed, Al-Jazeera reports. “This would represent a commonsense step that would begin to address serious concerns…
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Marion Barry’s Son Allegedly Threatened Bank Employee, Destroyed Security Camera
Marion Christopher Barry is suspected of threatening a bank teller at a Washington, D.C., PNC Bank branch before destroying a security camera, police say, the Washington Post reports. Barry, the son of the recently deceased “mayor for life” Marion Barry Jr., is attempting to pick up where his dad left off. He is campaigning for…