Politics

  • Spike Lee to Host $38,000-Per-Ticket Obama Fundraiser

    It looks like President Obama’s war chest for the 2012 elections will receive some hefty deposits on Jan. 19. Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee will host a $38,000-per-ticket fundraiser for Obama that evening in New York City. Earlier that same day, the president will hope to leave a few pockets with lint as he hosts a…

  • Mitt Romney Has No Mandate

  • Should Obama Endorse Gay Marriage?

    With President Obama’s sights set on his re-election, some decisions must be made about how the campaign can re-energize his base. One segment, the gay community and their allies, has been frustrated with Obama and his “evolving” (at a snail’s pace) stance on marriage equality. While the administration made good on its campaign promise on…

  • Race and the Law: The Best and Worst of 2011

    There’s no area in which the wishful thinking of those who predicted an age of post-blackness has been more fully discredited than in the intersection of race and the law. From the continued and, some argue, intensified plague of police brutality to the ongoing prevalence of employment and housing discrimination, 2011 was a testament to…

  • Iowa Caucuses: A Lowdown, Dirty Shame

    Brace yourself. It’s gonna get ugly. No matter who wins today’s Iowa Republican caucuses (which look like a showdown between Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and the surging Rick Santorum), this is shaping up to be the most lowdown, nasty, plain old disgusting presidential campaign we’ve ever slogged through. Think Watergate or the disputed Bush v.…

  • 5 Things to Know About the Iowa Caucuses

    It’s not as if Iowa represents a diverse cross section of America. With a population of just more than 3 million, the state doesn’t even have that many people. And it’s not the only place to have a voting event leading up to a presidential election — while the Iowa Republican caucuses take place this…

  • 2011 in Review: Hits and Misses

    So what have you resolved to do in the new year? Get yourself organized? Lose those Christmas pounds that somehow seem to have already attached themselves to the pounds you gained last Christmas? Spend more time with the family? How about finally taking a vacation (presumably with that family you just resolved to spend more…

  • Everything Is Coming Up Romney

    Even with the prominence of candidates like Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney has always been the favorite for the nomination, Jamelle Bouie writes in a blog entry at the American Prospect. At this point in the game, with less than week before the caucuses, you can safely turn to polls of Iowa Republicans…

  • How Race Shaped American Party Politics

    President Lyndon B. Johnson was on target when he said in 1965 that with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the Democrats had lost Southern white voters for a generation. He was off a bit and too optimistic. The loss has lasted longer than a generation, and the reason for it goes deep into…