Politics

Ah, Sarah Palin, the gift who keeps on giving! Just when you thought that right-wing politicians couldn’t get any dumber than, say, the lamebrain governor of Texas, Rick Perry, along comes the former Republican vice presidential candidate to plumb new depths of vacuity. Becoming the most ridiculous conservative in the country is no small achievement.…

Finally, some common sense on Capitol Hill: Bowing to political pressure, House Republicans agreed to a two-month extension of a payroll-tax cut for 160 million Americans. The Washington Post reports that in exchange for supporting the 60-day extension, Republicans secured minor concessions from Senate leaders, who had already gotten their own two-month deal passed. President…

In the fall of 1980, at a religious-right gathering in Dallas, conservative activist Paul Weyrich griped about fellow Christians who held the notion that all U.S. citizens should vote. “I don’t want everybody to vote,” he said plainly. “Elections are not won by a majority of people; they never have been, from the beginning of…

Andrew Taylor of the Associated Press is reporting that President Barack Obama urged the top leaders of Congress Wednesday to first pass a short-term extension, while promising to work with lawmakers on a full-year measure. The president called House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in an effort to end…

Recent discussions of poverty have revealed themselves to be, in fact, coded conversations about race. When Newt Gingrich talks about poor kids having no work ethic and Donald Trump agrees, they discuss poor kids interchangeably with black or inner-city youths. For years politicians, policy wonks and others have used “disadvantaged,” “underprivileged,” “inner-city,” “urban” and “poor”…

Written by Fahima Haque African-American clergy and civil rights leaders will announce their decision to join the Occupy movement, starting a subproject called “Occupy the Dream” on Wednesday. As Occupy D.C. flourishes, more participants join the cause. Jamal Bryant and Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. will join the clergy in their efforts with the “Occupy the…

For some people it was 9/11. For me it was Hurricane Katrina. “It” is the moment when you realize that the safety net you thought was beneath you has been shredded, the implicit promise of the American dream shattered. One image that haunts me is a starving dog I tossed a sandwich during my reporting…

With the start of the primary season now just weeks away, the heated Republican race is monopolizing election news. In an endless string of debates, stump speeches and interviews this year, each GOP contender has jumped to explain why his or her vision for the country is best. And as the economy continues to be…