Third Way Perspectives
Posts Tagged ‘third way’
Bush tax cuts reverse party lines
August 24th, 2010
This piece was originally published in Politico.
The next big issue on the congressional agenda is a real humdinger: the Bush tax cuts.
This is one issue on which Republicans can’t “just say no.” If Congress fails to act by the end of the year, the Bush tax cuts will expire. And Republicans will have enabled a major tax hike.
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Moving the middle on marriage
August 19th, 2010
This piece was originally published in Politico.
This month, a federal district court judge in California struck down Proposition 8 — the state ballot measure that banned gay and lesbian couples from marrying — as unconstitutional, and the case is most likely to be settled by the Supreme Court. Although the decision has been stayed, many understandably saw it as a victory and perhaps an indication that legal arguments — not public persuasion — are going to be the fastest way to bring about equality.
Americans still trust Obama on Afghanistan
July 21st, 2010
This piece was originally published on Foreign Policy.
Recent polls showing pessimism about U.S. prospects in Afghanistan seem to suggest that Barack Obama has lost the United States’ support for the war there. However, general exhaustion from years of war and specific support for Obama’s Afghanistan strategy should not be so easily conflated. A careful reading of the polling data on Afghanistan shows that while the public is weary, they haven’t yet given up on the mission or Obama’s redefined strategy…yet.
Politics trumps economics on deficit
July 7th, 2010
This piece was originally published in Politico.
The recovery has hit a wall. In June, the U.S. economy lost jobs for the first time this year. Existing home sales plunged 30 percent in May. Time to pump money into the economy!
But wait. The national debt is projected to jump to 62 percent of the economy by the end of this year. That’s the highest level since just after World War II. Time to cut back!
Key to U.S. growth is building wealth, not entitlements
May 6th, 2010
This piece was originally published in Politico.
For much of the 20th century, progressives put their political capital into building a safety net to protect Americans against market excesses. They aimed for economic security from cradle to retirement.
Today, many on the left say that health care reform is just one more step in this effort.
But it would be a mistake for Democrats to make expanding the entitlement state the defining goal in the 21st century as well.
Rather, they should focus on a new signature cause: policies that build national and individual wealth.
De-Mavericking McCain
April 28th, 2010
This piece was originally published on The Huffington Post.
In the ongoing effort to de-maverick himself, yesterday’s news that he is a lead sponsor of a bill to eliminate DC’s gun laws must go down as the most spectacular and blatant reversal in Senator McCain’s political career:
