politicians

Reviews of the politicians kissing babies and running governments around the world; applaud and criticize the decisions they make and their implications.

Second 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate, Part 1 of 2
I thought the first part of the second 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate, on CNN last night, was much better than the first part of the first 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate on MSNBC last month. By "much better," I mean that almost every candidate on the stage expressed her or himself better than what we saw last month.
By Paul Levinson6 years ago in The Swamp
Missing The Debates? Don't Feel Bad. Top Story - July 2019.
It feels pretty bad to be interested in politics but not want to sit through these three-hour candidate debates that keep cropping up. Featuring ten candidates—three or four you actually have heard of—these events purport to be an honest examination of the issues facing the United States in the 2020 Presidential election.
By Steve Llano6 years ago in The Swamp
Who Is John Ratcliffe?
With Dan Coats leaving as Director of National Intelligence, the Trump administration is suggesting replacing him with Texas congressman John Ratcliffe. Elected in 2014, Ratcliffe represents the 4th District, which consists of the counties directly northeast of Dallas. Here are how some leading political organizations have ranked Ratcliffe based on his four years in Congress.
By John Heckenlively6 years ago in The Swamp
Minor Quibble with Kamala Harris
Although it's at most a minor quibble with Kamala Harris's superb performance in this past Thursday's Democratic debate—see my assessment of that over here—I thought, as a past President of the Science Fiction Writers of America (1998-2001), that I ought to weigh in on a concern which has made it all the way to The Washington Post.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
Democratic Presidential Candidate Speech Styles Part 3
If you haven't already read Democratic Presidential Candidate Speech Styles Part 1 and Part 2, click on the links to read an analysis of the first nine candidates from Iowa's political speed dating rounds.
By Twelve Boots7 years ago in The Swamp
Fix Your Own Country First!
Over the past six days several stabbings have taken place in the UK capital of London, where there have been two fatalities and three injured. London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan, expressed his condolences towards the people involved, and hopes to change the way that police in the city handle knife crime.
By Grace Lynch7 years ago in The Swamp
Democratic Presidential Candidate Speech Styles Part 2
If you haven't already read Democratic Presidential Candidate Speech Styles Part 1, click on the link to read an analysis of the first four candidates from Iowa's political speed dating rounds.
By Twelve Boots7 years ago in The Swamp
Tears At Dawn
Oh, Theresa… hasn’t it all gone horribly wrong! After months of will she/won’t she, finally Theresa May announced her resignation as Prime Minister. She stood, like so many before her, in front of that iconic black door, and addressed the nation stating the schedule for her departure.
By The Rumble Online7 years ago in The Swamp
Bryan Watch: May Week 2
Time once again for a weekend wrap-up on what the House of Representatives, and specifically Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI 1) has been up to. Short answer: Voting like a typical Republican.
By John Heckenlively7 years ago in The Swamp
Why Republicans Should Love Mayor Pete
Pete Buttigieg is surging in the polls, recently beating such heavyweight names as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Cory Booker, he also came within spitting distance of Senator Bernie Sanders. In fact, the only other candidate that Mayor Pete, as he is commonly called among his supporters, is former Vice President Joe Biden, but that might not be an issue should Biden bow out of the race before entering it. Such is Buttigieg's popularity that Republicans have already started the war machine against him in the hopes of giving Trump a boost before potentially facing him in the general election. And how are they attacking the potential 2020 candidate by using the very things they would support, and even rally around, one of their own candidates for.
By Edward Anderson7 years ago in The Swamp
Knowledge Is Power: Why Julian Assange Is a Champion of Democracy
Love him or hate him, the arrest of Julian Assange is most certainly a travesty of not only justice, but also of the core democratic values that the Western world prides itself on. Of course, politicians in Washington are rather delighted to see the downfall of a modern-day muckraker who has exposed the US government on numerous occasions throughout the years. Yet, it has been quite stunning to see that many common American citizens on both sides of the political spectrum seem to be celebrating Assange’s arrest and advocating for his potential extradition to the US, where he could be subject to government sanctioned-torture (“enhanced interrogation,” if you prefer euphemisms) and serve a lifelong sentence at a maximum security prison. Unfortunately, the reason why so many American citizens are cheering on the prosecution of Assange is because those who are born into the free world oftentimes take democracy for granted - so much to the extent that they forget to acknowledge what such a term really means, and are therefore rendered incapable of understanding precisely why his arrest would represent a threat to the fundamental pillars of democracy itself.
By Alex W.7 years ago in The Swamp
The Case for Buttigieg
"To back up this assertion requires a lot of speculation, but it’s 2019, and speculation is our right. Let’s exercise it," T.A. Frank writes in his Vanity Fair article, "A Bit of Crazy Wouldn't Hurt." The difference being he was asserting his opinion that Bernie Sanders could challenge Trump and win the White House back for the Democrats. This assertion is along the same trajectory, but for a different candidate, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. As Mr. Frank said, let's start speculating.
By Edward Anderson7 years ago in The Swamp