Oct 2, 2013 | Conservativism, Democrats, Economic Policy, History, Liberalism, Libertarianism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Republicans
Originally Published: PolicyMic (March 8, 2012) Republished on PolicyMic (October 2, 2013) as "Government Shutdown Question: Would the Founding Fathers Fight Liberalism?" Editor's Note:Although this article was originally published on March 8, 2012, we felt it would be valuable to offer the perspective of a PhD student in history on the ideological debate accompanying the current government...
Sep 30, 2013 | Democrats, Elections, Elections - Other, mic, Pennsylvania, Political Parties
Published: mic (September 30, 2013) While it’s easy enough to talk about politics in terms of any given immediate cycle, Democrats should always try to keep the big picture in mind by asking themselves the most important question: How can we win the next election, the election after that, and other elections into the future? The answer, I believe, can be found in the Lehigh Valley. In my 16...
Aug 1, 2013 | Democrats, mic, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: mic (August 1, 2013) If you follow the news cycle closely, you may have noticed a cute little story yesterday about John McCain. As CNN reported, the Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate opened a door that he thought would bring him to one of his appointments ... and found that he had accidentally wandered into a Capitol Hill meeting between President Barack...
Jul 17, 2013 | Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2016), mic, Political Parties, Vice President Biden
Published: mic (July 17, 2013), The Morning Call (July 17, 2013) According to a recent Politico article, Vice President Joe Biden is being criticized by some of his backers for not doing more to promote his 2016 presidential candidacy. Should Biden choose to run, he would, no doubt, face a formidable opponent in Hillary Clinton, the erstwhile first lady, senator, and secretary of state who is...
May 23, 2013 | Class Issues, Democrats, Economic Policy, Liberalism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, Race and Racism
Published: mic (May 23, 2013) There are days that call for history lessons, and while most liberals don't realize it, we should definitely insist on May 22 being one of them. After all, it was 49 years ago yesterday that President Lyndon Baines Johnson intoned these words at a speech delivered to a graduating class at the University of Michigan: "For a century we labored to settle and to subdue...
Nov 30, 2012 | Democrats, Economic Policy, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2012), mic, Political Parties, Republicans
Published: PolicyMic (November 30, 2012) I have no idea whether Mitt Romney will ever see this editorial. While I do know at least one of my articles was noticed by the erstwhile Republican candidate's inner circle (a piece from six months ago that drew complaints from his former foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell), that hardly assures that anything else I write will make its way to him....
Nov 27, 2012 | Democrats, General Advice, mic, Political Parties, Republicans, Scandals
Published: PolicyMic (November 27, 2012) This may seem odd coming from the pen of a liberal Democrat (er, keyboard), but here it goes: Gerald Ford is my favorite president of the past forty years. There are plenty of good reasons for liberals to admire Ford. Foremost among them is the fact that he was the last genuinely moderate Republican to inhabit the White House, with his battle against...
Nov 7, 2012 | Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2012), General Advice, mic, Political Parties, President Obama, Republicans
Published: PolicyMic (November 7, 2012) "When news of the surrender first reached our lines our men commenced firing a salute of a hundred guns in honor of the victory. I at once sent word, however, to have it stopped. The Confederates were now our prisoners, and we did not want to exult over their downfall." By now, most of you probably recognize this quote as the famous passage from Ulysses S....
Nov 4, 2012 | Conservativism, Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2012), Extremism, Liberalism, mic, Political Ideologies, Political Parties, President Obama, Republicans
Published: PolicyMic (November 4, 2012) There are two quotes that best sum up Pennsylvania's role in American democracy today. One comes from legendary political consultant James Carville: "Pennsylvania is Philadelphia in the east, Pittsburgh in the west, and Alabama in the middle." This adage will be useful when following Tuesday's election returns in the Keystone State, although it's a little...
Oct 22, 2012 | Democrats, Elections, Elections - Presidential (2012), Media Issues, mic, Political Parties, President Obama, Republicans
Published: PolicyMic (October 22, 2012) Editor's Note: This represents instant analysis of the presidential debate on Monday night. For the author's thoughts in the hour immediately before the debate began, see here. Here are my first impressions about the third debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on Monday evening: 1) The Big Points: - Both men came across as confident and well-informed...