Apr 21st, 2010
by James Kane.
Ideology seems to be a topic of renewed interest in the United States at present. While ideologues on all sides have long reveled in their exagerated banter, it seems that the media is now involved. Nonetheless, the press too fails to capture the essential realities of contemporary American political life. On the left and the right today, [...]
Mar 30th, 2010
by James Kane.
Something which ought to be a given in contemporary American political discourse is that violence, or the threat of violence, against those with whom one disagrees is unacceptable. Just as the free market is essential to the improvement of goods and services in commerce, a free market of ideas is crucial to the shaping of [...]
Mar 23rd, 2010
by James Kane.
With the stroke of a pen late Tuesday morning came the latest challenge to the land of the free and home of the brave. There is nothing free about imposing on the American populace a mandate to purchase a particular product. Likewise, there is nothing brave about failing to stand up to an administration more invested [...]
Mar 17th, 2010
by James Kane.
Democrats will do anything to pass health insurance reform, even, it seems, subvert the constitution. Knowing that they still lack the votes to pass the kickback-filled Senate health reform bill word-for-word, Democrats in the United States House of Representatives have concocted what they think may be a way around having an up-or-down vote on the [...]
Mar 10th, 2010
by James Kane.
Health care reform is expected to dominate U.S. headlines for another week as the latest reform push is underway in Congress. While varying analyses place the odds for passage of the increasingly complicated reform scheme, opposition builds on both the left and the right. President Obama has nonetheless been hard at work pushing the proposals of [...]
Mar 1st, 2010
by James Kane.
As an administrator of this blog, I can view links made to NextGenGOP.com itself or to particular posts here. Today, I had intended to tackle the latest folly espoused by the Speaker of the House. However, a link made to a post on this site instead drew my attention. The Political Climate blog linked to a post here by Abby [...]
Feb 27th, 2010
by James Kane.
The Blair House health reform summit held Thursday concluded with minds largely unchanged. This is unfortunate. Republicans used the occasion to articulate real and legitimate concerns many have with existing Democratic reform proposals while President Obama and those of his party present expressed concerns of their own. While their points of view differed, it is [...]
Jan 27th, 2010
by James Kane.
Republicans nationally had reason to celebrate Tuesday last week when Scott Brown did what seemed impossible not long ago; captured a Senate seat not held by a member of the GOP since Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. The Massachusetts special election on January nineteenth of this year had all of the hallmarks of the Barack Obama campaign from [...]
Jan 10th, 2010
by James Kane.
The narrowing and possible elimination of Martha Coakley’s lead in even Democratic polls shows that the discontent felt by bread-and-butter voters is real. While the jobless rate is holding at ten percent nationally, indications are that this is due to more would-be laborers giving up on trying to find work rather than on anything the [...]
Jan 8th, 2010
by James Kane.
There has been and will continue to be much discussion regarding the surprise retirements of Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) announced on Tuesday this week. Certainly, these retirements could completely reshape the Senate contests later this year in those two states. In the near term, however, the attention of Republicans should be on Massachusetts, where a [...]
