When a government forcibly holds enough people indefinitely without trial, it evokes the kinds of raids, detention, and abuses of power associated with authoritarian states - or darker periods in American history.
Democracy functions better when donors push politicians to win campaigns based on their defining issues instead of using financial pressure for policy changes, favors, or special access.
Washington is deeply frustrating because so many of the positions that politicians hold are a product of ephemeral self-interest. They reverse themselves, for themselves, all the time.
The Tea Party movement's economic agenda is a matter of emphasis, not exclusion. This is not a single-issue group.
Even George W. Bush, who as president pushed the boundaries of executive power, never proposed a statutory scheme to hold people indefinitely.
As every newspaper reader, liberal activist, or parliamentary junkie knows, the overarching barrier to most of Obama's agenda is the abuse of the filibuster in the Senate. In fact, several of Obama's second term priorities are not ideas in search of a majority - they are majorities in search of an up-or-down vote.
Barack Obama was first elected after a period of profound failure by elite and government institutions, from finance to foreign policy to Hurricane Katrina, and his first term immediately and unapologetically enacted a flurry of government solutions.
I started freelancing, writing op-eds and book reviews, one at a time. I then got the opportunity to write recurring freelance pieces for 'The Nation' magazine, focusing on how the Internet was changing politics.
In campaigns, promises are usually treated skeptically. Past positions are viewed as the one reliable way to gauge a candidate's instincts.
It's never a good sign when extremism becomes the norm.
Why do Tea Party backers oppose abortion at higher rates than their traditional GOP cohort? Religion.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likes to reminisce about being an amateur boxer. But his Senate tenure has often looked like an endless rope-a-dope.
'House of Cards' is aiming for truth, not accuracy.
'House of Cards' is full of hypocrites, some ashamed, many proud. There is no silver lining here, no appeal to a just system that is temporarily thwarted by corrupting forces.
Hypocrites are more enraging than extremists, as every campaign operative knows.
Obama must scrutinize and disassemble the post-Sept. 11 imperial presidency, even if he reduces his own power in the process.
I've worked in government. I've worked in competitive New York litigation, I've worked as a writer and reporte..
The Obama campaign has adeptly used YouTube and social networks as a relatively thrifty way to do targeted messaging.
Large majorities of voters support taxing millionaires and protecting social security.
Confronting Republicans can definitely mobilize a disaffected Democratic base.
