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Talking Politics

Night of the Living Newt

Mitt Romney has money, organization, and great hair — but Newt Gingrich has the nastiness Republicans have come to expect from top conservatives
Newt Gingrich held court earlier this week at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) at Saint Anselm College, as a throng of local and national media swarmed to watch him participate in an event of his own creation.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 15, 2011

Will Women Fight Back?

Republicans trying to gut four decades of women’s progress have met with very little resistance — but that’s changing
Ominous headlines are dominating the news: revolution in the Middle East; surging gas prices; even a possible government shutdown. Getting less attention, but with equally dire implications, is the concerted war against women being waged by Republicans.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 02, 2011

Bernstein Brothers Handicap GOP 2012

Two takes on the GOP 2012 presidential run
Bernstein & Bernstein on Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin, and the rest of the 2012 gang.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 07, 2011

Rough Seas Ahead

Will the economy, the oil spill, and Afghanistan conspire to sink Obama's presidency?
Eighteen months after Barack Obama took office with the largest plateful of troubles of any president in recent memory, it would seem only fair for him to finally get a stretch of smooth sailing.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 14, 2010

The first Latino mayor?

Angel Taveras’s moment suddenly arrives
Until recently, to talk about Angel Taveras was to talk about the future.

By: DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 15, 2010

'Tea' is for terrorism

When even the most ‘legitimate’ voices of the right validate dangerously unhinged anti-government rhetoric — DUCK!
A year ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) produced a memo outlining the growing threat posed to this country from right-wing extremists. It compared the situation to that of the early 1990s — which culminated in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 12, 2010

Might as well jump

Recent retirements of key democrats paint a picture of a powerful Republican rogue wave forming. So why are high-profile Republicans jumping ship too?
Last Thursday, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island — the last of his legendary clan in Congress — announced that he will not run for re-election.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 22, 2010

Disaster, then détente

Politically speaking, Hurricane Katrina this was not
From the first days after the earthquake struck Haiti — long before anyone knew how dire the situation was, let alone how the US government would respond — pundits were wagging their tongues about the potential political implications. A poor response, they said, would invite comparisons to the Bush administration's bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 25, 2010

How Brown won

While Massachusetts Democrats assess blame for who lost the Senate seat, the truth is that Scott Brown won it
As the Massachusetts US Senate election unfolded yesterday, all that the pols and pundits wanted to talk about was how Martha Coakley managed to lose the race. And there is plenty there to dissect. But there is another part of the story, and that is how Scott Brown managed to win it.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 22, 2010

Sarah Palin, Inc.

The biggest brand name in conservative politics is about to enter the burgeoning right-wing marketplace — and she's perfect for it. Ka-ching!
Confused commenters have no clue as to the opportunities that await Palin — because few understand the extraordinary, multi-billion-dollar marketplace that has developed for movement conservatives.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 17, 2009

Generation Green

Once derided as tree huggers, eco-friendly youth are now the nation's most powerful (and feared) voting bloc. So why isn't the GOP listening?
Republicans have a lot to say about the immorality of saddling the next generation with our national debt. But when it comes to leaving them a wrecked, depleted, and rapidly warming planet, they are taking the exact opposite line.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 11, 2009

Search continues for our next chief justice

Maureen is no Diana for the RI Supremes
Ah, the PR campaigns and infighting continue to see who will be chosen as Vo Dilun's newest Supreme Court chief justice.

By: PHILLIPE AND JORGE | January 14, 2009

Rise of the political bogeyman

Impotent on the issues, the GOP turns to scare tactics. Be afraid!
The Republicans appear headed to a second straight national pummeling, which will leave it marginalized in the federal government and an increasing number of state houses. Many party faithful are already noting the need for the GOP to move back toward the moderate center to survive. But the conservatives with microphones are heading down a very different path — and their followers, who now dominate the Republican Party, are going right with them.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 03, 2008

Wacko patrol: America's 25 scariest conservatives

The Phoenix ranks the individuals who will hold the most sway over the right-wing message machine in 2009, and beyond.
Imagine what will happen once the relatively sane folks now running the White House and the Republican National Committee pack up and go home?

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 03, 2008

The enthusiasm gap

This election, with Obama having stoked pennant fever in Denver, it is the Dems who have cornered the excitement market
The selection of gun-shooting, anti-abortion, creationist, doctrinaire conservative Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee has finally got the GOP’s conservative base excited.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 03, 2008