National Politics
This posting is the second part of a discussion that began with an earlier posting and is related to two previous postings about liberal fundamentalism and the American Founding. Richard John Neuhaus wrote a book entitled The Naked Public Square: Religion & Democracy in America. First published in 1984, it addressed societal trends and the…
Talking about a pro-tax ballot initiative defeated in Oregon during 2002, a Wall Street Journal editorial stated: When the budget issue is framed in terms of higher taxes, voters don’t understand why government should be exempt from the same spending discipline the rest of us live by. “I am a normal person and when I…
Glen Peck of Barrington thinks that: House Republicans have done something truly appalling. They’ve knocked down a Republican House ethics rule that banned House members from holding leadership positions if they’ve been indicted on felony charges. They did it on behalf of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R.-Texas). … This is no mere act of…
With the election over, we once again turn our attention to the future. That includes preparing for a new group of government officials to take office. Therefore it seems timely to reflect on the principles of the American Founding, as we hope these principles will guide both our lawmakers and us. It is a common…
I also was intrigued by Cox’s article on urban-versus-rural-versus-Democrat-versus-Republican. For Marc’s thoughts, click here. For Justin’s thoughts, click here. Here’s my plausible-but-not-proven stab at explaining the trend: Urban areas are the most dependent on other areas to survive. Imagine the following: One Sunday night, impenetrable force-fields appear along the borders of every town in Rhode…
Having been struggling for an interesting way to frame this, I was much relieved to read Marc’s recent post about demographics and Republican states’ receiving more government aid while (ostensibly) voting against Big Government. Blogger Sensible Mom has explored the data in a bit more depth (the bracketed comment is hers): But let’s focus on…
I’d encourage anyone interested in the question as to “why we vote the way we do” to read this article by Patrick Cox about the seeming correlation between political ideology and demography. In it, he also tackles the apparent conundrum of those who most benefit from government spending (so-called Red States) voting against those who…
Just to add to the observations that have been touched on here and there at Anchor Rising, the 2005 Catholic Almanac has revealed that 9 of the 10 most Catholic states sent their Electoral Votes to John Kerry, with only Lousianna (#10 overall) in the Bush column. Rhode Island, at 63.5% of its population, is…
On the radio, Dan Yorke is talking about the possibility of Condoleezza Rice’s ascension to the post of Secretary of State. Yorke speaks often and forcefully in support of women’s rights and respectful treatment of them, so I’m sure it pains him to say it, but he’s concerned that Condoleezza’s gender will represent a problem…
In Sunday’s ProJo, M. Charles Bakst, erstwhile stakeholder of the political commentariat of Rhode Island, took Sen. Lincoln Chafee to task for his waffling on both supporting fellow Republican President Bush and staying a Republican at all. His flirtation with bolting the party — and, more especially, his decision not to vote for George W.…
