The Nation: The Beat

Palin Goes Gonzo

John Nichols — 2009-07-03T16:47:49-04:00

Maybe Sarah Palin finally realized that the people who run the Republican party just aren't that into her.

Maybe the soon-to-be-former governor of Alaska is still delusional enough to think she can convince the party bosses that she's a contender for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination.

Maybe the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president is going to take them all on with a gonzo-style populist run against not just President Obama but the entire political establishment. And her talk about supporting change agents inside the Republican party and "outside it" suggests that she might actually be open to an independent or third-party bid.

Revolutionary Republic of July 4 Should Eschew Empire's Errors

John Nichols — 2009-07-03T14:35:45-04:00

The days leading up to the 233rd anniversary of American independence offered plenty of opportunities to consider how a country founded in opposition to empire and imperialism should respond to the democratic inclinations and repressions on display in distant (and not so distant) lands.

Citizens are risking their lives in Iran to challenge the apparent theft of a presidential election � displaying a determination that was absent in America after the Supreme Court helped George Bush abscond with a presidency in 2000.

Citizens are in the streets of Honduran cities to challenge the removal of an elected president in a classic military coup � of the sort that has not been seen since te bad old days when cold war meddling unsettled Latin America.

Totalitarian Rightists Put Orwellian Spin on Honduras Coup

John Nichols — 2009-07-02T12:52:00-04:00

To hear Rush Limbaugh and the tribunes of the totalitarian right tell it, everything is going swimmingly in Honduras.

Yes, the military invaded the home of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya with guns blazing, kidnapped the country's elected leader and forced him to leave the country.

Yes, the military then installed an unelected president and a new "interim" cabinet.

Senator Al Franken

John Nichols — 2009-06-30T17:43:47-04:00

The last legal and political barriers to Al Franken taking his seat as the junion senator from Minnesota crumbled Tuesday, as Republican incumbent Norm Coleman finally conceded the contest.

Coleman's concession came after the Minnesota Supreme Court confirmed what everyone pretty much knew: The voters chose Franken, the Democratic Farmer Labor Party candidate over Coleman in last fall's U.S. Senate election.

While the election result was close, the court's decision was not.

Honduras Coup Poses Challenges, Questions for Obama, Congress

John Nichols — 2009-06-29T18:56:35-04:00

President Obama branded as "not legal" the the military coup in Honduras, where elected President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya was kidnapped and flown out of the country by soldiers bent on blocking an advisory vote on constitutional reform in the country.

Obama said a "terrible precedent" would be set if the coup were not reversed, adding that "We do not want to go back to a dark past. We always want to stand with democracy."

The president's statement -- which toughened up a tepid earlier announcement that he was "deeply concerned by reports coming out of Honduras" -- came as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the crisis as "a test of the inter-American system's ability to support and defend democracy and constitutional order in our hemisphere."

House Passes "Weak" Climate Change Bill

John Nichols — 2009-06-26T23:27:59-04:00

The American Clean Energy and Security legislation that was backed by the Obama administration and congressional Democratic leaders as a centerpiece of the drive to address climate change was approved Friday by the U.S. House.

Congressman Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who was a primary architect of the bill, called its passage a "decisive and historic action to promote America's energy security and to create millions of clean energy jobs that will drive our economic recovery and long term growth."

But the House endorsement was anything but enthusiastic.

Michael Jackson: Imperfect Icon Who Became America's Global Face

John Nichols — 2009-06-25T19:52:20-04:00

This is a big world, with many remote corners where America is known only as a distant and different land. But Michael Jackson touched almost all of them.

The music star's death Thursday, at age 50 after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest is an international event. And we ought to recognize why that is so.

For all the eccentric � and ultimately unsettling � behavior that would see the "king of pop" ridiculed as the "king of weird" �-or worse-- Jackson was for a significant part of the 1980s and 1990s as much or more the face of America as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton.

Friends of the Earth Score Energy Bill as "Step Backward"

John Nichols — 2009-06-24T08:53:18-04:00

The League of Conservation Voters has thrown down the gauntlet in its campaign to win support for the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) when it could see a U.S. House vote as soon as Friday.

The politically-potent organization, that has made its endorsement something akin to the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for candidates seeking to position themselves as environmentally sensitive, announced Tuesday that it would not support the reelection of any House member who opposes the measure that it says "has the potential to transform America by creating clean energy jobs, improving our national security, and protecting our planet from global warming pollution."

In a letter to House members, LCV President Gene Karpinski wrote, "The stakes could not be higher; a safer, healthier planet and a new energy economy hang in the balance, and it's imperative that members of Congress be on the right side of history."

Obama "Appalled and Outraged " With Iran Violence

John Nichols — 2009-06-23T13:02:40-04:00

Barack Obama is a popular president.

With an average approval rating of 61 percent in seven polls taken this month, according to CNN's Poll of Polls, Obama is more popular than George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan was at this point in his presidency.

But Obama needs to spend some of that capital, using his personal popularity to pump up support for his more controversial policy initiatives -- especially healthcare and energy reform.

Supreme Court Pulls Teeth From the Voting Rights Act

John Nichols — 2009-06-22T10:42:05-04:00

Once an election is done, it is hard to undo.

That's true in Iran, and it's also true in the United States.

This is why it is important to get the rules by which elections are held right before elections are held.