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“Unlicensed Doctors”: Politicians Swinging Stethoscopes
Let’s take a look at sex and state legislatures. Never a good combo. Lawmakers venture into murky waters when they attempt to deal with the mysteries of human reproduction. The results are generally...
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“No GOP Moderates Need Apply”: Republican “Robo-Teams” Mindlessly Towing The...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) has had a fair amount of success in his first two years implementing a very conservative agenda. Most notably, Brownback’s tax “reform” plan, which sharply cut income...
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“Makers, Takers, Fakers”: A Major Rhetorial Shift For The Party Of Sneering...
Republicans have a problem. For years they could shout down any attempt to point out the extent to which their policies favored the elite over the poor and the middle class; all they had to do was yell...
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“Ideas That Work For Whom?”: A Not So Subtle Regressive Message From The GOP
Every Saturday morning, President Obama releases a weekly address, issued over the air and on radio, followed by an official Republican response. Ordinarily, they’re intended to reinforce the parties’...
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“Nullification, Symbolism Over Substance”: How States Are Making It A Felony...
In mid-April, Kansas passed a law asserting that federal gun regulations do not apply to guns made and owned in Kansas. Under the law, Kansans could manufacture and sell semi-automatic weapons in-state...
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“Shunning People Away”: Kansas Secretary Of State Kris Kobach’s Bold New Plan...
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who has become a national figure by advising other states on how to implement anti-immigrant and voter suppression measures, has come up with a new creative way...
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“Two Tiered Discrimination”: Separate And Unequal Voting In Arizona And...
In its 2013 decision in Arizona v. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Arizona’s proof of citizenship law for voter registration violated the 1993 National Voter...
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“Something Is The Matter With Kansas”: When Does The Madness End?
Kansas State Representative Keith Esau has introduced a bill that would eliminate no-fault divorce in the Sunflower State. He has some interesting ideas on matrimony: “No-fault divorce gives people an...
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“Only Heterosexuals Served Here”: Seriously, What Is Wrong With Kansas?
Kansas might as well start producing “Only Heterosexuals Served Here” signs for businesses and government offices. A bill that sailed through the state’s House of Representatives tells Kansans: You can...
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“A License To Discriminate”: Religious Freedom Is A Shield, Not A Sword
When a bad idea pops up in a state legislature, it’s about as common as the sunrise. When the same bad idea pops up in 10 state legislatures at the same time, something odd is going on. At issue are...
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“Platinum-Level Citizenship”: Highly-Religious Christians’ Battle To Change...
Ask a conservative Christian about the President of the United States, and you’re likely to hear that Barack Obama has been waging a “war on religion” since pretty much the moment he took office in...
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“Clearly Freakazoid Behavior”: Where Does The Tea Party Find These People?
I was on Hardball last night talking about the escapades of this Milton Wolf character, the tea party guy who’s challenging GOP incumbent Senator Pat Roberts this year. Wolf became freshly newsworthy...
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“She Surely Paid Her Dues”: Will Kathleen Sebelius Win In The End? Legacy...
Yes, there was utter failure, but there was also one hell of a recovery. As time goes on, she’ll get less blame for the former and more credit for the latter. It was always going to be a tough job,...
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“The Oldest Hatred, Forever Young”: When Hatred Is Loosed, We’re All In The...
Most of the hate crimes in the United States don’t take the fatal form that the shootings in Kansas over the weekend did, and most aren’t perpetrated by villains as bloated with rage and blinded by...
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“Obamascare Tactics In Red State Races”: Passing Laws That Prevent Any Future...
If I asked you to name two states where the incumbent Republican governors might lose reelection this fall, you would likely, I expect, say Florida and Pennsylvania. I doubt very much you’d offer up...
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“GOP Governors Hurting Their Own”: The Latest Plot To Undermine Obamacare And...
It’s actually quite easy to explain. The reason why 19 states have refused to expand Medicaid has nothing to do with the cost — the federal government would cover the full cost of the expansion for the...
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“Left Coast Rising”: California’s Success Demonstrates That Extremist...
The states, Justice Brandeis famously pointed out, are the laboratories of democracy. And it’s still true. For example, one reason we knew or should have known that Obamacare was workable was the...
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“Don’t Be Fooled, The GOP Wants Impeachment”: A Litmus Test To Separate...
In Washington, the conversation about impeachment is preceded by a conversation about a conversation about impeachment. Democrats say Republicans are bring up the I-word to lay the groundwork for...
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“When Moderates Fight Back”: Middle-Of-The-Road Republicans Are Now Attacking...
The missing component in the machinery of American politics has been moderate-to-liberal Republicanism, and the gears of government are grinding very loudly. You wonder if Kansas and Alaska have come...
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“How Not To Get Your Country Back”: Americans Who Want Their Country Back...
The Tea Party mantra, “I want my country back,” resonates with many. The racial undertones can be ugly (as well as pointless). But the longing for an economically secure America centered on a strong...
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