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For over a century, politicians trying to rally their base and refocus voter anger have relied on a durable rhetorical tactic - populism - the framing of virtually any issue as us vs. them. President Obama used the strategy in his State of the Union address. Historian and author Michael Kazin describes the tradition and tactics of rallying the masses.
The media reminded us over and over this week that the Democrats' 60th vote was at stake in the Massachusetts special election even though a bill only needs 51 votes to pass the Senate. It is ending a filibuster that requires 60 yay's. James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, says the media have done a poor job of clarifying this point, thereby obscuring a historic shift in the democratic process.
Two books about the Vietnam War are reportedly shaping the policy debate about Afghanistan. One is circulating among military circles and the other is being passed around the White House. All this reading is making The New Yorker's George Packer a bit nervous. He explains why.
Much attention has been paid to three provisions of The Patriot Act set to expire this year, but civil libertarians say the focus should be on a lesser noticed portion of the law having to do with National Security Letters. Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, says the NSL's are often misused.
In an attempt to keep the public interested in the vast amount of information about the government's interrogation practices and rendition policies, the ACLU recently launched The Torture Report. The report's chief author, Larry Siems, hopes to draw people in by writing an accessible story about what some call "enhanced interrogation" but most simply call torture.
The state secrets privilege allows the government to ask judges to dismiss trials for national security reasons. Civil libertarians say the government abuses the privilege in order to avoid lawsuits. On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder laid out the ways President Obama will reform the privilege, but lawyer and professor Jonathan Turley says the reforms don't go far enough.
Much of the media coverage of the President's address before a joint session of Congress focused on an outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). Fred Beuttler, deputy historian for the United States House of Representatives, talks about other famous interruptions from the floor. Plus, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, who had a front row seat, describes what it was like in the room.
Some opponents of the President's health care plan have been berating lawmakers with entreaties to "read the bill," implying that members of Congress often don't read the laws they vote on. Harper's Ken Silverstein says the protesters are probably right, but they're missing the point.
