Solomon Kleinsmith

As society continues to move in the direction of acceptance, older folks will likely shift that way slowly, older generations that are less accepting will (pardon the frankness) die...

The GOP did in fact vote for a bill that, had it passed, really would have weakened Medicare. But groups like MoveOn are so out there that they can't even let themselves not grossly...

Far from the budget champion Obama appears to want to be seen as, Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Saxby Chamblis, the two that head up the Gang of Six, are among the real heroes...

Frankly, I don’t think either party wants to push for something that would actually do a better job of finding out if people applying for jobs are doing so illegally. The GOP is pus...

The Democrats were the less honest actors through much of the run up to last weekend's passage of a federal budget compromise. They had the votes to pass a budget several months ago, before the midterms, but chose not to because of perceived electoral risks.

They balked at an early deal from some of the less extreme Republicans for a thirty something billion package of cuts, then, when the more extreme Tea Party types pushed the GOP to bump that up into the 60s, the Democrats responded by saying they would meet them halfway... with about ten billion in cuts.

I stopped by Borders the other day, and picked up a book I had been meaning to read called 'The Political Brain', by Drew Weston. In the introduction to the book, Weston talks about an experiment he did in the run up to the 2004 election. Openly partisan test subjects were shown glaring examples where a politician made contradictory statements, and asked to rate how contradictory they thought those statements were.

Unsurprisingly, the subjects that were of the same variety of partisan as the politician in question were significantly more likely to explain away their unethical behavior, with the mirror opposite being the case with the figure on the other side of the aisle.

If something is legal, does it make it right?

That's the question that lies at the bottom of this firestorm over General Electric's lack of paying any taxes, even though it made a $5.1 billion dollar profit last year.

It's been a shame that our nation's leader has done anything but lead on the budget. The president's default tactic is to step back, nudge and prod behind the scenes, and let a deal g...

-- Solomon Kleinsmith, on the way to win allies in Arab countries

"The $2.3 trillion discrepancy is made up of much more rosy assumptions on the part of the President's analysis... None of this is in line with the president's fiscal responsability talking points in recent months."

"Sometimes it really does seem like President Obama is actively trying to fit the stereotype of the weak liberal on foreign policy issues."

"Direct donations to candidate campaigns should be only allowed for individuals, cutting one more leash with which special interest groups control the politicians who represent us in ...

For a moderate like Jon Huntsman, to have any kind of chance of winning the Republican nomination, a whole lot of things have to go for him. The more ideologically pure base has to split between at least two major rivals, a sizable portion of rank-and-file types have to be convinced that he is the best (or only) shot they have of defeating Obama in the general election, and he's got to rack up big wins in open primary states.

That last point is where the rubber hits the road, and if Huntsman, who also serves as the current U.S. ambassador to China, doesn't win big in the first open primary state, New Hampshire, his campaign might as well pack up and go home to Utah.

Really, it should have been obvious that the only segment under the Democrats' tent that had it in them to spark a movement would be the unions.

-- Solomon Kleinsmith

There is no shortage of people who are willing to pretend they know what Obama "really" isn't getting his hands dirty in this debate, but what is clear is he just isn't willing to u...

Just as hypocritical as it was for Republican constituency groups to complain about the way the healthcare bill was passed last year, the ideological perspective of the most well-know...

It's almost as if President Obama asked his advisers what the worst way he could implement immigration enforcement rules would be... and then took that advice.

I understand the logic behind the legal challenges that political parties have to primary rules allowing independents - and sometimes registered members of other parties - from voting in their primaries. While there really has never been any evidence that outside efforts have led to sabotaging of primary elections, there certainly is evidence that they've led to different candidates getting elected.

There are giant college funds for blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. There are scholarships for women. There are scholarships for black, Latino and Native American women. Some coll...

Of all the things that have surprised me about the economic crisis that began almost three summers ago, the most surprising thing of all has been the indifference of American politica...