Eugene Robinson's Blog, page 136
March 15, 2012
Santorum needs Gingrich in the race
If Rick Santorum wants to keep Mitt Romney from wrapping up the Republican nomination before the convention, he should encourage Newt Gingrich to stay in the race, not drop out.
Not everyone buys this theory, I admit. The doubters include Santorum — who keeps shoving Newt toward the exit — as well as quite a few leading conservatives, including Family Research Council head Tony Perkins and influential blogger Erick Erickson. They want to see a two-man contest between a "Massachusetts moderate" and a dyed-in-the-wool conservative.
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March 12, 2012
End the Afghan mission now
It was clear before Sunday's horrific massacre of civilians that it's past time for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan to end. Now the only question should be how quickly we can get our troops onto transport planes to fly them home.
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March 8, 2012
A field of hawks
Unless Ron Paul somehow wins the nomination, it looks as if a vote for the Republican presidential candidate this fall will be a vote for war with Iran.
No other conclusion can be drawn from parsing the candidates' public remarks. Paul, of course, is basically an isolationist who believes it is none of our business if Iran wants to build nuclear weapons. He questions even the use of sanctions, such as those now in force. But Paul has about as much chance of winning the GOP nomination as I do.
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March 5, 2012
Rush Limbaugh instills fear in GOP candidates
How's this for political cowardice? Right-wing bloviator Rush Limbaugh launches a vile attack, full of sexual insults and smarmy innuendo, against a young woman whose only offense was to speak her mind. Asked to comment, the leading Republican presidential candidates — who bray constantly about "courage" and "leadership" — run from the bully and hide.
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March 1, 2012
The danger of Mitt being Mitt
Political consultants tell candidates to be authentic — to "be yourself." In Mitt Romney's case, that might not be such good advice.
Once again, for what seems like the umpteenth time, Romney is being crowned as the presumptive Republican nominee. His victories in Michigan and Arizona took much of the wind out of Rick Santorum's sails; Newt Gingrich is lost at sea; and Ron Paul is, well, Ron Paul. As long as Romney keeps winning, talk of some kind of a deus ex machina plot twist at the convention — someone just like Jeb Bush surfaces, but with a different last name — remains pure fantasy.
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February 27, 2012
Rick Santorum's rhetoric goes to the extreme
For all his supposed authenticity, Rick Santorum is not what he seems. Beneath that sweater vest beats the heart of a calculating and increasingly desperate politician who has gone beyond pandering all the way to shameless demagoguery.
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February 23, 2012
Gulf War III isn't an option
We've heard this quickening drumbeat before. Last time, it led to the tragic invasion and occupation of Iraq. This time, if we let the drummers provoke us into war with Iran, the consequences will likely be far worse.
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February 20, 2012
Rick Santorum could take Republicans down with him
Republicans haven't quite thrown away what they see as a winnable presidential election, at least not yet. But they're trying their best.
In GOP circles, there is more than a whiff of panic in the air. Unemployment is still painfully high, Americans remain dissatisfied with the country's direction, even the most favorable polls show President Obama's approval at barely 50 percent — and yet there is a sense that the Republicans' odds of winning back the White House grow longer day by day.
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