The Great Civil Rights Battle of Our Time

Last night, the New York Senate passed Senate Bill 5857, better known as the “Marriage Equality Act,” legalizing gay marriage and giving gay couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. This, as our wonderful Vice President Joe Biden might say, is a big fucking deal. It shouldn't be, but it is nevertheless. By becoming the sixth state (plus Washington, DC) to legalize gay marriage, New York affirmed that all Americans should be equal, that progress is unstoppable and that Democrats, for the first time in decades, are starting to gain the upper hand when it comes to social issues.

Yes. Yes they do.

Why Afghanistan Still Matters

Tonight, President Obama told the American people that we would begin to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, largely sticking to the schedule that he spelled out in his December 2009 address at West Point. For those who missed it, the President announced that 10,000 troops would return from Afghanistan by the end of this year and that 23,000 more would return by September 2012, returning troop levels to those before 2009's “surge.” Like all presidential decisions, this one already has vocal critics: members of both parties are simultaneously decrying the strategy as being both too precipitous and too slow a withdrawal. Whatever its faults, though, Obama's decision will have repercussions far beyond the end of his presidency—and it may be the beginning of a new era in U.S. foreign policy.

Why doesn't he ever give these speeches from the Oval Office?

Will Brown's Pen be Mightier than Schwarzenegger's Sword?

The fiscal crisis in California took another treacherous turn this week when Democratic Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a budget plan passed by the Democrat-controlled State Assembly and Senate. With the state's voter-imposed deadline for passing a balanced budget expiring earlier this week, California legislators are now working overtime without pay to try and fix the state's massive budget deficit. Brown's veto, though, was not unwarranted, nor was it radical. Rather, Governor Brown is hoping that by vetoing the plan, he can convince state legislators to finally get serious about balancing the budget and creating a sustainable fiscal future for the state.

Someone should tell Governor Brown that there's a grizzly bear eating his head.

Debate Roundup: June 13th GOP Primary Debate

Tonight was the first debate of the 2012 Republican primary season and it provided no shortage of awkward moments, political catchphrases and blatant misunderstandings about how the economy works. Instead of doing an entire recap of the debate, though, I'm going to give my analysis of the winners and losers in tonight's debate and how it may affect the race going forward. So, I may miss some of the better... ahem... “policy” gems of the debate, like Speaker Gingrich comparing Muslims to Nazis, or Congresswoman Bachmann saying that she thinks there should be both a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and independent state laws governing the issue, but I hope that you'll forgive me.

And so, from biggest loser to biggest winner, here's how the debate played out.

Dear CNN, this stage is so 2008. Step it up.

Gingrich's Loss is Perry's Gain

It's been a bad couple of weeks for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He started his campaign for president with several high profile missteps, some of which I've already blogged about. Just to review:

• In his first Sunday interview after announcing his candidacy, he attacked Congressman Paul Ryan's budget plan and was subsequently crucified by the right.
• He got glittered.
• It was discovered that his wife has a $250,000 expense account at Tiffany's. So much for portraying himself as blue-collar.

Finally, all of these problems have come back to bite him, as it was announced on Thursday that senior members of the Gingrich campaign had resigned en masse, including his chief strategist, campaign manager and campaign chairman.

Since Gingrich had very little traction in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, few candidates already in the race will directly benefit from his campaign's catastrophic implosion. There is one Republican, though, who was probably very happy upon hearing this news: Texas governor Rick Perry.

I wonder if Gingrich realized that this would be the least of his problems.

You've Never Heard of Him, but Herman Cain Wants to be President

In early January, while political heavyweights like former governors Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty were still cautiously laying the groundwork for their highly-expected presidential runs, the first candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination announced the start of his campaign. The only problem was that no one had ever heard of him. Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, is running for president, and may be exactly the dark horse that GOP voters are looking for.

Herman Cain wants YOU

Whose Fault is it, Anyway?

“Gridlock” does not even come close to describing the atmosphere in the U.S. Senate these days. “Obstructionism” comes closer, but that implies that the lack of action on simple measures is the fault of one party or the other. Behind the constant back and forth between Senate Republicans and Democrats about how it’s the other party’s fault, it is clear that there is something very wrong with the Senate today.

The Senate in olden times, or something