Biden's Abysmal Debate: Denial ain't just a river in Egypt

                    

As much as partisan Democrats seek to put lipstick on a pig, Biden's first and probably last
presidential debate was a disaster, if not fatal. Not only did it fail to do what it was supposed to do but it also confirmed public perceptions about Biden and trendlines in the presidential race that had largely been frozen for nearly six months.

            Even before this debate there were growing concerns about Joe Biden's age and cognitive capacities.  Four years ago the public was concerned about Biden's age and that has only grown since he was president.  Biden has held the fewest number of press conferences since Ronald Reagan was president, and his public appearances have mostly been canned and scripted. For many, he looks like their aging grandfather who has good and bad days, with many wondering that while we see Biden on his good days, what is he like on those days which are not so good?

            Polls indicate a majority of Americans are concerned about his age and think he shouldn't run for reelection.

            Even beyond the age factor, political science models all suggest that Biden was going to lose the 2024 election. While the models are not perfect, they look to presidential approval rating and perceptions about the economy as key to predicting reelection.

            Biden has approval numbers worse than Trump did in 2020. In fact, no incumbent president has ever won reelection with the numbers that Biden has.  In many cases, the economy looks good yet the public remains very fraught and fearful about inflation and the future of the economy.

            Even if we did not look at a traditional political science prediction model, polls indicate that for at least the last six months, Joe Biden and Donald Trump have been frozen in terms of what the numbers say in the five or six swing states that are going to decide the election. Last October I looked at Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Five swing states that will decide the 2024 election. Joe Biden was behind in enough of those swing states that were the election held back then he would lose to Donald Trump in the Electoral College. A couple of months later, the New York Times did a similar analysis, but added Nevada to the list. It too found that Joe Biden would lose to Donald Trump and the Electoral College.

            Leading up to this debate, the polls indicated in those critical swing states that Biden and Trump are close, but Trump enjoyed a consistent if not narrow lead. Generally this election as I've argued will come down to about 150,000 to 200,000 swing voters in five or six swing states. We are looking at an incredibly small number of people who effectively will decide the election.  Biden needed to move these voters.  They are probably low-information voters not paying a lot of daily attention to politics, but might nonetheless be affected by mass, pop culture or otherwise impressions of the candidates.

            Biden and his staff too were looking at the polls in the swing states.  They needed to do something to shake up the dynamics of the race.

            Thus an early debate.  Thus far, neither abortion politics as it did in 2022, nor fears of Donald Trump being reelected seem to be enough to change the trajectory of the Biden campaign. He and his staff placed a lot on the value of this first debate.

            The debate did little to move the trendline. There is no indication thus far that it altered people's perceptions of Trump versus Biden in a significant way or at least in a way to Biden's advantage. But what it did do was to confirm what many people believed about Biden and that he lacked the wherewithal to serve out a second term as President of the United States.

            After the debate party loyalists did their best to address Biden's bad performance.

            They said that it was just one bad day and he will be able to recover from it. In doing that, they drew parallels back to 2012 where Barack Obama had a bad debate against Mitt Romney but managed to recover. But that analogy is not appropriate. No one questioned Obama's cognitive capacities in 2012. There was not a belief that he was too old or too feeble to be president. He had a bad debate.

            Biden's bad performance confirmed what most people are believing. The debate might have been a bad day, even if Biden had a good day afterwards it does not alter the  impression that he is an eighty-one-year old in cognitive decline.

            It is nearly impossible to shake those types of public impressions for those few undecided voters who are out there if they were paying attention. There's an old adage you don't have a second chance to make a first impression. This first impression for them might well have been decisive.

            Party loyalists are also trying to argue that they would rather have a president with a sore throat and who stammers a little ahead of a president who lies. It may be true that the debate was between a person who lied about the facts and one who forgot the facts. But it still doesn't change the fact that there is no indication that this debate changed perceptions about Biden or changed the trajectory of the race. Does this mean that people, especially those 150,000 to 200,000, are more likely to vote for Trump? Perhaps not. It certainly doesn't mean they're more likely to vote for Biden. They could very well stay home on election day. They could vote for an alternative third party candidate. But certainly Biden did nothing to win them over.

            The reaction to the debate shifts to the question of decision making. All indications are for the last several months there were concerns among some in the Biden campaign regarding his mental capacities. But nonetheless the Biden campaign and partisans are rallying around him.  Party loyalty and loyalty to Biden seems stronger than the resolve for the Democrats to win the election. They fear an open convention more than they appear to fear losing. They fear being politically ostracized within the party. Much like Congressman Dean Phillips was when he said Biden shouldn't run.

            Somehow, Democrats are thinking he can still win this one.

            Perhaps they hope abortion fear of Donald Trump or some other black swan will intervene and change the trajectory of the election, perhaps even a second debate.  While I think a second debate is unlikely because Donald Trump has no incentive to do it. The risks of a repeat of this are too great for even Biden to consider. Yet he probably will do it or insist on it.

            There is something wrong with this level of insularity in decision making. If a candidate who was so unpopular and now so demonstrates lack of cognitive capacity even only occasionally still is nominated, there is something wrong in how political decisions are being made.  Yet despite all this, unless a black swan emerges, the theme of the Biden campaign might as well be “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.

Nails in the GOP Coffin: Thoughts on the Iowa Straw Poll Results

Bachmann wins, Pawlenty is out. What do learn from the Iowa straw poll? Whatever political moderation existed in the Republican Party, it rapidly disappearing as the GOP is being remade in the image of Palin and Bachmann.

Bachmann

The headline clearly is that Bachmann received nearly 29% of the vote. No surprise there. Bachmann has narrative that clearly appeals to a demographic of social conservatives and Tea Party members. For months I argued that mobilizing this vocal and active segment of the part would make Bachmann a major force in Iowa. With a divided field she had captured a large bloc of voters and she used this appeal along with her Iowa connection and strategy to do well in that state. Her challenges of course will now be to move beyond Iowa, reach out to others beyond her base in the party across the country. Moreover, as the field of GOP contenders winnows (Pawlenty exists) and expands, will she pick up supporters or lose them? Bachmann is definitely the headline of the party but challenges persist.

The GOP

Look beyond Bachmann. She received 28.6% of the vote, Paul 27.7%–together they accounted for 56% of the straw poll. These are two candidates who represent perhaps the most extreme agendas among the GOP field. Add to them Santorum who polled at 9.8% and one finds that nearly two-thirds of the straw poll went to what would appear to be non-mainstream candidates. Pawlenty, perhaps the most mainstream and establishment candidate who participated in the field, polled barely 14%. This is a party that has moved dramatically to the right of the one that picked Romney as the Iowa straw poll winner and McCain as their nominee in 08. The GOP had redefined itself. It is–as I have argued for months–no longer the party of Ronald Reagan. Sarah Palin successfully remade the party into one captured more firmly by the Tea party and owing much of its ideological allegiance to a blend of Barry Goldwater, Pat Robertson, and Ayn Rand. Paul and Bachmann represent different wings of this new party, but Bachmann is better poised to run within this new party because her rhetoric and narrative are less pedantic and more appealing that Paul’s cerebral musings about the gold standard.

Romney

Romney is in trouble. In theory the frontrunner, but he is the frontrunner in a GOP party that no longer exists. He is part of the old Reagan Republican Party (along with Pawlenty) now fading. As the Party has shifted look to see it be more difficult for him to maintain his lead. Bachmann represents the new center of the new Republican Party. She and Paul may not be the fringe, Romney and Pawlenty are.

Pawlenty

No surprise he is dropping out. He never had a chance. He never had a narrative and he was a Reagan Republican running in a Palin Party. He tried to fake being more conservative than he was, coming off as inauthentic and phony. He made Iowa make or break and he broke. Bachmann helped seal the deal and yet again unended her Minnesota rival. But Pawlenty was doomed even without her–he just lacked appeal as a candidate and he never created a rationale for he presidency. It also does not help to have a non-existent legacy as governor besides bankrupting it.

Perry

Perry changes the equation for Bachmann. They will fight out for many of the same supporters and the challenge will be to see what happens. Perry is Bachmann but with executive experience. But Perry’s support demonstrates again how far to the right the GOP has moved.

But what does it all mean?

Commentators state the challenge is for Bachmann to capture swing or centrist voters within the party. She may not need to do this. First, her bloc approach may be enough to help her for a long time. Second, the moderate GOP voters may be leaving, going the route of while males who abandoned the Democratic Party in the 1970s and 80s. If the Reagan Revolution redefined the GOP and Democratic Party membership, then the Palin-Bachmann redefinition will do the same. Some will leave the Party, perhaps leaving it a much more conservative one that even before. Within a party of vanishing moderates, Bachmann can win.

The Scream! Thoughts on the Iowa Republican Debate

No question about it–the lunatic fringe has taken over the Republican Party. The August 11, Ames, Iowa Fox debate featured calls for the return to the gold standard, the right to choose light bulbs, criminal prosecution for doctors who perform abortions to save the lives of mothers, obtuse readings of the Tenth Amendment, and petty and personal squabbles attacking one another and the media. All we needed was for someone to assert that the Earth was flat and that it was located at the center of the universe. It was enough to make one what to scream!

The debate lacked substantive and constructive ideas. It was devoid of facts, researched ideas, and any sense of real research across the areas of economics and law. While all the candidates were correct in contending that Obama lacked a economic plan for America, none of them offered anything of substance either based upon research and evidence regarding what works or not. It was all pure ideological pandering to a crowd, with sound bites crafted by speech writers. All seemed to think that the only solution was more tax cutting, giving businesses even more breaks than they have now. It was a collective pep rally for trickle down economics, contending that too high of corporate, capital gains, or other taxes were the cause of the economic slowdown. Cain at least was honest in saying that he was not bothered if the tax cuts to corporations resulted in them paying more dividends and not investing. So much for the veneered justification of supply-side economics as a jobs producer.

Moreover, other candidates had equally dismal and shallow assertions about economics. Paul wants to dismantle the central bank and return the US to the gold standard. Pawlenty thinks we can achieve 5% economic grown for many years if we enact his nonexistent economic plan. Bachmann thinks she can turn the economy around in 90 days. Gingrich blames it all on Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley–repeal them and all will be fine. Huntsman and Romney simply said trust me–I was in business and I know how to create jobs.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the debate was when pressed about a bipartisan deal to cut the deficit and asked if they would sign off on a deal that would have 10:1 spending cuts to tax increases. None supported it.

None of the candidates seemed to have a sense about job creation or about a role for government investment in the economy to build infrastructure. In doing so, they forget even that Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations called for this. Or that this is what Alexander Hamilton called for in creating the national bank and in supporting credit and manufactures. All seemed to endorse Ayd Rand economics, a libertarian free for all market place of the survival of the fittest.

But economics was not the only place where crackpot theories prevailed. Constitutionally, they were all horrible. Bachmann stated that the Constitution does not allow the government to require individuals to purchase anything such as insurance. She was unable to square that with her reading of the Tenth Amendment which gives states broad power to regulate, even traditional topics such as marriage. By her logic, states could not require individuals to purchase auto insurance and perhaps even licenses for practicing medicine or doing anything else. Moreover, despite all her defense of the Tenth Amendment, she would take away the power of states to pass legislation allowing for same-sex marriage. At one point the debate degenerated into a discussion of whether the Tenth Amendment would allow states to enact slavery or polygamy.

In 1984 a challenger to Senator Fritz Hollings demanded the senator a take a drug test and release the results. Hollings replied by stating that he would take such a test if his opponent took an IQ test and made it public. Last night’s debate gave me new appreciation for Hollings’ suggestion. Candidates for the presidency should be better informed about the world of economics, politics, and the law. We talk so much about civics education and literacy tests for citizens. Maybe candidates should be required to pass such a test as a condition for running for office.

Final Thoughts: Bachmann v Pawlenty: Pawlenty’s Sexism

The Bachmann/Pawlenty feud is the media highlight of the debate. Both came off looking petty and small. Pawlenty is correct that Bachmann has no real legislative record, Bachmann is correct that Pawlenty has switched on many issues. Leave it there. But both felt they needed to dig at one another, underscoring the deep animosity the two h ave always had toward one another, not only enhanced by their rival Iowa strategies. Yet Pawlenty came off worse. He was given a second chance to criticize Romney and again soft-peddled it. Thus, he was too weak against Romney and too aggressive and petty against Bachmann. This attack reveals a deeper sexism with Pawlenty.

Recall in 2006 his attacks against DFL Lt. Gubernatorial candidate Judy Dutcher when she blanked on a reporter’s question about E85. At one point DFL Gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch stated about Pawlenty: “Look at how desperate he is, he is attacking a woman.” Hatch took heat for that statement but in retrospect he seems prescient. Pawlenty’s sexism is his inability to confront and challenge men, preferring to pick on others he perceives as weak, such as women. This is the the wimp factor.

Conversely, Bachmann competed for the dumbest answer of the night. When asked to defend her legislative record against Pawlenty's criticisms, she replied: "I introduced the Lightbulb Freedom of Choice Act so people could all purchase the lightbulb of their choice." I am not sure what is worse, that this is the sum of the legislative record that she is proud of, or that she wants to give individuals more choice to select light bulbs than gay people to marry or women to control their reproductive choices.

The Winners are...?

Who won?

Gingrich had real policy answers even if they are wrong. He was correct to trash the super-committee as a lack of leadership and at least his comments about Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, even if wrong, were real ideas.

Romney wins since no one attacked him and escapes with no bullet holes.

Huntsman has the single best answer of the night. When asked about his support of civil unions he said he stood by his position. But more importantly, when criticized for accepting Obama’s request he become ambassador to China, Huntsman replied: "I’m proud of my service to this country. If you love your country, you serve her. During a time of war, during a time of economic hardship, when asked to serve your country in a sensitive position where you can actually bring a background to help your nation, I’m the kind of person who’s going to stand up and do it, and I’ll take that philosophy to my grave." If we had more answers and people like that our country would not be in the shape it is today.

And the Winner is. . . Preliminary Thoughts on the New Hampshire GOP Presidential Debate

Who won the debate last night? Bachmann and Romney emerged as winners in very odd ways.

Bachmann won but not really on substance. She won by her announcement that she was officially running for president. Her announcement was brilliant in the sense that she knew it would be the major news or headline item the next day. Yet again with this announcement she proved her ability to capture headlines and to shine the spotlight on her. Thus, Bachmann wins the public relations battle.

Romney was also a winner. The expectation was that the other candidates would go after the frontrunner and smear him with the phrase Obamacare. They failed to do so. Even Tim Pawlenty, who just a couple of days earlier had attacked Romney for creating Obaneycare, shrank for doing it. Because Romney held his own, did not suffer an attacks, and also managed to attack Obama himself, he appeared to escape the debate without scars and therefore won.

Beyond the Bachmann announcement and the failure of the field to attack Romney, there were no surprises in the debate. All of them attacked Obama and all of them more or less said the said thing when pressed on the economy, health care, abortion, and gay rights. What was most striking was how little they really disagreed, with all concurring that any of them would be better presidents than Obama.

But even more striking was how bland all were and how little they had to really offer as president. They were all strong in their criticism of Obama and the government but offered little in terms of real solutions. They all said the problems in the economy and the world were rooted in too much government and taxes, contending that by cutting both the private sector would solve our problems. Government thus crowds out real private sector innovation. Paul was most clear in arguing this. But beyond saying government was bad they offered little in terms of what government could do or why they wanted to be president. Instead, they all seem to be running for a job they want to eliminate.

Tale of Two Pawlentys

Pawlenty was interesting. It was a tale of Two Pawlentys. There was the governor of Minnesota who liked to describe himself as a moderate. Now it is a Pawlenty who took pride in passing pro-life laws, packing the court with pro-life judges, and a candidate against law rights and any type of government action. Who is the real Pawlenty?

Quick note on Bachmann

With her formal declaration that now means her congressional seat is up for grabs. All along it seemed clear that November, 2010 was the last time she would run for the House of Representatives. At that time it looked like redistricting or a run for the senate would be next for her, not the presidency. Nonetheless, Bachmann’s seat is open and that should begin a scramble for it. Moreover, think about her poor constituents. From the day she was sworn in this January Bachmann has been effectively running for president. She will now continue to do that leaving her district without any real representation.

At the debate Bachmann held her own and looked and sounded like the rest of the field. She turned away comments about her extremism and association with the TEA party may hurt her. She did a good job in sounding as bland as the rest.

Also, if Bachmann does not succeed in her presidential bid, running for president does not hurt her marketability or chances to challenge Franken in 2014.

Bachmann, Palin, Overdrive

Bachmann and Palin. The very prospects of both entering the presidential race have created a frenzy. Both are media magnets and savvy in the art of attracting attention. But how do we assess them as presidential candidates within the GOP field and, if either to emerge as a nominee, as a potential candidate against Obama?

I discussed this issue on Fox 9 News recently . Look at the video in addition to my analysis below.

Outsiders within the GOP

The simple way to describe Bachmann and Palin is that both are outsiders within the Republican Party who draw their strengths from very similar sources. Both candidates have clear messages about taxes, limited government, and social conservatism that appeal to the Tea party wing of the GOP. Thus both have something that Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, and perhaps even Mitt Romney lack—a clearly identified voice or political narrative that definitely appeals to an energetic base of the Republican Party. This linkage of a voice to a constituency is critical because it means that both of these candidates have a capacity to mobilize an identifiable portion of the party. When it comes to Iowa for example, a state all about caucuses and grassroots organizing, the ability to appeal to a specific and highly energetic constituency is very important, especially for Bachmann.

Comparing Bachmann to Palin

Bachmann and Palin share other affinities. Both are terrific at fund-raising. Palin is a major draw on the speaking circuit and since leaving the vice-presidential race she has branded herself and daughter Bristol into a Paris Hilton like commodities that has made her millions. Palin is an industry and can raise money, perhaps even for a presidency. Not as well known as Palin, Bachmann has proven to be a powerful fundraiser–garnering $20 million plus for her Congressional campaign last year and reportedly with more than $2.5 million already for her potential presidential bid. Moreover, each has a propensity to say the outrageous–Bachmann in declaring the constitutional framers as having freed the slaves, Palin in her take no prisoners campaign rhetoric. Both have been recurrently featured on Fox and MSNBC, pandered before conservative and liberal audiences as Nielsen ratings enhancers.

There is no question though that Palin is the better know of the two candidates. Right now she is near the top of the GOP polls and her bus tour is gathering a lot of attention. Were Palin to run she would start off strong, even if she were to skip Iowa.

Bachmann’s is truly an Iowa strategy. From Waterloo, she hopes to mobilize her roots and appeal to a Tea party constituency (and discontent with other GOP candidates). It is not inconceivable that she could get 20% of the caucus attendees, thereby pushing her to the front of presidential contenders. This is possible but for Palin.

Palin and Bachmann draw strength from the same part of the party. Should both enter they potentially split their support and the Tea Party wing. This sets up some interesting dynamics. First, if both run, does their conservatism force the rest of the GOP further to the right or do they concede it to them and battle for whatever one calls the more moderate wing of the party? Even if only one of the two runs, the same question can be asked. But if both run the potential of a split complicates strategies for all of the field in terms of appeal to their base, ignore, move to the right or more centrist.

Their Negatives

But as much as there are strengths are parallels to Palin and Bachmann, both face liabilities. Both are outsiders in the party. Palin likes her rogue persona and Bachmann has constantly upstaged the GOP in terms of stealing the light from Paul Ryan and the Republican response to Obama’s State of the Union speech. Then there is their political rhetoric–nothing moderate here for either. How they can broaden their appeal beyond the Tea Party within the GOP is a mystery, let along to the swing voters in a general election will be difficult.

Palin has two additional problems. She is well known (a plus) but also has astronomical negatives. Carrying over from the 2008 VP bid, over 60% view her as unqualified to be president. She did herself no favors in her self-absorbed response to the representative Giffords shooting. Second, she has little in terms of a presidential infrastructure that can help her in Iowa or other early states and having alienated many in the GOP establishment, she is damaged goods in many ways.

Bachmann too has alienated the GOP establishment but she is not as well known nationally and therefore does not appear to have the same negatives as Palin. People have not made up their mind about her since she is not as well known. Unlike Palin, Bachmann has a chance to define and make her image and create a narrative. Palin is already done. She has no real potential for growth and makeover–perhaps by choice. Her brand and persona are fixed. Finally, Bachmann is working Iowa and seeking to build an infrastructure, Palin really is not.

Final Thoughts

Overall, assessing the two, while Palin is better known Bachmann has more room to grow as a potential GOP presidential candidate. But of course, both many stand in each other’s way, competing for money, voters, and a slice of media coverage. Because of their similarity, don’t look for the Tea Party dream ticket of the two running together. This is a ticket that would appeal to 25% of the general election electorate–giving Obama a major victory.

No doubt we have not heard the last of Bachmann and Palin. “You ain’t seen nothing yet” as BTO once sung.

Pawlenty, Palin, Podcasts, and Presidential Politics

Pawlenty
There is a great old line from the television show Hee Haw that went: “If it were not for bad luck I’d have no luck at all.” This describes the last two weeks Tim Pawlenty has had.

Last week just as he was ready to start his book tour (aka presidential campaign) Michele Bachmann declares her interest in running for the presidency. Pawlenty becomes the other Minnesotan running for president and he is displaced in the news cycle by her.

Now this week he is eclipsed by the events in Tucson. Yes, he did a National Press Club appearance but in reality, who will remember. He was the third, fourth, or perhaps the fifth story of the week, well behind the events and collateral damage and stories that unfolded around him. Moreover, when he did get a chance to talk, the questions were about his views on Tucson, not on his narrative and agenda. In short, Pawlenty had little time to message, tell his narrative, and make his case for being a presidential candidate.

However, even without these two events, his chances were slim. Consistently I have stated that he has little chance of being a serious candidate for the presidency. I also said that two years ago when I said he had no prayer as McCain’s VP. Why? Simply, Pawlenty has no buzz and no originality. Pawlenty is a “me too’ candidate. Others talk about tax cuts, social conservatism, or what have you, and Pawlenty does the same. Palin does a book, Pawlenty does a book. Romney touts his skills as a pro-business governor, Pawlenty touts his skills as a pro-business governor. Pawlenty is always behind others, never able to find a message or theme that lets him stand out from others. Instead, he seems to a candidate in search of a message, a voice, an appeal. He stands below undecideds among GOPers.

Pawlenty’s time is running out. Think of this. The Iowa caucuses are in February, 2012–barely 13 months away. If Pawlenty is to be a viable presidential candidate he needs to be a serious candidate by the fall, 2011. This means that by the beginning of the summer he needs to catch fire. That is barely six months. His book tour is a fizzle. He is no longer governor and cannot milk that for media time. He is competing against others for money and attention. It will probably be weeks before Tucson and other major news items fade before he has a window to get attention. But it will be under the shadow of “Will she or won’t she” for both Bachmann and Palin.

Pawlenty also faces one final problem. He cannot criticize other GOP without burning bridges. With that, the events of Tucson have changed the political dialogue–everyone but Palin understands this. Pawlenty cannot go on the attack without risking backlash.

No, in the end, Pawlenty has had bad luck, but that only ices the dismal chances he has in running for president. He exited the state with it in worse debt that when he arrived. Maybe he did not raise taxes directly, but at what cost? A state in debt, a K-12 system recently ranked by Education Weekly as mediocre, and a crumbling infrastructure. Pawlenty has no real accomplishment to stand on.

Palin
Palin may be correct that blaming her for Tucson is wrong. But it does not matter that she did not pull the trigger herself. No one really believes her crosshairs over Giffords and others were not gun scopes. Her Facebook speech denouncing critics with invective and inflammatory language only reinforced impressions that she has the subtlety of a machine gun. She demonstrated not one iota of reflection that her style of rhetoric was inappropriate, at least this week, and that a vast spectrum of moderate and swing voters do think the caustic dialogue in America created the atmosphere for Tucson. It does not matter whether this is true–this is what the people think. Palin may have endeared herself to her hardcore supporters, but to the voters she needs to woo if she runs in 2012, she failed to reach them and reinforced the image of her as unqualified to be president.

Boehner and Obama
Unlike Palin, both John Boehner and Barack Obama understood the political climate of the day and responded without looking political. Boehner rallied Congress together for a few days and delayed the GOP until next week. Obama gave a masterful speech that caught the sign of the times and the feelings of a nation. He exploited a memorial service in ways that did not look political, contrasting to the Wellstone service back in 2002 that hurt the MN DFL that year, leading to the election of Senator Norm Coleman and Governor Pawlenty. A new rhetoric, at least for now, is what is politically smart. Obama won the respect of many, but especially moderates this week, helping him in his rehabilitation.

How long will the new political environment last? Free speech cannot be held hostage to nuts with guns, but maybe disagreement can stick to heated debate of policy and issues and not personalty. We need not personally attack others to win a battle. Sticks, stones, and names do hurt.

Podcasting about Corporations and American Politics
Last Saturday, I spoke to the Stonearch Discussion Group in Minneapolis about Citizens United and corporate influence in American politics. Here is a podcast of my talk.

The Impact of Citizens United
On Thursday, January 20, from 7 PM – 8:30 PM at Hamline University, East Hall, Room 4, I will be one of several speakers discussing the impact of the Supreme Court decision Citizens United v FEC one year after it was decided.

Please join the Hamline University School of Business, Common Cause Minnesota, the League of Women Voters, and Minnesota MoveOn.org for a discussion on the impact of the Citizens United decision and ways that we can attempt to mitigate its impact on our democracy.

Speakers include:
Professor David Schultz (Me)
Rep. Ryan Winkler, the chief author of the disclosure legislation that passed in 2010
Mike Dean, Executive Director of Common Cause Minnesota
Allie Moen, League of Women Voters

There will be plenty of free parking and good conservation.