National Politics
Erik Paulsen’s (Semi) Close Shave Could Get Closer in 2010
Congressional Quarterly recently identified Congressional districts that split their ticket in the 2008 U.S. House and presidential contests. Almost one-fifth of the current Republicans in Congress were elected without the help of John McCain. In total, 34 of the 178…
Read MoreObama Sustains Early Support in Minnesota; Falters in Wisconsin and Iowa
SurveyUSA’s latest round of approval ratings for President Barack Obama have been released for a dozen states across the country, in polling conducted March 20-22 of 600 adults in each state. Although the President has had a consistently higher job…
Read MorePracticing What He Preaches: Obama’s (Safe) Post-Partisan NCAA Picks
President Barack Obama has been bluntly criticized by some pundits and politicians for taking time out of his White House schedule to fill out his NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament picks on ESPN last week. While some Americans enjoyed Obama’s ‘man-of-the-people’…
Read MoreMichele Bachmann on D.C.: “I’m a Foreign Correspondent On Enemy Lines”
During a Saturday afternoon interview on WWTC 1280 AM with The Northern Alliance’s John Hinderaker and Brian Ward, Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann discussed her staunch opposition to several Democratic-led efforts on Capitol Hill this session – such as the…
Read More79 Days: Minnesota Sets State Record for Longest Period With Only One U.S. Senator
At 12:00 am Monday morning, the State of Minnesota set a new record for operating at half-strength in Capitol Hill’s upper chamber. At 79 days and counting, Minnesota’s current stint with only one U.S. Senator has now eclipsed the…
Read MoreUpper Midwest House Members Vote 18-5 in Favor of TARP Bailout Bonus Tax
On Thursday, Upper Midwestern U.S. House Democrats unanimously supported a bill that would impose an additional tax on bonuses received from certain Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) recipients. The measured passed 328 to 93 in the lower chamber. The bill…
Read MoreLive Blog: Security and Immigration in a Post 9/11 United States
12:05 p.m. Edward Alden, Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, is delivering a talk today at the Humphrey Institute entitled, “Security and Immigration in a post-9/11 United States. Alden is the author of the recent book, The Closing…
Read MoreU.S. Military Fatalities in Afghanistan on Record Pace in 2009
Although Barack Obama only devoted 2 of the 280 sentences in his late February Address before a Joint Session of Congress on the War in Afghanistan, the U.S. attempt to bring greater stability to a historically unstable region of the…
Read MoreOn Why Analyzing the Leaked Coleman Data Is Ethical: A Reply to My Critics
Ethical questions have been raised in recent days surrounding the reporting by news organizations and bloggers on the leaked Norm Coleman U.S. Senate campaign pledges and contributions. Smart Politics has also received its fair share of both criticism and praise…
Read MoreAn Occupational Profile of Norm Coleman’s Campaign Donor List
The many bits of information made available from the leak of the Norm Coleman U.S. Senate campaign donor database, posted at Wikileaks on Wednesday, gives the public a glimpse into what type of people supported the Republican incumbent’s candidacy. On…
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