The NYU College Democrats

Ned Resnikoff, an NYU Local writer and an NYU Democrat, has a great post on NYU Local today about flaw in the arguments behind Libertarianism, including a fantastic video by Harvard professor Michael Sandel. I’ve been browsing Sandel’s video lectures this afternoon and they are inspiring. Really worth a look.

Here’s the video. Long, but worth it, intellectually.

-Maddie

TPM has an article today arguing that Admiral Mike Mullen’s personal statement against DADT was the tipping point in the case for the policy’s repeal. I agree and think that Adm. Mullen’s courage, as well as that of Secretary Gates, are unmatched. It’s nice to see people fighting for not only what is right but what is honestly better for our military and keeping politics out of it. Hopefully this means that we can repeal DADT this year.

Not only that, but Lt. Dan Choi, notable member of Knights Out, has been called back for active duty. Looks like coming out and working to repeal DADT isn’t an obstacle to serving when bureaucracy surrounding his discharge moves at the pace of molasses.

On a funnier note, the TPM article mentions that Adm. Mullen tweeted about his statement at the committee meeting. Who knew the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had a Twitter?!!

-Maddie

James Fallows at The Atlantic has a great piece on the drama that is the Evan Bayh announcement. I personally don’t think we’re losing much with his decision not to run for reelection. Yeah, maybe it was a seemingly safe seat due to his incumbency and Blue Dog-ness, but what good was he doing the Democratic caucus? Exactly.

And if you’re not already reading James Fallows, I urge you do to so. He, along with my other favorites at The Atlantic, Andrew Sullivan and Ta-Nehisi Coates, has a great blog.

-Maddie

Political Fact: Being an incumbent helps. Now, that may not be the case this year with all the anti-establishment fever going around the nation, but in general, it’s common that incumbents win due to their fundraising advantages, etc. So while Kirsten Gillibrand was never elected to be the junior senator from New York, she nonetheless is that. Say what you will about Gillibrand, her record as an upstate representative and all, but she has tailored her Senate tenure to the whole state– including our fair (liberal) city. And she may be pushed to do more of this by potential primary challenger Harold Ford Jr. While Ford himself has changed his opinion on plenty of issues and become far more liberal since relocating to NY, his “exploratory bid” may help all of us liberals in the end. We won’t have to try to elect someone like Ford but it will make Gillbrand inch further left. Evidence of that is in today’s news that she, along with another so-called moderate (and primary-challenged from the Left) Senator Michael Bennett (CO), Sentor Harkin (IA) and Senator Merkley (OR), has signed a letter sent to Majority Leader Reid to push for the public option during continuing health care bill negotiations. I agree with Ezra Klein that both Gillibrand and Bennett are at least symbolically moving Left due to primary challenges. Say what you will, but the sanctioning model of representative government is what we have and what is at work here– meaning that while we can all wish for principled, liberal representatives who vote according to their conscience and that that conscience is identical to their constituents’, but everyone has to get reelected and unless you’re planning on a Lieberman-esque move, you better please the people who elected you in the first place.  If Gillibrand wants New York City to get behind her, she’ll have to assuage the people who put her predecessor, Hillary Clinton, into office.

-Maddie

Check this hilarious new site brought to you by the GOP. Send a valentine to your favorite Republican. Or your favorite Democrats so you can make fun of it. Here’s my favorite.

-Maddie

Edward Luce over at the Financial Times has written a great commentary about Obama’s tight inner circle of advisors: Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, and Valerie Jarrett. Steve Clemons at HuffPost has also written a commentary on Luce’s commentary. This whole issue of poor advice and dissent between the people closest to the President has been on my mind for a while now. Why is it that such a sucessful group of political campaign operatives, who we all know were lauded for their messaging, could not fix the messaging and the narrative of the President’s first year in office? Honestly, I’m bewildered. I don’t think campaign operatives naturally translate into good policy/governing operatives, which is one aspect of the problem. I also have grown to loathe Emanuel in recent months because of all the little comments leaked by his “fucking retarded” liberal underlings. My thinking is this: if you have little sucess to claim after such a phenomenal campaign and polling numbers in 2008 and early 2009, something has to be done. Someone (or some people) have to leave to make this White House work.

And on a related but funny note… here’s Rahm.

-Maddie

Alright- new year, new focus on getting this blog up and running for real.

Everyone should really check out this great article by Lawrence Lessig on The Nation. It’s all about why Congress is broken and is ruining any chance of reform. I know everyone is up in arms about the issues caused by the fillibuster parlimentary rule in the Senate, the conservative/status quo oriented nature of our political institutions, and the Citizens United decision last month. We’re all pissed that nothing is getting done. Lessig really synthesizes the problems inherent in Congress in a very sophisticated manner. There’s a reason campaign finance reform has been an issue in our politics for such a long time…

On a similar note, here’s Congress at its finest: Sen. Shelby (AL) has put a hold on all executive branch appointments STILL awaiting confirmation. One has to wonder what he thinks he’s going to get by essentially ransoming these confirmations for tens of billions of dollars in pork. Even Nelson couldn’t get that much money.

Join us this Thursday at 6 pm in Kimmel 910. We’ll be discussing climate change and environmental policy with Professor Steven Soter, a professor of Environmental Studies who also works at the American Museum of Natural History.

And, as always, there will be free food.

Questions about health reform? Then join us this week as Wagner Professor John Billings tells us everything there is to know about health care reform.  The House of Representatives just passed its health care bill, and now’s your chance to get all of your questions answered. We’re meetingthis Thursday at 6pm in Kimmel 910.

And as always, there will be delicious food.