America is, by all standards, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet, on a daily basis, the supposed benefits of living and being born into this standard of living are not felt by many of this society’s most vulnerable members. And yet, for all the talk by anti-abortion activists of how “pro-life” [...]

Jon Chait: The purpose of winning elections is to solve problems like health care. There’s something strange about advice that presumes it’s appropriate to value the preservation of popularity above all else. I’ll be the first to point to institutional difficulties as the source of a lot our political parties, and that’s often at the [...]

Michael Gerson warns President Obama against using reconciliation to pass health care reform: Fourth, a reconciliation strategy would both insult House and Senate Republicans and motivate them for future fights. The minority would not only be defeated on health reform but its rights would be permanently diminished — a development that would certainly be turned [...]

(Spencer is a little busy this morning, so he’s letting me take over for a bit. Hello again!) Rush Limbaugh criticizes health care reform as “a civil rights bill” and “reparations.” I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating: more so than most issues, health care is something that makes the racist heart especially anxious. [...]

In the midst of going gangbusters on the Democratic leadership for sacrificing women’s reproductive health to political expediency, Katha Pollitt makes a point that I wish were made more often: President Obama, too, worries about the deficit. Maybe you could help him out by sacrificing your denomination’s tax exemption. The Catholic Church would be a [...]