Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Here’s Why Republicans Will Shut Down The Government




By Randell A. Monaco
February 23, 2011


In need of a strategy to rehabilitate their party from the economic disaster that has allowed Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, their associates in the Bush Administration government such as the Federal Reserve and others who let all this go on and enabled the disaster, Republicans needed to re-craft their image.

A purification strategy was needed to create the appearance of veering from the responsibility of Bush legacy which made that all possible. Conservatives also needed to reenergize their base and switch the public attention away from the real cause and people who are actually responsible. So, now it is teachers, police, firefighters, sanitation workers and their unions who have become the villains with their Rolls Royce healthcare benefits and pensions. The Big Government – Small Government debate continues with the assistance of a new diversionary tactic.

To overcome any suspicion that party leadership was not going to deliver on their promise to deliver major spending cuts to the public who supported them Republicans must now deal with the reality that they can’t enact their agenda because Democrats control the Senate and the White House. To save face, Republican leaders must dramatize their fight to carry out the promised agenda which leaves them no room to come out with a compromise.

Republican leaders have openly declared their hostility to compromise because they know that their support base, unlike moderates or even liberal Democrats, oppose compromise and as a matter of self interest and preservation the writing is on the wall, Republican’s will shut down the Government. Keep your eye on the political ball, here comes the shutdown; Tea anyone?

Thursday, February 3, 2011

WikiLeaks: The Inside Story Part II

Watch live streaming video from columbiajournalism at livestream.com

Watch Editors Bill Keller, of The New York Times, and The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger discuss their interactions with WikiLeak’s Julian Assange and the decision to publish the secret diplomatic cables he uncovered. Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and former assistant attorney general, joined this conversation moderated by Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

WikiLeaks: The Inside Story

Watch live streaming video from columbiajournalism at livestream.com

Watch Editors Bill Keller, of The New York Times, and The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger discuss their interactions with WikiLeak’s Julian Assange and the decision to publish the secret diplomatic cables he uncovered. Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and former assistant attorney general, joined this conversation moderated by Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

Journalism School Dean Nicholas Lemann kicked off this highly anticipated event held at 7 p.m. on the Columbia University campus.