With the Supreme Court displaying skepticism during oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama has responded in its defense, bringing the Supreme Court case to an almost unprecedented level of politicization. 26 Republican governors have challenged the health care act, and right now, it looks like the Supreme Court is split 5-4 against the bill. The central question about the Act is whether the individual mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance is constitutional. That question is the one that somehow has to be elevated above politics, and held constitutional. The individual mandate is [...]

With the nation abuzz about presidential politics, HBO has added a colorful portrait to the political landscape with the film Game Change–the story of the vice presidential nomination of Sarah Palin in 2008, directed by Jay Roach and based on the book by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. Game Change reveals the inner-workings of the John McCain campaign in its selection of Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate, delving into the trials of chief campaign strategist Steve Schmidt, who realizes far too late that he has failed to vet Sarah Palin before selecting her to be McCain’s running mate. Beyond this story [...]

Following Rush Limbaugh’s incendiary comments about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke this past week, a full-fledged response from women has begun to engulf the Republican Party. Beyond the public outrage at Limbuagh’s comments (discussed below), the Senate narrowly defeated an anti contraception bill by a vote of 51-48, and the anti-women week was punctuated by the resignation of Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, one of five female Republican senators (there are 17 female senators). Snowe was the only Republican to vote with Democrats to kill the controversial anti-contraception bill. In explaining her decision to drop from the Senate, Snowe cited the [...]

With the 2012 presidential election in full swing and the Citizen’s United decision having opened the doors to unlimited corporate contributions, corporations are opening their coffers to promote candidates friendly to their interests. Corporate contributions to candidate and to super PACs come from a variety of business interests, including finance, law, energy and unions (for sources on the above data, visit opensecrets.org). By examining how corporations donate, and to whom, we can learn a lot about the presidential candidates and the interests they are likely to promote as president.  Here’s a look at what is behind the curtain for [...]

As the Arab spring has rattled the Middle east, with the fall of the Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan governments, the world has waited with anticipation as uprisings in Syria have challenged the Assad regime.  But while hopes of democracy and political reform have arisen other parts of the Arab world, Syria remains entrenched in a violent police state, mired by severe human rights abuses. Even the international community appears to be impotent in putting an end to violence and the use of torture in Syria by the Assad government. The differences in the Syrian uprising from those in other [...]

The Giants and Patriots are not the only ones that will be facing off this Super Bowl. With the 2012 election season in full swing, the 115 million Super Bowl viewers make an enticing target audience for a slew of political campaigns.  While major networks generally have a policy of stonewalling political ads, advocates can circumvent the network policies in certain circumstances.  Notably, if an advocate is running for office (or the ad is related to a person running for office) and the ad airs within 45 days of an election, FCC rules require the networks to provide airtime for [...]

As the Florida Primary nears, it looks like the Republican Party may finally be having its “come to Jesus” moment: the presumptive nominee Mitt Romney has again pulled ahead in polls, leading Newt Gingrich now by nine percentage points (40% to 31%, with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul each around 10%).  A victory in Florida could give Romney the push he needs to finally seal the deal.  That must come as great news to Mitt Romney, who has been in perpetual second-place over the past six months as the front-runner for the Republican nominee has changed no less than [...]

With the New York Giants and New England Patriots advancing to Super Bowl XLVI, a full-fledged sports rivalry has officially come to fruition.  In fact, Sports Illustrated is already calling this year’s game the Revenge Bowl. The cities of New York and Boston have long had an intense rivalry in sports, stemming from Yankees-Red Sox history. And if there is one thing that New York sports fans love more than winning, it is winning in a way that causes the city of Boston pain (and, make no mistake, vice versa).  Boston certainly has had its fair share of pain, [...]

Stephen Colbert has announced his (ironic) bid for the Presidency, stating last week that he would be running for the “President of the United States of South Carolina.” Colbert’s move came after handing over control of his super PAC to friend and fellow comedian Jon Stewart and renaming it The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC. Colbert had formed the super PAC as part of a satire on the absurdity of election laws and the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which held that corporations are people entitled to free speech under the Constitution (and therefore any limitations [...]