Pete Spiliakos

The Supreme Court just overruled multiple democratically elected legislatures to impose its policy preferences on the country by a narrow 5-4 majority.  Keep that in mind tomorrow if (IF!) the Supreme Court strikes down the Obamacare individual health insurance purchase mandate.  Just . . . . Continue Reading »

Since the beginning of the fiscal crisis in 2009, Greek politics has alternated periods of collapse with periods of decay.  We are in one of the latter periods now.  The bad news comes so often that it gets boring.  Here is the latest batch: 1.  Greece wants to renegotiate its . . . . Continue Reading »

Reihan Salam writing on why some Republican politicians have switched sides on a federal health insurance purchase mandate: As with SOPA, the fact that a large number of Republican lawmakers in 1993 backed an individual mandate doesn’t necessarily mean (alas) that they had thought deeply about . . . . Continue Reading »

1.  The emerging strategy among Democrat-aligned journalists is way too inside baseball to help Obama in this election.  According to polls, the median voter already thinks that the individual insurance purchase mandate is unconstitutional and should be struck down by the Supreme . . . . Continue Reading »

If you want another reason to be pessimistic about Greece, take a look at the shameful wrangling over cabinet post during an emergency.  Do you think these petty, disgusting people will be able to stick to reforms in the face of resistance from entrenched interests and the loathing of a . . . . Continue Reading »

Yesterday’s election result in Greece was about the best that could have been realistically hoped for. And that might be the most depressing thing.  Let’s recap:  Greece is broke.  Greece’s government needs loans to pay salaries and pensions, but only a lunatic . . . . Continue Reading »

Quick summary of Andreas Papandreou.  He was the son of Greek Prime Minster George Papandreou.  He was the founder of Greece’s socialist PASOK party that dominated Greek politics from 1981 until last year.  He was Prime Minister of Greece from 1981-1989 and 1990-1993.  The . . . . Continue Reading »

I agree with Peter Lawler that the election is shaping up to be very close   if one projects from present circumstances (with only modest changes up or down to unemployment and job creation numbers.)  The most likely event that could crack open the election would be a crisis in . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve been tardy because I’ve been lazy, 1.  Peter Lawler is right that the public perception of the recall procedure as being inappropriate for normal political disputes helped Walker win.  2.  But Walker’s policies were also popular.  The least popular . . . . Continue Reading »

1.  Ross Douthat writes that Walker’s victory in the Wisconsin recall election indicated that “November 2012 will just be one battle in a longer war, and the outcome in Wisconsin suggests that the edge in that war currently (and to some extent unexpectedly, given the demographic . . . . Continue Reading »