One day before Grover Norquist heads to Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting with members to discuss his organization’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” No Labels is renewing its calls for an end to special-interest pledges in Congress. In doing so, No Labels is joining a growing and bipartisan list of lawmakers seeking to reduce the influence of special interest pledges.
“In recent weeks, we have seen Sen. Lindsay Graham and Tom Coburn decry the Americans For Tax Reform pledge, and it’s not hard to see why,” said No Labels Co-Founder and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. “Pledges to the ideological right and left put a straitjacket on elected officials. They prevent them from thinking for themselves and from working across the aisle to reach reasoned and reasonable compromises. And ultimately, these pledges serve special interests a lot more than the longer-term interests of the American people.”
Walker added, “The proliferation of pledges has gotten out of control. Right now, over 80% of Congress has signed a pledge to either never raise taxes or never reduce Social Security benefits. What that basically means is that Congress has signed away its ability to ever seriously address our country’s fiscal problems. They are elected to solve problems not to stonewall solutions.”
By Patrick Derocher, on Wed Jun 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Governor Andrew Cuomo is once again coming to blows with New York’s union leaders over proposed education reforms.
With a teacher evaluation plan, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo finds himself once again at odds with some of the same unions that helped get him elected two years ago. The governor is facing off with Democrats in the state legislature over a provision that would allow parents to see their children’s teachers’ evaluations, including the teacher’s name. Names, however, would be withheld on the publicly available evaluation database. If the governor and legislature don’t come to an agreement by the time an evaluation system is agreed upon (which may not be any day soon), then all information will be visible in the state databases. The only person pushing for that setup? Mayor Michael Bloomberg. [NY Daily News]
Here is some interesting insight into the state of Florida’s Republican Party. The subject of the piece is former Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice, who is running for his old job in the large, politically moderate, suburban Tampa county. Rather than running on his record, Rice has embraced some of the furthest right of the far right wing, questioning President Obama’s citizenship, declaring ObamaCare a socialist plot, and entertaining the notion of Agenda 21 as a move toward World Government. All this for a sheriff’s seat. [Tampa Bay Times]
The Virginia GOP finds itself in an interesting position, as evidenced by its underwhelming convention in Richmond last week. To be sure, it got the business of the convention done, but without any of the usual pageantry such events normally entail – none of the state’s highest-profile Republicans, including Governor Bob McDonnell and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, was in attendance. One interesting piece of news came out of the meeting: Next year’s gubernatorial nominee will be selected at convention, a maneuver that places firebrand Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli at an advantage over Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. [Washington Times]
A California Assemblyman has found a novel way of fundraising in an era of austerity – for the low price of $1,000, he will shine your shoes. Das Williams, a Santa Barbara Democrat in his first term, is hosting a 38th birthday fundraiser at Russo’s Shoe Repair, across the street from the California State Capitol. Tickets start at $1,000 and go for as much as $3,900, the state limit for a general election campaign, but Williams has said he will let invitees attend for less. [Sacramento Bee]
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Jun 20, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
I can’t tell you how many people have complemented me for the design of this site. And I have to humbly admit, it is pretty cool.
I say “humbly” because I had very little to do with it. My Webmaster Justin Burnette is responsible for the orderly and sharp manner in which all of our posts are presented.
But my greatest contribution was asking my sister, Jennifer, for a recommendation of an artist to deisgn the heading. And her suggestion, John Lackey, was outstanding. The design at the top of the page was John’s inspiration and his execution. And I can’t imagine The Recovering Politician without it.
John Lackey happens to be a rising star artist. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, but his work is getting international notice.
If you agree, I urge you to join me in voting for him to win a gallery show in New York City and a $10,000 grant. And it is SO easy to do so.
Simply click here and then once at the click on “Collect Me”
If you want to learn more about John’s incredible work, click here.
The Israel Project Conference Call: Jonathan Miller TODAY @ 12:00 P.M. EDT
Author, public servant and Huffington Post contributor Jonathan Miller spent nearly two decades in politics before joining the private sector last year.
A former two-term elected Kentucky State Treasurer, he is the author of the recently released book “The Liberal Case for Israel: Debunking Eight Crazy Lies about the Jewish State,” in which he highlights deep factual misunderstandings, media disinformation, and the perpetuation of “Eight Crazy Lies” by those who seek the Jewish State’s total destruction.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jun 19, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Is it possible that the Man in Black was America’s first Christian Zionist? So says Professor Shalom Goldman in this article from the Jerusalem Post excerpted below:
Way before the modern-day Christian Zionist movement became a bastion of American support for Israel, there was the Man in Black.
Johnny Cash, the all-American country music great whose career spanned six decades, carried on an ardent love affair with Israel for most of that time. Cash, a devout Christian who died in 2003 at the age of 71, visited the country five times from 1966 through the mid-1990s along with his wife June Carter Cash and their children. And it wasn’t only with his footsteps that he he demonstrated his connection to the country – he recorded complete albums of inspirational hymns about the holy land and made films about his journeys to Biblical sites.
Cash’s ties with Israel have long fascinated Shalom Goldman, a professor of religion at Duke University. The author of the book Zeal for Zion: Christians, Jews, and the Idea of the Promised Land, Goldman theorized that Cash symbolized American Christian enthusiasm for Israel before it became labeled as a far-Right movement.
For the last year, he’s been giving a presentation mostly on college campuses: In The Holy Land with Johnny Cash: Christian Zionism and American Popular Culture, a lecture about the religious aspects of Cash’s life and work – including his baptism in the Jordan River – augmented by slides of his pilgrimages to the holy land and live performances of a selection of his Zion-flavored gospel songs.
“Cash was a Christian Zionist for at least a decade before the Christian Right moved into a place of political power in the late 1970s,” said Goldman, speaking from a summer cabin in Georgia last week before heading to Israel, where he’ll give his Cash presentation on Tuesday evening at the Tmol Shilshom bookstore in Jerusalem, accompanied by local folk singer Hila Tam.
The Israel Project Conference Call: Jonathan Miller Wednesday, June 20, 2012 @ 12:00 P.M. EDT
Author, public servant and Huffington Post contributor Jonathan Miller spent nearly two decades in politics before joining the private sector last year.
A former two-term elected Kentucky State Treasurer, he is the author of the recently released book “The Liberal Case for Israel: Debunking Eight Crazy Lies about the Jewish State,” in which he highlights deep factual misunderstandings, media disinformation, and the perpetuation of “Eight Crazy Lies” by those who seek the Jewish State’s total destruction.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jun 19, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
My friend, Chuck Gutenson, a Christian scholar at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, has authored an outstanding new book on the political misuse of Jesus’ image and teachings. In Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide, Gutenson argues that all Americans should join in efforts to stop the unhealthy alliance of religious faith and political partisanship.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to review/purchase
It really gets old, doesn’t it? Every election cycle, the story is the same. This Christian says that Christian is not really a Christian. And why is that? Is it because they differ on critical issues relating to the content of the Christian faith? Is it because of doctrinal or ecclesial disputes? No, the reason for this inability to recognize and respect each other as Christian sisters and brothers is because those Christians belong to a different political party and support different political candidates than we do. Oh, don’t get me wrong, they may have doctrinal or ecclesial disputes. We just don’t ever get to find out because the wedge issue that lies at the surface is our political differences.
One of the most common critiques of Christians in our contemporary culture is that we are “too political.” This has been borne out by study after study, and it’s a huge turnoff to younger folks. In fact, it is such a turnoff that in droves they are leaving churches that cannot properly distinguish their political positions from their Christian faith. And, frankly, who can blame them? Why continue to be a tarred by the rancorous debates over politics? Interestingly, it was Barry Goldwater who presciently said: “Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise.” And, therein lies the crux of the problem: because we are sure God is on our side, any attempt to compromise with those who disagree with us is judged to be a betrayal. The outcome? Rather than Christian faith being a thing that unites us, it becomes distorted and used for partisan gain. It seems that being political power brokers has become too seductive for us to resist.
But, you know what? Those who attempt to hijack religious faith for partisan gain do so because, well, because it works. And, as long as it works, they will continue to do it, election cycle after election cycle after election cycle. It will continue to divide, rather than unite, and with each cycle, more folks will throw up their hands in desperation and walk away. It can be stopped, though. In fact, we can stop it anytime we want. All we have to do is make it clear that we have had enough and will no longer tolerate it. And that’s exactly what we’d like to have you help us do. How? Join our campaign, pledge not to use religious faith for partisan gain and to do all you can to resist those who do.
Gutenson has also launched a Web site — DontLetThemHijackJesus.com — where citizens can share video messages with their friends.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jun 15, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
This Father’s Day, I will be spending in bed rooting for Tiger Woods to win the US Open, and then for LeBron James to carry the Miami Heat to a 2-1 NBA Finals series lead. Not IN SPITE of their widespread unpopularity, but BECAUSE of it.
I explain why in my latest column for The Huffington Post:
For most of his career, I’d been largely indifferent to NBA superstar Lebron James. My passion is college basketball, and since Lebron leaped straight from high school to the pros, I never had the opportunity to root for him in Kentucky blue, or curse him if he had, God forbid, put on a Duke uniform.
My opinion of golf phenom Tiger Woods was always a bit more jaundiced. I developed an early man crush on Phil Mickelson, and was continually frustrated with (while being constantly awestruck by) Tiger’s mind-meld hold on Lefty — and on the rest of the PGA tour, for that matter — during his extraordinary and unparalleled domination of the sport for nearly a decade.
But as Lebron leads his Miami Heat through a brutal playoff finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and as Tiger tries to recapture his magic formula for winning Major tournaments in this week’s U.S. Open, I will be enthusaistically cheering both of them on.
Why my change of heart?
Each of these men, after all, made a series of stupid mistakes.
Lebron James branded himself with a scarlet A for arrogance by announcing his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers in what many thought was a callous, disloyal manner; and then by carelessly bragging that by taking “his talents to South Beach,” he’d produce a string of NBA championships for the Heat. In the most communitarian of sports — a game that rewards teamwork over selfish hotdogging — Lebron emerged as the poster child for Gen Y narcisism, the prototypical me-first face of the Facebook generation.
Tiger Woods’ scarlet A was, of course, a bit more true to the original Hawthorne. From his initial domestic-induced car crash, to the perverse scenes of Kardashian-wannabes hiring Gloria Allred to grub their fifteen minutes of sex scandal infamy, Tiger enriched the monologues of the late-night host and comedic stand-up industry for weeks on end.
Both Lebron and Tiger have been mercilessly villified; their public unfavorability ratings possibly unmatched by any American not named John Edwards.
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jun 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET
This is awesome.
For those of us Boston Red Sox fans who will never forget the Sox collapse in Game Six of the 1986 World Series — most infamously remembered for first baseman Bill Buckner allowing a ground ball pass through his legs — you will appreciate thie video reeenactment. New York Mets fans will find anotgher reason to celebrate:
One day before Grover Norquist heads to Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting with members to discuss his organization’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” No Labels is renewing its calls for an end to special-interest pledges in Congress. In doing so, No Labels is joining a growing and bipartisan list of lawmakers seeking to reduce the influence of special interest pledges.
