By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jan 12, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
Do you remember last year’s State of the Union address?
I’m not asking about the speech itself. I’m referring to the fact that members of Congress abandoned their usual, and frankly juvenile, practice of sitting with their own precious cliques – Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other.
They crossed the aisle to demonstrate unified support for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who had been shot just a few days previously. It was a wonderful gesture. But the next day, things were back to hyper-partisan business as usual.
As you know, bipartisan seating is reform #10 of our Make Congress Work! action plan. It’s the reform that gets a “Duh” response from anyone who hears about it. As in, “Of course, they should sit together. It makes perfect sense.” Unfortunately, the fact that an idea makes sense doesn’t make it any more likely for Congress to act on it.
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jan 12, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
The RP has written his most provocative piece yet — He argues in favor of legalizing marijuana. Check out an excerpt from his Huffington Post column published this morning:
While a recent Gallup poll revealed that a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and Ron Paul — a proponent — has run well in the early GOP presidential primaries, most mainstream politicians still refuse to touch the subject, and many journalists continue to refer to legalization as a “radical” position.
It’s no wonder. The loudest voices for reform usually come from the political margins: the “hippie” Far Left and the libertarian Far Right. And while emanating from different directions, the two extremes share a similar credo: An out-of-control government has no business telling me what I can ingest.
A politically-influential cross-section of Americans, however, disagree. Many associate pot advocacy with the “anything goes” counter-culture of the 1970s that they blame for the decline of personal responsibility. Others worry that the logical extension of the philosophy could lead to legalizing “harder” drugs, prostitution, even polygamy. All of them — liberals, moderates, and conservatives — believe that there must be some moral standards established to guide public policy.
I’m part of that moral majority. But unlike Jerry Falwell’s version, my values system is based on the multi-religious mandate to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I’ve even written a book, The Compassionate Community, which applies Bible lessons and other religions’ texts to advocate for progressive policies that promote the common good.
And I’ve recently concluded that these same enduring moral values compel me to support legalizing marijuana.
Click here to read the full piece, “The Moral Case for Legalizing Marijuana”
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OK, folks, round two of the 2012 GOP presidential primary, which means round two of the fearless predictions of our recovering politicians.
Last week, our RPs boldly made their Iowa caucus prognostications, and with the exception of RP staffer Zack Adams (who predicted the correct finish of the top 6 candidates) and Artur Davis (the only contributing RP to predict the correct order of the top 3), well…let’s say they are lucky to get a second chance. But this web site is all about second acts, right?
And we ask you to join them in the comments section as well. No fun prizes, but instant fame and glory to the reader who is the closest.
So, here goes the New Hampshire experiment:
The RP: Romney 39; Paul 19; Huntsman 17; Santorum 12; Gingrich 11; Roemer 1; Perry less than 1%. Ron Paul let me down — big time — last week, but I still have confidence that the independents will keep him in a solid second place. And I predict that the media darling, John Huntsman, will underperform. And my big surprise: Buddy Roemer ekes out 6th place from under Rick Perry’s nose. Oh, yeah, and Mitt Romney wins big. Yawn.
Paul Hodes (contributing RP and former New Hampshire Congressman): Here goes from the Granite State…Romney 34; Huntsman 19; Paul 18; Gingrich 14; Santorum 12; Perry 3
Zac Byer (RP Staff):1st – Mitt Romney (32%); 2nd – Ron Paul (19%); 3rd – Jon Huntsman (15%). [Click here to read his Zac’s full report from Manchester, New Hampshire.]
Jason Grill: 1. Romney (Needs at least 35% or a 10 point win); 2. Huntsman (The candidate with the best chance to beat President Obama in the general); 3. Paul (Another third place finish, but still relevant); 4. Gingrich (Edges out Rick, but Tick…Tick…Tick…SC is next. Boom); 5. Santorum (No Iowa magic tonight); 6. Perry (Already hunkered down in SC for his last stand)
Greg Harris: Romney – 35; Huntsman – 21; Santorum – 16; Paul – 13; Gingrich – 11; Perry – 4
Steve Schulman: With apologies to Frank Sinatra…Mitt Romney – If he can’t win it here, he can’t win it anywhere…Ron Paul – He’ll do it his way…Jon Huntsman – Strangers in the night…Rick Santorum – Please don’t talk about him when he’s gone…Newt Gingrich – Fly him to the moon, let him play among the stars…Rick Perry – Ain’t that a kick in the head…And too bad Michele Bachmann dropped out … that lady is a tramp!
Read the rest of… The RPs Predict the New Hampshire Primary
John Y.’s provocative piece had me ruminating for hours. Probably as much as when I first watched that particular episode of The Sopranos — one reason why it’s my favorite television series of all time.
Then, in a telling irony (Mrs. RP assures me that there are no coincidences), I clicked on an email from my rabbi who was sharing with his congregants his thoughts about this week’s Haftorah portion (readings from the Prophets that amplify the Torah portion from that particular week).
To quote Rabbi Klein directly:
This final Torah portion [from the Book of Genesis] deals with the end of the patriarchy and creation of a nation. This final Haftarah seems to tell the same tale in a different generation, but its subtle and difficult side message cannot go unnoticed and unexamined.
On his death bed, the wise and beloved King David admonishes his son Solomon (whose ascension to the throne was not intended), to make killing all of David’s enemies his first royal act. “I go the way of all the earth; you shall be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man (1 Kings 2:2). To show himself a man, Solomon must remember the people who wronged David and kill them. And the descriptions of these deaths are violent. “And you shall do according to your wisdom, and do not let his hoary head go down to the grave in peace (2:6).
The very same message — from King David to Tony Soprano. Literally, from the sacred to the profane.
And certainly, it was a lesson taught many millions of years before Biblical times. Among the animal kingdom in the wild, the survival of the fittest is not merely a metaphor. The alpha dog (or lion, or dinosaur, yadda, yadda, yadda) is the one who demonstrates the greatest strength, often at the expense of the weaker members of the tribe. Even in today’s modern culture, our evolutionary instincts remain ever-present.
Read the rest of… The RPs Debate Presidential Leadership: The RP Rebuts
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
The colorful story of Kentucky politics lost a legendary character this week in the passing of Gatewood Galbraith.
Gatewood would have never considered himself a recovering politician — He enjoyed politics too much to ever fully leave. But his candor, aversion to hyper-partisanship and extraordinary sense of humor certainly reflected the values of The Recovering Politician.
So today, we are dedicating this site to his memory, and we’ve opened it up to the RP Nation to share their remembrances.
For our Kentucky readers, this is a chance to say goodbye, and share a few laughs, with someone who was part of our Comonwealth’s political fabric for more than three decades. For our readers outside the Bluegrass State, it’s a chance to learn about a true Kentucky original.
We hope you enjoy this day of Gatewood memories. And if you missed your chance to submit an article, please feel free to fill up our Comments section with your remembrances.
But due to overwhelming popular demand (OK, mostly because I was sick and bored at the end of the holidays), I offer my latest half-Letterman: The Top Five Medical Afflictions I Learned About Via TV Comedies:
5. Shrinkage
I need to be a little delicate here, being that the RP Nation is a family audience, but until I saw the particular Seinfeld episode I post below, I had never heard of the much-too-common malady that plagues millions of American men (and disturbs many more millions of American women), called “shrinkage.” I just have never been the type of guy who looks down in a communal shower. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!) While I knew and understood that uromysitisis (a Seinfeldian compulsion for public urination) was real, spectacular, troubling… yadda, yadda, yadda; as a Jewish guy, I’ve never had to worry about the shrinkage syndrome. (Hellooooooo!). But for all of you Gentile men (and Jew-ish Gentiles such as George Costanza), to truly become the master of your domain, watch the following public service announcement, and always remember, NO COLD POOLS FOR YOU:
4. Fetal Resorbtion
Like most Americans, I rely on Dwight Schrute of “The Office” for most of my medical and health care advice. (What does Dr. Oz really know anyway?) Whether it is his enlightened views on “female issues” such as the menstrual calendar and yeast infections, his perspicacious insights about infant circumcision, or his well-versed policy analysis on health care reform and the animal kingdom, there is no scientific expert more astute than Schrute. So, it was quite touching when on a special espisode of “The Office,” we learned of a medical affliction that affected Dwight personally; in fact, one that made him that man-and-a-half that he is. Yes, fetal resorbtion. Watch below:
3. Male Puberty-Onset Voice Shrieking
As I approached my Bar Mitzvah — the biggest moment of my pre-adolescent life, the very day that I would become a MAN — I lived in constant fear that my voice would change. My rabbi, Bernard Schwab, a truly holy man who had been blinded by diabetes, who had memorized the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) in HEBREW, had painstakingly worked with me for four years so that I would not only read my assigned portions with perfection but that I’d also hit the prescribed musical notes as mandated by the Torah scribers thousands of years before. I was scared to death that I would dishonor him — while blaspheming my faith and desecrating my people — by shrieking like a wounded frog. Because everyone knew that when a boy hit puberty, he immediately became a laughable, cacophonous clown, a shrill fool who, when singing, disturbed the peace, shattered mirrors, and made young girls cry. At least everyone who had watched the following episode of my very favorite childhood TV comedy, The Brady Bunch. (Turns out, I was the exception — my voice naturally transitioned down an octave. Also, unlike Peter Brady, I didn’t marry and then divorce a much-much younger winner of America’s Top Model, who now is offering to tweet a topless picture of herself if she acquires 300,000 Twitter followers: NSFW link)
Read the rest of… The RP: The Top 5 Medical Afflictions I Learned About Via TV Comedies
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jan 5, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The story of Kentucky politics lost a legendary character yesterday in the passing of Gatewood Galbraith.
While Gatewood never recovered from the political bug — nor did he ever want to — his candor, aversion to hyper-partisanship and extraordinary sense of humor certainly reflected the values of this Web site.
Accordingly, tomorrow (Friday), we are dedicating this site to his memory, and opening it up to the RP Nation to share their remembrances.
That’s you!
Please share with us your stories, anecdotes and memories of the one-of-a-kind man. Send them to Staff@TheRecoveringPolitician.com by 7 PM EST tonight, and as long as they are family-friendly, we will post them sometime tomorrow.
Thanks, and share with us tomorrow a day of fun remembrances of a Kentucky original.
As the pundits and Wednesday morning quarterbacks assess the winners and losers of last night’s Iowa caucuses, one verdict is clear: Our savvy gang of RPs couldn’t shoot straight.
Reviewing their predictions from yesterday, click here for the infamous post, only RP staffer Zack Adams predicted the correct finish of the top 6 candidates, and former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis was the only recovering politician to predict the correct order of the top 3.
Most humiliated was The RP himself. Not only did he forecast a last-minute Ron Paul surge (30 points — come on?!?), but then, after the entrance polls “confirmed” his predictions, he bragged on Twitter and Facebook about how he was whipping fellow RPs Jeff Smith and John Y. Brown, III. We imagine that the RP has crawled back into his spider hole awaiting redemption in New Hampshire.
At least recovering politicians can laugh at themselves. Here’s John Y.’s thoughts from last night when it looked like the RP and Jeff Smith had bested him:
Post Iowa Primary Prediction: Although it’s still too early to know how things will shake out tonight….it appears Jonathan Miller and Jeff Smith and a passel of others from the RP blog, will do a better job predicting tonight’s outcome than I did.
So, I need to come back in a big way tomorrow—and I will!!
My big prediction? Newt Gingrich will go long and score big –again—with the one Secret… Weapon he has mastered so well—the florid and grandiose press release.
I predict Newt will provide a “shock and awe” release tomorrow morning that taps into something in millions of American voters who know deep down that any candidate who can use words like “literati” and “minions” in a campaign press release is a man who can and probably should be president.
And maybe, just maybe, history and Providence will ensure that “Out of the billowing smoke and dust of tweets and trivia emerged Gingrich.”
After two years of campaign, hundreds of pundit prognostications, and thousands of cable news sound bites, at long last, what you’ve been waiting for…
Our fearless contributors — Contributing RPs, Friends of RP and RP Staff — offer their predictions for tonight’s Iowa caucuses.
And you can too — please give us your predictions in the Comments section below.
Without further ado…(Click on their name to find out their background)…
The RP: Paul 30%; Romney 25%; Santorum 21%; Gingrich 7%; Perry 6%; Bachmann 4%, Huntsman 1%. I don’t think Rick “Man On Dog” Santorum’s organization is strong enough to take advantage of his surge. I also think Paul’s support is underestimated in the polls because his grassroots support is so fervant, and the tin foil hat crowd among his followers are fearful of pollsters. Remember Pat Robertson?
Jeff Smith: Santorum 27; Romney 23; Paul 23; Perry 11; Gingrich 9; Bachmann 6. I think some Bachmann/Gingrich/Perry folks walk in to their caucus, see how outnumbered they are by Sant-mentum, and get on the bandwagon.
Jason Grill: Romney, Paul, and Santorum will finish first, second, and third. The order though is more “up in the air” than George Clooney was in his recent Oscar nominated movie. Organization and friends twisting other friends arms at the caucuses will decide the order of the top three. If Romney finishes third that WILL be news and change the race somewhat moving forward. He will be seen as an even weaker front runner if this happens. Also, it will be interesting to see where Perry and Gingrich finish tonight. Keep a lookout for their percentages at the end of the night. A fourth place finish for Perry over Gingrich will signal a potential showdown with Romney in South Carolina. Lastly, I am anxious to see how Huntsman finishes in next week’s New Hampshire primary after skipping Iowa.
Mark Nickolas: Paul (25%); Romney (23%); Santorum (22%); Gingrich (11%); Perry (10%); Bachmann (6%). Iowa requires a level of commitment from supporters unlike anywhere else. Those with the best state organization and strongest levels of commitment do especially well (Paul and Paul). Also, since Independents and Dems can participate if they want to cross over — as Indies did for Obama in ’08 — that’s likely to help Paul the most. Nefarious (aka loyal) Dems are going to support anyone but Romney to ensure a protracted GOP race, with Paul and Santorum benefitting most.
Rod Jetton: I think Ron Paul will just nip Romney and Rick Santorum will get third. Newt probably finishes in 4th. The Ron Paul forces are dedicated and with his numbers going up they and their friends have started believing he can win. They will turn out and surprise all the experts.
Greg Harris: Santorum – 26%; Romney – 25%; Paul – 21%; Gingrich – 12%; Bachman – 8%; Perry – 7%; Huntsman – 1%. Santorum’s diligent grassroots work throughout the State this past year will pay off, resulting in more ardent caucus warriors advocating his case, and moving some on-the-fence Bachman and Perry supporters. Ron Paul’s fanatical base will still assure him over an over 20% showing. The minority moderate voters will hold their noses and back Romney.
Read the rest of… Our Contributors Predict the Iowa Caucuses…
By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Jan 1, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Happy New Year!
I hope 2012 brings you joy, laughter, love, happiness, and many pints of tasty hummus. Here at The Recovering Politician, we plan some exciting new features that we will share with you in the weeks ahead.
For now, as you rest and recover from your New Year’s Eve celebration — and recharge your batteries for a busy January — I wanted to share with you some good reading material.
The first nine months at The Recovering Politician have seen more than 1200 posts from over three dozen contributors. I share my favorites below; please let me know what I missed in the comments section:
Our most popular writer, hands down, has been contributing RP and former Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith. Jeff’s first piece — the story of his rise into national celebrity, his dramatic fall that resulted in a prison term, and his hopes for redemption — put the RP on the national map, earning recognition from New York magazine’s “Approval Matrix.” Jeff’s followup — about love and sex behind bars — drew in nearly 100,000 readers, literally crashing the Web site. Jeff’s become a national sensation — expect much more from him in 2012.
Contributing RPMichael Steele was already a national sensation before he joined the site — you know him as the former Lt. Governor of Maryland, as well as the Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Now a regular contributor to MSNBC, Michael shared with RP readers his vision of the new American Dream, and assessed both President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Over the next few days, Michael will report from the Iowa caucuses; and in the year ahead, he will share his lively take on politics — and other subjects as well.
Another familiar face at the site in 2011 was another former Lt. Governor of Maryland, contributing RPKathleen Kennedy Townsend. Kathleen elucidated her well-versed take on faith and politics, while slamming a then-ascendant Rick Perry for misusing faith, defended Sarah Palin(!), and shared her unique perspective as a member of the nation’s most iconic political family. Her most popular piece was on, of all things, home births. Expect the same kind of wide variety from Kathleen at The RP in the coming months.
One of the RP’s most prolific contributing RPs was former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis. Artur wrote a fascinating, insightful piece about political authenticity, plunged into the centuries-old debate on race and politics, and explored the Democratic Party’s faith gap. Some of his most popular pieces were book reviews, taking on new works about Harry Truman and Bobby Kennedy. Artur’s not been shy about controversy, angering conservatives by attacking his home state’s “ugly” immigration law, and riling liberals by supporting its new Voter ID law. Don’t expect Artur to pull any punches in 2012.
Contributing RP and former Missouri state House Speaker Rod Jetton is also one who is not a stranger to controversy. At the peak of his power, Rod was charged with ethics and criminal violations, and while he was cleared of everything, he stepped down to begin his second act. Rod’s 3-part series about his “Success, Scandal and Change” was one of the site’s most widely read, and he concluded the year with a touching 4-part series on his best friend, a fallen Marine. In the middle, he showed off a wry sense of humor in a video interview with his unlikely pal, contributing RP Jeff Smith (you have to see Rod’s imitation of Jeff).
Jason Atkinson, an Oregon State Senator and contributing RP, underwent a different kind of political recovery — he had to withdraw from a promising gubernatorial campaign after he accidentally shot himself while hunting. He writes about the experience — with graphic charts — in “A Real Political Recovery,” but also created an Internet sensation with short films he directed on more successful outdoor adventures fishing for trout in “Big Mo” and “Half Pounder.” He also showed off his own wicked sense of humor, imitating Abe Lincoln and citing the wisdom of Homer…Simpson that is.
Our newest contributing RP, former Virginia Congressional Democratic nominee Krystal Ball, has already generated considerable reader interest with her first piece about Why We Need More Women in Politics. Krystal should know; her first campaign for office was interrupted by a ridiculous media inquiry into pictures taken of her in college; PG-13 pictures that caused a mini-national-sensation only because of Krystal’s gender. As a regular contributor to MSNBC and here at The RP, Krystal will help us view politics in a much different way.
Finally, I feel very fortunate — and so is the RP Nation — to have convinced my good friend, contributing RP, and former Kentucky Secretary of State, John Y. Brown, III to share his incisive social and political commentary, along with his uproarious sense of humor, at The RP. John Y. helped set the theme and tone of the site with his early piece, “What Do We Do Now?,” in which he offered a 20-question quiz to help readers determine if they were in need of political recovery. More recently, we’ve launched a regular feature, John Y.’s Musings from the Middle, in which he shares his wit and wisdom on topics varying from fruitcake to the death penalty to Lindsay Lohan. We guarantee a lot of laughs, as well as thoughtful advice, in the year ahead.
Thanks for joining us in 2011. Stay tuned for a wild and wonderful 2012.
