By Jeff Smith, on Fri May 25, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  There is cruel irony in the notion that Kerrey’s decade here at The New School will hurt him in Nebraska. The irony is that, well, most people here didn’t like him very much. Indeed, the last time he stood for election was not 1994; it was a no-confidence vote brought by the faculty of the New School.
The overall vote was reportedly 271 to 3 against Kerrey, with the vote among tenured faculty 74-2 against, and Kerrey announced his resignation soon thereafter. (I was not on faculty then.)
This occurred after Kerrey went through five provosts in seven years before naming himself provost in addition to president, which helped trigger student occupations of the administration building (back before the word “occupy” was capitalized).
 Admittedly, The New School is a politically charged environment and certainly not an easy place to govern. And a decade is a long time to run anything, let alone a university with a long and vibrant tradition of dissent. But to say that his New School tenure was rocky is like saying that Nixon had a bumpy presidency.
So in my view, he ought to try to make lemons from lemonade: find some footage of himself clashing with unkempt student protesters (he called police during the occupation and students were forcibly removed) and have someone put it up on YouTube. Say that he got pushed out because people rejected his “common-sense Midwestern approach.”
Read the rest of…
Jeff Smith: Is Bob Kerrey Too New York for Nebraska?
By Jeff Smith, on Wed May 23, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET I saw Bobby Jindal speak in New Orleans a few years ago and I was very impressed. He was personable and loose – the opposite of how he came off during his big national television debut. He demonstrated obvious policy chops but was also quite smooth during the grip and grin. Given his resume and evident intellect, he eliminates any potential for Palin-esque surprises.
And he brings a ton of Indian money, although that’s probably the last of Romney’s worries.
I don’t, however, think he’s the best choice, for a few reasons.
 First, he does nothing to reduce the gender gap. Second, he doesn’t help in the Appalachian hollows in swing states like Ohio and Virginia where both Romney and Obama have struggled to connect; in the eyes of those voters he’s just as “exotic” as Obama.
By RP Staff, on Mon May 21, 2012 at 11:00 AM ET Last night, at the annual GOP Lincoln Day statewide dinner, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer — a rising star himself — welcomed Brown to the party from the dais, sparking a long and warm ovation.
And Sunday morning, Johnny appeared in the pages of the Courier Journal (Louisville) with the King himself — the longtime leader of Kentucky Republicans, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.
Johnny’s father — and forgive us, we have already forgotten his name — was said to be kvelling, although he wasn’t sure what the Yiddish term meant.
By RP Staff, on Mon May 21, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET Vibe magazine ran a fascinating profile on contributing RP and former RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Here’s an excerpt:
MICHAEL STEELE, THE FIRST BLACK CHAIRMAN OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, HAS BEEN PILED ON AND PUNCH-LINED BY HIS OWN PARTY. NOW OUT OF POWER, STEELE REVEALS THE BACKSTABBING, THE MONEY GRABS AND RACE TROUBLES AT THE RNC. BUT CAN THE HIP-HOP-LINGO-SPEWING POLITICO FIND HIS WAY BACK IN THE HEEZIE?
MICHAEL STEELE, THE CONTROVERSIAL former head of the Republican National Committee, folds his tall frame into a booth in a Midtown Manhattan hotel restaurant. Before he can complete his thought—one of the many bits of evidence he’ll stack against the Republican establishment he picks the fruit out of his oatmeal and sighs. “I’m sorry,” he says, with a shake of his head. “I don’t know why people put shit in oatmeal.” He fishes out a few more pieces. “I don’t even know what this stuff is. And why is it in my oatmeal? Ugh.”
It’s just after 9 a.m., a few days away from Christmas, and Steele has been up since some ungodly waking hour. He spent the first part of the day on the alarmingly tame set of MSNBC’sMorning Joe—a political gabfest for early risers and cable news junkies. All the pieces of the man were on full display: the pinstripe suit, the broken wreath of hair trimming his crown, the wire-rimmed glasses, the grizzly mustache and the penchant for lacing his talks with hip-hop vernacular.
Click here to read the full article.
By Jason Grill, on Fri May 18, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET  The 137th running of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, is this Saturday at Pimlico race track in Baltimore, Maryland. The Preakness can either destroy the dreams of the Kentucky Derby winner’s team or it can set up drama like no other at the Belmont Stakes. There has not been a Triple Crown winning horse since 1978, when Affirmed completed the trifecta. I’ll Have Another, the 2012 Kentucky Derby winner, is hoping to do the same in 2012.
Mitt Romney has locked up the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2012. Just like I’ll Have Another, he is riding high right now. Romney is leading President Obama in a recent CBS News/New York Times poll. His next major campaign move, selecting his Vice Presidential nominee, might decide what looks to be a very close general election. If you don’t believe me, look no further than Sarah Palin in 2008.
 So without further ado I give you the “Mitt Romney VP Odd’s Preakness Style” based on the first early morning lines of the race when post positions were drawn. Can there be anything more fun than combining premier US horse racing with presidential politics? I think not.
THE FAVORITES
8-5 Odds – Bodemeister/Senator Marco Rubio (R – FL): Bodemeister led from the gate to nearly the finish of the Kentucky Derby until I’ll Have Another caught him. Just like Bodemeister, Rubio sprinted out to an early lead in the veepstakes and has maintained it up to this point. He is a rising star, has been called the “crown prince” of the Tea Party movement, and potentially delivers the most important swing state of them all. He also helps with the all important and growing Latino vote. Can Rubio seal the deal with Romney or will he get passed in the end like Bodemeister in the Derby? Maybe Romney passes if Mitt can’t handle Rubio’s “star power” potentially outshining him. This pick makes so much sense for Mitt.
5-2 Odds – I’ll Have Another/Senator Rob Portman (R – OH): I’ll Have Another shocked the horse racing world down the stretch of the 138th Kentucky Derby with his closing and finishing speed. Rob Portman is one those guys who has often been mentioned in the running for Romney’s mate, but isn’t as exciting to many Republicans as Rubio. Portman has served his country in the United States House and Senate, as well as in two cabinet positions in the George W. Bush administration. He is from the coveted swing state of Ohio, which President Obama won in 2008. Portman is a lot like Romney when it comes to style and substance, but his experience might make him a tad bit safer choice than Rubio. Portman is closing fast on Rubio in I’ll Have Another fashion.
Read the rest of…
Jason Grill: Mitt Romney VP Odds, Preakness Style
By Steven Schulman, on Tue May 15, 2012 at 3:30 PM ET  [Click here to follow the entire RP Debate]
How about this thought experiment:
What if the victim had been a girl, and he had ripped off her bra because she dressed like a beatnik? No groping, nothing sexual, just mean.
If that is different, why?
Also, the analogies to using alcohol and marijuana ring quite hollow. Those are personal experiments, not harassment of others.
This conduct is surely not disqualifying by any stretch – I don’t think anyone is saying that it is. But the contrary position — that it deserves no attention at all — is not realistic. This is one of the things that goes into the basket of judging character, and Romney’s recent behavior, his marriage, etc., that voters can and should look at to get a picture of the man who wants to be our president.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue May 15, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET  [Click here to follow the entire RP Debate]
I agree with Michael Steele’s assessment.
(A sentence I had not anticipated writing since joining the RP blog. But well put, sir.)
Some people like to drive slowly past an accident to see what happened. I hate to admit it, but I’m guilty of this more often than I wish I were. But I don’t want to be someone who drives by a fender bender and slows down to imagine an accident that I wish had happened but didn’t.
I can’t help but feel that’s an appropriate analogy for Mr Romney’s alleged anti-gay bullying behavior. Even if it happened as provocatively as some have reported, I don’t feel the behavior is much more than pubescent pseudo-masculine posing.
Embarrassing? Yes.
Regrettable? Sure.
Like a fender bender. But grounds for revocation of a license to be president, so to speak, 45 years later? I say we should take Michael Steele’s advice and keep driving.
Something to see and note, perhaps, but nothing worth staring at for very long.
By RP Staff, on Mon May 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET Newsweek seems to think so.
This morning, the RP, former Congressman Artur Davis, and former RNC Chairman Michael Steele weigh in about last week’s announcement by President Obama of his support for marriage equality.
Please let us know how you feel in the comments section below.
By Jeff Smith, on Wed May 9, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET I think it’s probably a wash.
For every wing-nut who would’ve stayed home in November without Bachmann’s endorsement, or simply voted for Romney without volunteering for him, there is at least one swing voter who is turned off by her.
But these effects are so marginal.
Endorsements mean precious little in general elections, and endorsements from failed presidential candidates who are forced to drop out the night of the caucus they were originally supposed to win mean even less.
(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)
By RP Staff, on Tue May 8, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET From The Examiner:
 Former RNC Chairman and MSNBC contributor Michael Steele didn’t mean to intrude, but when he saw “Glee’s” Darren Criss and Matthew Morrison at Saturday night’s MSNBC after-party at the Italian Embassy, he needed to get a picture.
“I love ‘Glee’ because it takes me back to a time when I was in Glee club,” Steele explained to Yeas & Nays after the quick photo session and chat had wrapped up. “And it opened a lot of doors for me and introduced me to musical theater, which I love.” Steele played Harold Hill in “The Music Man” in college. He was also in “Anything Goes,” and performed Shakespeare’s Macbeth “cowboy style.” “With boots and everything,” he laughed.
These days he identifies himself as a “Gleek.” “Yeah, I do, I do, I’ll admit it, I’ll admit it and, of course, seeing a lot of the stars here tonight from the show is kind of cool,” he said. “I record it every it every Tuesday cause usually I’m out doing stuff so I usually get to watch it over the weekend — I love it.”
Click here to read the full story.
|
The Recovering Politician Bookstore
|
Admittedly, The New School is a politically charged environment and certainly not an easy place to govern. And a decade is a long time to run anything, let alone a university with a long and vibrant tradition of dissent. But to say that his New School tenure was rocky is like saying that Nixon had a bumpy presidency.
