Political Mavens » John J. Pitney,Jr.

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Election day: Most predictions of the next four years will be wrong
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Between now and the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, there will be many predictions of what the next four years will bring. Most of those will be wrong. As it always does, the fate of the administration will hinge on things that no one can predict.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on November 6th, 2012
Permanent link: Election day: Most predictions of the next four years will be wrong

Defecting Electors?
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

If there is a tie in the electoral college, supporters of Obama will surely try to get Romney electors to defect. I expand on this scenario here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on October 26th, 2012
Permanent link: Defecting Electors?

Ahistorical Platform Coverage
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

In recent days, reporters have talked of a sudden rightward shift in the GOP. They point to the platform’s support of: the unborn child’s individual right to life, a balanced budget amendment, supermajority requirements for tax increases, consideration of the gold standard, voluntary school prayer, public display of the Ten Commandments, crackdowns on Internet porn, and repeal of the Davis-Bacon “prevailing wage” law. They also note that the platform opposes same-sex marriage and the use of foreign law in court decisions. There is just one problem in the “sudden shift” theme: all of these positions appeared in previous platforms, and in the case of school prayer, as long ago as 1972.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on September 1st, 2012
Permanent link: Ahistorical Platform Coverage

“Sex and God at Yale”
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Several years ago, my student Nathan Harden transferred from Claremont McKenna College to Yale. Although I was disappointed to lose one of our stars, I was happy for Nathan. Having gone to graduate school at Yale, I knew the intellectual riches that it offered to undergraduates. As his excellent new book points out, his experience turned out to be bittersweet. Mingled with the intellectual dazzle was something darker. At this point, I need only quote the publisher’s summary:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on August 22nd, 2012
Permanent link: “Sex and God at Yale”

The Professor and Marianne
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

In light of recent accusations from his ex-wife Marianne, Newt Gingrich would probably prefer to forget the time he drew a picture showing the two of them at the center of their universe.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on January 21st, 2012
Permanent link: The Professor and Marianne

Ron Paul Against Ronald Reagan
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

On the campaign trail, Ron Paul has been talking about his support for Ronald Reagan.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 31st, 2011
Permanent link: Ron Paul Against Ronald Reagan

A Couple of Surprising Things about Gingrich
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

He once supported a value-added tax.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 17th, 2011
Permanent link: A Couple of Surprising Things about Gingrich

Odds and Ends About Newt
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

In 1988, he said that we were in a political civil war and that we should fight it with “savagery.”

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 13th, 2011
Permanent link: Odds and Ends About Newt

Newt Gingrich, Rachel Maddow, and Public Goods
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

In MSNBC ads, Rachel Maddow has been pointing to bridges and other public works as examples of the need for government. Private enterprise cannot produce the public goods we need, she says. Perhaps surprisingly, Newt Gingrich has long been making the very same case. More here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 6th, 2011
Permanent link: Newt Gingrich, Rachel Maddow, and Public Goods

Items About Newt
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Now that Newt Gingrich is surging in the polls, there is renewed interest in his background. This eclectic collection of items may be relevant:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on November 19th, 2011
Permanent link: Items About Newt

An Incident at an Intersection
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

When I stopped my car at an intersection on Friday night, I heard yelling from the car behind me. It was hard to make out what the commotion was about until the car pulled up to the next lane. The young driver, his face contorted with hate and rage, was yelling at me, “F— Israel! F– ISRAEL!” Apparently he had seen the sticker on my car’s back bumper: “I Stand with Israel.”

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on October 16th, 2011
Permanent link: An Incident at an Intersection

Netanyahu and the GOP
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

A New York Times article made it seem as if the friendship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and congressional Republicans were a new development. In fact, their bond goes back many years, involving political connections and shared convictions about economics, security, and many other things. More here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on September 22nd, 2011
Permanent link: Netanyahu and the GOP

Irene and the Tomb
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Throughout Hurricane Irene, the Army kept guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: a reminder that the phrase “duty, honor, country” really means something.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on August 28th, 2011
Permanent link: Irene and the Tomb

Survey Findings
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Some recent poll results:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 30th, 2011
Permanent link: Survey Findings

The S-Word
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

When the president spoke at West Point about the Afghanistran troop buildup , he didn’t call it a “surge.” Now that he’s calling it off, he uses the word. Curious.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 22nd, 2011
Permanent link: The S-Word

Hostilities and War Powers
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

The administration claims that the War Powers Act does not apply to Libya because US actions there do not amount to “hostilities.” Recent news accounts suggest difficulties with this position:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 21st, 2011
Permanent link: Hostilities and War Powers

Not a Good Week for Citizenship
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

According to new reports, students remain woefully ill-informed about government and history, and citizens worry about the inadequacy of civic education. Meanwhile, the number of Americans renouncing citizenship is going up.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 16th, 2011
Permanent link: Not a Good Week for Citizenship

Why So Little Protest?
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Americans are still dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the United States is taking part in combat against Libya. So why is there so little protest?

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 9th, 2011
Permanent link: Why So Little Protest?

D-Day
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Today is the 67th anniversary of D-Day. As the invasion was under way, what did FDR do? He led the nation in prayer. Forty years later, President Reagan recalled the amazing courage of the Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 6th, 2011
Permanent link: D-Day

Scandal and Politics
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

The John Edwards scandal probably won’t help the GOP. The Weiner affair might be different. More here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 4th, 2011
Permanent link: Scandal and Politics

Newt, the Polls, and Medicare
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Gingrich’s unpopularity is nothing new. Neither are Democratic attacks on Republicans over Medicare. More here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on June 3rd, 2011
Permanent link: Newt, the Polls, and Medicare

The Military and Public Opinion
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Many polls show that the public has a high opinion of the military. But a new Gallup survey finds that the military does not have a high opinion of the Obama administration. More here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on May 30th, 2011
Permanent link: The Military and Public Opinion

Gingrich
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

For the 1996 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, I wrote a paper titled “Understanding Newt Gingrich.” Click the link for full text: the takeaway is that typical ideological labels really do not apply, which helps us understand his controversial comments about the Ryan plan. Some other materials on Newt:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on May 29th, 2011
Permanent link: Gingrich

American Exceptionalism
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

The idea of American exceptionalism is much in the news. Critics disparage it as the idea that Americans are better than everyone else and that the United States can do whatever it wants.But it doesn’t necessarily mean that at all.In its most modest form, it is simply the idea that the United States tends to differ from other nations in certain important respects.There is abundant empirical evidence for this point:for instance, there are other rich countries, and other religious countries, but the United States is unusual for being both rich and religious.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on May 10th, 2011
Permanent link: American Exceptionalism

Rattled Liberals
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Do liberals think that there is a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” or is it just a boogeyman that they exploit in order to raise money?

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on July 23rd, 2010
Permanent link: Rattled Liberals

A Response to the First Lady
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

In The Kansas City Star, congressional candidate Craig McPherson responds to Mrs. Obama’s attack on the tea party movement:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on July 14th, 2010
Permanent link: A Response to the First Lady

It’s Nice to Be Proved Right
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times quoted me as saying that Senator Boxer could face tough reelection battle. One online commenter harrumphed:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on March 18th, 2010
Permanent link: It’s Nice to Be Proved Right

Jerry Brown Equals John McCain Minus Heroism
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

The San Francisco Bay Guardian reported a few days ago:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on February 21st, 2010
Permanent link: Jerry Brown Equals John McCain Minus Heroism

Biden on the Filibuster
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Vice President Biden on the Filibuster:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on January 18th, 2010
Permanent link: Biden on the Filibuster

Expectations That He Could Not Meet
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

This article appears in today’s Inland newspapers.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on January 16th, 2010
Permanent link: Expectations That He Could Not Meet

The Nobel Prize for Inconsistency
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

In today’s New York Times, Paul Krugman rails against the filibuster. He writes: “A Congressional Research Service report from 2005, when a Republican majority was threatening to abolish the filibuster so it could push through Bush judicial nominees, suggests several ways this could happen - for example, through a majority vote changing Senate rules on the first day of a new session.” Funny - back then, he seemed to think that the filibuster was a valuable safeguard against a zealous majority. On March 29, 2005, he warned that “the big step by extremists will be an attempt to eliminate the filibuster, so that the courts can be packed with judges less committed to upholding the law than Mr. Greer [the judge in the Schiavo case].”

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 21st, 2009
Permanent link: The Nobel Prize for Inconsistency

G– Has a Sense of Humor
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

As world leaders meet to discuss global warming, Copenhagen is getting really cold. The Copenhagen Post reports:

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 17th, 2009
Permanent link: G– Has a Sense of Humor

Charles Schumer’s Language Problem
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

As Greg Pollowitz notes, Senator Charles Schumer recently called a flight attendant a “b****.” Some history is relevant here. During Schumer’s first Senate race in 1998, incumbent Al D’Amato called him a “putzhead.” Expressing outrage, Schumer milked the incident for all the advantage he could get. The Washington Post reported: “The remark, made Tuesday, was seized upon today by Schumer, who called it `a cheap slur against me.’ He linked the insult to D’Amato’s claim earlier this week to be more committed than Schumer to helping survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. He also challenged the senator to `have the guts to use that same slur to my face’ when the two meet for debates this weekend.” After his own outburst this week, Schumer merely had an aide issue a pro forma apology. So here is Schumer’s Law: It is an outrage to use a vulgar epithet against a Harvard-educated politician, but it’s no big deal to use one against a working-class woman.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 16th, 2009
Permanent link: Charles Schumer’s Language Problem

Kill Bill, Part 2
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

“The Republicans, they have no interest in this bill.They’re using the 1994 playbook. Let’s kill the bill and kill the president.” - Howard Dean, August 18.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 15th, 2009
Permanent link: Kill Bill, Part 2

A Modest Proposal for Congressional Salaries
By John J. Pitney,Jr. (bio)

Most Americans favor cutting salariesfor lawmakers and White House officials as a way of reducing government spending. Adam Kokesh, seeking the GOP nomination in New Mexico’s Third Congressional District, may thus be onto something. He has a bold proposal for his fellow candidates: pledge that you will refuse any salary in excess of average family income. See video here.

Posted by John J. Pitney,Jr. on December 8th, 2009
Permanent link: A Modest Proposal for Congressional Salaries

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