Justifying Egalitarianism: G.A. Cohen’s Socialist Critique of John Rawls' Liberalism

In 1999, President Bill Clinton praised the philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) – who had just received the National Humanities Medal – for his contributions to liberal political thought. Clinton applauded Rawls for having “placed our rights to liberty and justice upon a strong and brilliant new foundation of reason” and having “helped a whole generation of learned Americans revive their faith in democracy itself.”

Eliminate the Electoral College? You'll Never See Your Candidate Again

As a follower of politics, I love seeing all the hair-brained ideas that sprout up from time-to-time arguing for this change or that, without really considering what would happen if it was actually put into practice.

We live in a federal republic. Big states have a larger share of influence, but smaller states still maintain at least some balance through the equal representation in the Senate.

The Electoral College was part of this framework. Presidential candidates had to win at the state-level, but an enormous win in one state couldn't skew the entire result.

You Say You Want a Re-Alignment? Four Models for America's Political Future

“Realignment.” Get used to that word because we are going to be hearing it a lot in the next few months. American political parties realign themselves every 40 or 50 years, as governing coalitions emerge, break up, and reassemble themselves in new combinations. The phenomenon of realignment--if not actually part of the design of the country--was at least anticipated in Madison’s great Federalist #10, which argues that, for a republic to remain free, factions must never become permanent.

Voice of the People: Americans Not Sold on Defense Spending Increase

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Barack Obama and leading Republican presidential candidates have called for increasing defense spending. However, given the opportunity to make their own defense budget, a majority of voters (61 percent) cut defense spending in a new in-depth survey released today by Voice Of the People. Not even a majority of Republicans made increases.

The Rust Belt Is Looking for an Economic Savior, And That May Be Bad News for Hillary

In 2008, Hillary Clinton swept the hardest hit of the Rust Belt states, with Barack Obama taking two on the fringe--his home state of Illinois and Wisconsin.

As the 2016 campaign unfolds, with Michigan the first Rust Belt state to vote, Bernie Sanders made an unexpected push to win by the slimmest of margins (49.9-48.2 with 97 percent reporting). All the major polls had Clinton winning--and winning big in Michigan.

Michigan hurts my own predictions:

Former DNC Chair Says as Superdelegate He Doesn't Care What Voters Want

Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and former DNC chair, has committed his superdelegate vote to Hillary Clinton, despite U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders winning Vermont 86.1 percent to Hillary Clinton's 13.6 percent.

Dean was confronted about this on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/706219827535462401

Governor Dean is right. Superdelegates are not tethered to the votes in their state or the will of the people. They are not elected to be superdelegates. Superdelegates are chosen from among Democratic leaders at the state and national level.