By Lanny Davis – 04/18/12 One of my favorite scenes from the classic musical comedy “Fiddler on the Roof” is when the lovable lead character in the Russian Jewish village of Anatevka, Tevye, is trying to referee an argument between two men.
By Lanny J. Davis – 04/16/12 For anyone interested in understanding why one of the great institutions of democratic government in the world — the United States Senate — has become so dysfunctional and paralyzed by partisanship, Ira Shapiro’s recently published book The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis(Public Affairs, New […]
By Lanny Davis – 03/21/12 Among the most hypocritical aspects of certain purist Democrats who call themselves liberals is their willingness to attack any Democrat who veers even slightly from liberal orthodoxy.
By Lanny Davis – 03/07/12 As someone who has been personally attacked by Rush Limbaugh many times, I yield to no one in my strong disagreement with Limbaugh on virtually everything. I consider his opinions too often hateful, inaccurate and despicable. That is my opinion. What Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke — calling her a […]
By Lanny Davis – 03/02/12 The definition of tax reform, in today’s polarized politics, goes something like this: Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, Tax the other guy behind the tree. Let’s face it — Republicans believe in tax reform if it means reducing taxes on the wealthy. Democrats believe in tax reform if it […]
By Lanny Davis – 02/22/12 To watch four hours of the so-called documentary on the eight years of the Clinton presidency gave me the sensation of a report about a glass of water that is 75 percent full and 25 percent empty. The PBS presentation, I am guessing, spent 75 percent of the four hours […]
By Lanny Davis – 02/08/12 “So now we have a problem, Governor,” said Gov. Romney’s mythical Spinmeister. “What problem? We just won the Florida primary and the Nevada caucuses, and we destroyed Gingrich with tens of millions of dollars of ads attacking his character — so what’s the problem?” the governor might have responded.
By Lanny Davis – 01/31/12 – The Republicans are making a big mistake by assuming they can successfully depict Barack Obama as an out-of-the-mainstream leftist. They are making it easier for him to move to the center, where he actually has been for most of his years in politics. In fact, by the time the […]
By Lanny Davis – 1/25/2012 – President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night framed the issues in a way that polls show commands a majority of the American people’s support. Unless Republicans find a way to reframe the debate — and I don’t see how they can — or change their position on […]
By Lanny Davis – 1/3/2012 – It doesn’t matter if Mitt Romney wins the Iowa caucuses tonight or not. He is about to experience a severe political hemorrhage over his refusal to disclose his tax returns.