Ken’s columns offer an in-depth look at a significant political story and offers a preview of the stories and events of the week to watch out for.
One may wonder how it could be possible that Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R) is in trouble in his bid to become governor in Saturday’s runoff. President Obama’s numbers are miserable in the state. No Democrat has been elected statewide since 2008. Vitter is the kind of canny politician who is known for doing whatever …
(NOTE: The following appeared in USA Today on Monday, Oct. 19. Since then, Vice President Joe Biden has pulled out of consideration for a presidential bid in 2016, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chair of the Ways & Means Committee, has said he will seek to become speaker of the House. Neither announcement came as …
And so we wait. We don’t know what Joe Biden is going to do. He could jump in the presidential race, as late as it is, despite Hillary Clinton’s huge head start and her sizable advantages in money, staff, organization and the opportunity to make history. And there’s Bernie Sanders to consider as well. Those …
He had a history of saying incendiary things. His fellow Republicans, even those who deeply disliked him, refused to take him on; most simply tolerated his antics and stayed silent. But this time, he went too far. “You’ve done enough,” Joseph Welch, the up-to-that-moment tolerant attorney for the Army, said to the senator from Wisconsin. …
The announcement Monday by Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and other South Carolina officials might have seemed like a no-brainer, in light of the recent horror in Charleston. The Confederate flag and other remnants of the Civil War South, while a source to some of regional pride, have been used as symbols of racial hatred for …
Rand Paul has a dilemma. The first-term Republican senator from Kentucky is a clear favorite for re-election next year. But he also wants to run for president as well. The rub? State law prohibits him from seeking more than one post at the same time. (Marco Rubio of Florida is in the same predicament: the …
One of the more entertaining aspects of following politics is watching how journalists cover Sarah Palin. To a person, they swear up and down that they’ll never write about her again. Then she’ll say something – as she did last month, when she told a reporter that she’s “seriously thinking” about running for president – …
The Senate campaign news of the week was the retirement announcement by Barbara Boxer, the 74-year old California Democrat who said she would not seek a fifth term next year. Usually, when a Senate incumbent steps down, it’s good news for the opposite party. But there hasn’t been good news for the Republicans in the …
The votes are still being counted in a handful of races around the country, the winners are still basking in their victories, the losers are trying to figure out what went wrong. Of course, that hasn’t stopped those from already obsessing over 2016. We’ll have plenty of time to prepare for those elections, both presidential …
With most attention this year squarely on which party will control the Senate, it is understandable that the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections are taking a back seat. But between the recent “fangate” flap in Florida and the presidential hopes of Wisconsin’s Scott Walker — not to mention that two of the last three presidents …