A Few Quick Hits

by: Matt Singer

Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 08:15:45 AM MST

• It's almost tax day! For most folks, that probably means seeing a refund soon. I ended up owing taxes this year (the problem with running a small business on the side). Matt Stoller offers some thoughts on the day that I agree with. Sure, more spending money would be great, but taxes don't bother me -- because I know I have a great deal of say in how they get spent and great power to impact it. It's all the hidden BS fees used to line executives' pockets that torque me.


• 2008 is the year of liberal hope. Robert Kuttner, one of the smartest men on the left, outlines how the last two crash-and-burns of conservatism handed us economically conservative Democrats as Presidents, but notes that 2008 may be different, if only because Bush's crash-and-burn is notably different.


• America = Democrats. Chris Bowers runs the data. The Democratic base is in virtual lockstep with the country on the big issues. Independents are, for all intents and purposes, Democrats these days. He misses one thing -- Americans do want bipartisanship and compromise. They just want it between two parties that are responsive to their concerns. That the Republican Party has decided not to play the "listen to what voters are actually saying" game is only lessened by the extent to which prominent Democrats play the same damn game.


• The Republicans are Interesting. While the traditional media has largely played a Hillary-Obama game, the blogs are focused on the GOP field for '08. Soren Dayton, a strategist and technologist on the GOP side who I had the pleasure to meet in D.C., runs eyeon08.com. A gaggle of talented lefty bloggers run The Right's Field. When I cover the righty Presidential crowd for AOL, I rely on both sites pretty extensively. Definitely worth reading for anyone trying to understand the inside baseball in the right field.