Well, it’s happened again–we’ve reached the start of another US presidential election cycle. Ted Cruz is the first candidate to declare his intent to run. Now, when I started this blog in August 2012, we were most of the way through the presidential election cycle, so I need to make some decisions about how I’m going to write about it this year. So far, here’s the plan–every time a major candidate declares intent to run, regardless of party affiliation, I will write an initial post analyzing the candidate as a statesman in an attempt to determine whether or not the candidate is fit to govern a society. Beyond that, I will write about controversies that interest me as they arise.
Tag: Barack Obama
Cuba: Why Obama Made the Right Call
US President Barack Obama has decided to normalize relations with Cuba. Since 1960, the United States has attempted to isolate, weaken, and ultimately destroy the Castro regime by cutting off diplomatic ties, imposing a trade embargo, and preventing American tourists from visiting Cuba. Given that the US has been following this strategy for 54 years but the Castros remain in power, it’s reasonable to question the efficacy of that policy. So let’s look into it.
Immigration: What Obama Did and Why He Did It
I’ve had a few readers ask me to do a piece explaining US President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on immigration. I’ll aim to explain what Obama did, why Obama did what he did, and whether or not what Obama did was legal.
Continue reading “Immigration: What Obama Did and Why He Did It”
Ted Cruz is Wrong about Net Neutrality
Yesterday, US President Barack Obama came out in favor of net neutrality, urging the FCC to classify the internet as a utility for regulatory purposes:
Immediately thereafter, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) came out against net neutrality, tweeting:
“Net Neutrality” is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government.
This analogy between net neutrality and Obamacare does not work on any level and is deeply misleading. Here’s why.
What do the Midterms Mean? Not Much…
In much of the media’s coverage of the US midterm elections, the focus has been on the number of races won by republican candidates. When we look exclusively at races won, it appears as if the right has scored a stunning victory. The trouble is that in the American political system, power is widely distributed. An individual congressman, senator, or even governor or president can do very little to meaningfully effect policy. Consequently, when we evaluate what an election means, we need to evaluate whether enough power has been accumulated by one side or the other to meaningfully sway policy outcomes. When we do this at the federal level, we see that the balance of power has remained more or less consistent since 2010.
Benjamin Studebaker 