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Academic

Essentially Contested America

Features commentary and news involving law, legal theory, politics and culture.
By Robert Justin Lipkin

Post Frequency: 1.5/day

Last Entry: July 29, 2009 at 08:44:38

Lind on the Question of Obama?s ?Socialism?

Posted on November 01, 2008
Check out Michael Lind’s article in Salon.com. Here’s a sample: “John McCain, struggling to catch up with Barack Obama in the last days of the campaign, has finally found a theme for a campaign that until now has lacked one. He is running for the White House to defend capitalism against socialism...

McCain?s Impulsive Choice May Cost Him the Presidency

Posted on October 31, 2008
According to an article in today’s NY Times, it’s becoming clear that Senator McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate may be the reason he has not yet closed the gap between himself and Senator Obama in the battle for the White House...

Boots on the Ground

Posted on October 30, 2008
During the Republican Party convention, many speakers derided Barack Obama?s background as a ?community organizer.? Next Tuesday, if the polls are to be believed, they will see just how hard it is to run against a good community organizer. Indeed, the benefits of the community based Obama campaign are likely to last [...

The Redistribution of Wealth and John McCain

Posted on October 29, 2008
As we reach the final stages of the presidential campaign, John McCain has begun to call Barack Obama a redistributor of wealth. McCain presumably means that raising taxes on some, e.g., those making more than $250,000, and lowering taxes on others, e...

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The Era Of Obama: Commuity and the Value of Reasoned Compromise

Posted on October 27, 2008
An Obama mandate could potentially transform American politics for a generation. The Senator seems to embody a commitment to sincere deliberation, community, and compromise. He views the American republic as a rich assortment of diverse cultures, all attracted to the United States for its grounding in the ideas of liberty, equality, and especially community...

Will the Republicans Steal the Presidency Again?

Posted on October 24, 2008
With Senator Obama steadily increasing his lead over Senator McCain, the single most important worry is whether the election will be conducted fairly. Or will the Republicans steal the election as they certainly did in 2000 and probably in 2004 also? (Yes, I know that some legal academics have engaged in sophisticated cognitive gymnastics in [...

Is this the Motive Behind the Addiction to Guns?

Posted on October 22, 2008
I am committed to gun control. Yet, many years ago I learned to use a rifle and a revolver for target practice. Each time I used either weapon I was exhilarated. Merely holding the gun, fondling it, loading it, or using it generated a feeling I’ve never experienced before or after with any other artifact...

Will Lord Nader Do It Again?

Posted on October 20, 2008
According to the latest Zogby poll Obama leads McCain by a mere four points with Ralph Nader garnering two percent of likely voters. Is it conceivable that Lord Ralph will do it again? Will he attract a sufficient number of voters in critical states to hand the election to McCain? If so, Lord Ralph will [...

Thw Washington Post Endorses Barack Obama for President

Posted on October 17, 2008
Check out the Washington’s Post’s endorsement of Obama here.

David Brooks Almost Gets it Right

Posted on October 17, 2008
Click here for David Brooks’ column which contemplates Barack Obama’s character and demeanor as President. And except for the last three paragraphs almost get is right.

Yes, the U.S. Does Torture

Posted on October 17, 2008
Over the past few years various governmental officials, including President Bush, have categorically denied that his administration engages in torture. The truth is now out. WE DO TORTURE. Consider the following: “The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency’s use of [...

The Wrong Side of History

Posted on October 16, 2008
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Forest Hills cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts, the final resting place of abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Lysander Spooner. Nestled among the gravestones is a touching Civil War memorial entitled ?The Citizen Soldier...

What?s In A Name

Posted on October 15, 2008
The irony that Barack Obama’s full name is used to attack him whereas John McCain’s full name is not used to define him is not lost on me. Hussein, the part of Barack Obama’s name that is causing many distress and is stressed by those wishing to cause Obama distress, is from Obama’s grandfather...

Frum Bushwhacks Maddow

Posted on October 15, 2008
David Frum is not an ideal exemplar of intelligence, sophistication, or intellectual honesty. But not until Monday night did he appear as a vile bushwhacker. That night, on the Rachel Maddow show, rather than answer her questions he immediately inveighed against the sarcasm and playful comments typical of Ms...

The Second Great Depression?

Posted on October 10, 2008
The contrast between a regulated market and an unregulated market is just the sort of shibboleth that has us on the brink to the second great depression. Any political, social, or economic institutions must be structured in a certain manner. This structure defines, empowers, and regulates the operations of the institutions...

The Judicial Activism of the Roberts Court

Posted on October 09, 2008
It is the first week of the United States Supreme Court’s 2008-2009 term. What should we expect this year from the Roberts Court? More judicial activism. If the central meaning of “judicial activism” is the willingness of courts to second guess political bodies, then the Roberts Court is an “activist” Court...

Now the Dark Side

Posted on October 08, 2008
Recent events indicate that the dark side of the McCain campaign may be running at full-bore. Twice within the past two days we’ve heard the campaign stress Obama’s middle name. Barack Hussein Obama. Racism? Xenophobia? Or is it only child’s play compared to what’s to come? We know, of course, that Obama “palls around” with [...

John McCain?s New Bailout Proposal

Posted on October 08, 2008
During last night’s debate, John McCain unveiled a new bailout proposal called the McCain Resurgence Plan. That plan would require that the Treasury Department buy certain individual subprime mortgages then reissue affordable fixed-rate, government-backed mortgages to homeowners based on the home’s current market value...

Will You Vote For the Right Candidate?

Posted on October 06, 2008
Word has it that thirty-eight percent of the American electorate vote for the wrong candidate. “Wrong candidate”? Isn’t it hubris in the extreme to condemn someone for voting for a candidate for whom they wish to vote? That’s just the point...

The Final (?) Word on Sarah Palin

Posted on October 04, 2008
Take a look at Joe Conason’s piece on Governor Sarah Palin on in Salon.com. “Sarah Palin’s debate performance should signal the beginning of the end of her fad. But for the moment it is worth looking at the meaning of her nomination, without the protective varnish of what conservatives usually dismiss as [...

Capitalism & Democracy

Posted on October 03, 2008
Check out David Sorota’s piece at TomPaine.com. Here’s a sample: “The United States has always struggled to balance its capitalist economy with its democratic ideals. We’ve spent the last many years telling ourselves that the two go hand in hand, only to watch capitalism thrive in China in the absence of democratic [...

From Fear comes Opportunity

Posted on October 02, 2008
?The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.? Given recent economic developments, I feel that I now truly understand these words, uttered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address in January 1933. Roosevelt spoke as our country was in the depths of the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis [...

Bailout

Posted on October 01, 2008
There has been so much written on the bailout/rescue plan that it almost seems pointless to write anymore. However, the confusion that has accompanied much of the writing on the bailout suggests that a quick post is in order. The point of the bailout can be understood by recognizing two simple points...

Kucinich on the Bailout

Posted on October 01, 2008
Check out John Nichols’ piece on the views of Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on the financial crisis and how to remedy it.

The Mother of All Crises

Posted on September 30, 2008
Check out Bob Herbert here and David Brooks here for their take on the bailout failure.

Going Back to Reconstruction

Posted on September 26, 2008
At a constitutional law conference that I recently attended, a friend of mine commented, “We always seem to go back to Reconstruction.” I agreed. For many of us, Reconstruction was the Second Founding, when the People repaired the pro-slavery constitution and replaced it with one that commits the federal government to protecting individual rights...

The C-Word: Why Aren?t Conservatives Ranked?

Posted on September 24, 2008
The Republican spin machine is far superior to the Democrats’ responses. We’re continuously barraged with the accusation that Senator Barack Obama’s voting record makes him the most liberal senator, and Joe Biden, his Vice-Presidential running mate, is ranked third most liberal...

Sarah Palin and the Deafening of Evangelicals

Posted on September 23, 2008
In his single act of choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain quieted the evangelical wing of the Republican Party. Palin has now deafened them. As a consequence, McCain can be himself without worrying that he will offend the religious right by being insufficiently religious...

Regulate Now or Invite Disaster Later

Posted on September 22, 2008
Is it any wonder that deregulation of the financial markets can cause disaster? Consider the following: “The blood flowing this week from Wall Street, spilling over into the homes of most citizens and the economies of other countries, raised urgent calls for stricter regulation of major players in the U...

Can the Constitution be Fixed after Eight Years of Violations?

Posted on September 19, 2008
John Nichols has a good piece on the Constitution. Here’s a taste. “Constitution Day has arrived without major statements from Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain on the need to restore this country’s commitment to the rule of law...

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