American Morning
Avlon: 'Wingnuts' reinforce partisan stereotypes
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/03/04/gop.politico.art.jpg caption="The RNC presentation, discovered by Politico.com, encourages fundraisers to stoke the fires of "fear." "]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
Washington’s partisan stereotypes got reinforced this week by a dean of the liberal House leadership and a stunningly cynical PowerPoint presentation to RNC fundraisers.
Congressman Charles Rangel has been a fixture on the Democratic scene for four decades, finally rising to the powerful chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, overseeing U.S. tax policy. Nothing grates Americans more than hypocrisy from politicians. Months ago, Rangel came under scrutiny for failing to disclose income in excess of $500,000 and failing to pay taxes. Allegations included paying below market rate for four apartments in Harlem and not disclosing rental income off a cottage in the Dominican Republic.
This week, the Ethics Committee found that Rangel had accepted gifts of travel to the Caribbean for conferences without appropriate reimbursement and Rangel offered to temporarily step down from his chairmanship. It wasn’t just the ethical lapse that elevates this to wingnut levels, it’s the way it confirms the worst stereotypes of big city Democrats – Rangel’s predecessor in his congressional seat, the pioneering Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was laid low by a scandal involving misappropriation of funds.
This new round of charges also increased heat on Democratic congressional leaders – especially Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had previously stood by Rangel. After a series of Republican congressional scandals, she had famously promised to preside over “the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.” When even the man in charge of the tax code has trouble with its compliance, Rangel’s troubles reinforced the feeling that government is broken.
Watch out Tea Party, 'Coffee Party' gaining steam
(CNN) – We've heard a lot about the Tea Party movement recently. It's been spreading like wildfire with tens of thousands turning out for rallies and protests. Now, there is a new political movement also gaining some steam. It is called the Coffee Party USA.
While the two share similar names and a frustration with gridlock in Washington, the similarities may end there. The founder of the Coffee Party USA, Annabel Park, spoke with John Roberts and Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” on Wednesday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
John Roberts: The question many people might have right off the bat is the Tea Party has got some historical context to it, so why the name the Coffee Party, and why the need?
Annabel Park: First of all, I love coffee. Although at times I definitely like tea as well. But there is actually a historical reference as well. During the American Revolution, after they dumped tea into the harbor, they actually declared coffee the national drink. That was the solution to the problem. So I associate coffee not only with solutions, but also with people working, working hard. Because we need to wake up and work hard to get our government to represent us.
Kiran Chetry: What are some of the principles? What do you guys stand for? What do you want to see change in Washington?
Park: Well, we basically, just like in the American Revolution, are looking for real representation. We don't feel represented by our government right now and we don't really feel represented well by the media either. So it's kind of a simple call to action for people to wake up and take control over their future and demand representation. And it requires people standing up and speaking up. That's what we're encouraging people to do by getting together and start the conversation going.
John Roberts, Kiran Chetry & John Avlon discuss 'Wingnuts'
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
(CNN) – CNN independent analyst John Avlon is the author of a new book called, “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."
Avlon is no stranger to viewers of CNN’s “American Morning.” He joins the program on Fridays for his weekly “Wingnuts of the Week” segment.
What’s a wingnut?
According to Avlon, a wingnut is someone on the far-right wing or far-left wing of American politics. In a polarized two-party system, he says, wingnuts have a disproportionate influence and too often define the terms of debate.
On Monday March 15, Avlon will discuss “Wingnuts” at Strand bookstore in New York City. He will be joined by American Morning anchors John Roberts and Kiran Chetry. The event is free and open to the public.
Date: March 15, 2010
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Place: Strand bookstore
828 Broadway (at 12th St.)
New York, NY 10003-4805
Avlon: Blame poisonous politics for broken government
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/07/13/john.avlon.art.jpg caption="CNN independent analyst John Avlon says any hope of changing the partisan culture of Washington is a long way away."]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
Government seems broken. Congress is more polarized than at any time in recent history. Patriotism is confused with partisanship.
How did we get here? It requires a look at the past year to see how wingnuts hijacked our politics.
“I hope he fails.” With those four words, Rush Limbaugh coined what would become Republican strategy. It’s a telling sign of the times when professional polarizers in talk radio give talking points to party leadership, instead of vice versa.
But of course, it takes two to have bipartisanship and neither party has a monopoly on virtue or vice. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deserves her share of the blame. After President Obama delegated what would become the $787 billion stimulus bill, Republicans were shut out of the negotiating process, undercutting President Obama’s claims to represent bipartisanship. She ultimately gained no Republican votes and lost the support of eleven centrist Democrats.
As Blue Dog Congressman Jim Cooper from Tennessee said at the time, while summing up the perspective of the liberal House leadership aligned with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying, “They don’t mind the partisan fighting ‘cause that’s what they are used to. In fact, they’re really good at it. And they’re a little bit worried about what a post-partisan future might look like.” The Progressive Change Campaign Committee started running attack ads against centrist Democrats who voted with their districts rather than with the party line.
Is the lunatic fringe hijacking America?
It happens almost every day of every week, people on the far-right and the far-left doing or saying something off of the wall. We've profiled many of them here on American Morning with a segment we call "Wingnuts of the Week."
Now, one of our favorite guests, John Avlon, has a new book all about the subject. It's called "Wingnuts: How the lunatic fringe is hijacking America." He joined us Friday on American Morning.
Don't miss: Wingnuts of the Week
Gay soldier: Obama's 'don't ask' pledge a reprinted IOU
Editor’s note: Lt. Daniel Choi is an Iraq veteran and a West Point alumnus. He is facing discharge under "don't ask, don't tell," the 1993 law that bars openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military. An estimated 65,000 LGBT Americans serve in the armed forces, according to the Urban Institute.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/11/art.dan.choi.jpg caption= "Lt. Daniel Choi is an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic."]
By Lt. Daniel Choi, Special to CNN
As we watched our president speak so eloquently and thoughtfully about our country, many heard the resounding theme: "Jobs, jobs, jobs."
He spoke about the economy, then our national security, and then started speaking about our values. I wondered: "Is he going to address 'don't ask, don't tell'?"
We heard the buzz in the past days that he was going to mention it. I felt the speech was nearing the end and I was becoming a bit uncertain. And throughout this past year of coming out, standing trial for telling the truth, and fighting my discharge, I have become accustomed to this feeling of uncertainty.
This past year's journey has been a roller coaster for me. After returning home from Iraq and beginning my first love relationship, I realized that I could not lie anymore. Falling in love made me finally see why relationships make us more complete and more secure; I also began to understand my soldiers and their families.
As a leader, I always accepted the fact that my subordinates needed a support system at home, but now it became more than theory. The support and strength I got from my love relationship proved what I learned all along. It made me a better leader and soldier to finally understand true love.
So why should I lie about that?
When I came out publicly in March there was a great deal of uncertainty. Since I knew the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy would only require a statement as evidence to fire me, I was forced to choose: morals and honesty or career and rank?
But since my soldiers, peers and superiors knew about me being gay and there was no evidence of discomfort or chaos in my unit, I figured the military may indeed keep this Arabic linguist and West Point educated infantry officer.
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