23 May 2013

Why Are Republicans Determined to Waste Money on Government? The Upside-Down Logic of Taking Responsibilities (and Funding) Away From the IRS

Justia columnist, George Washington law professor, and economist Neil Buchanan comments on the recent IRS scandal, which he contends is better labeled a “non-scandal” limited to low-level mistakes and mid-level crisis mismanagement. He also covers the current state of the IRS, its role in American life, and the reasons its reach has expanded. Buchanan also warns that if we move the IRS out of its current role, we do so at our peril. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics, Tax and Economics, Uncategorized

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17 May 2013 John Dean

President Obama’s Burgeoning Scandals—Benghazi, IRS, and AP’s Telephone Logs—Are All Smoke and No Fire

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean discusses each of the three scandals on which the media are currently focusing. After commenting on the nature of modern political scandals generally, Dean focuses on the Benghazi scandal, the scandal regarding the IRS’s targeting conservative organizations, and the scandal regarding DOJ’s subpoenaing AP telephone records. Each scandal, Dean concludes, will not be found significant in the end. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

19 Apr 2013 John Dean

Unstated Findings of the Detainee Treatment Report: Bush/Cheney & Co. Are War Criminals

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean comments on the bipartisan Detainee Treatment report that was recently released by The Constitution Project (TCP). Dean characterizes the report’s findings as nothing less than devastating. In particular, Dean notes that the report leads Dean—who serves on the TCP committee on Liberty & Security—to conclude that Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as others, engaged in war crimes. Dean focuses especially on TCP’s most notable findings in his column. Continue reading →

Posted In: Criminal Law, Human Rights, Politics

12 Apr 2013 Neil H. Buchanan

Pay the Rich and the Foreigners First: Republicans Reveal Their True Priorities, as They Plan to Hold Everyone Else Hostage to the Debt Ceiling, Yet Again

Justia columnist, George Washington law professor, and economist Neil Buchanan points out that congressional Republicans are now admitting indirectly that the laws that they have passed would require President Obama to make impossible choices as to who will be paid, and who will not. Through this gambit, Buchanan argues, Republicans are now admitting who truly matters most to them: wealthy investors, foreign banks and governments; everyone else, the Republicans say, can wait. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

5 Apr 2013 John Dean

Republicans’ Ongoing Desperation: They’re Still Attacking Voters and Government

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean comments on recent Republican ploys, such as seeking to disenfranchise those who will likely vote for Democrats. Dean contends that the GOP has forgotten the basics of American democracy, and that its anti-government stance and its attacks on spending are creating new and unnecessary problems, when there are many other problems that we have yet to effectively address. Dean also warns that America only works based on widespread human decency, a tenet that he contends that the Republicans are testing. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

22 Mar 2013 John Dean

Senator Ted Cruz (R TX): The Tea Party’s New Intellectual at Work

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean comments on Senator Ted Cruz, who has made news lately. Deeming Cruz an authoritarian conservative, Dean discusses Cruz’s recent clash with fellow Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Cruz’s background and views. Dean also argues that while some call Cruz a wacko, he is better described as a troll; and explains why even some conservative commentators are finding Cruz to be going beyond their limits. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

21 Mar 2013 Neil H. Buchanan

Taking From Everyone to Give to the Rich: Why There Is Nothing “Principled” About Republicans’ Refusal to “Betray Our Principles” in Budget Negotiations

Justia columnist, George Washington law professor, and economist Neil Buchanan comments on a number of striking post-election policy changes from Republicans, on issues ranging from gay rights, to immigration, to reproductive choice. Buchanan argues that the key issue that Republicans won’t bend on now is, unfortunately, the crucial issue of helping people in need—a category of persons that does not just encompass the needy, but other groups like today and tomorrow’s children and retirees as well. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

8 Mar 2013 John Dean

End Republican Party Obstructionism: Follow the California Model

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean argues that Republican obstructionism in Washington, DC today can be solved in ways similar to those that defeated Republican obstructionism in California. Dean chronicles key events in California’s experience, commenting on the Schwarzenegger Administration and the most recent Brown Administration, and remarking upon the ways in which Democrats, Labor, and Progressives made the Republican Party irrelevant in California, with tactics including registration drives targeting ignored categories of voters. Dean also details the five-step process used in California to defeat Republican obstructionism, and suggests how a similar process could be used at the national level, as well. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

28 Feb 2013 Neil H. Buchanan

Passing Bad Laws on Purpose: How to Understand the Legal Difference Between the Sequester and the Debt Ceiling

Justia columnist, George Washington law professor, and economist Neil Buchanan explains the difference between the sequester and the debt ceiling. He faults Republicans for manufacturing three artificial political crises: shutdowns, defaults and artificial spending cuts. He also makes clear the differences between unilateral Presidential action and Congressionally mandated arbitrariness when it comes to cuts. Moreover, he raises the following questions: When Congress inflicts pain on Americans on purpose, what, if anything, can the President do? Must he still follow Congress’ laws even then? Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics, Tax and Economics

22 Feb 2013 John Dean

Some, Albeit Little, Hope for Voting Reform

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean discusses President Obama’s State of the Union voting commission proposal, and the two well-known Washington lawyers—one a Democrat, the other a Republican—who will head the Commission. The Commission will be tasked with improving the voting experience for Americans, in the face of, among other voting problems, reports of extremely long lines at the polls in some states in 2012. Dean argues that the history of presidential commissions is not encouraging, but that President Obama’s Commission could do some good if it focused on preventing a repeat of Republicans’ efforts in 2012 election to make voting more difficult, and thus advantage their own party. Continue reading →

Posted In: Election Law, Politics

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Good Luck, Wisconsin, You’ve Got A Classic Authoritarian Governor: Part Two in a Two-Part Series on Scott Walker

In the second in this two-part series of columns, Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean puts together substantial evidence... more

John Dean

Gaming American Democracy: How New Republican Techniques Seek to Change the Political System Itself

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John Dean

A Fair Question: Is Governor Scott Walker a Conservative Without Conscience?

In this two-part series of columns, Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean comments on authoritarian personality traits,... more

John Dean

The Republicans’ Shameless War on Voting

Justia columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean comments on current and past efforts by the Republican Party to suppress non-white... more

Columnists

Vikram David Amar Vikram Amar rejoined the UC Davis Law School (where he was a faculty member from 1993-1998) in 2007, after teaching at UC Hastings for a decade. He has also taught regularly as a Visiting Professor at... more

Neil H. Buchanan Neil H. Buchanan is an economist and legal scholar, a Professor of Law at The George Washington University, and a Senior Fellow at the Taxation Law and Policy Research Institute, Monash University... more

Sherry F. Colb Sherry F. Colb is Professor of Law and Charles Evans Hughes Scholar at Cornell University. Colb teaches courses in constitutional criminal procedure, evidence, and animal rights. She has published... more

John Dean John Dean served as Counsel to the President of the United States from July 1970 to April 1973. Before becoming White House counsel at age thirty-one, he was the chief minority counsel to the... more

Michael C. Dorf Michael C. Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell University Law School. He has written hundreds of popular essays, dozens of scholarly articles, and four books on... more

Joanna L. Grossman Joanna L. Grossman is the Sidney and Walter Siben Distinguished Professor of Family Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. She is an expert in family... more

Marci A. Hamilton Marci A. Hamilton is one of the leading church/state scholars in the United States and the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. She is the author... more

Julie Hilden Julie Hilden graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School, where she served as a Teaching Assistant and a Notes Editor on the Yale Law Journal. From 1992-93, Hilden clerked for then-Chief Judge... more

Joanne Mariner Joanne Mariner is the director of Hunter College’s Human Rights Program. Before joining Hunter in 2011, she worked at Human Rights Watch, most recently as the director of the organization’s... more

Anita Ramasastry Anita Ramasastry is the D. Wayne and Anne Gittinger Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle, Washington. She is also a member of the Law, Technology and Arts Group at... more