Alan Greenblatt
Alan Greenblatt has been covering politics and government in Washington and around the country for 20 years. He came to NPR as a digital reporter in 2010, writing about a wide range of topics, including elections, housing economics, natural disasters and same-sex marriage.
He was previously a reporter with Governing, a magazine that covers state and local government issues. Alan wrote about education, budgets, economic development and legislative behavior, among other topics. He is the coauthor, with Kevin Smith, of Governing States and Localities, a college-level textbook that is now in its fourth edition.
As a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, he was the inaugural winner of the National Press Club's Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, which is given to outstanding reporters under the age of 35. Sadly, he no longer meets that requirement.
Along the way, Alan has contributed articles about politics and culture for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is happy to be working for an outlet where he has been able to write about everything from revolutions in the Middle East to antique jazz recordings.
Alan is a graduate of San Francisco State University and holds a master's degree from the University of Virginia.
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Faced with a long ballot on Tuesday, Texas Democrats chose a complete unknown with an agreeable name as their favorite in a down-ballot statewide race.
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Cornyn's voting record ranks him as the second most conservative Republican in the Senate. But some on the right feel he was insufficiently supportive of Sen. Ted Cruz's effort to defund Obamacare, and now he faces a primary challenge from Steve Stockman, a Houston-area House member.
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From the White House and the Supreme Court on down, gay rights advocates have won a string of victories this year. Many Americans remain opposed to same-sex marriage, but support for gays and gay marriage has been rising — particularly among young people.
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President Obama called repeatedly on Congress to address issues of paramount importance to the country during his State of the Union address Tuesday. But he also made it clear that when Congress fails to act or agree with his policies, he intends to push ahead on his own.
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President Obama began his second term with an unapologetically liberal inaugural address, calling on Americans to work together to preserve entitlements, address climate change and extend civil rights. Conservative and libertarian observers noted an "aggressive" approach to the speech.
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The stage appears to be set for a renewed debate about gun control. The NRA and other proponents of gun owners' rights have been silent in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings, but many will question the benefits of possible restrictions.
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A hurricane is no time for campaigning. That naturally gives an advantage to the incumbent, whose job is leading the cleanup and recovery efforts. The media will eventually turn its gaze back to the campaign, but there isn't much time left.
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What if Hurricane Sandy had waited a week to strike the East Coast? There's no contingency plan in place for rescheduling an election if a storm or terrorist attack wiped out power in multiple states while voting was taking place. Says one expert: "We'll ignore it until it happens, and when it happens, we'll figure it out."
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Amid all the talk of the economy and the Middle East, topics such as climate change, gay rights, campaign finance and the Supreme Court were completely ignored during the three presidential debates.
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Other takeaways from Tuesday's debate: President Obama gets tough while his GOP rival, Mitt Romney, gives no ground; voters are unhappy; candidates can't let go of the past; and the debate on foreign policy is truly teed up.