Washington Republicans, with their obstructionism and worship of austerity as the answer to all of our economic ills, are creating an opportunity for the Democrats to offer a more appealing alternative (if they’re not too lame or bought off to seize the initiative). By giving the country nothing to think about except budget cuts...
In late-2011, when House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened not to raise the debt ceiling (a political tactic never before used by Congress that affected the nation’s credit rating) the novelty of it had some pull. But when they followed up immediately with the “fiscal cliff” maneuver there was...
In his State of the Union address when President Barack Obama paid tribute to Desiline Victor, the 102-year-old African-American woman from North Miami who was forced to wait for hours to cast her ballot last November, he was highlighting not only the Florida Republican Party’s voter suppression efforts but the tortured history of race...
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talked a big game about taking apart the filibuster leading up to his Grand Bargain with Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky Senator now promises to play nice. But like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown he has once again snookered the hapless Majority Leader. Reid has rewarded...
When President Barack Obama signed executive orders yesterday outlining 23 actions aimed at blunting the effects of gun violence in America he urged citizens to contact their congressional representatives: “Get them on record,” he said. “Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands....
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s graceless statement regarding President Barack Obama’s reelection, where he stands by the Republicans’ “our way or the highway” philosophy of governance, proves that he and his fellow travelers remain as ideologically rigid as ever and have no intention of working with the president during the next four years. Despite...
It has become clear by now that the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney, views American society as an aggregate of atomized individuals each seeking to maximize personal gain; these “makers” owe nothing to the rest of humanity and are the true engines of all that is righteous and good in the world. The...
The 29,000 striking Chicago teachers are sending the message to Mayor Rahm Emanuel (and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan) that their teacher bashing and privatization schemes for public education have become so onerous and destructive to the teachers’ mission and profession that they have no choice but to fight back. In this epic struggle...
Everybody seems to know (whether they’re willing to admit it or not) that the 2012 elections are going to be the most corrupted elections by corporate money than any held in this country since the Gilded Age. Unregulated, anonymous and laundered cash is being pumped into the system at an unprecedented rate. Meanwhile, the...
The measly 69,000 private sector jobs added last month and the shrinking job count over the past few months illustrate our “new normal.” At this snail’s pace it will take a couple of decades (assuming there are no new crises) before we get back to the “good old days” of the 2005-unemployment rate. When...