Archive
Keeping the Pressure On Republicans To Act On Immigration
When Speaker John Boehner said he would make any immigration reform bill adhere to the ridiculous "Hastert Rule," barring any bill from the floor that doesn't have the support of a majority of Republicans (aka, a minority of the House), it sounded like an excuse to...
Republicans Nix Food Stamps: This Is Who They Are
Conservative Republicans have turned the farm bill – normally a bipartisan grotesquerie of agribusiness subsidies and excess – from legislation to identity politics. They wanted to make a statement, even though they knew it couldn't survive the Senate or the White...
Progressive Breakfast for July 12, 2013
Countdown To Filibuster Showdown Sen. Reid takes step towards filibuster showdown. McClatchy: "Senate business ground to a halt Thursday morning as Reid, D-Nev., ending weeks of silence on the filibuster, set the stage for a confrontation between Democrats and...
A 'No Excuse' Approach to Education Everyone Can Support
"No excuse" has been a mantra from people who present themselves as advocates for "reforming" America's public schools. And the term is a "pillar" of more than one popular charter school franchise. The term originated from the belief that "the schoolteacher’s age-old...
Gohmert Repeatedly Shouts 'Objection!' to Silence Claims Food Stamp Cuts Hurt Hungry Families
The Koch Philosophy:You're Richer Than The Average Somali So Shut Up
I'd be simply hoping we can hold out until these evil old brothers finally shuffle off their mortal coils but unfortunately, there are probably a lot more where they came from.
Progressives Beat Back Walmart. Now Let's Beat Back Unemployment
Progressives won a victory in Washington this week when the D.C. City Council stood up to Walmart and passed a bill that would require the retailer, and other nonunion big-box retailers, to pay their employees a $12.50 minimum wage. Walmart promptly announced that it...
Where are the Voices of Republican Senators Who Still Care About Democratic Institutions?
Before January 2009, the filibuster was used only for measures and nominations on which the minority party in the Senate had their strongest objections. Since then, Senate Republicans have filibustered almost everything, betting that voters will blame Democrats for the dysfunction in Congress as much as they blame the GOP.
So far the bet is paying off because the press has failed to call out the GOP – which is now preventing votes on the President’s choices for three D.C. Circuit Court nominees, the Labor Department and the EPA, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and the National Labor Relations Board.
Senate Moving To Hit Students With A Bad Deal On College Loans
Last night, a group of Democratic senators did the unthinkable. They signed on to a plan that increases interest rates on student loans substantially. Why? The Republicans filibustered the bill that would have passed easily otherwise.
Progressive Breakfast for July 11, 2013
Bipartisan Deal Struck To End Setting Student Loan Rates Student loan deal reached. HuffPost: "A bipartisan group of senators struck a deal late Wednesday tooverhaul the federal student loan program, tying interest rates on new loans to the U.S. government’s cost to...
