by Elizabeth Warren | May 22, 2014 | Blog, Populist Majority, The New Populism
[fve]http://youtu.be/tUTtbvo5_Zc[/fve] This speech was prepared for delivery today at The New Populism conference in Washington. Thank you, Bob Borosage and Roger Hickey for all your hard work, for inviting me here today, and for featuring my book, "A Fighting...
by Bill Scher | May 22, 2014 | Uncategorized
The New Populism Conference, With Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, Today 9 AM to 5:30 PM Click to watch livestream of the New Populism Conference, and check out conference agenda at ourfuture.org/thenewpopulismconference. Conference will be free to...
by Robert Borosage | May 22, 2014 | Blog, Populist Majority, The New Populism
These remarks were prepared for delivery at The New Populism Conference in Washington, May 22, 2014. What is the new populism? The Princeton dictionary defines populism as “a political doctrine that supports the rights and powers of the common people in their struggle...
by Thom Hartmann | May 21, 2014 | Conservatism
The death panels are real and they’ve been found! Back in 2009 when the healthcare debate was at its most crazy, Republicans warned us that once Obamacare was passed, government officials would get to ration health care, and as a result, have control over the life and...
by Rev. William Barber | May 21, 2014 | Progressive Vision
Editor’s Note: Rev. William Barber will speak at the New Populism Conference on May 22. We share this piece by Rev. Barber that was originally posted at Sojourners. We will waive conference registration fee for people who want to attend starting after 2:30 p.m., to...
by Bill Scher | May 21, 2014 | Blog
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X8M5ei35zM[/fve] As we near the congressional summer session, three factors are driving the possibility of immigration reform: 1. Anti-immigrant forces have failed to win any victories in the Republican primaries. 2. Democrats and...
by Bill Scher | May 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
Bernie '16? Salon's Jim Newell makes the case: "At the least, he could play a vital role in setting Clinton’s policy agenda before she moves on to the general election ... The biggest question facing Hillary Clinton heading into 2016, aside from whether she actually...
by Dave Johnson | May 21, 2014 | Blog, Jobs and Growth, Populist Majority, The New Populism
Word is there's an economic recovery going on. But approximately 99 percent of us have no reason to believe that. The public sees that the government bailed out the biggest banks and that the "recovery" is going really well for a very few people. But most Americans...
by Michael Kazin | May 20, 2014 | Progressive Vision
Editor's Note: Senator Bernie Sanders will speak at the New Populism Conference on May 22. We share this piece by historian Michael Kazin, author of a great book, The Populist Persuasion. We will wave conference registration fee for people who want to attend...
by Sam Pizzigati | May 20, 2014 | Blog, Economy
These haven’t been the best of times for the young men and women attending America’s colleges and universities. Or for the faculty who teach them. Those students are graduating, if they can afford to get that far, with levels of debt that would have seemed...
by Leo Gerard | May 20, 2014 | Blog
Steelworkers and CEOs, Democrats and Republicans are rallying together this month across the country to alert their fellow Americans to a threat to independence. These groups, often at each other’s throats, have allied to confront a surge in dumped foreign steel, an...
by Bill Scher | May 20, 2014 | Uncategorized
Recovery Fails To Reach Dem Base "Economic Recovery Yields Few Benefits for the Voters Democrats Rely On" reports NYT: "...while the number of women out of work appears to be much improved, the number of women employed compared with the total female population is 55.2...
by Richard Eskow | May 20, 2014 | Blog, Financial Reform
Economists Atif Mian and Amir Sufi recently wrote an editorial for The Washington Post headlined "Why Tim Geithner is wrong on homeowner debt relief." Using data and arguments from their upcoming book "House of Debt," Mian and Sufi essentially argue that former...
by Terrance Heath | May 20, 2014 | Populist Majority
The rising American electorate that twice propelled Barack Obama into the White House could be a deciding factor in 2014, if either party reaches out with a message that addresses concerns of its diverse constituencies and motivates them to vote. The "rising American...
by Joshua Holland | May 19, 2014 | Climate
Most people who deny that human activity is warming the planet just dismiss a massive body of scientific evidence as a big hoax. But there’s a more sophisticated set of climate “skeptics” who make arguments that, at least to the lay ear, sound like they’re grounded in...
by Dave Johnson | May 19, 2014 | Blog, Conservatism
For decades we’ve been subjected to constant propaganda that government is inefficient, bureaucratic and expensive. We’re told that the answer is to “privatize,” or “outsource” government functions to private businesses and they will do things more efficiently and...
by Bill Scher | May 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
Warren Ending "Era Of Liberal Apologies" Sen. Warren giving liberal new confidence, argues W. Post's E.J. Dionne: "Since the Reagan era, Democrats have been so determined to show how pro-market and pro-business they are that they’ve shied away from pointing out that...
by Dave Johnson | May 19, 2014 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Huffington Post has obtained secret texts from the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal. According to the Huffington Post, Europe wants the U.S. to "expand U.S. fracking, offshore oil drilling and natural gas...
by Bill Scher | May 19, 2014 | Blog, Climate, The New Populism
The rising tide of populism has been sparked by the inherent unfairness of an increasing wealth gap and stagnating wages in the aftermath of a Great Recession caused by some in the top 1 percent. The economic strain directly felt by millions drives support for...
by Terrance Heath | May 16, 2014 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
This week, Karl Rove proved once again that his Bush-era nickname "Turd Blossom" was well-earned. Just when you thought he couldn't sink any lower, Rove launched a laughably desperate attack on Hillary Clinton. Karl "Bush's Brain" Rove said the Hillary Clinton may...
by Terrance Heath | May 16, 2014 | Conservatism
The cameras have gone, and America's attention has turned elsewhere, but Cliven Bundy and his supporters are trying to provoke a showdown with the federal government. Lawlessness is spreading from Bundy’s ranch like a cancer. Itching For A Fight The armed...
by Alan Jenkins | May 16, 2014 | Blog, Democracy
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling doubled down on bigotry this week, disparaging NBA icon Magic Johnson for his HIV-positive status, and saying that Johnson and other African-American entrepreneurs have done little to assist the Black community. Sterling’s...
by Bill Scher | May 16, 2014 | Uncategorized
GOP Filibusters The Corporate Tax Breaks It Wants Senate Republicans reach new heights of obstruction. Bloomberg: " ... they hit a roadblock yesterday on the Senate floor amid a broader partisan feud over whether Republicans could offer amendments to the bill. Now,...
by Robert Borosage | May 16, 2014 | Blog, Populist Majority
“The game is rigged and the American people know that. They get it right down to their toes.” — Senator Elizabeth Warren The game is rigged in ways big and small, as the powerful act to protect and extend their privileges. Business as usual in Washington is testament...
by Richard Eskow | May 16, 2014 | Blog, Populist Majority
There's a vibrant debate underway that could shape the future of our economy and our society. The New Populism promises to re-energize the political conversation and could potentially restore the Democratic Party's fortunes as well. But the Democratic Party is at risk...
by Bill Scher | May 15, 2014 | Blog
If you think the immigration reform battle is over, you are wrong. Yesterday, right-wing conservatives including Grover Norquist and Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo ratcheted up the pressure on House Republicans to pass reform that includes legal status for the...
by Belinda Williams | May 15, 2014 | Progressive Vision
Yesterday, a Wall Street Journal editorial about SEIU Healthcare Michigan – made up of workers who serve seniors and people with disabilities – repeated unfair, misleading, anti-worker attacks against ordinary working men and women. (“Michigan Union Collapse,”...
by Lynne Stuart Parramore | May 15, 2014 | Economy
The good, the bad, and the downright crazy in economic trends.... 1. America lags behind much of the world on minimum wage. On May 18, the Swiss will vote on a proposed minimum wage of — are you listening American CEOs? — nearly $25 per hour. That would be, oh, about...
by Bill Scher | May 15, 2014 | Uncategorized
Presidential Push For Infrastructure Obama pressures Republicans to back transportation infrastructure bill. The Hill: "President Obama accused Republicans of taking credit for transportation projects they refused to fund as he pressed Congress for more federal...
by Dave Johnson | May 15, 2014 | Blog, Populist Majority, The New Populism, Trade
So-called "free trade" agreements have been used to strengthen the power of giant corporations, weaken democratic government and deliver fear to American workers. These agreements enabled the corporate elite to say to Americans, "If you complain about pay or benefits...
by Digby | May 14, 2014 | Conservatism
If there's one thing we've learned from the whining of the plutocrats in recent years it's that these wealthy elites truly believe they not only work harder than the rest of us but that they are actually better people with higher moral values. How else can one explain...
by Roger Hickey | May 14, 2014 | Blog
We hope you will register and attend the New Populism conference on May 22. Sen. Elizabeth Warren will give us a great keynote. And all day we will participate in sessions with an impressive group of leaders. See details below. Seats are going fast, so please...
by Dave Johnson | May 14, 2014 | Blog, Trade
There has been a surge in steel imports, as companies in other countries try to make up for low demand by selling steel in the US at below-market prices. This is putting hundreds of thousands of American jobs – and our steel industry – at risk. Our government needs to...
by Bill Scher | May 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
Senate Readies Business Tax Break Package Senate poised to approve package of 50 tax breaks without offsetting cost. NYT: "The Senate on Tuesday shrugged off the deficit concerns that were once an animating force on Capitol Hill, voting 96-3 to take up a package of...
by Richard Eskow | May 14, 2014 | Blog, Populist Majority, The New Populism
Even as the Campaign for America’s Future prepares for its May 22 conference on the New Populism in Washington, attacks on populism keep coming from all directions. One of the latest salvos to be publicized comes in an anecdote about former President Bill Clinton. As...
by Terrance Heath | May 13, 2014 | Blog, Progressive Vision
The conditions that made Ferguson, Mo., a powder keg waiting for a spark didn’t happen overnight, and it will take more than putting cameras on cops to prevent the “next” Ferguson. An NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) forum — “The...
by Bill Scher | May 13, 2014 | Blog, Climate
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIJORBRpOPM[/fve] Four years ago, West Virginia's Joe Manchin got elected to the U.S. Senate after pinning to a tree the House "cap-and-trade" bill, and shooting it. Now, Manchin is acknowledging that climate is a problem. Politico...
by Leo Gerard | May 13, 2014 | Blog
The GOP wants America to divorce Obamacare so badly that Republicans are willing to stoop to the tactics of prototypical evil mothers-in-law – nitpicking, backbiting, and straight up lying. Just last week, Republicans got caught in a lie about Obamacare very publicly...
by Jeff Bryant | May 13, 2014 | Blog, Education
So this one's personal for me. The day they bused the poor kids to my school was the first time I'd ever come face to face with children my age who were so poor they weren't properly clothed. It was the first time – in a society where I saw separate water fountains...
by Bill Scher | May 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
GOP Seeks To Widen Inequality Sen. Marco Rubio today to propose weakening Social Security. AP: "[Rubio] would raise the retirement age for younger workers while protecting those age 55 and over. Older workers could still expect to retire at age 62 or older, depending...
