by Isaiah J. Poole | Oct 16, 2012 | Blog, Economy
Democracy Corps distributed a polling memo Monday that put its finger squarely on a frustration among progressives with President Obama's campaign for re-election that had been simmering long before his disastrous first debate. Simply put, Obama is failing to...
by Steven Capozzola | Oct 16, 2012 | Blog
President Obama and Governor Romney continue to take to the airwaves with competing ads that claim each is tougher than the other in confronting China's predatory trade practices. In battleground states like Ohio, Obama has run television spots that tout the tariffs...
by Steven Capozzola | Oct 16, 2012 | Blog
Not so long ago, the U.S.-China Business Council released a study showing that U.S. exports to China have risen over the past decade. Their point was, isn't this great-- trade with China means that U.S. exports keep growing.It's all in the way you spin the data,...
by Bill Scher | Oct 16, 2012 | Blog, Economy
If you go to MittRomney.com/JobsPlan you see an ad in which Romney says: Let me tell you how I will create 12 million jobs … First, my energy independence policy means more than 3 million new jobs, many of them in manufacturing. My tax reform plan to lower...
by Leo Gerard | Oct 16, 2012 | Blog
Billy Koehler died on March 7, 2009, for lack of health insurance. Mitt Romney said on Oct. 10, 2012, that’s impossible. The Republican nominee for President told The Columbus Dispatch newspaper last week: “We don’t have people that become ill, who die in their...
by Bill Scher | Oct 16, 2012 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: Go Bold On Jobs OurFuture.org's Isaiah J. Poole: "President Obama's failure in the first debate was not one of politeness; it was one of passion and vision. In this second debate he can still project himself as more presidential and more likable than...
by Richard Eskow | Oct 15, 2012 | Blog
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste …" "Some people," my mother used to say, "are just no damned good." This was from somebody who rarely used bad language around us, and it was usually said with an air of bemused resignation...
by | Oct 15, 2012 | Blog
Originally posted at Capital Gains and Games. I deliberately wrote the headline above to make some CG&G readers (and you know who you are) angry. Here's the news: The U.S. Treasury reported last Friday that the deficit for fiscal 2012 was $1.09 trillion. This was...
by Bill Scher | Oct 15, 2012 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Will Voters Ask...
by Richard Eskow | Oct 14, 2012 | Blog
If you support strong and effective government, then the unfamiliar glow you felt after last Thursday's debate was the satisfaction of seeing your opinions forcefully defended by a national candidate. There hasn't been much of that going on lately. But a deceptive...
by Sam Pizzigati | Oct 14, 2012 | Blog
Candidates this fall are taking plenty of pokes at the financial industry's best and brightest. But they could be doing a lot more than poke. They could push to start taxing Wall Street. All those political ads flooding our media are smacking dozens of different...
by Robert Borosage | Oct 13, 2012 | Blog
George Will calls for breaking up the big banks. Too big to fail undermines markets, faith in free enterprise, citing Dallas Fed Reserve President Richard Fisher. Calls on Mitt to join him. Fat chance. Mitt's not a principled conservative nor even a free market guy....
by Richard Eskow | Oct 13, 2012 | Blog
History will judge us, at least in part, by our willingness to defend our moral principles against the corrupting influence of the Wall Street capos. So far their campaign cash and lucrative revolving-door jobs have kept them above the law, while their PR firms and...
by Terrance Heath | Oct 12, 2012 | Blog
Man, that felt good. And it was fun, too. Vice President Joe Biden certainly looked like he was having a good time. In fact, Republicans' biggest complain seems to be that Biden was having too much fun. He laughed too much. That Republicans can't find much to attack...
by | Oct 12, 2012 | Blog
Once again, Mitt says everybody in America has hunky dory health care even if they don't have insurance: “We don’t have a setting across this country where if you don’t have insurance, we just say to you, ‘Tough luck, you’re going to die when you have your heart...
by Bill Scher | Oct 12, 2012 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: Joe Shows Up OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "Ryan summoned the 'confidence fairy' – the belief that election of Romney would lift the economy by giving new confidence to business – to work in foreign policy. Just elect Mitt and Paul, and the Iranian...
by Robert Borosage | Oct 12, 2012 | Blog
Joe Biden showed up for the debate. He was engaged and engaging. He expressed his well deserved impatience with the wild claims and nitpicking criticisms of his opponent. Viewers saw energy, confidence, a willingness to mix it up. The mainstream media is arguing that...
by Jeff Bryant | Oct 12, 2012 | Blog, Education
In her recent Washington Post op-ed, Michelle Rhee ruminated over the outcome of the Chicago Teachers Strike and concluded that not only were the Chicago teachers "never about the kids" but also had made a practical, political mistake by not being in step with the...
by Robert Borosage | Oct 11, 2012 | Blog
Sen. Todd Akin calls for abortion on demand and free distribution of condoms. The CEO of Exxon decries global warming and demands an end to oil company subsidies along with new public investment in renewable energy. Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio calls for amnesty for...
by Terrance Heath | Oct 11, 2012 | Blog, Financial Reform
Robert Reich has some excellent advice for Vice President Joe Biden, regarding his debate we VP wannabe Rep. Paul Ryan: Don't debate the earnest, affable Paul Ryan who's likely to show up tonight. Debate the right-wing Randian behind those blue eyes. Tell Americans...
by Bill Scher | Oct 11, 2012 | Blog
In last week's debate Sen. Scott Brown threw away his "independent" cloak and touted Antonin Scalia as a "model Supreme Court justice." For some reason, Brown decided he wasn't clear enough how unindependent he is So in yesterday's debate, he equated himself with...
by Bill Scher | Oct 11, 2012 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: How Many Lies Can Romney Tell In One Week? OurFuture.org's Bill Scher: "It's been one week since the debate. How many lies has Mitt Romney and his campaign told since? Let's tally it up … 1. Pre-Existing Conditions … 2. Abortion …...
by Bill Scher | Oct 10, 2012 | Blog
It's been one week since the debate. How many lies has Mitt Romney and his campaign told since? Let's tally it up. *** 1. Pre-Existing Conditions: Within minutes of the debate's conclusion last week, a Romney campaign spokesman tried to explain his candidate's...
by | Oct 10, 2012 | Blog
Written with Michael Winship. Matt Sitton knew the war in Afghanistan was going badly. He knew it because he was fighting it. He could see for himself. Twenty-six years old, with a wife and child back home, Staff Sergeant Sitton was on his third combat tour there....
by | Oct 10, 2012 | Blog
Matt Yglesias wrote an important post today about why Pete Peterson's ongoing crusade to cut the deficit is killing us. He notes that many serious liberals dismiss the (dirty hippie) idea that the focus on long term deficit reduction is wrong in itself in favor of the...
by Bill Scher | Oct 10, 2012 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Don't Lower Taxes...
by Richard Eskow | Oct 10, 2012 | Blog
Forget the "Buffett rule." It's not enough. What's more, "letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the rich" isn't enough either - although it might get us halfway there. As for that "Simpson Bowles" so-called "deficit reduction" plan: It's a hoax, another ploy to give...
by Sam Pizzigati | Oct 9, 2012 | Blog
Federal regulators have actually been cracking down somewhat lately on financial industry fraud. But the power-suited executives responsible for that fraud are still paying no personal price. What should we, as a society, be doing about all those reckless financial...
by Bill Scher | Oct 9, 2012 | Blog
He botched the debate despite his reputation as a great communicator. He gave long-winded answers that were hard to follow. He got lost in the weeds of economic and fiscal statistics . His speech was halting. He was defensive. He forgot to smile. I'm talking about...
by | Oct 9, 2012 | Blog
As Atrios says, you've got to love the framing of this article: WASHINGTON — Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat, threw cold water Tuesday on what had been an emerging consensus for a bipartisan deficit- reduction plan — an...
by | Oct 9, 2012 | Blog
Originally posted at Capital Gains and Games. How ridiculous is the fiscal cliff debate? The answer is that it’s off-the-wall crazy. Consider the following. The tax increases and spending cuts that will go into effect as part of the fiscal cliff are the absolutely...
by Dave Johnson | Oct 9, 2012 | Blog, Economy
In Wednesday's debate Mitt Romney repeated his claim that cutting individual and corporate income taxes creates jobs. But when you look at what actually happened, the periods when we had the highest tax rates were the periods we had the greatest job and economic...
by Bill Scher | Oct 9, 2012 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. MORNING MESSAGE: Workers Blocking...
by Leo Gerard | Oct 9, 2012 | Blog
"I’m gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee; George can’t hit what his hands can’t see; Now you see me, now you don’t; He thinks he will, but I know he won’t." ~ Muhammad Ali At last week’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney floated like a butterfly and stung...
by Anne Thompson | Oct 8, 2012 | Blog, Minimum Wage
In yet another attack on the minimum wage, New York Times Economix blogger Casey Mulligan argues that the failure of part-time employment to continue to increase at the end of 2009 is proof that the July 2009 minimum wage increase prevented 800,000 part-time jobs from...
by Richard Eskow | Oct 8, 2012 | Blog
As the nation commemorates Christopher Columbus, let's not forget his 21st Century descendants: the multinational corporations who span the globe in search of wealth. Columbus is honored as an adventurer In the European-created nations of the New World. He's seen a...
by Richard Eskow | Oct 7, 2012 | Blog
The Bureau of Labor Statistics was created in 1884 by Chester Alan Arthur -- and now Jack Welch wants to see its birth certificate. President Arthur was a rock-ribbed Republican, a product of New York's Conkling political machine, but he was clearly a shifty...
by Bill Scher | Oct 5, 2012 | Blog
UPDATE: This post when originally published on Oct. 3 was a "Top 10" list. It has been expanded to include the new excuse: "Chicago" Rigged The Jobs Numbers. All the current polling has President Obama beating Mitt Romney and Republicans failing to take over the...
by Robert Borosage | Oct 5, 2012 | Blog, Economy
The September jobs report is more of the same. We witness slow growth, with job creation barely at levels needed to keep up with workforce growth. And the economy is headed into ever more severe headwinds – Europe’s recession is already reflected in manufacturing job...
by Bill Scher | Oct 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
MORNING MESSAGE: Who Stands With The Middle Class? OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "…who in the Congress stands with the middle class? To answer this question, the Campaign for America’s Future and TheMiddleClass.org are publishing its Middle Class Voting...
