by Richard Eskow | Nov 5, 2010 | Blog
Nancy Pelosi has just announced that she's running for the position of House Minority Leader. As a San Franciscan, maybe she understood that turning her leadership role over to the Blue Dogs would have been like giving the Giants franchise to Oakland. She's been the...
by Brian Dockstader | Nov 5, 2010 | Blog
A favorite pastime of post-election analysts and pundits is to parse, re-parse, and re-re-parse exit polls and other data to draw out interesting demographic and historical notes. One such data point struck me in particular: Who's to blame for the economy? Bankers...
by Terrance Heath | Nov 5, 2010 | Blog
Here's a question I bet you thought didn't need to be asked in a post-9/11 America: Does flying a plane into a building make you a terrorist or a hero? Joe Stack attacked the IRS by flying his plane into one of its buildings. Is he a hero? Some people think so....
by | Nov 5, 2010 | Blog
Now that the festivities in Denver have drawn to a close and the bleary-eyed conventioneers (and media who cover them) have gathered up their swag and headed home, I wanted to take a moment to contemplate how this progressive moment looks in this short period of quiet...
by Bill Scher | Nov 5, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. How Soon Will GOP Try To Shut Down...
by Dave Johnson | Nov 5, 2010 | Blog
Watch Chris Matthews, "We need to build!": (thanks Open Left) And, again, Frank Sobotka:
by Richard Eskow | Nov 4, 2010 | Blog
"The left," writes former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag, "is stridently opposed to any serious discussion of Social Security reform." What's more, says Orszag, the same nebulous "left" is "adamantly opposed to restoring actuarial balance to Social Security...
by Terrance Heath | Nov 4, 2010 | Blog
It Hasn't Worked Karl Rove actually gets it. Sort of. He at least understands that voters didn't toss out the Democrats because they are "enraptured with the GOP," when he tells Republicans that it's "time to deliver." It just too bad for the GOP...
by Dave Johnson | Nov 4, 2010 | Blog
Let's take a look a the military budget, but using conservative framing usually aimed at Social Security. Let's see how the military budget -- currently over a trillion dollars a year if you include related programs -- compares to Social Security using this approach....
by Isaiah J. Poole | Nov 4, 2010 | Blog
In this video Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, offers his analysis of why Democrats lost the House during the 2010 elections and how progressives can regain their momentum. He explains why "I don't think there is any evidence at all...
by | Nov 4, 2010 | Blog
As you’ve no doubt noticed, election day was brutal for Congressional Democrats--especially in the House, where it appears we’ll lose roughly 60 seats and the majority. Now that most of us have uncurled ourselves from fetal position, there are a few things to note as...
by Bill Scher | Nov 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. Getting What They Paid For What did...
by Richard Eskow | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
Last night's real winner wasn't a party or an ideology. The real winner was Wall Street. Once again the wealthy and powerful have applied the Shock Doctrine to US politics, using a financial crisis to increase their power. The Democratic Party tried to accommodate the...
by | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog
God I hate morning afters. But they are inevitable (if you're lucky) As far as I can tell in reading the various postmortems there are two overriding lessons. The first is that it's the economy (stupid). At nearly 10% unemployment, a foreclosure scandal of epic...
by Robert Borosage | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog
In the wake of what he described as a shellacking, President Obama repeatedly detailed his willingness to sit down with Republicans, share ideas, find areas of agreement, compromise. But the press didn't mention the elephant in the room -- so to speak. There is little...
by | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog
Now what? We need to build a grassroots progressive movement -- wide, deep and strong enough to fight the right and challenge the corporate center of the Democratic Party. The stakes are too high and crises too extreme to accept “moderate” accommodation to unending...
by Zach Carter | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog, Economy
Economic policy has faced grave challenges over the past two years, hamstrung by obstructionist Republicans in the U.S. Senate and Wall Street-friendly advisers in the Obama administration. With the Republican Party now in control of the House, it seems certain that...
by Zach Carter | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog
The votes are in, and while some close races are still being tallied, there is a clear winner from the 2010 elections: Secret corporate cash. Such unaccounted for political donations may end up allowing those accused of wrongdoing to go free. As Joshua Holland details...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
The conservative Blue Dog House Democrats, who borrowed heavily from Republican and Tea Party themes in an effort to save their jobs, floundered badly Tuesday. Meanwhile, Progressive Caucus members in contested races had much better success at getting re-elected in...
by Dave Johnson | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog, Economy
The election is over and it was about one thing: jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Democrats didn't deliver enough jobs so they got tossed. That pretty much sums it up. So now the Republicans have to deliver jobs. Republicans in the campaign said the stimulus didn't work...
by Bill Scher | Nov 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. GOP Takes House Without Mandate...
by | Nov 3, 2010 | Blog
We're working with some of the best state-level bloggers from around the country to help us tell the truth about key economic and social policy issues, and to draw the contrast between the rhetoric of the right and the progressive alternative. Please visit our CAF...
by Dave Johnson | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog, Economy
The bloggers were right, it was about the jobs, jobs, jobs. For the first half of the year all the progressive bloggers were saying that the November election is going to turn out very, very badly for Democrats if they don't focus on jobs. We said please, please drop...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
It did not take long for a mainstream newspaper—The New York Times, no less—to rush into print an analysis with the headline that Tuesday's Republican election victories "Suggest Wider Appeal of Tea Party." Yes, a number of "tea party" candidates were helpful in the...
by Robert Borosage | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
It is, once more, the economy, stupid. This election was overwhelmingly about one thing—the lousy economy. Democrats paid the price as voters expressed their discontent. Conservatives in both parties are simply wrong to claim that the vote represents an ideological...
by Bill Scher | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
LISTEN Bill Scher discussed the 2010 midterm election on The Rick Smith Show October 29. Here is the choice voters face today. Do you want a Congress that works with the President, or a Congress that doesn't let the President work? Do you want continued wonky debates...
by Zach Carter | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Corporate America is on the attack in every state. As Joshua Holland explains for AlterNet, outside groups have spent somewhere between $750,000 and more than $2 million in an attempt to unseat Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) in a state where ad buys come cheap. But Braley...
by Zach Carter | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Two Tea Party leaders, Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, have been jet-setting all over the country ginning up support for conservative politicians. Literally. They’ve been flying around in a private jet like Wall Street CEOs, except they’re heading to “grassroots”...
by Zach Carter | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Remember that horrible 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad that helped derail John Kerry's 2004 presidential bid? Well, Bob Perry, the billionaire tycoon who financed that smear campaign is back, and he's underwriting a barrage of dirty ads that target politicians...
by Zach Carter | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
War chests from right-wing billionaires and corporate titans are funding tremendous portions of political activity, from the so-called grassroots activism of the Tea Party to the streamlined lobbying assaults of the nation's largest corporations. In the aftermath of...
by Richard Eskow | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Yesterday the Deficit Commission used the New York Times as a messenger service to tell politicians - and you - exactly what they intend to do if the election goes as expected. It's all laid out in black and white: They'll cut benefits, increase the financial burden...
by Zach Carter | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Today is the first election in American history in which corporations have been allowed to spend their own money to buy political favors. This legalized corruption comes courtesy of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which...
by | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog, Economy, Minimum Wage
Moyers delivered this speech October 29, 2010, as part of the Howard Zinn Lecture Series at Boston University. I was honored when you asked me to join in celebrating Howard Zinn’s life and legacy. I was also surprised. I am a journalist, not a historian. The...
by Bill Scher | Nov 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. Don't forget to vote today! Check...
by Sam Pizzigati | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Let's try to get more precise. America's super rich aren't 'buying' our elections. They're making an 'investment' in prosperity. Their own. And so what have Americans learned from the now-concluded 2010 mid-term election campaign, aside from the existence of an Aqua...
by Alan Jenkins | Nov 2, 2010 | Blog
Whatever the results this Election Day, it’s clear that visionary progressive ideas will be less welcome at the start of the next Congress. And that’s saying something, given their track record in this Congress. But with that reality comes a new opportunity: the...
by | Nov 1, 2010 | Blog
Which is better, voter guides or sliced bread? I say voter guides. Please drop whatever you're doing right now (you're reading my article so technically you're all mine for the next 60 seconds). We're going to swing an election together. Somewhere in the country....
by Dave Johnson | Nov 1, 2010 | Blog
As an election strategy conservatives blocked or watered down everything they could that might help the economy, hoping voters would blame the President's party for job losses. Tomorrow we will learn if this strategy succeeded. But Wednesday can we start doing things...
by Zach Carter | Nov 1, 2010 | Blog, Financial Reform
Tom Perriello always knew it would be hard to hold his seat in Congress. The progressive Democrat from Albemarle County, Va. represents a district designed to nullify liberal votes with a wide swath of conservative countryside. He was elected in 2008, riding President...
by Bill Scher | Nov 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security. Campaigns Head Into Final Stretch...
