by Robert Borosage | Mar 1, 2017 | Blog
In his address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Donald Trump showed he can play the role of president on television. He successfully read a long speech, using all the normal rituals – rhetorical optimism, calls for unity, big promises and small policies,...
by Dave Johnson | Mar 1, 2017 | Blog
This is classic dumb guy wedding speech writing: "The chorus of their dating became an earthquake of their love." - Samantha Bee on Trump's speech Donald Trump just gave a fact-free, and detail-free, speech to a joint session of Congress. Early on in the evening, the...
by People's Action | Mar 1, 2017 | Breakfast
Tone Deaf Tone is meaningless, says Bloomberg's Jonathan Bernstein: "Governing, the old saw says, is choosing. To the joint session of Congress, Trump made no choices at all. It was an hour plus of cotton candy. I suspect it'll get excellent reviews; a lot of pundits...
by Richard Eskow | Mar 1, 2017 | Blog
The bad news for Democrats in President Trump's first speech to a joint session of Congress is that he exceeded expectations. A Washington Post headline called the speech “surprisingly presidential.” it's likely to solidify Trump’s hold on his base, and will...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Mar 1, 2017 | Conservatism
Usually when a white person feels compelled to declare themselves "the least racist person" you've ever met, black people know to duck. President Trump, who bestowed upon himself the "least racist" accolade at a bizarre news conference on February 16, flung an...
by Miles Mogulescu | Feb 28, 2017 | Blog
There's a necessary and creative tension between the Democratic Party and the growing anti-Trump 'Resistance' evidenced by the massive outpouring of energy in the streets, airports, and Town Hall meetings since his election. If there was ever any doubt that the...
by Leo Gerard | Feb 28, 2017 | Blog
President Donald Trump met with a bunch of CEOs at the White House last week, prompting the same old, tired and untrue round of assertions that America lost millions of manufacturing jobs because of automation, regulation, illegal immigration and lack of education....
by People's Action | Feb 28, 2017 | Breakfast
Trump Faces Rudderless Congress Tonight Republicans want clarity from Trump's congressional address tonight, may not get it. Politico: "Trump’s often ambiguous policy views may have been an effective campaign tactic, but these days they are a major source of confusion...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Feb 28, 2017 | Jobs and Growth
President Trump on Tuesday night is expected to make what he told a meeting of governors on Monday would be "a big statement" on infrastructure spending. Democrats who have been fighting Trump fiercely on virtually every other issue have been eagerly awaiting an...
by Xoai Pham | Feb 27, 2017 | Blog
I’m a 21-year-old trans woman. To some, I’m still a kid. To my mother, I’m still a baby. Almost all my life, going to the bathroom had been an easy thing, one of the most basic body functions. I didn’t realize that the bathroom would be such a place of contention...
by People's Action | Feb 27, 2017 | Breakfast
Trump Sharpens Budget Ax Trump to gut government in budget. NYT: "President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget for the coming fiscal year that includes sharp increases in Defense Department ... Trump will demand a budget with tens of...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 27, 2017 | Blog
Law enforcement officers should enforce the law. America’s hardliners on immigration really believe that, and so does President Trump. They want local police out looking for illegal immigrants and actively helping "the feds" deport them. Local police officials - in...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 26, 2017 | Blog
The meetings of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) were a study in contrasts. Both told stories to unite their faithful. At CPAC, activists fell in line, while at the DNC, the fight for leadership revealed...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 24, 2017 | Blog
Since President Donald Trump picked Betsy DeVos to be his new Education secretary, there's been lots of talk in the media that his administration, with his secretary out front, will push for vouchers so parents can withdraw their children from public schools...
by People's Action | Feb 24, 2017 | Breakfast
Resistance Recess This week while Congress in on recess, People's Action and our member organizations around the country are organizing a #ResistanceRecess. We are leading the grassroots resistance. Join us! Click here to find local town hall meetings in your area,...
by Mehrdad Azemun | Feb 24, 2017 | Blog
On the same day the Trump administration detailed its cruel plan to target and deport undocumented immigrants, Chicago Public Schools sent some guidance to its principals: “ICE should not be permitted access to CPS facilities or personnel except in the rare instance...
by Libero Della Piana | Feb 24, 2017 | Blog
Rep. Dave Trott's constituents in the Northeastern suburbs of Detroit gathered at his office to ask him about his stance on health care, refugees and other urgent issues. Instead of scheduling a meeting, Trott’s staff called the police....
by Dave Johnson | Feb 23, 2017 | Blog, Tax Reform
The Trump administration, as have all Republican administrations, is promoting tax cuts for the rich, saying they will "create growth." Never mind the destructive history of tax cuts, the destructive history of "trickle-down economics" (and the destructive history of...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 23, 2017 | Blog
Cross-posted from the Center for Media and Democracy’s PRWatch. House Speaker Paul Ryan has a reputation for policy wonkishness, which he doesn't deserve. He also has a reputation for raising boatloads of cash, which he does deserve. Care to guess which one's driving...
by People's Action | Feb 23, 2017 | Breakfast
Resistance Recess This week while Congress in on recess, People's Action and our member organizations around the country are organizing a #ResistanceRecess. We are leading the grassroots resistance. Join us! Click here to find local town hall meetings in your area,...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 23, 2017 | Blog
Putin’s an oligarch. So is Trump. Putin runs a kleptocracy. So does Trump. Both Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson have done business in Russia. So why is money the one aspect of the Russia scandal people seem to talk about the least? Perhaps because it’s the one area the...
by Jim Hightower | Feb 22, 2017 | Blog
I love the names: Bobcat Farm, Golden Eagle Ranch, Long Prairie, Ten Mile Farm. They conjure up Americana, the old homestead, and our rich rural culture. Less bucolic, however, is the fact that all those farms are part of a massive Wall Street investment scheme called...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 22, 2017 | Blog
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDpk30f6Dzk[/fve] From online harrassment to digital strikebreaking, tech is different in the age of Trump. More precisely, the public policy concerns raised by powerful tech companies are heightened by the administration's actions...
by People's Action | Feb 22, 2017 | Breakfast
Ellison Has An Edge The Hill declares Keith Ellison in the lead for DNC Chair: "The Hill has identified the stances of 240 DNC members, either through their private responses to a survey circulated over the past week or from public endorsements. Out of those who...
by Julie Chinitz | Feb 22, 2017 | Blog
In his last five years, my grandfather used Medicaid to cover his nursing-home care. He spent those years in a wheelchair and needed professional help for his most basic needs. Thanks to Medicaid, he got that help. Now House Speaker Paul Ryan and his fellow...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 21, 2017 | Blog
Now that Republicans are running Congress and the executive branch, they're planning to "reform" (cut) corporate taxes (again). This time they using the subterfuge of "this will make companies more competitive." What does that mean? Of course, under Republicans, it...
by People's Action | Feb 21, 2017 | Breakfast
Final Week For DNC Chair Race CNN to host debate Wednesday: "The debate ... will air at 10 p.m. ET ... CNN has not yet announced which candidates will be attending ... The DNC leadership election will be held on Saturday, February 25." Ellison picks up endorsements....
by Robert Borosage | Feb 21, 2017 | Blog
Rep. Keith Ellison offers a lifeline to a Democratic Party that is struggling to stay afloat. The question is whether party officials realize that they are sinking and accept it. When the 447 members of the Democratic National Committee select a new chairman in...
by Sam Pizzigati | Feb 21, 2017 | Blog
Cheerleaders for concentrated wealth have a new reason to cheer. They have chanced upon a fresh rationalization for inequality. This new rationalization comes from an unlikely source, a sober and thoughtful just-published book from a distinguished historian and...
by Liz Ryan Murray | Feb 17, 2017 | Blog
Watching the bumbling circus that is the Trump White House means watching a master class in malevolent ineptitude. But below the bumbling circus, real and really terrifying policy is getting made. In Congress right now, that malevolence is focused and calculatingly...
by Dave Johnson | Feb 17, 2017 | Blog
So far President Donald Trump has signed very few bills. One lets coal companies dump waste into streams. Another lets oil companies bribe foreign dictators in secret. Now he is moving to block a Labor Department "fiduciary rule" that requires financial advisers to...
by People's Action | Feb 17, 2017 | Breakfast
Mass Deportation Underway "Mass Deportations Have Begun, Congressman Says" reports International Business Times: "U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro accused President Trump on Thursday of putting a mass deportation program into place, saying it goes beyond anything orchestrated...
by Julie Chinitz | Feb 17, 2017 | Blog, Health
Bruised in heated town halls in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and elsewhere, the right wing in Congress now realizes it could pay a steep political price for throwing tens of millions of people off their health care, destabilizing our health care system, and putting...
by Libero Della Piana | Feb 16, 2017 | Blog
Andy Puzder, President Trump’s pick to run the Labor Department, didn’t really bow out. He was fired. But even though Trump made the phrase “you’re fired” his motto, he didn’t force Puzder out. We did. Working people sent him the pink slip. When Trump was inaugurated...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 16, 2017 | Blog
Cross-posted from The Nation, with permission. Donald Trump’s provocations have stirred a resistance that is ferocious, diverse and growing, shaking Republicans and stiffening Democratic spines. Raucous town-hall meetings targeting members of Congress in their home...
by People's Action | Feb 16, 2017 | Breakfast
Resistance Builds Progressives to storm congressional town halls next week. CNN: "Target your local lawmakers. Tell them personal stories about how the Affordable Care Act affects you and your family. Take videos ... That's what Organizing for Action -- the group that...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 16, 2017 | Blog
—This post has been updated with news of Mulvaney's confirmation.— The Senate has confirmed Donald Trump’s pick for White House Budget Director, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, in a 51-49 vote. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, joined with every Democrat in the chamber...
by Robert Borosage | Feb 15, 2017 | Blog
Cross-posted from The Nation, with permission. President Donald Trump lies. He lies about the size of his inaugural crowd, about millions of supposedly fraudulent votes, the number of jobs he “saved” at Carrier, terrorist incidents that supposedly go underreported,...
by People's Action | Feb 15, 2017 | Breakfast
Resistance Gets Results "Organizing and Persistence Pays Off in N.J. for Hurricane Sandy Victims" reports OurFuture.org's Isaiah J. Poole: "It took two years of agitation and protest, but finally this week homeowners in New Jersey still seeking relief in the wake of...
by Jeff Bryant | Feb 15, 2017 | Blog
The Trump administration's national security scandals may have obscured Betsy DeVos's rough start as the new Secretary of Education, but her stumbles right out the gate reveal disturbing characteristics of her leadership. Unfortunately, the least significant gaffe is...
