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Meet the Senate's Powerful and Progressive Policy Wonk, Ron Wyden

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joe Conason - May. 21 (Special Report) - Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden has established a reputation as one of the Senate's more serious and diligent members. Over the years on Capitol Hill, he has watched the Republican Party veer constantly further rightward, and yet he continues to believe against all evidence that bipartisan legislative cooperation is possible -- even likely.

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Obama Embraces Plutocrats Again With His Billionaire Commerce Secretary Choice

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Steven Rosenfeld - May. 07 (News Analysis) - her record as a businesswoman shares similarities with Mitt Romney’s. Her massive wealth is kept in tax-avoiding offshore accounts. Her family’s best-known business, the Hyatt hotel empire, is known for bitter and ongoing disputes with labor unions. Her resume includes running a bank that pioneered high-interest subprime loans and then failed miserably, leaving uninsured depositors with losses averaging $6,000.

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Red-State Democrats Buck Obama On Social Security Cuts

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim, Sabrina Siddiqui - May. 06 (News Report) - The majority of Senate Democrats running for reelection in 2014, including three running in red states, have broken with President Barack Obama and are opposing his effort to cut Social Security benefits, imperiling the austerity project kn

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How the Monsanto Protection Act Snuck Into Law

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Natasha Lennard - Apr. 01 (News Analysis) - lipped into the Agricultural Appropriations Bill, which passed through Congress last week, was a small provision that's a big deal for Monsanto and its opponents. The provision protects genetically modified seeds from litigation in the face of health risks and has thus been dubbed the "Monsanto Protection Act" by activists who oppose the biotech giant. President Barack Obama signed the spending bill, including the provision, into law on Tuesday Since the act's passing, more than 250,000 people have signed a petition opposing the provision and a rally, consisting largely of farmers organized by the Food Democracy Now network, protested outside the White House Wednesday

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Lakoff: Why Extreme Conservatives Like the Sequester

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By George Lakoff - Feb. 26 (Opinion) - Progressives tend to believe that democracy is based on citizens caring for their fellow citizens through what the government provides for all citizens — public infrastructure, public safety, public education, public health, publicly-sponsored research, public forms of recreation and culture, publicly-guaranteed safety nets for those who need them, and so on. In short, progressives believe that the private depends on the public, that without those public provisions Americans cannot be free to live reasonable lives and to thrive in private business. They believe that those who make more from public provisions should pay more to maintain them. Ultra-conservatives don’t believe this.

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DOJ kill list memo forces many Dems out of the closet as overtly unprincipled hacks

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Glenn Greenwald - Feb. 11 (News Analysis) - Last week's controversy over Obama's assassination program forced into light many ignored truths that were long obvious This past week has been a strangely clarifying political moment. It was caused by two related events: the leak of the Justice Department's "white paper" justifying Obama's claimed power to execute Americans without charges, followed by John Brennan's alarming confirmation hearing (as Charles Pierce wrote: "the man whom the administration has put up to head the CIA would not say whether or not the president of the United States has the power to order the extrajudicial killing of a United States citizen within the borders of the United States "). I describe last week's process as "strange" because, for some reason, those events caused large numbers of people for the first time to recognize, accept and begin to confront truths that have long been readily apparent. Illustrating this odd phenomenon was a much-discussed New York Times article on Sunday by Peter Baker which ...

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Fact checking LePage and Democratic speeches

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Bangor Daily News - Feb. 06 (Fact Check) - Fact checking LePage and Democratic speeches Bangor Daily News According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, half of the state's electricity in 2011 came from renewable resources: 25 percent from hydro power, 21 percent from wood, and 4.5 percent from wind. Claim: We have schools in Maine where only 23 ... and ...

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Editorial: Political Power Needs to Be Used in Washington

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - Jan. 31 (Editorial) - Senate Democrats could have the wind at their backs, if only they would act with resolve instead of fear.

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Obama Oratory vs. Obama Reality

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Norman Solomon - Jan. 23 (Opinion) - With President Obama's second term underway and huge decisions looming on Capitol Hill, consider this statement from Howard Zinn: "When a social movement adopts the compromises of legislators, it has forgotten its role, which is to push and challenge the politicians, not to fall in meekly behind them." With so much at stake, we can't afford to forget our role. For starters, it must include public clarity. Let's face it: despite often nice-sounding rhetoric from the president, this administration has continued with a wide range of policies antithetical to progressive values.

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MAP: Which Pols Voted to Help Victims of Katrina, but Not Sandy?

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Dana Liebelson - Jan. 22 (Investigative Report) - On Tuesday, the Senate is expected to finally approve a Sandy aid package worth about $50 billion, three months after the hurricane devastated major metropolitan regions on the East Coast. Many GOP representatives bitterly oppose this bill and an immediate relief package failed to pass the GOP-controlled House in 2012. But when it comes to hurricane relief, the GOP isn't exactly consistent: In 2005, 58 House Republicans who voted no on the Sandy aid bill approved a disaster relief package for Katrina victims worth $51.8 billion —less than two weeks after the storm hit.

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Bill Clinton to Democrats: Don’t trivialize gun culture

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Byron Tau - Jan. 19 (News) - Former President Bill Clinton warned a group of top Democratic donors at a private Saturday meeting not to underestimate the passions that gun control stirs among many Americans. “Do not patronize the passionate supporters of your opponents by looking do

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Democrats push for tax cuts they once opposed

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Zachary A. Goldfarb - Dec. 26 (News Analysis) - Democrats seeking a deal to avert the year-end “fiscal cliff” are trying to etch into stone the signature economic achievement of Republican President George W. Bush by permanently extending tax cuts enacted during his tenure.

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The Grand Sellout Emerges

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Charles Pierce - Dec. 20 (News Analysis) - So here's where we sit. The Democrats, led by the president, who never is going to need to depend on Social Security, are prepared to concede on an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with the deficit. They are going to make life harder for millions of seniors. Social Security is now squarely "on the table" in any future budget negotiation. (Hey, who unplugged the third rail?) The simplest solution — raising the cap — is beyond discussion, now and forever. The "chained-CPI," which is a terrible idea on its own merits, as well as a piece of noxious moral sleight-of-hand, seeing as how it cuts benefits while pretending not to do so, is being adopted whole hog without a corresponding mechanism to raise more Social Security revenue to make up for the loss. If the president maintains his faith in the great god SimpsonBowles, the old folks will get a bump for only two years after the deal takes effect. Swell.

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Nancy Pelosi Says Social Security Cut Proposed By Obama Would 'Strengthen' Program

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Michael McAuliff, Sabrina Siddiqui - Dec. 20 (News Report) - Congressional Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), signaled greater willingness on Wednesday to cut Social Security benefits, with the party now considering a change to the way inflation is calculated for recipient

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Obamacare Architect Leaves White House for Pharmaceutical Industry Job

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Glenn Greenwald - Dec. 06 (News Analysis) - Whatever one's views on Obamacare were and are: the bill's mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry; as Wheeler wrote at the time: "to the extent that Liz Fowler is the author of this document, we might as well consider WellPoint its author as well." Watch the five-minute Bill Moyers report from 2009, embedded below, on the key role played in all of this by Liz Fowler and the "revolving door" between the health insurance/lobbying industry and government officials at the time this bill was written and passed.

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John Nichols: Overwhelming Obama Victory Not Just a Mandate for the President, but for Progressives

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By John Nichols, Amy Goodman - Nov. 08 (News Analysis) - With Obama scoring a decisive re-election and progressive-backed ballot measures and candidates faring generally well nationwide, journalist John Nichols argues that the 2012 election provided not just a mandate for the Obama and the Democrats, but for progressive policies. A political writer for The Nation magazine, Nichols' latest article is "For Obama, a Bigger Win Than for Kennedy, Nixon, Carter or Bush." [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Big Dawg Bill Clinton Shows How To Beat Back Romney's Lies

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Oct. 10 (News Report) - Bubba was in fine form at a rally in Las Vegas. Bill Clinton really got into calling out the "real Mitt Romney" it at a campaign event in Las Vegas yesterday -- you can tell he's enjoying himself by how deep his Southern drawl becomes. Liked this article

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Dubious Denver Debate Declarations

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Oct. 04 (Fact Check) - We found exaggerations and false claims flying thick and fast during the first debate between President Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. Obama accused Romney of proposing a $5 trillion tax cut. Not true.

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“Congressional Report Card for the 99%”

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

accuracy.org - By Scott Klinger, Sam Pizzigati, Sarah Anderson, Chuck Collins - Oct. 03 (Special Report) - With the end of the congressional term, a new “Congressional Report Card for the 99%” grades lawmakers on a series of bills that either “feather the nest of America’s most affluent” or “enhance economic opportunities of our 99 percent.”

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Joan Walsh on College Educated Progressives' Prejudice Against the White Working Class

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Mark Karlin, Joan Walsh - Sep. 28 (Interview) - What happened to the high school educated worker, who polls show vote in significant numbers for Republicans, even though the GOP economic policies are damaging to them? Did the Democrats abandon them, or did they abandon the Democrats? You argue that many voted for Obama, but still the siren song of the GOP has been luring this swing group for decades now.

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Bill Clinton Daily Show Interview Includes Remarks On DNC Speech, Criticism Of Mitt Romney

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton - Sep. 21 (Interview) - Video

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Greatest hits from the Tampa and Charlotte conventions

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Bill Adair - Sep. 11 (Fact Check) - It's been a busy two weeks for the Truth-O-Meter. Since we started fact-checking the Republican and Democratic conventions on Aug. 27, we've published 43 fact-checks on everything from welfare's work requirement to firing people.

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In a Barn-Burning Speech, Bill Clinton Leaves Romney-Ryan Bleeding on the Ground

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joshua Holland - Sep. 10 (News Analysis) - Bill Clinton articulated the case for Barack Obama's re-election better than the Obama campaign itself has done so far. The “Big Dog” alternated between offering up some down-home populism and explaining, often in fine detail, the policy differences that divide Obama and Mitt Romney – and what, exactly, the latter's extreme ideology would result in for the American people.

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Transcript of Barack Obama's remarks

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

American Public Media - Sep. 07 (Special Report) - A transcript of President Barack Obama's remarks Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention, as provided by the Obama campaign

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When factcheckers get trigger-happy

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Columbia Journalism Review - By Brendan Nyhan - Sep. 07 (Special Report) - Is there such a thing as too much factchecking? Factcheck.org described former President Bill Clinton's speech to the Democratic convention Wednesday evening as a "fact-checker's nightmare" in part because, "with few exceptions… his stats checked out." Rather than concede that it had little material to work with, however, The Associated Press manufactured a "fact check" of Clinton that focused far too heavily on omitted context and possible counter-arguments to his opinions rather than untruths or errors—and even managed to work in a gratuitous Monica Lewinsky reference that invoked Clinton’s reputation for factual slipperiness.

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