Bachmann’s Neo-McCarthyism. At Monday’s Republican primary debate in New Hampshire, critics believed that Michele Bachmann—whose new image seemed to overshadow her extremism—appeared to be a credible and polished candidate. In my Editor’s Cut this week, “The Michele Bachmann I Know,” I argue that Bachmann’s inflammatory rhetoric is rooted in a dangerous history: what she really represents is “a retro throwback to a kind of American that is intolerant, bigoted and out of step with the best instincts and possibilities of this country.” On Tuesday I sat down on The Ed Show to talk about Bachmann’s rise—and the pro-corporate, anti–middle class agenda of the 2012 GOP candidates. Watch that here.

WikiLeaks Haiti: The Earthquake Cables. Drawing from a trove of 1,918 Haiti-related diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks, The Nation is collaborating with the Haitian weekly newspaper Haïti Liberté on a series of groundbreaking articles about US and UN policy toward the Caribbean nation. On Wednesday, we published “The Earthquake Cables” by Port-au-Prince reporter Ansel Herz. Despite reports from its own embassy that the post-quake situation in Haiti was “calm,” the United States launched a massive military operation that sparked an international backlash. Read that piece here, and check back as we continue to post new revelations from the WikiLeaks Haiti cables.

Union-busting in Wisconsin. With the Wisconsin State Supreme Court’s recent decision to reinstate Scott Walker’s “Budget Repair Bill,” it is now illegal for public workers to collectively bargain in the state. On Monday, on The Ed Show, John Nichols spoke about how Wisconsinites are reacting. “We’re looking at an incredible fight coming, one of the biggest political battles any state in the country has ever seen,” argues Nichols. Watch that segment here, and read Nichols’s recent blog, “No Checks, No Balances: Wisconsin Court Upholds Anti-Union Bill.”

Slideshow: Five Smartest Congressional Bills. Thousands of proposals never make it past the committee stage of the legislative process—and some of them are boldly progressive. Take a look at this slideshow to learn about five bills Congress should pass this season, and for more read Ryan Rafaty’s article, “The Five Smartest Congressional Bills You Never Heard Of.”

The Nation Wins a Maggie Award. We are pleased to announce that Laura Tillman has won a 2011 Planned Parenthood Federation of America Maggie Award for her September 13, 2010, article, “Crossing the Line.” Tillman’s investigation reveals how lack of accessibility to safe and affordable abortion clinics has grave consequences for many women, particularly those living in poverty. We are happy to have The Nation’s strong and outspoken commitment to reproductive justice recognized for the second year in a row with a Maggie Award.

New Deal 2.0: Creative Capitalism. On Wednesday, Lynn Parramore at New Deal 2.0 wrote about last week’s visionary issue, Reimagining Capitalism: Bold Ideas for a New Economy. Parramore writes, “Like a rush of fresh air into a close room, contributors to The Nation’s Reimagining Capitalism series bring vigor and vision to what has too often become a stifling and limited conversation about what’s possible for America.” Read that here. In last week’s series, The Nation posed the following question to an eclectic list of veterans of business, finance, activism, and policy: Imagine you have the ability to reinvent American capitalism: Where would you start? What would you change to make it more focused on what people really need for fulfilling lives? The result: a provocative sampler of smart ideas—concrete proposals for reforming the dysfunctional economic system. Read all sixteen articles and William Greider’s introduction here.

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