NBA Player Royce White: Mental Health Revolutionary NBA Player Royce White: Mental Health Revolutionary
Pro basketball player Royce White is laying claim to a powerful tradition by standing up for mental health in a society growing more stressful by the day.
Feb 13, 2013 / Dave Zirin
Congress Can Block Postal Austerity, and Save Saturday Delivery Congress Can Block Postal Austerity, and Save Saturday Delivery
Under the Sanders-DeFazio plan, Congress can save a vital service and secure a future for USPS.
Feb 13, 2013 / John Nichols
More Civil Disobedience at the White House Over Keystone XL More Civil Disobedience at the White House Over Keystone XL
Around 50 people, including many mainstream environmental leaders, were arrested after they handcuffed themselves to the White House gate to protest any approval of the Keystone pi...
Feb 13, 2013 / George Zornick
America Isn’t Broke. Its Priorities Are. America Isn’t Broke. Its Priorities Are.
In his State of the Union address, the president reminded us that “deficit reduction is not an economic plan.” Will he be able to hold off the austerity-mongerers?
Feb 13, 2013 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Obama’s SOTU: Not So Stirring on Foreign Policy Obama’s SOTU: Not So Stirring on Foreign Policy
Drones, threats to Iran, praise for Israel, and a too-slow drawdown in Afghanistan.
Feb 13, 2013 / Bob Dreyfuss
Obama Urges Minimum Wage Increase and First-Ever Indexing Obama Urges Minimum Wage Increase and First-Ever Indexing
Labor welcomed the proposal, but what it means for tipped workers remains unclear.
Feb 13, 2013 / Josh Eidelson
Rubio’s Lies About Healthcare Reform Rubio’s Lies About Healthcare Reform
In his rebuttal to the State of the Union Address, the Tea Party star failed to make his case that healthcare reform was harmful.
Feb 13, 2013 / George Zornick
What Obama Didn’t Say on Immigration at the State of the Union What Obama Didn’t Say on Immigration at the State of the Union
Some undocumented immigrants expected more on immigration from Obama’s State of the Nation speech.
Feb 13, 2013 / Aura Bogado
Obama Demands That Congress Do ‘the Work of Self-Government’ Obama Demands That Congress Do ‘the Work of Self-Government’
The emotional highpoint of a bold and progressive speech was a demand that Congress address gun violence.
Feb 13, 2013 / John Nichols
Obama Appoints a Controversial GOP Lawyer to His Voting Commission Obama Appoints a Controversial GOP Lawyer to His Voting Commission
President Obama embraced the cause of voting rights in his State of the Union speech, which he called “our most fundamental right as citizens,” and spotlighted 102-year-old Desiline Victor, a naturalized Haitian immigrant from Miami who waited three hours—and had to make two trips—to cast a ballot. He also proposed a new voting commission headed by lawyers from the Obama and Romney campaigns. Here’s what Obama said: We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote. When any American—no matter where they live or what their party—are denied that right because they can’t afford to wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. So, tonight, I’m announcing a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America, and it definitely needs improvement. I’m asking two longtime experts in the field, who, by the way, served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign, to lead it. We can fix this, and we will. The American people demand it. And so does our democracy. Unfortunately, Obama’s solution was less than inspiring. Another election commission is a pretty tepid response to the magnitude of the voting problems we face. And Romney campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg is a puzzling choice to be its co-chair. For over two decades, Ginsberg has been a top lawyer for the Republican Party—the same party, you may recall, that has led the effort to restrict voting rights of late. Ginsberg helped lead the 2000 recount effort for George W. Bush. He was forced to resign from the Bush campaign in 2004 after it was revealed that he was also advising the vile Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In 2006, Ginsberg said, “Just like really with the Voting Rights Act, Republicans have some fundamental philosophical difficulties with the whole notion of Equal Protection.” And in 2012, he was counsel to the Romney campaign when it absurdly claimed that the Obama campaign was trying to suppress military voters by pushing for early voting for all Ohioans. Does that sound like the kind of guy you want leading a “non-partisan” voting commission? More than likely, this commission will go nowhere. After all, commissions in Washington tend to be where good ideas go to die. Following the 2000 election, the Help America Vote Act created the Election Assistance Commission to help states run their elections. It’s become the “zombie voting commission,” according to The Washington Post; it has no commissioners, executive director or general counsel, and hasn’t met publicly since 2011. Republicans have repeatedly blocked the appointment of new commissioners and tried to abolish the agency; Democrats have done little to resurrect it. There’s not much the Obama administration can do on election reform without Congress. So here’s a modest proposal: before Congress tries to pass sweeping election reform, how about taking the baby step of getting its own election commission back up and running? And hopefully Obama, in exchange for appointing Ginsberg to his voting commission, can extract a promise from the GOP lawyer to support the expansion, not restriction, of voting rights. UPDATE: Voting rights groups appear split on the voting commission. The Brennan Center for Justice called it "an important step, focusing on improving the experience of voters." But the normally mild-mannered League of Women Voters sharply criticized the idea: "we were surprised and disappointed that the President did not suggest bold action to ensure that every American citizen can exercise the right to vote. Setting up a commission is not a bold step; it is business as usual. The President could have done much better by pointing to real solutions like that in legislation already introduced on Capitol Hill to require early voting, set limits on waiting times, provide for portable voter registration and set up secure online voter registration.”
Feb 13, 2013 / Ari Berman