CliffsNotes for Washington CliffsNotes for Washington
How to get yourself to the edge of the fiscal abyss and not jump.
Nov 12, 2012 / Mattea Kramer and Chris Hellman
Leading Banking Committee Democrat Backs Warren Leading Banking Committee Democrat Backs Warren
One of the committee’s top Democrats said he wants to see Warren on board, if she wants to be.
Nov 9, 2012 / George Zornick
Voters Did Not Choose Austerity Voters Did Not Choose Austerity
The results are unambiguous: voters want more government investment and higher taxes on the wealthy.
Nov 9, 2012 / George Zornick
A Response to Ben Adler on Third Party Candidates A Response to Ben Adler on Third Party Candidates
Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader strongly objects to a recent Nation blog post that mocked third-party candidates.
Nov 8, 2012 / Ralph Nader
John Nichols: Labor Won in Wisconsin and Ohio Senate Elections John Nichols: Labor Won in Wisconsin and Ohio Senate Elections
The victories of Tammy Baldwin and Sherrod Brown show that standing up for workers’ rights pays off.
Nov 7, 2012 / Press Room
Jeremy Scahill: In Obama’s Second Term, Will Democrats Challenge Drones? Jeremy Scahill: In Obama’s Second Term, Will Democrats Challenge Drones?
After last night's re-election, progressives wonder if the US is in for four more years of extrajudicial killings.
Nov 7, 2012 / Press Room
Tea Party Group Blocks Florida Voters, Stops Water Handouts at Polls Tea Party Group Blocks Florida Voters, Stops Water Handouts at Polls
A Tampa group has filed dozens of last-minute voter challenges, in a troubling indication of ramped up suppression efforts. Meanwhile, as record turnout forced long lines, poll wat...
Nov 5, 2012 / Brentin Mock and Voting Rights Watch
Delusions of Third-Party Candidates Delusions of Third-Party Candidates
The “Third Party Presidential Debate” demonstrates the foolishness of their reasons for running.
Nov 5, 2012 / Ben Adler
Is There an Antidote to Paul Ryan’s Arrogance? Meet Rob Zerban Is There an Antidote to Paul Ryan’s Arrogance? Meet Rob Zerban
Paul Ryan’s not just running for vice president. He’s running against a smart, serious progressive for his US House seat. Unfortunately, Ryan won’t debate his cha...
Nov 3, 2012 / John Nichols
Getting Progressive Candidates on the Record Against Safety Net Cuts Getting Progressive Candidates on the Record Against Safety Net Cuts
Politico has a very interesting story this morning that gave voice to what a lot of progressives in Washington have been nervously worrying about: the possibility that a freshly re-elected President Obama could sell his base down the river only weeks after the election during fiscal cliff negotiations. (Liberals fear grand bargain betrayal if President Obama wins.) The concern is that he tried it before: Obama reportedly offered House Speaker John Boehner a deal during the debt ceiling negotiations that would have made all Bush tax cuts permanent while also raising $800 billion in additional tax revenue, and also cut both Medicare and Social Security benefits. Just last month, he told the Des Moines Register editorial board that “I am absolutely confident that we can get what is the equivalent of the grand bargain that essentially I’ve been offering to the Republicans for a very long time.” Optimists would point out that Obama has nevertheless taken a much more progressive approach since the dark days of the debt ceiling debacle. He released a debt plan last year that was much, much better than what he offered Boehner—it repealed Bush top tax rates and largely stayed away from safety net benefit cuts. But ultimately, Obama cannot implement a deal alone. He has to get members of his own party to vote for it in Congress—so regardless of the president’s disposition, there are many pressure points in Congress for progressives who want to keep Democrats from cutting the safety net. To that end, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee has been seeking out Democrats running in tough races and getting them on board with a no-cuts agenda, in exchange for valuable financial and logistical support. At least eight House candidates are receiving PCCC support, along with four Senators or Senate candidates: Sen. Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, and now Representative Shelley Berkley, whom PCCC endorsed on Monday. On a call with volunteers this week—joined, quite notably, by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid—Berkley re-stated her position on safety net cuts: “As far as Social Security, my opponent is on record as wanting to privatize Social Security. I am opposed to that. There is a reason that FDR passed Social Security in 1935. That’s because older Americans, after they retired, they had no income, no way to survive, and their life expectancy was cut short. Same thing with Medicare. There was a reason in 1965 that we passed Medicare. Older Americans were dying and it wasn’t of old age. They were dying for lack of healthcare. So now we’ve created Medicare, created Social Security, I am going to stand and fight for both of these programs. They are very important to seniors and future generations of seniors. I will promise you without fear of contradiction, I will do everything in my power to strengthen and protect Medicare and Social Security and it’s going to be a cold day in the middle of August in the Nevada desert before I do anything that’s going to harm those two essential programs.” PCCC has provided 433,000 volunteer calls in support of their Senate candidates and raised over $1.3 million for them. MoveOn and the AFL-CIO are also organizing around a progressive grand bargain push. This is all crucial, because a massive, $30 million “Fix the Debt” campaign, backed by Wall Street money, will be pushing hard from the other direction.
Nov 2, 2012 / George Zornick