June 2, 2015
When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) declared his candidacy for president Monday–joining what already feels like a Republican cast of thousands—what he didn’t say was more important than the words he spoke.Please click here to read the full article.
June 1, 2015
Just before it recessed last month the Senate approved “fast track” trade authority that would help conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal that’s been the subject of much debate and media coverage. The legislation is expected to be considered by the House this month. But a recent Pew Research Poll shows that uncertainty about trade deals’ benefits for American workers spans party and ideological lines.Please click here to read the full article.
April 29, 2015
Economic uncertainty and awareness of the widening wage gap between top earners and everyone else has made Americans sympathetic to unions, which suggests that attacks on unions may play with core Republican constituencies but are unlikely to win support among independents and swing voters in 2016. More Americans view unions favorably than unfavorably and a majority of people believe the steady decline in unions has been bad for working people in this country, a Pew Research Center survey found.Please click here to read the full article.
April 9, 2015
A Pew Research Center survey based on more than 25,000 interviews confirms a trend years in the making: More people consider themselves politically independent than identify with the Republican or Democratic parties.Please click here to read the full article.
March 3, 2015
If you’re angry about the polarization of American politics, then a case heard by the Supreme Court on Monday matters to you. Because if the justices decide to declare independent redistricting commissions unconstitutional, things are going to get much worse.Please click here to read the full article.
March 2, 2015
Is it unconstitutional for a majority of voters to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians? That is the question before the Supreme Court. Arizona’s legislature is challenging the authority of a redistricting plan devised by an independent commission created by ballot initiative and passed by voters in 2000.Please click here to read the full article.
February 20, 2015
It was a feisty, upbeat, even funny Barack Obama who showed up at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting Friday to challenge Republicans to work with Democrats on ways to help the middle class. His speech touched on all of the major Democratic Party themes, including same-sex marriage, climate change, immigration, health-care reform, and raising the minimum wage. But his main message was that government programs can and should do something to help address wage stagnation and the middle-class squeeze.Please click here to read the full article.
February 2, 2015
The big question of Barack Obama‘s budget is: Can we address income inequality and the middle-class squeeze with tax policies and government programs? History suggests it is possible. Tip O’Neill often talked about the expansion of the middle class through Franklin Roosevelt‘s initiatives–including the creation of Social Security, minimum-wage and maximum-hour laws, and progressive tax policies–and how befuddled he was that the same middle-class voters who owed their financial stability to Democratic policies supported Ronald Reagan policies that benefited the wealthy. Now, President Obama is following the Roosevelt model with proposals for middle-class tax cuts, raising taxes on the wealthy, free community-college tuition, and an infrastructure spending program to create jobs that is not all that dissimilar from the Works Progress Administration of the Roosevelt era. The danger, though, is that the Republican-controlled Congress will go for the dessert and skip the vegetables–approving the tax cuts and credits and much of the spending in the Obama plan but opposing his tax increases.Please click here to read the full article.
January 21, 2015
President Barack Obama attempted to close his State of the Union speech with a call for bipartisanship and “a better politics” that would appeal to Americans’ desire for action from Washington and “debates worthy of this body and worthy of this country.” He did say all that. But his call for Republicans to work with him was derailed by an unscripted moment that threw the cold water of reality on Mr. Obama’s lofty rhetoric.Please click here to read the full article.
January 8, 2015
Data from 15 separate Gallup telephone polls conducted throughout 2014 confirm that the share of Americans identifying as political independents has climbed to a record 43%. The obvious reason is that Americans’ trust in government is the lowest Gallup has ever measured, and most people say government dysfunction is one of the nation’s biggest problems. Voters’ misgivings have caused Gallup to predict that the number of independents will climb even higher in 2015. There is certainly a disconnect between what people say they want from their government and what they are getting.Please click here to read the full article.
