"Words that make actions speak louder."
President Bush’s veto today of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill marks the first round in a national fight about health care. The president chose the special interests of big insurance companies over the needs of millions of children who need coverage. The expansion of the children’s health program offers a glimmer of hope […]
The Republican obstruction campaign continues. Yesterday, the Republican minority in the Senate filibustered and blocked two measures that had majority support in the House, and bipartisan majority support in the Senate. Republicans continue to filibuster at a pace three times anything ever seen before, in a systematic effort to block popular reforms. Fifty-six Senators, including […]
It is time for decision on the Iraq debacle. The White House is demanding more money to keep the troops in Iraq. The Bush folks have shown their public relations mastery by rolling out a disingenuous campaign to claim “progress” on the ground in Iraq. General David Petraeus, the political general with a notorious record […]
Three lives are lost and counting in the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah. The flamboyant, camera-hogging mine owner, Bob Murray, has called this a “once in a lifetime” accident, like a car crushed by a boulder suddenly dislodged. These horrors happen. Yes, but when we add one plus one plus one, we don’t call three […]
“The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail … and so far it’s working for us.” —Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss. Roll Call, April 18 A partisan minority in the U.S. Senate has blocked legislation that would lower the price of prescription drugs for seniors, invest in alternative energy sources while cutting subsidies […]
The corporate wing of the Democratic Party – the Democratic Leadership Council—will meet in its “National Conversation” this weekend in Nashville. The press is already noting that while all of the Democratic presidential hopefuls will appear at the YearlyKos progressive blogger gathering in Chicago, not one is slated to join the DLC in Nashville. DLC […]
Americans elected a new Congress to get things done. But the conservative minority has chosen a strategy of obstruction in the Senate. They have used the threat of a filibuster to delay or block virtually every major initiative. Bills with majority support—raising the minimum wage, ethics reform, a date to remove troops from Iraq, revoking […]
Desperate TV producers, caught in a competition for ratings, are clearly without shame. Chris Matthews, a knowledgeable and experienced commentator, is under ratings pressure at MSNBC. The result is a descent into the foulest gutter available – inviting on Tuesday the ignorant, vile, garbage-mouthed Ann Coulter for an interview. Ann Coulter offers nothing – no […]
The Take Back America Conference this year drew 3,000 leaders and activists from 40 states, 150 speakers, a bloggers’ boulevard and radio row larger than ever, and an energy that couldn’t be contained. This year was not only a larger gathering than any previous year; it had a very different spirit. We witnessed the gathering […]
These are opening remarks at the fifth annual Take Back America Conference in Washington, a meeting of 3,000 leaders and activists from across the country and across the tribes of the progressive movement. Five years ago, when we started this venture, Washington was occupied territory. Tom DeLay in the House. Bill Frist in the Senate. […]