State Of The Union: The Progressive View

As long as we're taking the measure of the country this week, let's look in on the far (and not so far) fringes of the right wing. What's up with them? And how worried should we be? more »

With a climate protection and clean energy jobs bill already facing stiff resistance in the Senate, I was afraid that the post-Massachusetts election fallout would bury it for the year. But fear not! Bipartisan Senate negotiations continued literally a day after the election. more »

"There's a lot of populism going on in this country right now, and I'm tired of it."

—Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., in an interview on CNBC January 25

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Tea bags are meant to be tossed out. They are useful, at most, once or twice in their lifetimes. Beyond that, they lose flavor and strength, eventually becoming weak as water itself. If kept around beyond their usefulness, they become unpleasant and even unhealthy, as they start to smell and begin to mold. Or they dry up and eventually crumble. Either way, they become useless.

What's true of tea bags is also true of teabaggers. However, tea bags are tossed out when they outlive their usefulness. The same can be true of teabaggers, but only if Democrats have the political will to make it so.

"Our government," wrote Justice Lewis Brandeis, "is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example." And also by what its leaders frame as important. No one has greater ability to teach than the president with what Teddy Roosevelt called his "bully pulpit." This is President Obama's great strength. His is the voice of reason. more »

President Obama's recent statements in advance of the State of the Union have centered around supporting middle class families through tax cuts, deficit reduction and job creation. But not very much job creation. more »

The White House announced its economic initiatives for middle class families, described as a preview of the State of the Union Address. They’re all good ideas and I hope every one of them passes. But something is missing. more »

Prediction: In the upcoming State of the Union speech President Obama is going to talk about jobs. (Just a hunch, let’s see if I’m right.)

We’re in a jam where the economy is still shedding jobs, never mind creating enough jobs to start hiring people again. The stimulus hasn’t been enough, and there isn’t anything reviving the real economy to take over. more »

Let’s be realistic about our expectations for the State of the Union. We’re unlikely to see a newly-energized President trailing clouds of progressive glory, ascending the podium while the PA blares anthemic 70’s stadium-rock. That’s not his style. (If I’m wrong about that 70's rock, however, I recommend Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”) Still, he can recapture the health debate and stay true to himself by saying something like this: more »