Joe Biden

If you support strong and effective government, then the unfamiliar glow you felt after last Thursday's debate was the satisfaction of seeing your opinions forcefully defended by a national candidate. There hasn't been much of that going on lately. But a deceptive question was asked in the Vice Presidential debate, while other important ones still haven't been asked of any national candidate. more »

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Last week the Republicans gathered under the hurricane skies of approaching autumn, their convocation punctuated by thunder and underlined by rain. But there are storm clouds over Charlotte, too: clouds of cynicism and despair, clouds of joblessness and fear, clouds charged with the ionized smell of burning hope and dying dreams. more »

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What Vice President Joe Biden said today was, to use his now-famous phrase, "a big effin' deal." No, we're not talking about his "chains" comment which, as usual, has fascinated a press corps obsessed with taking statements out of context and playing "gotcha" games. more »

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If you've noticed lately the tendency in car commercials to show the vehicle against a background of an empty city street, you can assume it's likely due to the abundance of empty city streets available in the place famous for being home to the major automotive companies -- Detroit. more »

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Retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-No Shame, TX) today unveiled a plan to steal Social Security from Americans by cutting their benefits and lying to them about it. more »

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Oh, Democrats, Democrats, Democrats. Your party's symbol's an ass - a word that was on John Boehner's lips this week, and maybe some other people's too.

Here's how it went down: First House Republicans proposed $32 billion in cuts. The President offered $6.5 billion. The House passed a bill cutting $60billion. Then the Tea Party demanded $100 billion. Now we're told that everybody has agreed to a "compromise" number: $33 billion.

That's just one billion more than the Republicans in Congress originally demanded. Way to negotiate, Democrats!

That's why we need an independent movement that will fight for the public's best interests.

Put up your hands and fight like a gentleman, sir!

In the bloodbath that is modern American politics, the courtly Dems still want to fight by Marquis of Queensbury rules. In the budget battle, they've once again put up their dukes for a polite "bout of fisticuffs" while their opponents pummel them with knives, clubs, brass knuckles, numchucks, AK-47's, and tactical nuclear weapons.

The imagery's just a figure of speech, of course.

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I get it. Believe me, I get it. Every day I talk to people - especially progressives - who are deeply disappointed with the leaders they worked so hard to elect. The litany of letdowns seems endless: Guantanamo. The public option. Don't ask, don't tell. Too big to fail. And, looming over all of it, the battered economy and a sense that the case for more government action wasn't made when it should have been.

Many of the hard-working activists I've met, people who can usually be counted on to encourage others to vote, aren't even sure they'll go to the polls themselves this year. They're saying that we've learned in the last two years just how corrupt the system has become. They're asking, what's the use? Even I, Mr. Glass Half-Empty, have been a little surprised at the level of pain and disillusionment.

The disaffection among core voters is there, and it's real. more »

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