Revitalizing Democracy
Top Stories
“Political Dispatch” podcast: 7/11- Robert Borosage
We are happy to bring you another edition of our “Political Dispatch” podcast series from PoliticalBuzz.com. “PD” is a weekly series bringing you insight and analysis from the best political journalists and strategists as well as exclusive interviews with top politicians and campaign staffers. This week we talked with… more »Featured Issues
The Return of Sanity
The common thread in yesterday’s unbroken string of Democratic and progressive victories was the popular rejection of right-wing overreach. The series of elections held across the country yesterday weren’t supposed to yield a coherent narrative. Yet a common theme emerged: Radical-right Republicans hit a wall last night all over the country, even on a conservative social issue in what may be the most socially conservative state in the nation. So can Democrats take some hope from last night’s results? Provisionally; sort of. If Barack Obama can make next year’s election a choice between his ineffectual moderation and the Republicans’ wacked-out lunacy, the Democrats should do well. If next year’s election is a referendum on his stewardship of the economy the Democrats will likely get clobbered. It’s clear that Americans have had it with Republican extremism. Whether that will be a decisive issue in 2012 is not yet apparent.... more »
The Case
More Prisoners Does Not Mean Less Crime
It's not that simple. A 2005 report by The Sentencing Project noted that while increased incarceration rates were accompanied by a decrease in crime between 1991 and 1998, crime rates had increased between 1984 and 1991, a period in which the rate of incarceration was even higher. The director of the Pew Center on the States recently wrote, "Rigorous studies show that increased imprisonment can claim credit for only 25 percent of the nation's crime drop over the past 15 years. The other 75 percent comes from a wide variety of factors, inside and outside the criminal justice system." Those factors include support for improved policing and community crime prevention programs—federal support for which was cut by the Bush administration. We already lock up a larger percentage of our population than any other country in the world. We need to invest more in the programs and techniques that we know prevent crime and lead to healthier communities.more »
The Facts
The Dream Gone Bad: The Facts
The cost of living keeps rising.
• Since 2001, the overall costs of living has increased 21.5 percent, driven by big increases in such life essentials as gas, home heating oil and food. more »
The News
Corporations Hide Election Spending From the Public Eye
October 19th, 2010
Joe Manchin's oddly inspiring debate performance
October 19th, 2010
The Case
Reweaving the Fabric of our Society
Political leaders and the media are failing us on so many levels. Although you'd never know it from viewing the daily partisan fight on cable TV, all Americans have a great deal in common. But our understanding of politics, economics, science and even basic facts is increasingly disparate. We cannot afford to continue on this path. A healthy democracy requires an educated electorate that shares basic truths and values -- or at least is willing to sit down and listen to one another with an open mind, with mutual respect and civility. There is hope. Quietly, and without fanfare, groups and individuals are reaching out to each other. I've been involved with one such effort, called "Living Room Conversations. Having seen these conversations in action, I believe that people of good will with different viewpoints can build a foundation for changing our path.more »
Reweaving the Fabric of our Society
Political leaders and the media are failing us on so many levels. Although you'd never know it from viewing the daily partisan fight on cable TV, all Americans have a great deal in common. But our understanding of politics, economics, science and even basic facts is increasingly disparate. We cannot afford to continue on this path. A healthy democracy requires an educated electorate that shares basic truths and values -- or at least is willing to sit down and listen to one another with an open mind, with mutual respect and civility. There is hope. Quietly, and without fanfare, groups and individuals are reaching out to each other. I've been involved with one such effort, called "Living Room Conversations. Having seen these conversations in action, I believe that people of good will with different viewpoints can build a foundation for changing our path.more »
Latest from our Bloggers
apr
27
2012
2:51 pm
2:51 pm
People who follow politics often reach the conclusion that average Americans are kind of dopey and don't really understand what's going on. After all, they often hold contradictory views and vote against their self-interest.
But sometimes there's just no denying that being outside the political bubble has its advantages: they see through the bullshit.more »
apr
13
2012
3:36 pm
3:36 pm
This story about the potential merging of the Republican Super PACs is downright chilling:
mar
19
2012
6:49 pm
6:49 pm
On Tuesday House Republicans, led by Budget Committee chair Paul Ryan, will unveil a suicide pact in the form of a new budget that ignores the clear views of the majority of Americans – and which, if they embrace it almost unanimously, as they did last year’s similar Ryan Budget, will put a gun to the head of Republican attempts to keep control of the House – and then pull the trigger. more »
mar
12
2012
4:01 pm
4:01 pm
The fight to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling and to undo its effects on our democracy is now being ratcheted up as a spectrum of progressive organizations are cooperating on multiple fronts. more »
feb
24
2012
12:44 pm
12:44 pm
So I've been wondering here lately about why these campaigns cost so much more than they did just a few years ago. What are these Super PACs spending all their billionaire contributions on anyway?
feb
21
2012
4:20 pm
4:20 pm
Thanks in large part to the phenomenon of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, 2008 was known as the year of the small donor. While Barack Obama can't called it's herald, his decision to accept, if not embrace, the reality of super PACs suggests that the 2012 presidential election — the first post-Citizens United presidential election — may become known as the Year of the Super PAC. (There's word that even Occupy Wall Street could get a super PAC.) Maybe. But that barely scratches the surface. So far, the 2012 race suggests that behind every successful candidate is a well-funded super PAC. And behind every power well-funded PAC is an even more powerful backer with very deep pockets. Take a closer look, and bigger story is that 2012 election may turn out to be The Year of the Billionaire.
feb
16
2012
10:17 am
10:17 am
Originally published in Politico.
Financial wilding led to our economic collapse. Use of exotic “innovations” — like derivatives and credit default swaps — exploded. Regulators were paralyzed while huge bets were made in the shadows. Markets, we were assured, self-regulate. Congress blocked reform. Big money rushed in, seeking ever higher returns. Laws legitimized shadow financial activities. Speculation careened out of control.
A similar wilding now threatens our democracy as out-of-control big money floods our elections. These exotic derivatives are the super PACs and related operations, fueled by cartloads of secret money. The Federal Election Commission is toothless and paralyzed. Congress blocks new regulations. The Supreme Court opened the floodgates with Citizens United, ruling that corporations have the right to spend unlimited sums in “independent expenditure” campaigns. The marketplace of ideas, we are assured, can regulate itself.
This financial wilding is likely to escalate until it thoroughly corrupts our democracy. more »
feb
14
2012
5:08 pm
5:08 pm
Governor Scott Walker and his new team of criminal defense lawyers will be meeting with the Milwaukee County District Attorney soon to answer questions in a multifaceted "John Doe" probe being conducted by the DA into potentially illegal activities of Walker’s staff during the time he served as Milwaukee County Executive. more »
