53 Articles

Thursday, September 11, 2008
Pit Bull Palin
(1 comments) When Sarah Palin joked about herself and her fellow hockey moms as pit bulls with lipstick, she may have revealed more than she intended. She even seems to relish this pit bull approach to government...and polls suggest it may be working, as it has in the past eight years. Let's hope we finally reject this approach.

Monday, September 1, 2008
The Rovian Politics of Choosing Sarah Palin
(1 comments) What does it say about John McCain that he not only picked the least experienced Vice Presidential nominee in America's history, but picked someone he really didn't know? What makes Palin such a cynical choice is that McCain doesn't know her and doesn't know what drives her. Until she was selected by the Karl Rove types running his campaign (like campaign manager and Rove protégé Steve Schmidt), McCain might not even have

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Bosnian Sniper Math of Clinton's Popular Vote Claim
(2 comments) On the destructive implications of Clinton continuing her popular vote claim.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Did the Limbaugh Effect Also Flip Michigan?
(3 comments) With Hillary Clinton rejecting the compromise that Michigan Democratic leaders just crafted, the Democratic Rules Committee has a dilemma. Clinton keeps demanding that Michigan's delegates be apportioned according to the January 15 vote, where she was the sole major candidate on the Democratic ballot. But there's another twist that no one has raised--the impact of a Rush Limbaugh-style crossover on the Michigan vote.

Friday, March 28, 2008
Truth, Lies and the Bosnian NAFTAgate
(1 comments) Obama's supposed evasion around "NAFTAgate" played a key role in Hillary Clinton taking Ohio. If there's any justice, her Bosnia fabrications should now bring her down in the remaining states. Repeatedly this spring, Clinton described sniper scenarios refuted by the pilot who flew her into Bosnia. Hillary got caught, to put it bluntly, in a lie, not "misspeaking."

Thursday, March 20, 2008
Can SuperDelegates Stop the Scorched Earth Campaigning?
(6 comments) No matter how well Clinton does in the remaining primaries, her future is going to be in the hands of the superdelegates. It's time for them to exercise their power to rein in scorched-earth campaigning.

Thursday, March 6, 2008
Did Clinton Win Ohio on a Lie?
(2 comments) Hillary Clinton's win in Ohio was greatly affected by her focus on what seemed to be a controversy about Obama's position on NAFTA. Recent news provides evidence that the leaks about his supposed hypocricy were fabricated. Since a foreign government, Canada, was involved, this scandal about a scandal is becoming more than just about the standard sniping that happens in campaigns.

Sunday, March 2, 2008
Obama & Clinton: Who's More Likely to Confront Global Warming?
If we ignore global warming much longer, we'll face a world of perpetual disaster, so there's no larger question for presidential candidates than who is more likely to tackle it successfully. Although Obama's and Clinton's positions are similar, he seems far more likely to. The key difference is their ability to mobilize a grassroots base to demand that the necessary changes get passed.

Friday, February 22, 2008
How Much Damage Will Clinton Do Before She Folds?
(4 comments) In the wake of ten straight losses, Clinton's going to need some miracles to win. But the question is how much damage she'll do to Obama and the Democratic chances before she quits.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Will Clinton's Advisors Tell Her the Hard Truths?
(1 comments) Given that Hillary Clinton's campaign has now been reduced to a nonstop mantra of "ready to lead on day one," I wonder what certain incidents reveal about her competence, transparency and trust-the essence of her ability to lead. It seems Clinton follows a discomfortingly familiar path in surrounding herself with people who are so intimidated they won't stand up and disagree with her and won't tell her bad news.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Behind Obama's Wave of Victories: The More They Know Him.....
(4 comments) In a race where Clinton seemed to have every advantage, why has Barack Obama now won eight primaries and caucuses in a row? Looking at his campaign rhythm, this is voters' first chance to consider him as a candidate with a serious chance of victory, and to genuinely engage his message. Democrats passionately want a candidate they can believe in, but also one who can win--and reverse the Republican disasters.

Monday, February 11, 2008
Hillary Heeds Hawks: How Obama's and Clinton's Advisors Mirror Their War Stands
(3 comments) In their focus on the electoral horse-race, the media have ignored a key difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- the positions of their foreign policy advisors on the Iraq war. As political scientist Stephen Zunes points out in Foreign Policy in Focus, Clinton's key advisors overwhelmingly supported it, while Obama's opposed it.

Saturday, February 2, 2008
How Obama Could Create a Long-Term Democratic Majority
(1 comments) Commentators are talking, and rightly so, about how young voters are flocking to Barack Obama. Young voters haven't always turned out historically, but they're responding to Obama's message. Obama offers the chance to make this new generation part of an enduring Democratic coalition--since young voters who support a particular party a few times in a row are likely to gravitate toward that party for the rest of their lives.

Thursday, January 31, 2008
A Dozen Reasons Why This Edwards Supporter is Backing Obama
(24 comments) I gave John Edwards more money than any candidate ever and I'm glad I did. He put critical issues about America's economic divides on the Democratic agenda. He was the first major candidate to stake out strong comprehensive platforms on global warming and health care. He hammered away on the Iraq war, even using scarce campaign resources to run ads during key Senate votes. He'd have made a wonderful nominee - and president.

Monday, January 28, 2008
It's Her Party and She'll Do What She Wants To
(2 comments) Hillary Clinton has now been campaigning in Florida and arguing that the state's delegates should count, along with those from the Michigan primary. This would sound fair enough, unless you know that the Democratic Party agreed that the early primary votes from both Michigan and Florida would not count. Now Clinton is trying to change the rules mid-game, arguing that her delegates from Michigan should count after all.

Friday, January 18, 2008
Hillary Clinton's Sleaze Parade
(3 comments) Politics can be a rough game. Candidates need to hold their competitors accountable and challenge distortions and lies. And God knows, we need a Democratic nominee who's willing to fight. But Hillary Clinton's campaign has included far too many cheap shots, sleazy manipulations, and unsavory players.

Thursday, January 10, 2008
Media Misses Story: Obedwards Wins New Hampshire
(2 comments) As media commentators proclaim Hillary Clinton's rebirth from the ashes of defeat, they miss a critical story--Obama and Edwards won the New Hampshire primary. Add together Obama's 36 percent and Edwards's 17, and they beat Clinton's 39 percent by 14 points. So what are Obama and Edwards or their supporters to do about this?

Sunday, January 6, 2008
Still True to ObEdwards – Why I Keep Donating to Both Edwards and Obama
(3 comments) It makes me feel like an indecisive mugwump, but in the wake of the Iowa caucuses, I've sent money to both Edwards and Obama. In a month, I'll have to choose, but as long as they're backing each other up more than sniping, I want them both in the race.

Friday, December 28, 2007
A Plea to Kucinich Supporters-- Help Stop Hillary Clinton
(8 comments) Think about how you'd feel if the headlines after the early caucuses and primaries read "Hillary places third," and you were part of that process. Imagine if those losses helped stop her nomination, the party ended up with either Barack Obama or John Edwards as the nominee, and one of the two became America's president.

Monday, December 17, 2007
The Phrase that Could Defeat Hillary
Once again Hillary empowered a recklessly belligerent administration in their efforts to go to war. And her prez primary competitors are failing to use her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman Iran bill to maximum advantage against her.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Hillary Clinton and the Ghosts of 2006
(5 comments) If Hillary really wants Democratic voters to judge their potential nominees on their 2006 choices, she may not like the judgments they make

Friday, November 30, 2007
Hillary and the Politics of Disappointment
(17 comments) When Democrats worry about Hillary Clinton's electability, they focus on her reenergizing a depressed Republican base while demoralizing core Democratic activists, particularly those outraged about the war, and consequently losing the election. But there's a further danger if Hillary's nominated--that she will win but then split the Democratic Party.

Monday, November 26, 2007
Hillary Clinton and the Politics of Disappointment
(3 comments) If Hillary wins, will she cost the Dems massive losses in congress and Gubernatorial seats... like Bill did?

Thursday, October 11, 2007
Making Our Restrooms Safe for Democracy

Sunday, September 30, 2007
Pre-Empting The Next War
(2 comments) With the Senate embracing the reckless Kyl-Lieberman amendment, we've moved one step closer to attacking Iran. But there's still time for Congress to assert itself against yet another needless war with massive destructive potential.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Wild Weather Creates Chances for Political Progress
It's hard to keep up with the crazed weather. Surges of weird weather offers a powerful warning. When people's communities are hit with exceptional floods, droughts, tornadoes, heat waves, or runaway wildfires, or they see these events on TV, even conservatives who would have once treated them as random "acts of God" start recognizing their deeper roots.

Monday, August 27, 2007
Responsible Investment: Gates Foundation and the California Model
Given the magnitude of the global crises we face, we'd hope the key nonprofits trying to address them would use every appropriate tool to maximize their impact. Yet, Seattle's Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which does much good with its programs (particularly its global immunization efforts), is missing a significant opportunity by not aligning the foundation's investment commitments with its larger social goals.

Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Haircut That Won't Die

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Target Global Warming, Target Exon
(3 comments) Those who dismiss global warming's threat have embraced a series of arguments, retreating from one to the next as they're trumped by reality. Many of us know Exxon's role in climate change denial, and have avoided buying their gas for that reason. Others have avoided the company because of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. But we need more than individual actions.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Election Fraud, My Ass
(1 comments) They just wanted to protect the sanctity of the vote. That's the administration's pious explanation for why they fired eight U.S. Attorneys who were Republican enough for Bush to have appointed them in the first place. But the administration and its allies have a long history of using the specter of election fraud to justify reprehensible actions.

Sunday, January 28, 2007
Don't Fear a Filibuster
(13 comments) Why the Democrats need to stand up on the minimum wage even if the Republicans filibuster--it's morally right, but also a winning political stand

Monday, January 22, 2007
A Timely Anti-War Effort-Support the Occupation Project
Help Iraqi veterans and their famliies find a place to stay in DC while challenging the war.

Saturday, January 13, 2007
A Storm of Denial
(1 comments) How the media is ignoring the escalating number of global warming related disasters, and why it's hard for all of us to deal with this issue

Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Gerald Ford's Failure of Nerve
(2 comments) Had Ford spoken out, on the record, to question the war in July 2004... Or acknowledged that he was "dumbfounded" when Bush initiated his domestic surveillance program... or publicly questioned the war, it would have opened up room for others to dissent, across political lines...

Monday, December 18, 2006
Democrats and the Youth Vote
Young voters have been leaning Democratic since the Clinton years, although Nader siphoned off enough support in 2000 to make it a near-dead heat. They were the only generation to favor Kerry, and did so by a ten percent margin. Now the gap has opened wider than ever...

Monday, December 11, 2006
Hillary Clinton and My Visa Bill
(3 comments) You make enough $25 to $50 contributions, and soon you're talking real money, a tenth of my annual income.

Thursday, November 30, 2006
Think Globally, Protect the Vote Locally
he recent election has created a window of opportunity to help protect the vote, for now and in the future. Linking national and local protection efforts could help ensure that this actually happens.

Friday, October 20, 2006
Grassroots Matching Grants: My Five Minutes as a Donor
I've never been the kind of donor who gives matching grants.In factI've never been a major donor at all,just someone who gives $25 here and $50 there to a bunch of causes I believe in, because that's what I can afford.. So I loved the Democratic National Committee email that invited me and other ordinary citizens to make modest online pledges, to be redeemed when new donors contributed. For a moment, I got to play Ford Found

Saturday, October 14, 2006
Foley's Meltdown--The Seductions of Clicking
(2 comments)

Wednesday, August 9, 2006
The Lamont Victory-- Next Step for Citizens
If we're successful enough in our efforts, the wells of support for Lieberman will dry up sufficiently that he decides not to make a serious third-party race.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Joe Lieberman's Loyalties
His prime loyalty has always been to himself, from the first time he defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weickert with money from William F. Buckley and from rightwing Cuban exiles.

Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Joe Lieberman's Loyalties
(1 comments) Lieberman has already gotten endorsement from Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter and financial backing from major Republican lobbyists. He's already suggested that hospitals should have the right to refuse emergency contraception to rape victims, and force them to go elsewhere in the middle of the night. Maybe he should just drop the pretense and run as a Bush-Cheney Republican without any further evasions.

Thursday, June 15, 2006
Enron's Good Fight
It was all a grand game, like the games played by all those who wheel and deal in the destiny of other people’s lives.

Friday, May 26, 2006
Enron's Good Fight
It was all a grand game, like the games played by all those who wheel and deal in the destiny of other people's lives. Lay and Skilling needed no heroes. They made themselves their own Gods and worshipped their own soaring ascent. The actual people whose worlds were shattered by Enron's legacy were invisible and expendable.

Monday, April 24, 2006
Dying for Nixon, Dying for Bush
If our invasion and occupation has created a watershed moment, it's one yielding rivers of resentment and bitterness that may poison the global landscape for decades to come. In Iraq, as we know, the chickenhawks led the march to war ... like Bush and his cohorts, most who've made this war possible have never been intimately touched by it.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Out of the Shadows - The Seattle immigration march
Maybe by finding their voice and courage, those who marched in America these past weeks can teach the rest of us, and maybe we can find ways to come out of our own shadows and fears and join across our own divides.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Alito's Extraordinary Circumstances
Remember the "nuclear option" compromise? When the group of 14 Senators reached their agreement last May, they said they'd support a filibuster only under "extraordinary circumstances," presumably if Bush nominated Attila the Hun. I'd suggest these circumstances apply not only to Samuel Alito's track record but also to his nomination's entire political context.

Saturday, December 3, 2005
PRECARIOUS LIVES
The promises on which many of us have based our entire economic lives are no longer being honored.

Saturday, November 5, 2005
The Real Rosa Parks
Most reports on Rosa Parks treated her like a lone seamstress. On the Contrary, she was a longstanding activist, highly involved in the civil rights movement, for 12 years involved in the NAACP.

Monday, October 24, 2005
Hard Conversations About the Big Easy
As the New Orleans disaster recedes from the headlines, citizen activists face a choice. We can focus exclusively on other newer issues. Or we can work to make the disaster one of those key turning points with the potential to transform American politics.

Friday, September 23, 2005
911 IN NEW ORLEANS
We’re told the 9/11 attacks changed everything for America--that they ushered us in to a new and more dangerous world, where we could no longer afford old illusions. If we take its full lessons, the disaster of Hurricane Katrina challenges us even more profoundly.

Monday, August 1, 2005
SPEAKING TRUTH TO ROBERTS
We need to tell a different story... that Roberts defended Cheney’s right to refuse to name the corporate participants in his secret energy policy meeting. He advised Jeb Bush on the 2000 election....

Wednesday, July 6, 2005
They Died for Their Country
(1 comments)