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April 23, 2013 9:04 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Filibuster ‘False Equivalence’
Journalist Andrew Cohen, writing for the Brennan Center for Justice, explains how attempts to portray today’s Republican filibusters as routine “tit-for-tat” maneuvers are misleading: By trying not to be partisan, at least in this area of political coverage, we journalists…
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April 18, 2013 9:40 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
PFAW Joins Over 80 Ally Organizations in Calling for Support of Student Non-Discrimination Act
Today People For the American Way joined with more than eighty other national and state organizations in sending a letter to all members of Congress asking for support of the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA). SNDA, which was reintroduced in the…
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April 18, 2013 7:20 pm | ByThe Background Check Filibuster: “Who’s Laughing Now?”
The 41 Republican and four Democratic senators who voted to filibuster a bipartisan gun sale background check bill yesterday are rightfully losing friends quickly. After all, the bill they blocked was supported by over 90 percent of voters and 90…
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April 17, 2013 8:46 pm | By Miranda Blue
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Corporations in Human Rights Abuses Case
Back in September, PFAW senior fellow Jamie Raskin wrote a preview of the major cases coming before the Supreme Court this term, one of which, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, deals with the ability of foreign nationals to sue corporations for…
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April 16, 2013 2:15 pm | By admin
Why the National Conversation on Immigration Reform Is about My Family
I am a 24-year-old, proud Floridian. My parents came to the U.S. from Colombia many years ago, looking for a safe and opportunity-rich place to raise their daughters. From the time I was a toddler, I have spent my whole…
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April 11, 2013 9:09 pm | By Paul Gordon
Republicans Seek to Rig the DC Circuit Court
Earlier today, PFAW criticized Sen. Chuck Grassley's transparent plan to prevent President Obama from ever being able to restore balance to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which tilts heavily to the far right after eight years of ideological appointments…
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April 11, 2013 7:34 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
Trouble on the GOP Homefront
The GOP seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Responding to last month’s Republican National Committee “autopsy,” the leaders of thirteen right wing organizations sent a letter this week to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to “strongly…
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April 11, 2013 4:57 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
West Virginia Becomes 12th State to Call For Amendment Overturning Citizens United
The West Virginia Legislature has approved a resolution calling on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC and related cases. This makes West Virginia the twelfth state to call for…
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April 11, 2013 3:15 pm | By Kyler
As Washington Begins Debate on Gun Violence Bills, National Responses Vary
As the U.S. Senate prepares to consider a package of gun violence prevention proposals this week, Republicans face a choice: whether to side with the vast majority of Americans who want common sense gun regulation, or with the radical pro-gun…
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April 11, 2013 1:51 pm | By Kyler
Delaware General Assembly Members Send Letter to Washington Urging Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
During the first post-Citizens United presidential election last year, the American people were able to see just how outsized and distorted Super PACs and corporate influence have become in our democracy. Fortunately, the American people aren’t just taking note; they’re…
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April 10, 2013 4:56 pm | By Peter Montgomery
Prison Privatization: Reality vs. ‘Magic of the Marketplace’
People For the American Way’s 2012 Right Wing Watch In Focus report, “Predatory Privatization,” included a section on the pernicious private prison industry. The report documented that, for all the talk of efficiency and accountability among lawmakers pushing privatization, the…
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April 8, 2013 9:27 pm | By Paul Gordon
Courts Without Judges, Per the GOP Plan
The Sunday New York Times has a powerful editorial about the intentional damage being done to our nation by Senate Republicans' sabotage of the judiciary branch of the United States government. The number of vacancies on the nation's federal courts…
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April 8, 2013 9:04 pm | By Libby
Keeping the Pressure On: PFAW Canvassing in Pennsylvania
This weekend, our Pennsylvania volunteers had their best canvassing trip yet- and not just because of the beautiful weather. 20 volunteers met in State Senator Lloyd Smucker’s district, spending their Saturday afternoon talking to 700 Pennsylvanians and collecting signatures for…
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April 5, 2013 4:34 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
North Carolina Drops Official Religion Bill
After vocal opposition from People For the American Way and others, Speaker Thom Tillis of the North Carolina House announced yesterday that a resolution stating that North Carolina has the power to declare an official religion would not be brought…
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April 4, 2013 8:08 pm | By Paul Gordon
Using the Courts to Derail Reform
Financial blogger Mike Konczal has a piece in Bloomberg today about how the financial industry is using federal circuit courts to kill the financial reform law passed by Congress and signed by the president in 2010. He writes: Banks and…
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April 3, 2013 7:08 pm | By Paul Gordon
Good-Bye, Judge Cebull
We finally have news on the investigation of Judge Richard Cebull of Montana: He is retiring. Judge Cebull, you may recall, sent a disgustingly racist e-mail about President Obama to his friends, then explained that he did so because he…
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April 3, 2013 5:58 pm | By Paul Gordon
Shredding the Constitution in North Carolina
Earlier today, PFAW's president Michael Keegan condemned North Carolina state legislators who have introduced a resolution to empower the state to declare an official state religion. As he noted, our nation was founded on the premise that church and state…
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March 28, 2013 7:05 pm | By Kyler
Inside the Supreme Court, Bearing Witness to History
My morning routine yesterday wasn’t very remarkable. The alarm went off with its standard annoying noise, my shower was cold (as is usual in a house of 16 interns fighting for precious little warm water), and breakfast was unquestionably mediocre.…
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March 28, 2013 5:44 pm | By Libby
Turning Up The Heat: PFAW Canvass in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Republicans’ strategy to rig the Electoral College rests on their pushing their plan through quietly, without voters realizing what they’re up to. They know they can’t win if people are paying attention, because rigging the game isn’t fair, it…
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March 28, 2013 1:51 pm | By Miranda Blue
What the Right Got Wrong About Marriage Equality
People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch has been closely following the Right Wing’s reaction to this week’s marriage equality arguments at the Supreme Court – which ranges from awkward homophobic discussions to outright threats of revolution. Last night,…