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December 16, 2011 10:18 pm | By Paul Gordon
Whose Opinion of the Courts Matters to the GOP?
During last night’s GOP presidential debate, Newt Gingrich perhaps unintentionally but perfectly encapsulated his party’s distorted vision of the role of the judiciary in our constitutional structure. It came when Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly asked the candidates whether Congress…
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December 16, 2011 8:56 pm | By Miranda Blue
Mitt Romney is Right
There was one remark in last night’s GOP debate that we here at PFAW whole-heartedly agreed with. Asked about his view on judicial appointments, Mitt Romney said:Let me note that the key thing I think the president is going to…
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December 15, 2011 10:26 pm | By Miranda Blue
Video: Peter Montgomery on the Marriage of the Religious Right and the Corporate Right
The Al Jazeera program Fault Lines takes an in-depth look this week at the increasingly close relationship between the Religious Right and the Corporate Right, and how it’s playing out in the Republican presidential race in Iowa. Among those interviewed…
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December 15, 2011 9:54 pm | By Paul Gordon
On Judges, Murkowski Stands Alone Within Her Party
Since President Obama took office, Senate Republicans have used every weapon in their arsenal to slow down or prevent altogether confirmation of his judicial nominees. With partisan obstruction as their lodestar, they have abandoned the principles they professed to have…
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December 15, 2011 6:16 pm | By Miranda Blue
Justice Department Charges Anti-Immigrant Hero Joe Arpaio with Long List of Civil Rights Violations
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is something of a hero to the anti-immigrant Right. He was one of the most outspoken proponents of Arizona’s draconian anti-immigrant law last year, in a large part because he had already been using the racial profiling…
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December 14, 2011 10:54 pm | By Miranda Blue
Holder: Protecting Voting Rights a ‘Moral Imperative’
In a groundbreaking speech last night, Attorney General Eric Holder promised that the Obama administration would fight back against attacks on voting rights – whether they’re launched by individuals committing voter intimidation or state governments suppressing the vote through restrictive…
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December 14, 2011 4:52 pm | By Paul Gordon
Ornstein: Senate GOP Causing “Damage to the Vital Interests of the United States”
The latest condemnation of the Senate GOP's dangerous obstruction against executive and judicial nominees comes from Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. In a column published in Roll Call, Ornstein blasted Senate Republicans for the…
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December 13, 2011 10:54 pm | By Justin
Corporate Investment of Choice: Political Influence
It turns out that many major U.S. corporations do spend a great deal of money on government – but not on taxes. Rather, they pay lobbyists to garner favorable government. According to a recent report in the International Business Times,…
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December 13, 2011 10:16 pm | By Miranda Blue
Holder to Speak Out Against Voter Suppression Measures
The New York Times reports that Attorney General Eric Holder will speak out tonight against the proliferation of state-level measures intended to make it more difficult for certain groups of people to vote:Mr. Holder is to speak Tuesday evening here…
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December 13, 2011 9:39 pm | By Paul Gordon
Supreme Court Becoming a Prominent Campaign Issue for 2012
The choice of a Supreme Court nominee is one of a president's most important roles, one that has an impact on every American for decades. When Americans vote for president, they are also voting for what the Supreme Court will…
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December 13, 2011 8:34 pm | By Miranda Blue
Videos: Norman Lear, Alec Baldwin, Young Elected Officials Celebrate 30 Years of PFAW Foundation
Last week, celebrities and political leaders gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate the 30th anniversary of People For the American Way Foundation. We posted some photos from the event here. We’ve now posted a couple of videos of the event.…
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December 12, 2011 10:26 pm | By Ben Betz
PFAWF to Lowe’s: Catering to Hate Is Bad for Business, Bad for America — This Holiday Season, Boycott Hate
Lowe's Home Improvement made a recent decision to pull advertising from TLC's "All-American Muslim" in the wake of an email campaign by a Florida-based right-wing hate group, setting a dangerous precedent and emboldening bigots. In response, People For the American…
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December 12, 2011 3:52 pm | By Miranda Blue
Coalition Urges Federal Agencies to Shed Light on Faith Discrimination Policies
A coalition of religious, civil rights, labor, secular, and women’s advocacy groups, including People For the American Way, sent a letter to thirteen federal agencies last week asking them to explain the process by which they review the legality of…
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December 9, 2011 9:59 pm | By Marge Baker
With Nominations, the Senate GOP Legislates by Gridlock
This piece originally appeared in the Huffington Post. The Senate GOP under President Obama has mastered the art of proactive apathy. Not content with neglecting their own jobs, Senate Republicans have expertly used their own dysfunction to prevent other parts…
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December 9, 2011 9:19 pm | By Miranda Blue
Empty Talking Points, Job Creators Edition
Republicans in Congress, who are currently in the process of stalling a tax cut for the middle class because it would be paid for by a miniscule surtax on the wealthiest, are adamant that the president’s plan for a payroll…
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December 9, 2011 7:33 pm | By Miranda Blue
In Plan B Decision, Obama Administration Channels but Does Not Please the Religious Right
On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled a science-based decision by the FDA to allow girls under 17 to access the emergency contraceptive Plan B without a prescription. Currently, women 17 and older can obtain the drug…
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December 8, 2011 11:06 pm | By Paul Gordon
GOP Disinformation Campaign on Filibustering Judges
Apparently recognizing the severe and possibly permanent damage they did to the judicial nominations process – and the entire U.S. court system – by filibustering Caitlin Halligan, Senate Republicans are running to the press to do damage control. Two days…
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December 8, 2011 4:47 pm | By Jen Herrick
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover’s Story Comes to ABC
Following the increased media attention paid to bullying-related suicides last fall, PFAW took a strong stand on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students and those who are perceived to be LGBT. Last Friday, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home…
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December 7, 2011 7:20 pm | By Miranda Blue
An Extraordinary Vote Shatters Senate Deal on ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’
The Senate GOP has already made it more difficult than ever for qualified judicial nominees to make it through the confirmation process. Yesterday, they made it even harder.Caitlin Halligan, President Obama’s nominee to fill the seat on the D.C. Circuit…
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December 7, 2011 3:56 pm | By Miranda Blue
Stars Celebrate 30 Years of PFAW Foundation
On Monday night, stars and political leaders gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate the 30th anniversary of People For the American Way Foundation. California Gov. Jerry Brown, PFAW Foundation board members Alec Baldwin and Tracey Edmonds, Jane Lynch, will.i.am, Rob…