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July 21, 2011 8:02 pm | By Justin
Politico’s Playbook Misses the Call on ALEC
Politico’s Mike Allen publishes a daily run-down on the happenings in Washington called the “Playbook,” in which he boils down the news of the day into salient tidbits that fit easily on your smartphone screen. However, he missed the call…
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July 21, 2011 7:48 pm | By Brian
PFAW Looks Into Rick Perry’s Extremist Ties
PFAW President Michael Keegan today wrote in the Huffington Post today about the radical and fanatical figures organizing Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s The Response prayer rally on August 6. Research from PFAW’s Right Wing Watch exposed many of Perry’s allies’…
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July 21, 2011 3:13 pm | By Omari
Empowering LGBT youth: Stephen Colbert, “It gets better”
Stephen Colbert, an actor, comedian, and host of the political satire show, The Colbert Report, dropped his usual sarcastic persona to speak candidly about the problems of teen bullying. In this video for the “It Gets Better Project,” Colbert discusses…
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July 21, 2011 1:45 pm | By Omari
CFPB finally opens its doors: A welcome sign of true financial reform
Exactly one year after the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law, the much anticipated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is open for business. The agency is part of the response to calls for much tougher oversight and will protect consumers…
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July 20, 2011 10:10 pm | By Omari
Senate holds historic hearing on DOMA repeal
Today, Sen. Patrick Leahy convened the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold the body's first ever hearing on the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing legal same-sex marriages, was signed into…
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July 20, 2011 9:32 pm | By Miranda Blue
Is Rick Perry a moderate? Perhaps, if the price is right.
Cross-posted on Right Wing Watch Here at People For the American Way, we’ve spent the last several weeks marveling as Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans a blockbuster Christian prayer rally in Houston, gathering around him a remarkable collection of Religious…
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July 20, 2011 6:09 pm | By Coral Kennelty-Cohen
Two-Thirds of Americans Would Vote for a Gay President
USA Today ran a fantastic article on its front page today, featuring PFAW Foundation board member Kyrsten Sinema, who is an Arizona state senator and a member of PFAW Foundation’s Young Elected Officials Network. The article highlights some statistics that…
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July 20, 2011 2:39 pm | By Coral Kennelty-Cohen
Who’s Who in Today’s DOMA Hearing
Cross-posted on RIght Wing Watch Senate Republicans have called Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, David Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund and Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center as witnesses in today’s hearing on the…
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July 19, 2011 9:17 pm | By Miranda Blue
Can Muslim-Bashing Win Votes?
In Mother Jones, Stephan Salisbury argues that anti-Muslim race-baiting – popular among the Tea Party Right in 2010 – isn’t actually an effective tactic for winning elections. He looks at some of the most prominent congressional and gubernatorial candidates to…
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July 19, 2011 4:39 pm | By Paul Gordon
More Than 50 Legal Academics Blast Obstruction of 7th Circuit Nomination
More and more Americans are fed up with freshman Senator Ron Johnson's single-handedly blocking the Senate from even considering the nomination of Victoria Nourse to Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that: Johnson's decision to block…
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July 19, 2011 3:43 pm | By Coral Kennelty-Cohen
Wisconsin Recall Vote Today
It’s election day in Wisconsin; time to get out there and vote! Today is the first of a slew of recall elections in nine of Wisconsin’s state Senate districts, with six Democrats running to reclaim seats from incumbent Republicans, and…
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July 19, 2011 2:28 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Tea Party Constitution and the Debt Ceiling
Last year, we released a report on the myriad ways that the Tea Party movement – supposedly obsessed with the Constitution – twists the United States’ founding documents beyond recognition.This month, in the debate over the normally routine process of…
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July 18, 2011 9:59 pm | By Justin
Republican Obstructionism Knows No Bounds
We’ve seen Republican Obstructionism at work against our federal judicial system, as Sen. Mitch McConnell and his cohorts have blocked many exceptionally-qualified, mainstream jurists from receiving an up-or-down vote in the Senate and many more have been needlessly delayed. But…
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July 18, 2011 5:03 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Milestone for Diversity on the Federal Bench
Today, the Senate confirmed J. Paul Oetken to be a federal judge in the Southern District of New York. He is the first openly gay man to be confirmed as an Article III judge (one with lifetime tenure).In order for…
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July 14, 2011 10:01 pm | By Omari
Warren faces Issa one more time before launch of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Elizabeth Warren appeared before the House Oversight Committee yet one more time on Wednesday – her third trip to the Committee – in advance of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) launch next week. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer…
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July 14, 2011 9:51 pm | By Omari
Will California’s LGBT-inclusive curricula promote safer schools?
California's Governor Jerry Brown signed the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act (FAIR Act) today, a landmark piece of legislation requiring the state’s public schools to include LGBT history in their curricula. This major step forward is not only…
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July 14, 2011 8:43 pm | By Melissa
PFAW Denounces Voter Suppression Laws
At yesterday’s press conference on Capitol Hill, People For the American Way joined with Rev. Jesse Jackson, 12 other national civil rights organizations and numerous members of Congress to denounce the draconian and suppressive voting measures that have been enacted…
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July 14, 2011 3:50 pm | By Paul Gordon
Judiciary Committee Republicans: More and More Delay
As People For the American Way has noted before, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have exercised their prerogative to delay committee consideration of every single one of President Obama's judicial nominees by at least one week, with only four exceptions. More…
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July 13, 2011 10:10 pm | By Miranda Blue
ALEC’s Elections Agenda
Justin wrote earlier today about the trove of model legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that the Center for Media and Democracy released today. ALEC, which is funded largely by corporate interests, is a driving force behind a…
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July 13, 2011 9:03 pm | By Miranda Blue
Progressive groups to Wisconsin Supreme Court: Prosser must go
Yesterday, members of a number of Wisconsin progressive groups gathered in front of the Wisconsin capitol to demand that state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser step down until an investigation into his alleged choking of another justice is complete.Prosser –…