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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 –…
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July 13, 2011 8:45 pm | By Omari
Cummings takes on Issa (again): Exposes bias and partisanship in stewardship of Oversight Committee
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings has, yet again, exposed Representative Darrell Issa’s apparent use of his Committee chairmanship to advance a partisan agenda. Cummings earlier today released a forty-page investigative report, which presents compelling evidence of efforts by…
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July 13, 2011 6:05 pm | By Brian
Maddow Shines Light On Perry’s Extreme Prayer Rally Endorsers
Cross-posted on Right Wing WatchLast night Rachel Maddow looked into the radical views of the preachers and activists that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is partnering with to put on his The Response prayer rally. Utilizing research from People For the…
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July 13, 2011 3:23 pm | By Justin
New Tool Gives Unprecedented Insight into ALEC
Today, the Center for Media & Democracy and The Nation unveiled www.ALECexposed.org, an important resource that provides key insight into the workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the shadowy organization that shepherds corporate-crafted bills through state legislatures, as…
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July 12, 2011 9:49 pm | By Justin
Press Conference to Support the Shareholder Protection Act
Tomorrow, PFAW will join the Corporate Reform Coalition to support the Shareholder Protection Act, a valuable tool which will help improve transparency in the wake of Citizen’s United by requiring corporations to disclose their political donations to their shareholders. Often,…
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July 12, 2011 6:23 pm | By Justin
Deceitful Robocalls Added to List of Dirty Election Tricks in Wisconsin
The Wisconsin GOP has been going to great lengths to sabotage efforts to conduct fair and open recall elections in Wisconsin. Instead of honestly putting their candidates against the Democrats and letting the voters decide between the two, they are…
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July 11, 2011 8:09 pm | By Libby
Wisconsin News Round-Up, 07/11
Today's news from Wisconsin: Democrats in the Wisconsin state legislature got their first look at the new district map, which shamelessly ignored the law and [] redistricted Democrats out of their districts. John Nichols at the Nation has a great…
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July 11, 2011 7:38 pm | By Justin
Disclosure Critics are Missing the Point
Legislative efforts to combat the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizen’s United decision, which opened the door to unlimited, secretive spending by shadowy groups, have been having a tough time getting past corporate lobbyists and Republicans in Congress. First, Congress failed to…