Blog
All Blogs
-
June 2, 2011 6:58 pm | By Justin
Spoiler Alert: Wisconsin GOP Campaign Getting Desperate
The Wisconsin state GOP leadership is getting really, really desperate. Charged with the unenviable task of defending Republican state senators against recall elections, the GOP head honchos seems to be running out of ideas. You know you’re in trouble when…
-
June 1, 2011 5:25 pm | By Justin
Oversight Committee to Look to Vulnerable Targets for Budget Cuts, Avoid Tough Scrutiny
The House Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee is planning two hearings today, providing an interesting one-two punch against favorite Republican debt scapegoats: public workers and the poor. The first hearing of the day, Official Time: Good Value for the Taxpayer?…
-
June 1, 2011 2:48 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Supreme Court Win for John Ashcroft, a Grim Reminder for the Rest of Us
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously (with Justice Kagan recused) that former Attorney General John Ashcroft cannot be personally sued for alleged abuse of material-witness arrests in the days after the 9/11 attacks. In the weeks and months after 9/11,…
-
June 1, 2011 2:13 pm | By Nichole
Representative Darrell Issa Chooses Big Business Over the Lives of his Own Constituents
How many accidents will it take to get Rep. Darrell Issa to choose his constituents over his donors? The San Onofre Nuclear Station, located in Issa’s California congressional district, spilled 70 gallons of sulfuric acid on Saturday, its fifth spill…
-
May 31, 2011 8:33 pm | By Nichole
Republicans Across the Country Work to Disenfranchise Voters
In the buildup to the 2012 election, Republican legislatures across the nation are implementing a tactic many hoped would die with the signing of the Voting Right Act of 1965 -- silencing the voices of those who disagree with them…
-
May 27, 2011 7:26 pm | By Coral Kennelty-Cohen
Tennessee: Front and Center on Anti-Gay Legislation
Tennessee really seems to be going down the rabbit hole with their recent anti-gay legislation. Last month, a bill advanced to their state Senate, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would prohibit educators from discussing any sexual orientation other than…
-
May 27, 2011 7:13 pm | By Miranda Blue
Judge Rules that Corporations Can Give Directly to Candidates
And the Citizens United slippery slope continues… A judge has ruled that the campaign-finance law banning corporations from making contributions to federal candidates is unconstitutional, citing the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision last year in his analysis.In a ruling…
-
May 27, 2011 6:49 pm | By Nichole
Harry Jackson Says MLK Would Oppose Marriage Equality
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the House Armed Services Committee Authorization bill, which included three amendments designed to delay the repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. With the Senate taking up the bill, Rep. Randy Forbes,…
-
May 27, 2011 5:49 pm | By Paul Gordon
Roberts Court Upholds Arizona’s “Death Penalty” for Companies Hiring Undocumented Immigrants
With Chief Justice Roberts writing an opinion for the conservative majority (or, in parts of the decision, a plurality), the Supreme Court yesterday upheld an Arizona law imposing draconian penalties on employers for hiring undocumented aliens, evading a federal law…
-
May 27, 2011 5:07 pm | By Miranda Blue
With Liu Gone, GOP Still Twisting his Record
On Wednesday night, Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu wrote to President Obama asking that the his nomination to sit on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals be withdrawn. Liu’s exit was the culmination of two years of smears, scapegoating and…
-
May 26, 2011 3:51 pm | By Coral Kennelty-Cohen
House Votes to Defund Health Centers that Train Abortion Providers
The House has passed an amendment that would withdraw federal funding from health centers that teach abortion techniques. The sponsor of this proposal, Rep. Virginia Foxx, who previously asserted that the hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard was just a…
-
May 26, 2011 3:02 pm | By Paul Gordon
Scalia and Thomas Urge Results-Based Decision
This week, the two most famous arch-conservative Supreme Court Justices openly praised results-based jurisprudence and the legitimacy of bending the law in order to reach the desired result. Coming from Justices who have derided others for allegedly shaping their legal…
-
May 25, 2011 9:16 pm | By Nichole
Rep. Patrick McHenry Attacks Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calls Elizabeth Warren a Liar
House Republicans once again showed their lack of concern for the American consumer, using a subcommittee hearing about the nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to personally attack Elizabeth Warren, who helped develop the agency. McHenry had called Warren to a…
-
May 25, 2011 9:12 pm | By Coral Kennelty-Cohen
Hochul Wins Election by Opposing Medicare Cuts
Last night was a big win for progress, and a big loss for Paul Ryan’s plan to cut Medicare. Democrat Kathy Hochul won a special election in New York’s traditionally conservative 26th district. The critical issue in this election to…
-
May 25, 2011 2:44 pm | By Miranda Blue
Prop 8 Proponents Change Their Tune on the Damage of Marriage Equality
In their latest attempt to stymie marriage equality in the courts, the lawyers defending California’s Proposition 8 are now claiming that Vaughn Walker, the judge who ruled the state’s marriage discrimination unconstitutional, should have been disqualified from the case because…
-
May 23, 2011 10:10 pm | By Justin
Democrats Urge House Oversight Committee to Investigate Speculators
Tomorrow, the House Oversight & Government Reform committee will hold a hearing about the role of speculation in gas prices. Ranking member Elijah E. Cummings has released a report examining the root causes of inflated fuel costs, which concludes that…
-
May 23, 2011 8:54 pm | By Miranda Blue
Focus on the Family Leader Admits that Right is “Losing” Equality Debate
Jim Daly, president of the Religious Right group Focus on the Family conceded to an interviewer last week that anti-gay groups have “probably lost” the debate over marriage equality. It’s a big admission by a prominent figure on the Right,…
-
May 23, 2011 5:00 am | By
Pandering for the Primaries, Pawlenty Tacks Right
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty officially launched his presidential campaign today in Iowa. Although he has been campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire for a couple of years now, you may not know much about him. He has low name…
-
May 19, 2011 9:03 pm | By Ben Betz
Murkowski Shows Her Colleagues How to Keep One’s Word with Liu Vote
As a bit of follow up to Michael's post about the Goodwin Liu vote, it is worth noting that Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the ONLY Republican senator to break with her party and do the right thing, voting to move…
-
May 19, 2011 8:46 pm | By
Shameful!
Imagine senators of one party filibustering a judicial nominee who has been hailed as one of his generation’s great legal minds by legal experts of both parties and across the ideological spectrum on the grounds that he is *too* qualified.…