Blog
All Blogs
-
October 12, 2010 12:39 am | By Paul Gordon
Big Pharma and the Next Congress
In addition to the obvious legal questions involved in the pharmaceutical immunity case of Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, this case also has a political component that ties it to the midterm elections. If the Supreme Court interprets the Vaccine Act in…
-
October 9, 2010 12:21 am | By Miranda Blue
Who ya callin’ elite?
In a recent speech in Mobile, Alabama, George W. Bush previewed his new book, “Decision Points,” and got all “aw, shucks” about the “elites” who have misunderestimated him: “I have written a book. This will come as a shock to…
-
October 8, 2010 9:58 pm | By Miranda Blue
Rep. Edwards: Support for Constitutional Amendment growing in “chaotic political climate”
Rep. Donna Edwards, the sponsor of a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, reacted today to the letter in support of such an amendment, signed by 50 prominent attorneys and law professors, that People For…
-
October 8, 2010 4:24 pm | By Brian
Record Spending in September by Outside Groups
The Center for Responsive Politics has tabulated the spending totals of outside groups from September to the beginning of October, revealing such enormous spending levels that third-party organizations are even spending more than the candidates themselves. Of the top ten…
-
October 7, 2010 10:31 pm | By Miranda Blue
Some Perspective on Park51
The pastor of the oldest Catholic church in New York State was researching his church’s 200-year history this summer and noticed some interesting parallels to a debate going on a few blocks away. In an interview with the New York…
-
October 7, 2010 10:16 pm | By Jen Herrick
Honor Matthew Shepard by making it better
These words have perhaps never been truer than they are right now. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. I was…
-
October 7, 2010 8:01 pm | By Miranda Blue
Republican Candidates in Their Own Words
United Steelworkers has put together this remarkable video of Republican candidates discussing issues such as Social Security, unemployment benefits, and the minimum wage. It speaks for itself:
-
October 7, 2010 7:54 pm | By Miranda Blue
Protesting Foreign Corporate Money in Elections
This afternoon, several of us at People For the American Way went to lend our support (and homemade signage) to a protest that MoveOn had organized in front of the Chamber of Commerce.The Chamber has been in the spotlight this…
-
October 7, 2010 7:36 pm | By Miranda Blue
And Support for Marriage Equality Keeps on Inching Up…
The Pew Research Center reported this week that fewer than half of Americans are opposed to same-sex marriage, the first time opposition has dipped below 50% since Pew began polling on the issue 15 years ago. Opposition to marriage equality…
-
October 6, 2010 9:57 pm | By Miranda Blue
Stevens: Campaign money is “simply not speech”
In a wide-ranging interview with NPR’s Nina Totenberg this week, former Justice John Paul Stevens touched on his strong opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, to which he wrote an adamant dissenting opinion. As for…
-
October 6, 2010 9:50 pm | By Miranda Blue
Kudlow to Corporate-Backed Groups: Disclose Your Funding
Yesterday, Think Progress dropped a campaign finance bombshell when it reported that the US Chamber of Commerce, which is spending tens of millions of dollars this year to run ads supporting GOP candidates in federal elections, is collecting hundreds of…
-
October 6, 2010 4:14 pm | By Brian
Chamber’s Foreign Funding Demonstrates the Need to Revisit Citizens United
Coming on the heels of a report by ThinkProgress on how the US Chamber of Commerce uses membership dues from foreign corporations to pay for political advertisements in American elections, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United is facing new…
-
October 6, 2010 3:19 pm | By Paul Gordon
Why Are Republicans Opposing a Judiciary That Looks Like America?
With Republican Senators refusing to allow votes even on nominees who they do not oppose, they are depriving courts across the nation of the judges needed to ensure justice for all. In fact, the Senate recessed last week without confirming…
-
October 6, 2010 3:00 pm | By Jen Herrick
Tracking the Obstruction: Lifting the Veil of Progress
In the last week of its fall session, the Senate confirmed 54 executive branch nominations. But we haven’t necessarily made progress just because 54 positions are now full.I took a look at the Executive Calendar (list of all treaties and…
-
October 5, 2010 3:30 pm | By Brian
The Crossroads Juggernaut Reaches New Heights and Receives More Scrutiny
American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, the sister conservative organizations that hope to raise $52 million in order to defeat Democratic candidates in 2010, is already close to spending a combined $20 million in ads. After spending an initial $14 million…
-
October 5, 2010 2:54 pm | By Brian
Chamber of Commerce uses Foreign Funding for Political Ads
In January President Obama in his Statue of the Union address warned Americans of the deleterious impact the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United would have on our political process: With all due deference to separation of powers, last week…
-
October 4, 2010 3:56 pm | By Peter Montgomery
Santorum Slamming JFK, Secularism
Fifty years ago, the man who would become America’s first Catholic president delivered a historic speech that helped reduce anti-Catholic prejudice in our public life. Five decades later, a man who would like to be the nation’s second Catholic president celebrated…
-
October 3, 2010 11:08 pm | By Paul Gordon
First Monday in October
Today, as the Supreme Court opens its new term, the major news concerns a decision from last term: the solid rebuke of Citizens United by a bipartisan group of more than 50 legal scholars and public officials. The impact of…
-
October 1, 2010 9:45 pm | By Miranda Blue
Ms. Angle’s Civics Class
In a remarkable speech reported today in the Mesquite (Nevada) Local News, Sharron Angle seemed to be taking her cues directly from our Rogues’ Gallery of right-wing candidates. She started off with a novel civics lesson, telling her audience, "Government…
-
October 1, 2010 9:14 pm | By Brian
Pro-GOP Outside Groups Eclipse Parties in Spending
Traditionally, political parties and their campaign arms spend the most amount of money promoting their congressional and senatorial candidates across the country. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, however, a flurry of outside groups has materialized with gigantic…