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News and Analysis
February 16, 2018 2:54 pm | By 28187, 28185, 28183The Progressive Happy Hour: One Year of Jeff Sessions
Jeff Sessions has now been attorney general for one year, and under his leadership, much of the Justice Department’s past progress in safeguarding civil rights is rapidly being eroded. In the February 16 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” hosts…
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News and Analysis
February 15, 2018 6:29 pm | By 28188Trump’s Anti-LGBTQ Judicial Nominees Hall of Shame Gains a New Member
With Donald Trump in the White House, it seems that hostility to LGBTQ equality is a ticket to a lifetime position as a federal judge. Kyle Duncan, Jeff Mateer, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Damien Schiff, Mark Norris, and Steve Grasz are among…
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News and Analysis
February 13, 2018 12:08 pm | By 60767Right-Wing Media #ReleasedTheMemo
A few weeks ago, the right-wing media universe began working tirelessly to stoke public outrage and encourage their audiences to demand the public release of a memo authored by Rep. Devin Nunes, which many claimed contained irrefutable evidence that President Obama’s…
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News and Analysis
February 9, 2018 1:36 pm | By 28187, 28185The Progressive Happy Hour: Standing Up for Workers’ Rights
Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that threatens to undermine the ability of working people to come together in unions and fight for fair pay and equitable workplaces. In the February 9 episode of…
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News and Analysis
February 8, 2018 4:11 pm | By 28188One Family’s Devastating Experience with Trump Nominee Kyle Duncan
Louisiana's Kyle Duncan, nominee to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, has a deeply disturbing record demonstrating why he should not be confirmed. Adding a unique perspective to that record is a newly published op-ed in the New York Times.…
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News and Analysis
February 7, 2018 4:33 pm | By 28188Grassley Moving Forward on Wisconsin Nominee Pushes Us Closer to the Brink
In January, by holding a hearing on Michael Brennan for the Seventh Circuit, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley thumbed his nose at Sen. Tammy Baldwin. He junked the bipartisan commission process that Baldwin and fellow Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson…
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News and Analysis
February 2, 2018 3:32 pm | By 28187, 28185The Progressive Happy Hour: The State of Our Union is Not Normal
Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union address this week, pushing a cruel agenda and hiding behind trappings of normalcy during anything-but-normal times in our country. In the February 2 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” hosts Christin…
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News and Analysis
January 29, 2018 6:11 pm | By 28188NY judge orders immigrant released and reminds us that courts matter
As the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress are working to transform our nation into a dark, unfamiliar, and non-democratic society, we turn to the third branch of government—our federal courts—to protect our Constitution and our democratic norms. New York…
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News and Analysis
January 26, 2018 1:44 pm | By 28187, 28185The Progressive Happy Hour: The Anti-Choice Movement Tries an (Old) New Tactic
Tens of thousands of anti-choice activists came to Washington, D.C., this month to demonstrate against the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but some abortion-rights opponents aren’t stopping at marches. In the January 26 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” we…
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News and Analysis
January 26, 2018 12:29 pm | By 53561Jeff Sessions Is Just Getting Started: 7 Things You May’ve Missed Over the Holidays
In 1986, the late civil rights activist Coretta Scott King sent senators a nine-page statement opposing Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as a federal judge, writing: “A person who has exhibited so much hostility to… the exercise of [voting] rights by Black…
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News and AnalysisJanuary 26, 2018 12:08 pm | By 28188
Defending the Blue Slip: Chuck Grassley Makes the Case Against Himself
Sen. Chuck Grassley, who strongly defended the “blue slip” policy for President Obama’s judicial nominees, has done a screeching U-turn since Donald Trump took office. On January 24, Grassley held a confirmation hearing for a judicial nominee, Michael Brennan, without…
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News and Analysis
January 24, 2018 4:53 pm | By 28188Trump Nominee Shows Astonishing Ignorance of Racial Bias
If you cannot or will not acknowledge that there is at least implicit racial bias in our nation’s criminal justice system, you have no business being confirmed to a court that regularly reviews criminal proceedings. If you’ve served as a…
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News and Analysis
January 24, 2018 3:53 pm | By 53562New “Conscience” Rule Will Hurt LGBTQ People and Women of Color
On January 18, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of a “conscience and religious freedom” division. They followed that up on January 19 with proposed regulations that could expand religious exemption laws in new…
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News and Analysis
January 23, 2018 5:31 pm | By 28188Neil Gorsuch Continues to Flaunt Inappropriate Partisanship
What’s wrong with having dinner with high-ranking Senate Republicans? Nothing, unless you’re a member of the Supreme Court with an obligation to avoid both real and apparent bias. On January 22, Sen. Lamar Alexander tweeted: I enjoyed having dinner tonight…
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News and Analysis
January 19, 2018 4:28 pm | By 5356112 Months of Trump: 12 Attacks on the American Way
On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the president of the United States. The resistance has claimed significant victories since then, including sweeping the elections in November, stopping extremist judicial nominees, and signing up millions for Obamacare.…
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News and Analysis
January 19, 2018 2:31 pm | By 28187, 28185, 44533The Progressive Happy Hour: The Fight Against ‘Citizens United’
This weekend marks the eighth anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court Citizens United decision, which paved the way for corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money influencing elections. In the January 19 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” hosts Christin…
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News and Analysis
January 19, 2018 12:17 pm | By 28188Republicans Advance More Dangerously Unqualified Nominees
On January 18, 2018, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance a large number of nominees, six of whom we have opposed as dangerously unqualified: Thomas Farr; Eric Dreiband; Mark Norris; Matthew Kacsmaryk; Kyle Duncan; and David Stras. Five of…
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News and Analysis
January 18, 2018 5:06 pm | By 43665TIME Cover on Women Candidates Features Five Endorsees of PFAW’s ‘Next Up’ Program
The new TIME Magazine cover features first-time women candidates who have run for office since Donald Trump was elected, including many who won their races in 2017. Among them are five trailblazing women in Virginia who were supported by People…
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News and Analysis
January 18, 2018 12:40 pm | By 53561
PFAW Calls Out Senators Who Honor Dr. King Then Vote for Thomas Farr
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Republicans in Congress flock to social media to post their favorite Dr. King quotes out of context and reflect on his legacy of equality and justice. At the same time, they refuse to act…
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News and Analysis
January 17, 2018 12:47 pm | By 28183The Racist in the Oval Office
In the media, there’s often been a reluctance to use the “R-Word” to label behavior, watering it down to terms like “offensive” or “inappropriate,” but we need to say it loud and clear: President Trump’s attacks on black and brown…