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How Michigan’s Right-To-Work Law Came to Be by Theresa Riley, billmoyers.com | December 12, 2012
As police held back thousands of protesters near the state capital building, Michigan, the birthplace of the modern labor movement, became the 24th state to enact so-called “right-to-work” legislation. Earlier today, Governor Rick Snyder signed two bills preventing public and private sector unions from requiring workers to pay union fees. The Detroit News reports that after requests from Grover Norquist and others, Snyder switched sides on the issue. United Auto Workers President Robert King said in an interview, that the Koch brothers and Amway owner Dick DeVos “bullied and bought their way to get this legislation in Michigan.” State Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville may have been under pressure, the DetroitFree Press said, from the anti-union Americans for Prosperity and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), both financially supported by the Koch brothers. ALEC’s model right-to-work bill “mirrors the Michigan law word for word.” read more »In Michigan, the Republican Will to Power by Jonathan Chait, nymag.com | December 12, 2012
Republicans understand full well that Michigan leans Democratic, and the GOP has total power at the moment, so its best use of that power is to crush one of the largest bastions of support for the opposing party. I don’t think Democrats abstain from this behavior (to anything like the degree the GOP employs it) because it’s made of angels. Rather, the Democratic party comprises an economically diverse coalition, including not just labor but business as well. Even if Democrats could come up with a plan to crush the political power of business — which is hard because business is way larger and stronger than labor, even in Michigan — huge chunks of the party would object. Whereas nobody in the GOP cares about labor at all, so it’s easier to unify them behind the kind of political/class war strategy we’re seeing here. read more »Once Again, Senate Republicans Reject International Human Rights by Barbara Crossette, The Nation | December 12, 2012
On December 4, Republican Senators blocked US adoption of a global convention to protect the disabled. With that the Republican right, whose election losses have taught them nothing about the changing face of American society or the evolving world role of the United States, signaled that it intends to stall or kill all international treaties sent to the Senate for ratification by the Obama administration. Even pleas from a frail and crippled Bob Dole in his wheelchair, and from Senator John McCain, a wounded and tortured war hero, failed to budge fellow Republicans in the name of humanity and justice. The isolationist GOP is happy to bully other nations but not help their people achieve rights Americans enjoy. read more »Selling Out America's Youth: An Open Letter to Alan Simpson by Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, Huffington Post | December 11, 2012
Dear former Senator Alan Simpson: I've seen you on television chatting up your debt reduction proposal with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, Savannah Guthrie of the Today Show and Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation. And while you come across as a likable guy, your claim to be working on behalf of the next generation of young Americans is bogus. Here's why. You see, your argument rests on a big myth: that in order to save Social Security and Medicare for the young, you have to cut our benefits. This couldn't be further from the truth. There are fairer ways to ensure that these pillars of American progress stand the test of time. One option includes making wealthy individuals pay more by lifting Social Security's cap on wages, currently set at $110,100. read more »The Peril of a Sentient GOP by Eugene Robinson, truthdig.com | December 11, 2012
The biggest problem the Republican Party faces is not uninspiring candidates or unsound tactics. It is unpopular ideas. This reality was brought home in last month’s election. It’s playing out in the struggle over how to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” And we’ll see it again in coming fights over immigration, entitlements, inequality and a host of other issues. Here’s the sad thing: Republicans get this stuff so wrong that Democrats aren’t even forced to go to the trouble of getting it right. There will be those who doubt the sincerity of my advice to the GOP, since my standing as a conservative is—justifiably—less than zero. But I’ve always believed in competition, if only to prevent liberals from becoming lazy and unimaginative. One could argue that this is already happening. read more »John Boehner Has No Mandate by John Nichols, The Nation | December 11, 2012
In July, John Boehner said the November 6 election would be a “referendum on the president’s economic policies.” On November 6, Obama won that referendum. The president was not the only winner. Beyond Obama’s personal mandate, Democrats can point to a clear signal from the voting for the US Senate. The Democratic caucus added two new members—despite the fact that the pattern of contests was overwhelmingly favorable to the Republicans—for a clear 55-45 advantage in the chamber. Notably, the Democratic mandate extends to the House. How’s that? Doesn’t John Boehner have a mandate of his own? Not if we're counting actual votes. In the 2012 voting for US House seats that formally finished Saturday with a runoff in Louisiana, 59,262,059 Americans voted Democratic, while only 58,105,500 voted Republican. It has been seventy years since the party that controlled the Congress did not win the most votes. read more »Are Republicans Just Bad At Politics? by Alex Seitz-Wald, salon.com | December 11, 2012
All the hand-wringing and soul searching going on in the conservative movement boils down to one fundamental question: Are we bad at selling our policies, or are the policies themselves the problem? If the issue is merely in the marketing, then the damage is mostly cosmetic and can be quickly repaired with better messaging and candidates. The alternative, however, calls for rethinking foundational principles — and is much more painful. John Podhoretz and Matt Lewis made the cases for the “just politics” camp in the context of the “fiscal cliff” debate. Democrats, they argue, have deftly outmaneuvered Republicans into spending all their time defending unpopular things that are peripheral to core conservative values. While it’s hard to imagine Democrats, of all people, “brilliantly outmaneuver[ing]” anyone, their assumption seems to be this: If the key ideological conflicts of the day were fought in pitched battles on level playing fields, Republicans would win. So is this correct? read more »The Obama Administration Plays Hardball On Medicaid by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | December 11, 2012
When the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, it also gave Republican states a gift by saying they could opt out of what may be the ACA's most important part, the dramatic expansion of Medicaid that will give insurance to millions of people who don't now have it. Republican governors and legislatures don't like the Medicaid expansion, which is why nine states have said they'll refuse to expand Medicaid. But some states asked the Obama administration whether they could expand Medicaid a bit—maybe not cover everyone up to 133 percent like the law says, but add a few people to the rolls. And yesterday, the administration said no. It's all or nothing: either you expand Medicaid up to 133 percent, or you get none of the new money. Was that the right thing to do? Well first, let's talk about that money. read more »What's With The GOP’s Absurd Fear Of All Things U.N.? by Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Washington Post | December 11, 2012
At least they had the decency to wait 24 hours. Last Tuesday, following the international day honoring the disabled, 38 Senate Republicans voted down the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. With former Senate majority leader and disabled WWII veteran Bob Dole silently beseeching them from his wheelchair, Dole’s fellow Republicans railed against “cumbersome regulations” that could threaten American “sovereignty.” What is it about the United Nations that sends the GOP into such a tizzy? That diplomats are encouraged to speak French? The United Nation’s intentions are the best, yet Republicans always assume the worst. They weep for the improbable horrors that could be but shed very few tears for the hardships in the here and now, such those suffered by the 1 billion disabled people worldwide who struggle with patchwork laws and official neglect. As comedian Jon Stewart noted, “Republicans hate the United Nations more than they like helping people in wheelchairs.” read more »The GOP May Have Some Real Leverage Here by Steve Kornacki, salon.com | December 11, 2012
Republicans have essentially no leverage in the current “cliff” negotiations. The policy consequences of doing nothing are a lot worse for them than for Obama and the Democrats. So Obama is in position to demand concessions that the GOP wouldn’t ordinarily give up – like, for instance, an increase in tax rates, something no Republican in Congress has voted for in 22 years. Faced with this imbalance, though, Republicans have lately been making noise about forcing another confrontation over the debt ceiling, which we’re due to hit a little over a month into the new year. This is where things get complicated. What we know is that Obama’s official position is that any attempt by the GOP to replicate the brinkmanship of the summer of 2011 is a non-starter. The problem is that “Democrats have no consensus plan to execute if the debt ceiling isn’t increased before the end of the year.”. read more »
The Latest
E. Coli Found in Nestle Cookie Dough Sample, USA Today | June 30, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration said a sample of raw cookie dough collected at a Nestle USA manufacturing plant last week has tested positive for E. coli. Nestle voluntarily recalled all Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products made at the Danville, Va., factory earlier this month after the FDA told Nestle it suspected consumers may have been exposed to E. read more »
Beef Recall from Colorado Company Expanded, money.cnn.com | June 29, 2009
A recall of beef by a Colorado company that was announced last week because of possible E. coli contamination was expanded to include an additional 380,000 pounds of the company's beef products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. read more »
Rail’s Hazardous Cargo Debate Back on Track, MSNBC News | June 29, 2009
The derailment of freight trains carrying ethanol, in Illinois, earlier this month highlights the struggle to prevent such disasters along the 140,000-mile U.S. rail network. The pressure is on to tackle outstanding safety issues with hazardous-cargo shipments expected to soar in coming years. Fears that terrorists might view chemical-laden tankers as easy targets adds to the urgency. read more »
House Panel Examines U.S. Attorneys Oversight, Associated Press | June 25, 2009
A former U.S. attorney and New Jersey's Republican gubernatorial candidate defended an arrangement in which one-time Attorney General John Ashcroft's consulting firm made millions of dollars monitoring a controversial deferred prosecution agreement. read more »
Fed Faces Cover-Up Charges In Bank of America Merger, Financial Times | June 25, 2009
A Republican congressman accused the Federal Reserve of a “cover-up” over the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch takeover, raising the stakes ahead of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s appearance before a House subcommittee investigating the deal. read more »
FEMA Misspent $7 Million on Warehouses, Associated Press | June 25, 2009
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ignored the law and misused millions of dollars to build two warehouses after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to government investigators. Some of the money FEMA misused should have gone toward Katrina victims in Louisiana, according to a Homeland Security Inspector General report. read more »
Republicans Want TARP Money Back, Politico | June 17, 2009
If President Barack Obama thought Republicans would give him a break — or maybe even a little credit — for the Treasury Department’s recent announcement that 10 banks were allowed to repay their federal bailout funds, he can think again. read more »
GOP Comeback Limited by Demographic Changes, The Washington Post | June 15, 2009
There has been much chatter about who now speaks for the Republican Party, and whether the GOP has a message or an agenda to combat President Obama's popularity. read more »
GOA Report Reveals Holes In Food Safety Net, time.com | June 15, 2009
Amid increasing reports of food-borne illness, the GAO is calling out the Food and Drug Administration for failing in its duty to ensure the safety of the nation's food, particularly its fresh fruits and vegetables. Thousands of people have been sickened; the produce industry has lost millions of dollars. read more »
Senators Who Opposed Tobacco Bill Got Top Dollar From Industry, mcclatchydc.com | June 12, 2009
Among the 17 senators who voted against allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco are some of the top recipients of campaign contributions from the tobacco industry, which has donated millions of dollars to lawmakers in the past several campaign cycles. read more »
