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Dear Mr. President: “Fix That” by Sandra Fluke, salon.com | November 28, 2012
Those of us who were still awake late into election night 2012 heard President Obama say, “I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have to fix that.” If I could ask President Obama to do just one thing over the next four years, I would ask him to use his leadership to “fix that.” Twelve years after the startling disarray of the 2000 election, in too many states dismally bad election administration has become the expected course. This year, we saw thousands of our fellow citizens still wait in those endless lines, cast provisional ballots and file complaints when they were illegally denied the opportunity to vote. American citizens are literally fighting for their right to vote. Now it’s time that Congress and President Obama step to that fight. read more »Corrupting U.S. Democracy by Paul R. Pillar, consortiumnews.com | November 20, 2012
Before the 2012 election fades in our memories, displaced by sex scandals and other attention-getting news, Americans ought to reflect on what works well and — even more worthy of reflection — what works poorly in their representative democracy. I’m not talking about post-mortems concerning the specific electoral outcome and what led a particular party or candidate to win or lose. I instead am referring to serious deficiencies that ought to trouble any American, regardless of liking or disliking this month’s election result, who values a healthy and fair political system that respects the will of the people. Some of the most undemocratic aspects of what American electoral democracy has become were in display at least as much in this most recent electoral cycle as in any other. One concerns the role of money, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and the ineffectiveness of the Federal Election Commission reaching new depths. read more »Spotlight on Dark Money by Lisa Graves, inthesetimes.com | November 20, 2012
The re-election of President Barack Obama and the strengthened Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate present an opportunity to undo Citizens United—an opportunity that would not have been possible had Mitt Romney won or the Senate majority flipped. Romney was on record supporting the decision. In fact, he wanted to expand it to repeal the century-old ban on corporations giving directly to candidates from their treasuries. Although Senate Democrats are still far short of a filibuster-proof majority, they do have more leverage—if they have the stamina and stomach—to insist on some ameliorations of Citizens United. And they have the platform to demand that the vacancies be filled on the Federal Election Commission, which have crippled enforcement of the weak laws that remain “constitutional” under this Court. read more »Lessons of 2012: Pushing Back Against Voter Suppression by Tova Wang, policyshop.net | November 19, 2012
The right to vote is just that – a fundamental right which is the cornerstone of American democracy. In the 2012 election, that sacred value was challenged in a way we have not seen in a couple of generations, perhaps since the civil and voting rights movements of the 1960s. Some powerful people tried to deny this right; legislatures in many states decided that the freedom to vote should be restricted, and they erected many unnecessary and discriminatory barriers to registration and voting. The measures taken were so blatant and widespread that they served to energize coalitions of citizens to fight for voting rights harder than ever, and made many voters more determined to vote and have their vote count. read more »Why the 2012 Election Was a Vote for Democracy by John Nichols, The Nation | November 15, 2012
It was easy to imagine, going into the November 6 election, that the fix was in. But the people pushed back, giving President Obama a 3.4 million popular vote victory, a 332–206 Electoral College landslide, a Senate that is more Democratic and more progressive, and a House with considerably fewer Tea Party extremists. This has led some commentators to imagine that a template has been developed for defending the will of the people in the face of unprecedented financial and structural assaults on the democratic process. But that’s a naïve assumption. The better lesson to take from 2012 is that voters really do want a fair and functional democracy, and that Democrats and their allies should use the authority they have been handed to fight for it. read more »Just How Bad Was Citizens United For Business? by Anthony Kammer, prospect.org | November 9, 2012
Tuesday’s race was the first presidential election to take place since Citizens United, and campaign spending this cycle exceeded $6 billion. With fundraising split roughly evenly between the two major parties, it was inevitable that some donors wouldn’t be able to buy the electoral outcomes they were hoping for. Tuesday’s election did offer a number of encouraging signs that coalitions of grassroots activists, volunteers, and voters can, in fact, stand up to SuperPACs, 501(c)4 groups, and other powerful aggregations of wealth that have been empowered as a result of America’s deregulated campaign finance system. Despite these positive developments, it would be a mistake to think that the fight against money in politics is over. read more »Will Republican Megadonors Say Sayonara to Super-PACs? by Andy Kroll, Mother Jones | November 9, 2012
Can't buy me gov. That line neatly sums up the dismal showing on Election Day for the fundraisers, super-PAC strategists, and big-dollar donors of the Republican Party. Outside groups spent north of $1 billion this campaign season—bankrolled mostly by a small cadre of wealthy contributors—and yet they and their funders, especially on the Republican side, were left with little to show for it when the sun rose Wednesday morning. The GOP's flagship super-PAC, Karl Rove's American Crossroads, had an abysmal 1 percent return on its $104 million investment. Megadonor Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, invested $57 million in 2012 races; only 42 percent of the candidates who received Adelson support won. Other big donors—say, Romney super-PAC backers—got nothing for their money. Rove and his allies are bound to have a bunch of angry rich guys on their case. Which begs the question: Will the Republican Party's biggest bankrollers stick by Rove, super-PACs, and politically charged nonprofits—or do they shut their wallets and move on? read more »Five Ways To Make Long Elections Lines Shorter by Brad Plumer, The Washington Post | November 8, 2012
“I want to thank every American who participated in this election,” President Obama said in his acceptance speech Tuesday, “whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time.” At the mention of long waits, Obama paused. “By the way, we have to fix that.” Election Day saw news story after news story about interminable lines at polling stations. In some areas, people waited for two hours, three hours, or more. To many observers, it seemed ludicrous that a country as advanced and as wealthy as the United States can’t figure out how to hold a decent election. So what was the problem? And is there anything Obama and Congress can do to make our voting system more efficient? I put this question to a couple of experts, and got back five broad suggestions for ways that both the states and even the federal government could improve our voting infrastructure and reduce long wait read more »Undeterred by the Long, Slow Line Toward Democracy by Brentin Mock, colorlines.com | November 7, 2012
In his victory speech, President Obama was generous with his thanks, notably showing appreciation for those who participated actively in democracy, giving a shout out to everyone who “voted for the very first time, or waited in line for a very long time,” before adding to loud cheers, “By the way, we have to fix that.” Here’s why we need to fix that. All voters didn’t have to wait in long lines. When you look at the pictures, you find mostly people of color in those lines that stretched literally as long as the day. Those voters, many of them low-income who missed work and had to pay babysitters to stand in lines that long, bore the burden of democracy so that we could move forward. Not only that, but they withstood voter suppression, intimidation and utter confusion so that the nation wouldn’t move backwards to a time where that and a lot worse was the norm during elections. read more »Elections Are Shrinking by Thomas Hedges, truthdig.com | November 6, 2012
The voters in Ohio’s 8th District had better be happy with Republican Rep. John Boehner. They have no choice. No Democrat is opposing the incumbent, who’s been in office since 1990 and ran uncontested once before in 1994. But Boehner is not alone. He is one of 58 incumbents this election running without a challenger, according to a FairVote report published in July called “Monopoly Politics.” Another 270 races out of 435 are so heavily dominated by one party or the other to render the races meaningless. There are 74 districts that are “balanced,” within the margins of 54 percent to 46 percent for either candidate. Districts are traded like baseball cards between the two major parties. The shrinking number of districts that remain competitive become the center of campaigns. They are the last pockets where Democrats and Republicans can each mine votes. read more »
The Latest
Corporations Hide Election Spending From the Public Eye, The Nation | October 19, 2010
To avoid angering the public and their investors, some corporate interests are going to great lengths to hide their political spending. These companies have dumped money into nonprofits and trade associations that often have innocuous names like Americans for Job Security or Revere America, but in reality serve to shield donors from accountability for their spending in our elections. read more »
Joe Manchin's oddly inspiring debate performance, salon.com | October 19, 2010
Man, did John Raese lay it on thick Monday night. 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 »
Recession Adds To Hurdles Facing U.S. Census, npr.org | March 25, 2009
A year from now, the U.S. will conduct its decennial population count. The findings are used to re-apportion congressional districts, disburse federal funding — even decide where new traffic lights go. But the economic crisis threatens to make this daunting task even harder. There is special concern about minority groups, which are traditionally hard to count.
Political Fight Brewing on Census, Associated Press | February 12, 2009
There's still a year before Americans start filling out their census forms. But even before President Barack Obama has named a new director for the U.S. Census Bureau, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have begun bickering about how that person will carry out the once-a-decade job of cataloging the country's population. read more »
Obama Sworn in as 44th President, The Washington Post | January 21, 2009
Barack Obama took the oath of office today as the 44th president of the United States and pledged to "begin again the work of remaking America." Addressing a huge throng estimated at nearly 2 million people on the capital's Mall and millions of others watching on television, Obama somberly recognized the multiple crises now afflicting the nation at a time of war abroad and economic turmoil at home read more »
Obama Justice Picks Break with Bush Path, iht.com | January 6, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama has tapped four Clinton administration lawyers, whose records signal a sharp break from the legal policies of the last eight years, to fill four top Justice Department posts. read more »
Democratic Congress Convenes, uk.reuters.com | January 6, 2009
The new U.S. Congress convenes on under pressure to deal with a worsening economy by passing a stimulus package that Barack Obama could sign into law soon after being sworn in as president. "We are in a very difficult spot," Obama told reporters between meetings with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. read more »
Obama Pledges to Work With Governors, CNN | December 3, 2008
Plagued by rising unemployment, falling tax revenue and increased demand for state services, the nation's governors met with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to press for federal money to ease their fiscal strain. read more »
Blacks Face Voting Obstacles, The Guardian | October 31, 2008
While formal poll taxes were declared illegal in 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, versions of it remain in place — for instance, in the cost of taking time off work, travelling to the polls, or obtaining identification. African American votes are now discounted by many other means, as well. read more »
