If you have nothing to hide, what’s with the pants? Oregon’s senior senator Ron Wyden has spent years trying to make Americans aware of the secret surveillance law being written by a secret court made up of judges all appointed by one man — Chief Justice John Roberts. Wyden along his colleague Mark Udall attempted to get Congress to make […]

It’s almost as if getting 30 million Americans health insurance is worth fighting for. Hopefully you know Luther, President Obama’s anger translator from Comedy Central’s fantastic Key & Peele show. He helps the president communicate subtext too subtle for many Americans: In his weekly address, President Obama veered slightly toward Luther when discussing Republican attempts to sabotage the Affordable Care […]

We already pay for each other’s health care in the dumbest possible way Republicans are debating right now about which scheme the should use to try to destroy Obamacare before the most compelling benefits of the law and taxes on the rich and corporations kick in on January 1, 2014. Defund or delay. The “defund” people think that Republicans should […]

Let me ask you a stupid question. Would Republican governors and legislatures in more than two dozen states be about to turn down fully subsidized health insurance for millions of Americans if the Americans who were about to get this fully subsidized insurance weren’t poor? Before we pretend that this is a serious question, keep in mind that the Americans […]

If it’s not truly busted, why are you trying to fix it? Republicans have been having an interesting debate over how their party should change — interesting, because even Republicans now recognize that Republicans need to change. Like any discourse that threatens existing power, the conflict is primarily between the establishment — represented by Karl Rove — and various insurgencies […]

We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes If you’re a self-hating masochist like me, you’ve probably noticed this headline on the Drudge Report: If you click the headline, it leads to a story about a new Quinnipiac University poll that shows a majority of Democrats support a federal bailout of Detroit while Republicans and independents really, […]

The quest to become a more perfect union always upsets the less perfect As the son of the first parents in my subdivision to divorce, I recognized all the less-than-subtle signs of a family falling apart. Doors slamming, people staring at their toes as they grab the mail, days when it seemed as if the house was empty — yet […]

If you have to stop people from voting to win, your ideas suck As North Carolina passes the most offensive set of voter suppression laws in the nation, you have to hand it to Republicans. Pursuing voter ID is a poll-tested strategy: consistent majorities support these laws under the guise that they’re protecting the integrity of elections. The only problem […]

It’s hostage season There is a growing movement coming of the Tea Partiers in the Senate and the House to shut down the government unless the president agrees to defund or, at least, delay Obamacare — something the president will never, ever, never do. As the begin this silly charade, here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. […]

If you saw Chris Savage announce that Detroit would be the sight of the next Netroots Nation, you know that he’s what we used to call a “rock star.” He doesn’t just perform well under pressure but he lives the life. Since he’s a grassroots political rock star, that generally doesn’t involve all-nighters on his tour bus that don’t end […]

How do you attack a law that’s already responsible for covering millions of Americans, providing more than a billion in rebates from insurance companies and is literally saving kids’ lives? Republicans have two strategies: 1) make things up and 2) sabotage. The most constant effort to sabotage comes from the House GOP who are continually pretending to repeal the law. […]