Media

Lorraine C. Minnite, a Rutgers University political scientist and a senior fellow at Demos, a liberal think tank, looked for a turnout effect in a 2009 paper she co-authored with Columbia University political scientist Robert S. Erikson. They didn't turn up definitive evidence, concluding, "our data and tools are not up to the task of making a compelling statistical argument for an effect."

The Roberts Court's campaign finance jurisprudence has one over-arching theme: morphing the First Amendment into a tool for powerful and wealthy.

COLUMBUS, OH – Voting rights, civil rights and labor organizations are joining forces to erect get-out-and-vote billboards in four Ohio and Wisconsin cities this week, pushing back against an anonymously-financed billboard campaign aimed at intimidating voters and depressing voter turnout.

Helping young people being crushed by their student debt is a nice idea. It's also easier said than done, even when policymakers mean well.

A new report from the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) has bad if not suprising news for recent and future grads: average student debt for the class of 2011 rose 5 percent to $26,600 up from $25,250 in 2010. 

TICAS points out that this number could be even higher, since their findings rely on data provided voluntarily by colleges and universities and many declined to report. 

The National Retail Federation is bearing glad tidings for the upcoming holiday season: America’s stores are expecting solid growth in holiday sales and may hire more than half a million seasonal employees. Non-seasonal employment in the sector is also improving, as retailers, led by clothing and clothing accessories stores, added 9,400 new jobs in September.

Four years ago, voter turnout was 49 percent -- the highest since 1968. Still, it remains to be seen if voters will come out in droves as they did during the election. To make sure that no avoidable factors -- ranging from intimidation to a lack of a photo ID -- keeps people at home on Nov. 6, five organizations are hitting the ground to do what they can to encourage all groups to get out and cast their ballots.

Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent his second letter today demanding True the Vote reveal their plan to deny eligible voters the right to vote. But True the Vote continues to mislead.

When being the mayor of New York City isn’t enough, it’s time to start playing with the big boys. In 2012, that means starting a Super PAC. Michael Bloomberg is taking his fabled centrism on the road.