Almost nobody seems to believe that Obamacare can be stopped under any realistic scenario given Democratic control of the Senate. And yet some House Republicans are willing to shut down the government—and possibly inflict a serious wound on their party—in pursuit of that chimerical goal.
What's going on here?
In fact, there is no one explanation. But here are my favorites in descending order.
New York, NY – Today, Heather McGhee, President of Demos, a New York-based public policy organization and think tank, expressed deep concern over President Trump’s nomination for the Supreme Court.
“As a legislative body that represents the American public and not special interests, the U.S. Senate must reject President Trump’s nomination of Judge Gorsuch to a lifetime appointment on the nation’s highest court.
The recent Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page paper finding that ordinary citizens have, “little or no independent influence on policy at all.” While the paper was covered extensively in the popular press, few bothered to even read the paper which notes, “ the preferences of average citizens are positively and fairly highly correlated, across issues, with the preferences of economic elites.” Gilens’s data look at only tho
Historically, organizing to get big money out of politics has been driven largely by older, white, and male leaders, frequently missing the voices of those who are the most marginalized by the failings of our democracy.
Next year won’t just mark the most expensive and big money-dominated election in U.S. history--it is also the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court case that set the basic structure of campaign finance law. In Buckley at 40, Demos Counsel and Senior Advisor Adam Lioz examines how 1976’s Buckley v. Valeo launched a vicious cycle of political, economic, and racial inequality that endures today.
Generations of black women have learned to be solution-oriented and resourceful, often ‘making a way out of no way,’ and their political participation is part of a history of survival.
Despite a year filled with corruption scandals, the New York State legislature failed to adopt a public financing program—a necessary step in removing the outsized influence of money in politics. Senate Democrats proposed a last minute amendment to another bill before the end of the legislative session, but it failed because it did not receive support from every member of the Democratic conference.
The top .01 percent of earners made nearly five percent of the national income in 2012. That’s just 16,000 Americans that make over ten million dollars a year.
Washington is in its usual state of hysteria this week -- now over the Obamacare rollout -- so, as usual, few people in power are talking about the biggest problem facing the country: a still-stagnant labor market that has stranded millions in a jobless hell, with real unemployment rates for some groups at Great Depression levels.
David Tepper topped the list of best paid hedge managers for last year, pulling in $3.5 billion. That's an astonishing amount of money for one person to make in a single year -- and is larger than the annual GDP of 35 countries.
Demos Vice President of Policy and Legal Strategies Brenda Wright released the following statement:
"Tonight, in his last State of the Union, President Obama lifted up the importance of fixing our politics so that all voices can be heard in our democracy.
"He noted how too many people feel that 'the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest.' To live up to our democratic tenets, President Obama called for reducing the influence of money in politics and modernizing our elect
Trump’s Nominee Must be Pressed on Money in Politics
For four decades, the Supreme Court’s flawed approach to money in politics has gutted common-sense protections against the power of special interests and wealthy individuals, and shaped a system that 85% of Americans believe needs fundamental changes.
