For Obama, appointing Rahm Emanuel chief of staff would be more than just designating a “bad cop,” or reaching out to the Clinton camp. As Ezra Klein and I wrote in our August cover story on Obama’s party-building strategy, one of the stranger things about the Illinois senator’s close relationship with Tom Daschle, the other […]
Dana Goldstein
Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.
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STATE LEGISLATURES.
New York state Dems were supposed to be hurt in their quest to retake the state Senate by the transgressions of Eliot Spitzer. But that was before the financial crisis. Democrats took New York’s Senate back last night for the first time since 1966, and also won legislative chambers in Wisconsin, Ohio, Delaware, and Nevada. […]
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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION UPDATE.
Ward Connerly‘s divisive and misleading “civil rights initiatives” have been popular in the states where he succeeds in getting them on the ballot, and this year looks likely to continue the trend. Nebraska voters passed their affirmative action ban, though a lawsuit contesting the signatures used to get the amendment on the ballot could derail […]
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THE GOOD BALLOT INITIATIVE NEWS.
Our favorite quirky California ballot initiatives passed, and voters in the state said no to a parental notification law for minors seeking abortions. Colorado and North Dakota both rejected draconian abortion bans, a major victory for common sense and compassion. Stem cell research and medical marijuana are now legal in Michigan. Missouri voters supported an […]
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BAD NEWS FOR EQUALITY.
As Sarah wrote, California’s Prop 8 passed by a margin of less than 5 points. Over 18,000 same-sex couples will have their unions invalidated. Heartbreaking. There will be debate about whether high turnout among socially conservative blacks and Latinos voting for Obama contributed to the outcome. The exit poll does suggest some ethnic groups voted […]
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THE GOOD NEWS OUT OF CALI.
Voters went “yes” on building a first-in-the-nation high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. And “yes” on limiting animal cruelty by giving farm animals enough room to stand up, stretch their limbs, and turn around. —Dana Goldstein
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TO THE STREETS.
There would be riots in the streets if Barack Obama lost, they said. Or if he won. Either way, something scary and un-American and urban was supposed to happen, right? Here’s what did happen in the District of Columbia last night: spontaneous joy. I watched the results come in at a friend’s house off U […]
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FOX IS CALLING VIRGINIA FOR OBAMA.
Virginia hasn’t gone Democratic since 1964. Who knew the way to change the calculus was for Dems to run a biracial nominee who grew up in Hawaii raised by his working class grandparents? A guy who was the son of a Kenyan, polygamist dad and a lefty, globe-trotter, anthropologist mom? A man whose middle name […]
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ELECTION NIGHT GUIDE: BALLOT INITIATIVE CHECK-IN.
There isn’t anything definitive to say so far about ballot initiatives, but here are some initial results: Marriage equality is fighting for its life in Florida. With 53 percent of precincts reporting, 62 percent of voters support a ban on gay marriage and domestic partnerships for all couples. A 60 percent majority is needed to […]
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JEANNE SHAHEEN.
She will be the first Democratic female senator from New England. —Dana Goldstein
