LGBT advocates were elated when Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the Pentagon intended to lift the military’s longstanding ban on transgender members, saying that the current policy was an “outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of individual merit.” Nine months later, the transgender community is still waiting for the department to […]
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Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Vice President Elizabeth Warren?
The Boston Globe has reported that Hillary Clinton is considering picking a woman running-mate, and the optics suggest that this means Elizabeth Warren. The Globe quotes an on-the-record interview with no less than Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. So what’s this about? Is it the Clinton campaign signaling to Sanders supporters that she would reach […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Activists Swarm Capitol for Democracy Protests
On Sunday, more than a thousand people gathered on Capitol Hill for a “Democracy Awakening” rally to demand that Congress move to protect voting rights, limit political spending, and create a public financing system for political campaigns. Activists also want the Senate to take up President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace the […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
New Yorkers Clamor to Vote in Primaries
Remember when Ben Carson was the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary? Or when Bernie Sanders consistently failed to poll above 30 percent against Hillary Clinton? Or when Nate Silver assured us that Trump’s collapse was inevitable? All this described the state of the presidential race about six months ago-around the same time that voters […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
New Yorkers Clamor to Vote in Primaries
Remember when Ben Carson was the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary? Or when Bernie Sanders consistently failed to poll above 30 percent against Hillary Clinton? Or when Nate Silver assured us that Trump’s collapse was inevitable? All this described the state of the presidential race about six months ago-around the same time that voters […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
New State Restrictions Force Pro-Choice Advocates into Familiar Battle Zone
When Indiana’s Republican Governor Mike Pence signed a measure that placed controversial limits on abortion, the law’s constitutional implications likely had little bearing on his decision. Nevertheless, Pence’s move comes as some anti-abortion governors and state lawmakers devise even more severe restrictions and force reproductive-rights advocates onto familiar turf in state and federal courtrooms. Calling […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Dark Money Was the Real Winner in Wisconsin
With the nation’s attention riveted by the Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz victories in Wisconsin’s presidential primary, an arguably far more important political battle came to a head as a state district judge tried to unseat Republican Governor Scott Walker’s hand-picked choice for the state Supreme Court. In a bid to shift the ideological makeup […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
DOL Releases Bold New Retirement Investment Protections
Flanked by Democratic allies in Congress on Wednesday, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez unveiled the final version of the long-awaited fiduciary rule, which requires that, like doctors and lawyers, retirement account brokers must act in their clients’ best interest. “It really puts in place a fundamental principle of consumer protection into the American retirement marketplace, […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
“The Full Spectrum of the Republican Party”
In his victory speech Tuesday night after winning the Wisconsin primary, Senator Ted Cruz pointed to his endorsements from former GOP presidential candidates former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Senator Lindsey Graham, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, as proof that he has the “full spectrum of the Republican Party […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Republican FEC Commissioners Say They Will Crack Down on Shadowy LLCs. But Do They Mean It?
Three Republicans on the Federal Election Commission who have signaled their willingness to crack down on the growing use of secretive limited liability companies (LLCs) to make campaign contributions will soon be put to the test on the issue. The FEC faces multiple complaints from watchdog groups regarding the alleged use of LLCs to make […]
