In choosing a successor to Antonin Scalia, Obama would do well to play the long game and consider a nominee with strong progressive credentials.
Legal Affairs
Posted inCivil Rights in America
How Scalia’s Absence Impacts Democracy Rulings
What Scalia’s absence means for voting rights, redistricting, and Citizens United.
Posted inLaw and Justice
McConnell’s Misstep — and Obama’s Backbone
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made a big mistake when he declared that Republicans would not confirm any Supreme Court nominee appointed by President Obama in this election year. For starters, it makes Republican senators, several of whom are defending closely contested seats in purple states, look purely obstructionist and opportunist. The same goes for […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Where Scalia’s Vote Was Decisive
A list of the key 5-4 decisions that Justice Antonin Scalia tipped to the right
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Nine Battleground States that Could Flip the Senate — and the Supreme Court
A Democratic president needs a Democratic majority in the Senate to turn around the high court. Here are the states that could make the difference in 2016.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Karl Rove’s “Dark Money” Machine Is Now Tax-Exempt. Here’s Why That Matters
If it wasn’t clear that the Internal Revenue Service has no intention of regulating politically active tax-exempt groups, it should be now. On Tuesday, news broke that the IRS awarded tax-exempt status to Crossroads GPS, a purported “social welfare” group that constitutes one-half of the big-spending political network masterminded by GOP operative Karl Rove. The […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Jeb’s Campaign-Finance Solution Falls Flat with Reform Advocates
Jeb Bush caused a stir in New Hampshire Monday when he told CNN’s Dana Bash that he would “eliminate” Citizens United, the much-maligned Supreme Court decision that deregulated independent political spending. The former Florida Governor later called for a constitutional amendment to undo the ruling at a Nashua town hall. “If I could do it […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Justice Department Fails to Criminally Prosecute a Big Bank — Again
Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had reached a $470 million settlement with mega-bank HSBC related to mortgage lending and foreclosure fraud that led to the economic collapse of 2008. “This settlement illustrates the department’s continuing commitment to ensure responsible mortgage servicing,” Benjamin Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Democracy Prospect: Voting on Trial
Voter ID goes on trial; the FCC as ground zero for campaign-finance disclosure; a brokered GOP convention becomes unlikely.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Citizens United Fuels Movement for Overhaul
In the six years since the decision, the Supreme Court ruling has unleashed not only a flood of outside election spending, but a surge in public concern over money in politics.