America's Democrats

How Democrats forgot about state politics

Professor Theda Skocpol explains how the Democrats ceded control of state government to Republicans.

Government professor Theda Skocpol says Democrats think the presidency is the biggest political prize and, unfortunately, ignore politics at the state level.

The Virginia Model

Last year’s gubernatorial race in Virginia was narrowly won by Republican Glenn Youngkin. An elite Wall Street multimillionaire, he was going to lose – until he discovered a right-wing racist bugaboo called Critical Race Theory. Glenn suddenly turned into an anti-CRT attack dog, fomenting parental fear and promising to sweep all teaching of the theory out of Virginia classrooms.

But, golly, CRT was not actually taught in any of the state’s public schools.

The GOP's Long-time Descent into Crazy. 

It did not start with Donald Trump. In Mother Jones’ Washington Bureau Chief David Corn's new book, he details the long history of Republican Party condoning and encouraging crazy conspiracies to gain and hold on to power. It’s called American Psychosis, a Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

The powerful influence of Lady Bird Johnson.

Julia Sweig on her book Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight. Her political acumen was key in guiding the Johnson administration through the turbulent times after John F Kennedy’s assasination.

In her biography of Lady Bird Johnson, Julia Sweig reveals the unappreciated impact of a remarkable first lady during a historic turning point in American politics. 

ASSORTED NUTS

Let me say one word to you: Nuts. Now, let me say one name to you: Ted Cruz.

They’ve become synonymous, with the Texas lawmaker perennially topping national lists of goofy, right-wing political goobers. Only, Ted can’t rightly be called a lawmaker, for he’s not a serious participant in that process, instead devoting his senatorship to political stunts and picking silly PR fights with a growing list of enemies.

`The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama."

How did Barack Obama and Joe Biden meet? What did they think of each other? Was there really a bromance? And how did these two very different men form a very successful partnership for eight years in the White House. What did Barack Obama think of Biden’s chances in 2020? What is their relationship today? All those questions and more are answered in the new book, "The Long Alliance. The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama" by New York Magazine National Correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Jim Tankersley on the untold story of America’s middle class and why it matters now. 

Jim Tankersley’s newest book reveals the crucial role women and minorities played in building the post-war middle class. He says it’s an untold story that offers an essential roadmap to reviving the Golden Era of America’s middle class by making it possible again for all workers to reach their full potential.

Welcome To Our Future of “Digital Productivity Monitoring”

For generations, workers have been punished by corporate bosses for watching the clock. But now, the corporate clock is watching workers!

Called “digital productivity monitoring,” this surveillance is done by an integrated computer system including a real-time clock, camera, keyboard tracker, and algorithms to provide a second-by-second record of what each employee is doing.

Midterms: Red Wave or Blue Save?

Two months to the midterms. Bill talks to Steven Shepard, the Senior campaigns and elections editor and chief polling analyst for Politico. The often predicted Red Wave for the GOP has disappeared. But has this made a Blue Save possible?

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Professor Gordon Lafer says issues like the minimum wage, a living wage and paid sick days are winning issues politically and progressive candidates should call out big business – and win. Service Employees International Union leader David Rolf takes us through the increasingly successful fight for a 15-dollar an hour minimum wage.

As we commemorate another Labor Day, professor Gordon Lafer reminds us that unions gave us the minimum wage, the 8-hour day, and child labor laws – all of which were opposed by the Chamber of Commerce, which continues to oppose what most working Americans demand.

The “Fight for 15,” organized labor’s move to raise the minimum wage, is having success, state by state, reports Service Employees union leader David Rolf.

Clueless CEOs Confused By Workers Quitting

For more than a year, America’s corporate chieftains have been moaning about “The Great Resignation” – the recent phenomena of workers just up and quitting their jobs. And now comes “Quiet Quitting,” workers who don’t leave their jobs, but only do what they were hired to do, quietly rejecting the endless extra (unpaid) tasks and weekend assignments that bosses try to pile on. What’s at work in the heads of all these workers?

Rep. Jackie Speier is Retiring, But She Leaves a Legacy for Women

Congresswoman Jackie Speier represents California's 14th congressional district just south of San Francisco. Jackie has been a strong leader on the important issue of sexual assault in the military. She's been relentless going after the Generals in the Pentagon pressuring them to take cases of sexual assault out of the military chain of command. Where they were too often just swept under the rug. Rep. Speier is retiring this year and reflects on the current fragile state of American Democracy. 

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Sam Berger of the Center for American Progress draws the parallels between Richard Nixon and Donald Trump, and asks us to take a lesson from how the nation recovered from Watergate. Karen Hobert Flynn, the President of Common Cause, explains why a national popular vote is a better way to pick the next president. 

In the wake of Watergate, a wave of reforms were ushered in to repair a dysfunctional government and regain the public’s  trust in its leaders. Sam Berger is a policy analyst who says that moment in history has much to offer in the modern day.

Karen Hobert Flynn leads one of the nation’s leading organizations dedicated to strengthening democracy. That’s why she says it’s time for the nation to change the way we elect our President. 

Where’s the “Dignity of Work” When Work Kills Workers?

Corporate acolytes and right-wing moralists constantly preach to laboring stiffs about the uplifting dignity of work.

Of course, that’s “dignity” as defined and controlled by corporate elites, not by workers, and the reward for it frequently includes on-the-job injuries… and death. Not that CEOs and well-heeled investors intend to sicken, maim, and kill thousands of laborers every year – but they certainly do put them in positions that assure such unhappy results.

WH Documents: How it’s Supposed to Work.

With all the talk over the last two weeks about the documents in the basement of Mar-a-Lago, Bill decided to talk to a man who oversaw presidential documents in the Obama White House. Greg Craig was Obama's White House Counsel. He knows the rules and he saw them followed completely. It's a tale of two presidencies. And it's not a pretty picture. For the country, or Donald Trump.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

The destructive influence of “dark money” in campaign finance.

The truth on how American elections are bought and sold. Plus, Fred Wertheimer and the movement to restore ethics and integrity to government.

Kimberly Reed’s film, “Dark Money”, is a powerful expose of the influence of anonymous donors in political campaigns.  She says growing up in Montana gave her a front-row seat to the corrupting influence of money in politics and the perfect setting to tell that story.

Fred Wertheimer has played a key role in every major campaign finance reform and ethics battle in Congress since the post-Watergate reforms in the 1970s. He continues that career as President of Democracy 21, where he calls on Congress to restore integrity to governing.

A Tear-Jerker About the Housing Saga of Some Rich Jerks

The “old homeplace” is a classic theme of Americana, expressed in everything from Norman Rockwell paintings to Woody Guthrie’s powerful folk lament, “I Ain’t Got No Home In This World Anymore.”

But for a heart-rending, modern-day version of the emotional pull of home, you can’t beat the poignant wail of a new song entitled: “The Low-down Down-home Atherton Rich Man Blues.” Warning: You might need a box of tissues to get through this sad saga.

The 25 Year Crack-up of the GOP

The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party is the new book by Washington Post Opinion Columnist, Dana Milbank. In this interview with Bill, he takes us from Newt Gingrich in 1990’s all the way to the GOP response to the Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant. And now we have one party that is not committed to our democracy. 

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

It’s a new day in the climate battle that can only be fought by believing we can still make a difference.

Climate scientist Michael Mann has achieved fame for his work in proving climate change is happening. He says that even as we move past climate denialism, the battle over how to take action against global warming is as urgent as ever.

There’s a growing acknowledgment that even as agriculture feels some of the worst impacts of climate change, it also contributes to the crisis. Former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman says farmers can be part of the solution and public policy can help them do that.

Good News: Small Groups Can Defeat Corporate Giants

From corporate polluters to political bosses, power elites try to create a myth of inevitability, trying to make workaday people feel helpless, too small to change the injustices of the system. Don’t bother is their message.

But the feisty residents of Boxtown, Tennessee, definitely did bother when they learned that a couple of profiteering fossil fuel giants were targeting them.

The Danger of "Christian Nationalism."

The First Amendment of the Constitution is pretty clear: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

But the GOP and MAGA World are increasingly promoting something called “Christian Nationalism.” What is it? Is it dangerous? Bill talked to his old friend the Reverend Barry Lynn who has spent his entire life fighting to keep the wall up between Church and State as well as many progressive causes. For 25 years he was Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. 

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Lessons we learned from the Kennedys, and what they can teach us about today’s political climate.

Robert Kennedy ran an economically populist campaign that reached across America’s deep racial divide. Richard Kahlenberg says his legacy matters now more than ever.

Should Making a Living Mean Selling Your Life?

“Work your fingers to the bone – whadda ya get? Boney Fingers.”

This 1960s song mocking the vaunted virtue of working hard is being sung today with new meaning by all kinds of employees – from factory workers to teachers… and even a few upper-floor executives.

"Rage" Against the "Pro-life" Machine

When Bill talked to Jacqueline Ayers, the Senior Vice president at Planned Parenthood for Policy, Campaigns and Advocacy, the word “rage” came up six times. Rage against this latest Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe V Wade. Rage against the state legislatures and governors who are instituting draconian abortion bans. Rage against the burdens put on health care providers who have to consult with lawyers, or look over their shoulder at prosecutors, when trying merely to save a woman's life.

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

The past, present and future of progressives in the Senate. Senator Sherrod Brown on his book Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America.

Senator Sherrod Brown’s most recent book offers a timely history of 20th-century American progressivism. Along the way he makes a compelling case to believe in the future of the Progressive idea in American politics.

Columbia University professor Todd Gitlin, a long-time chronicler of progressive politics, urges the left to nail down a simple program that appeals to the general public.

A Rube Goldberg Inflationary Spiral

Last July, several GOP senators combined their 5-watt intellects to charge that inflation was rising because of the “insane tax and spending spree of President Biden and the Democrats.”

Never mind that the “insane” spending is for such sensible, productive, and enormously popular national needs as childcare and jobless benefits, Mitch McConnell’s rabidly partisan flock saw the chance to politicize the public’s legitimate worries about rising prices.

The Darker Side of Right-wing Media

As Bill used to say on his radio show, you don't need to watch Fox News or listen to Rush Limbaugh, because Media Matters for America was doing it for you. They're still doing it and they've added other right-wing outlets like One America News Network or OAN. In today's podcast, Media Matters writer Bobby Lewis takes us down the dark rabbit hole that is OAN. It's not only dark, it's dangerous. 

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.

Raise the minimum wage.

Revisiting some of the conversations we have had about raising the minimum wage.

Progressive Democrats have made raising the minimum wage a priority for the new administration. And for a good reason.  David Cooper says a $15 minimum wage would lift pay for tens of millions of workers and help reverse decades of growing pay inequality.

Economic analyst Janelle Jones says a higher minimum wage is a crucial tool in bridging our nation’s widening income inequality gap  And in the face of federal inaction, cities and states are setting up to the plate.

Whip Inflation Now!

Republican politicos are all over Joe Biden for failing to stop inflation. Perhaps you wonder, though, what these squawkers would do if they were in charge?

No need to wonder – just look back to 1974, when Americans were being pummeled by price spikes that topped 12%, nearly double what we’re enduring today. But by Gollies, President Gerald Ford and his Republican contingent in Congress met the challenge head-on with a new magical program of economic uplift they called WIN – Whip Inflation Now!

Trump's Washington and The Price Of Submission

Mark Leibovich is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller This Town. His new book, Thank You for Your Servitude, DONALD TRUMP'S WASHINGTON AND THE PRICE OF SUBMISSION is the eyewitness account of how the GOP collaborated with Donald Trump to transform Washington’s “swamp” into a gold-plated hot tub—and a onetime party of rugged individualists into a sycophantic personality cult. A long time New York Times writer, he is now at the Atlantic, in part, he says, because he can use profanity there. 

If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.