America's Democrats

Don’t forget the grassroots.  The activists behind the blue wave.  The connection between drivers licenses and economic justice. Plus Bill Press talks with US Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

We remember two Latino activists and the progressive legacy that lives on.  Plus … why the Southern Poverty Law Center is filing a lawsuit over drivers’ licenses. And Bill Press talks California Congresswoman Jackie Speier about her new book “Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage and Fighting Back.

Latino Voters showed up  for the midterm elections,  nearly doubling their turnout over 2014. … and there were many victories to bear witness to the rise in Latino political power. But as one writer wants us to remember, it’s power that comes from the  immense dedication of activists who have been working for decades to get us here. Two of them passed away recently and our first guest helps us remember them.

The Southern Poverty Law Center  is challenging Alabama’s practice of suspending drivers’ licenses of individuals who fail to pay traffic tickets, arguing it violates the Fourteenth Amendment by “punishing persons simply because they are poor.” Our next guest explains the connection.

Coming up, Bill Press talks with California Congresswoman Jackie Speier who explains why she still believes that politics is the noblest profession.

A bawdy house of bad right-wing ideas

Reversing the damage of the Trump Administration. How to right the wrongs of Jeff Sessions’ drug policy. How the midterms delivered a call to action on climate change.  Plus, is it time to kill the lame duck?

Marijuana legalization as a gateway to social justice.  Plus, the policies that can confront climate change and the politicians who will fight for them. And Bill Press talks about election fraud and GOP power grabs with ThinkProgress reporter Addy Baird.

The President continues to attack the Paris Climate Agreement and deny the threat of global warming. Our first guest says  new leadership in the house and in state legislatures offers hope for change.

Pro-marijuana candidates won big in the midterm elections. Our next guest says they open the window to replace the war on drugs with drug policies that express the ideals of racial and social justice

Bill Press talks with Addy Baird of ThinkProgress about election fraud in North Carolina, voter suppression in Georgia, and the faulty logic of lame duck power grabs.

Trumps Post Office.

Getting it right this time. Putting an end to unfair Medicaid work requirements.  Fixing a corrupt campaign finance system. Plus, Bill Press on what it will take to confront climate change.

Why the Southern Poverty Law Center is suing the Trump Administration.   Plus, Fred Wertheimer and the movement to restore ethics and integrity to government. And Bill Press with Amy Harder of Axios.

The President continues to pursue  his policy to attach work requirements to medicaid benefits. Our first guest says it’s a policy that has a devastating impact on people’s lives which why his organization is suing the Trump administration to stop it.

President 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 now as President of Democracy 21, where he calls on a new Congress to restore integrity to governing.

Coming up, Bill Press talks Amy Harder of Axios on why the failure to confront climate change will cost far more than it’s worth.

Who are the serial killers of America’s newspapers?

Looking ahead to 2020. Winning over the white working class.  What will it take? Plus, making the case for a national popular vote.  And, Bill Press with a an early look at the candidates who could take on Trump.

What progressive Democrats need to do now to regain the white working class vote.   Plus, inside the movement for a national popular vote and the difference it could make. And Bill Press talks about what the midterms tell us about who could run and win in the next race for President.

Justin Guest has written extensively about our nation’s white working class voters.  He says that Democrats still have a long way to go to to regain the ground they’ve lost to Donald Trump.

As it stands now,  the 2018 midterms popular vote went overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats in the House with a margin not seen since 1974. And once again, that did not necessarily translate into electoral wins.  In an encore interview, our next guest says it’s time to value all votes equally … and why a national popular vote for President is the way to do it.

Bill Press talks with Hanna Trudo, national politics reporter at National Journal about who may appear on the 2020 ballot for President.

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How a new Congress can change the agenda on immigration. And Bill Press with Congressman Dan Kildee (MI) on the Democratic majority in the House and what to do with it.

How voters used ballot measures to mandate an agenda for progressive change.  And what Democrats need to do to end the policy of fear on immigration. Plus, Bill Press talks with Representative Dan Kildee (MI-05) on what the Democratic Party should stand for now.

Across the country, voters used ballot initiatives in the midterm elections to take democracy into their own hands. Our first guest says it is a story about progressive change that still needs to be told.

The rhetoric of fear over immigration dominated the midterm elections. Our next guest says Democrats now have an opportunity to turn that around.

Bill Press talks with Representative Dan Kildee (MI-05) on what’s next for progressive democrats on Capitol Hill.

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Election Results. The President under the microscope. A still divided Congress … and a labor wave.

With the midterms behind us, will the President finally be held accountable for his actions? And as over 800 union members get elected to office… what do they want? Plus, Bill Press on the historic wins for women.

The midterm election was widely seen as a referendum on President Trump. Journalist David Corn says that if nothing else, this election makes is possible for Congress to do what it is supposed to do … hold the Executive Branch in check.

A record number of labor-endorsed union members claimed victory in the midterms.  Union organizer Chris Garlock tells us how they did it and what it may mean.

Bob Bland, founder of The Women’s March joins  Bill Press to talk about the women who will change the way our nation is governed.

Putting traumatized immigrant children out of sight.

The movement for economic justice in America, and the fight for everyone to have a say.

This week, “good news”  from the frontlines in the battle for voting rights. Plus …  an agenda for change. Why progressive Democrats will not settle for just “stopping Trump.” And what women running for office are doing to be part of that change.

Miles Rapoport has spent his career fighting for American democracy

He says that as we face one of the most concentrated efforts in recent history to limit the right to vote  … activists are fighting back and making a difference.

Roger Hickey is a veteran activist for economic justice.

In this encore interview, he says that people are energized by a new vision of  America’s future, and progressive Democrats are ready to make it happen.

Coming up, A’shanti Gholar takes Bill Press through the new landscape of women in public office.

Beware of the Real Gremlins This Season

Voting for our Future.  Why climate change demands political change. plus how an education wave is fueling support for a blue wave. And Marc Morial of the National Urban League joins the Bill Press Show to talk about voter suppression what it will take to make sure every citizen has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

This week, science advocate  Carolyn Weinberg charts a path to avoid climate catastrophe .. and it begins with a vote.  Education advocate Jeff Bryant tells us why a record number of educators are running for office, and what they want. Plus … what will it take to shut down voter suppression? Marc Morial joins the Bill Press show.

Caroline Weinberg is community organizer, educator, writer, and advocate for the future of our planet. She says that a new report on climate change makes an unequivocal demand.  We need every elected official to commit to action, and it’s up to every voter to make sure they do.

Jeff Bryant has written extensively about the intersection of education and politics. He says that a movement that began with teachers’ walkouts has turned into an a record number of educators running for office and fighting for the future of public schools.

Coming up, Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League talks with guest host Sabrina Siddiqui at the Bill Press show about the impact of voter suppression and the fight to stop it.

A bawdy house of bad right-wing ideas

Money and Politics Gone Wrong.   Pulling back the curtain on the president’s tax fraud, and the destructive influence of “dark money” in campaign finance. Plus … why the GOP is to blame for a soaring deficit.

Investigative journalist David Cay Johnston gives us his read of the New York Times report on the Trump’s family taxes.   And filmmaker Kimberly Reed documents the truth on how American elections are bought and sold. Plus ...what will Republicans do about a ballooning budget deficit? Matt Fuller of the Huffington Post joins Bill Press.

Earlier this month, the New York Times published a bombshell investigation into Donald Trump’s finances and the many tax schemes he used to enhance his wealth. David Cay Johnston has been reporting on Donald Trump since the 1990s and has done exceptional reporting on the President’s taxes himself …  including a release of Trump’s 2005 tax return. He says the New York Times has created a roadmap on how to investigate the President … if the Democrats win the House in November.

Kimberly Reed’s newest 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.

Matt Fuller of the Huffington Post tells Bill Press why Paul Ryan is defending deficit spending.

Front porch politics

One Party .. two futures?  Between centralism and progressive populism, this election season lays  bare a faultline in Democratic Party politics. Which path is more likely to win in November and reclaim our nation’s future? Plus … what to make of the Kanye West at the White House.

The Third Way’s Jim Kessler argues for a  broad path to victory that includes mainstream centrism.  Roger Hickey of the Campaign for America’s Future on the grassroots movement for a progressive agenda that is reviving democratic politics.  Plus Brittany Shepherd joins the Bill Press show to decode the meeting between Kanye West and Donald Trump.

Third Way is a national think tank that advocates center-left ideas and politics.  Co-founder Jim Kessler, says that centrist success in the primaries is one of the underreported stories this election season.

The Campaign for America’s Future calls itself  the strategy center for the progressive movement. Co-founder Roger Hickey says that people all over the country are energized by new ideas that call for economic and social justice.

Brittany Shepherd of the Washingtonian joins Peter Ogburn of the Bill Press show to explain why Donald Trump has a soft spot for Kanye West and what it’s like to be one of the few African American reporters in the Washington Press Corp.

VOTE! (Unless you can’t)