America's Democrats

Former ambassador Peter Galbraith talks about Syria and how both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders measure up on foreign policy issues. Wendell Potter used to be an insurance industry executive. Now he has written a book about how big money has corrupted Washington policy making. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky talks with Bill Press about the upcoming congressional fights over Planned Parenthood.

Former ambassador Peter Galbraith says when it comes to foreign policy, Hillary Clinton will have a steady hand and Bernie Sanders has shown good judgment. The Republicans? No comparison!

Money will always be a feature of American political campaigns, says former lobbyist Wendell Potter. But legislation is needed to limit the influence of the rich and powerful.   

Bill Press talks with Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky about the upcoming congressional fights over Planned Parenthood.

Bernie battles Clinton… and the corporate media.

Political Science Professor Nancy Maveety is an expert on how presidents pick judicial nominees. Things are different this time around, she says, because Senate Republicans have gone beyond the extreme. Sheila Simon used to be lieutenant governor of Illinois, and she warns the rest of the country about what happens when people elect a super-rich guy with no political experience. That’s what happened in her state – big businessmen from out of state buying the governorship. And Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, in an interview on the Bill Press Show, tells the devastating story of the water poisoning in Flint, Michigan.

Nancy Maveety is an expert on the history of federal court nominations. While there is always a partisan element in the process of the Senate advising and consenting, she says this time Mitch McConnell has escalated the rhetoric and gone beyond all previous examples of extremism.

http://www.transactionpub.com/title/Picking-Judges-978-1-4128-6330-8.html

In 2015, a rich businessman, elected with money from his out-of-state cronies, took over the governorship of Illinois. The results have been a disaster, reports Sheila Simon, who HAD been lieutenant governor.   

http://sheilasimon.org/

Michigan Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, interviewed on the Bill Press Show, describes the disaster in Flint, Michigan.

Going down the Republican rabbit hole.

What if you could vote by mail instead of trekking down to the your precinct’s polling place. Former Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling says it would dramatically increase turnout, especially among progressives. Professor Theda Skocpol explains how the Democrats ceded control of state government to Republicans. And Bill Press interviews Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline about the Supreme Court vacancy and about guns.

Phil Keisling used to be the secretary of state for Oregon, one of three states that allows people to vote by mail. He said the practice increases turnout, especially among younger and more diverse voters.

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

Bill Press interviews Congressman David Cicilline about the Supreme Court vacancy.

Who should pay Mitch McConnell's salary?

Progressive author Steven Hill of the New America Foundation says the old New Deal economy and its safety net guarantees is crumbling for millions of U.S. workers. Government professor Danielle Allen says Marco Rubio is the most thoughtful of the GOP candidates and warns that Democrats cannot always take their current popularity among minorities and the young for granted. And Bill Press interviews Patrick Turner, a privacy expert with the publication “Defense One” about the battle between the FBI and Apple.

Steven Hill advocates for rights of all the millions of part-time workers in this “gig economy” but says Donald Trump is an economic populist who is articulate in his understanding of the undeserving rich.

Government professor Danielle Allen believes that fixing criminal violence and bad policing starts with ending the drug war.

Coming up, Bill Press interviews the Patrick Tucker about the battle between Apple and the FBI.

Richard Hasen on plutocrats in politics … Chuck McCutcheon on what the politicians really mean … and Bill Press interviews Charles Lechner, of “People For Bernie.”

Law professor Richard Hasen is an expert on campaign finance law. He says the problem isn’t money in politics. The problem is BIG money in politics. Journalist Chuck McCutcheon has written a book essential to understanding the 2016 campaign: a dictionary of euphemisms politicians use to hide what they really mean. And Bill Press interviews Charles Lechner, an ex-Occupy Wall Streeter who now heads “People for Bernie.”

As Bernie Sanders denounces the effect of money in politics, campaign finance expert Richard Hasen says money doesn’t corrupt an office-seeker, but it does make a candidate viable.

http://electionlawblog.org

What does it mean when a politician says an idea is “counterproductive?” Journalist Chuck McCutcheon decodes this and all the other doubletalk of a political campaign,

www.dogwhistlebook.com

Bill Press interviews the head of “People for Bernie,” Charles Lechner.

Where inequality comes from.

Sheila Simon on the corporate takeover of the Illinois governor’s mansion … former ambassador Michael Ussery on Republicans and foreign policy … and a Bill Press Show interview with conservative commentator Michael Graham.

The Republican governor of Illinois is working for billionaire businessmen trying to break unions and the middle class. Former Democratic lieutenant governor, Sheila Simon, explains how that happened. President Obama visited a mosque, and former Ambassador Michael Ussery says anti-Muslim rhetoric by some of his fellow Republicans makes things harder for American diplomacy. And conservative radio host Michael Graham talks politics with Peter Ogburn on the Bill Press Show.

Former Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Sheila Simon explains how her state has been taken over by a Republican governor operating not on ideology but on helping his business buddies make more money.

http://sheilasimon.org/

Michael Ussery is a Republican and a former political operative. He says the establishment, in both parties, has to go away.

Coming up, Peter Ogburn of the Bill Press Show interviews conservative radio host Michael Graham about the GOP candidates.

Executive excess getting excessive

Former Carter aide Richard Moe on the former president’s legacy, political scholar Elaine Kamarck on the changing news media, and Bill Press interviews Bush-bashing ex-Republican Roger Stone.

It was Jimmy Carter who made the Iowa caucuses important, and now, 40 years later, one of his aides, Richard Moe, reflects on Carter’s legacy. Scholar Elaine Kamarck reflects on how people are now getting their political news. And, a new book by an ex-Republican hatchet man says the Bush family is a criminal enterprise. Bill Press interviews the author, Roger Stone.  

The Iowa primary is now all-important in presidential politics, and Jimmy Carter made it that way. Former aide Richard Moe says the 39th president is finally getting the praise he deserves.

Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution says the problem with getting your news from social media is that you simply choose what you want to see, not necessarily what you need to see.

http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/effective-public-management

Bill Press interviews author Roger Stone, who makes provocative charges about the Bush family.

Something is happening.

Jere Glover proves that Democrats are better for the economy … immigration expert Maria Cristina Garcia says Americans have always been wary about admitting refugees … and Bill Press interviews Elise Foley of Huffington Post.

Business expert Jere Glover has the numbers to prove that Democrats are better at running the economy than Republicans. Americans have always been ambivalent about admitting refugees, explains professor Maria Cristina Garcia. And, with the Supreme Court about to take up the president’s immigration powers, Bill Press interviews Huffington Post’s Elise Foley.

Jere Glover has been collecting data for decades and has the numbers to prove that under Democratic presidents, the economy does much better than under Republicans.

Historian Maria Cristina Garcia says Americans have always been ambivalent about refugees – sympathetic but not necessarily accepting

http://history.arts.cornell.edu/faculty-department-garcia.php

Bill Press interviews Elise Foley about the Supreme Court taking up President Obama’s immigration actions.

The real story of Ted Cruz's "heroic" daddy.

Cristobal Alex says Hillary Clinton pretty much has the Latino vote locked up … Why are so many poor people obese? Robert Paarlberg explains.… and Bill Press interviews Ben Wikler of Move-On.

Hispanic leader Cristobal Alex says the road to the White House will go through the Latino community, and right now Hillary Clinton is far ahead. Food expert Robert Paarlberg says the poor do have access to grocery stores, but they don’t have the time to fix meals. And Bill Press interviews Move-On leader Ben Wikler about the group’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders.

Cristobal Alex heads a new Latino political group and he says his community will determine who the next president is.

Contrary to common belief, poor people in urban areas do have access to healthy food but they don’t have the time to prepare it, says professor Robert Paarlberg.

Bill Press interviews Ben Wikler of Move-On about the group’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders.

Why has nefarious corporate behavior become so commonplace?

Gun safety is at the top of the national agenda, and ours, too. Pediatrician Nina Agrawals says cars are regulated but no one wants to take your car away. Women’s advocate Melanie Verveer says investing in women improves the economy. And Bill Press interviews gun safety advocate Congressman David Cicilline.

Pediatrician Nina Agrawal explains her fight to get Congress to start funding research on gun safety. Former ambassador for global women’s issues Melanie Verveer describes them as the same as issues important to all human beings. And Bill Press interviews Congressman David Cicilline about gun safety legislation.

Nina Agrawal is a pediatrician who advocates a resumption of federal funding for research on preventing gun violence. She says it worked for car safety, fire safety and bicycle safety.

www.drsforamerica.org/

Women’s issues are the same issues that all human beings want to see happen in their lives, says former ambassador Melanie Verveer.

https://giwps.georgetown.edu/

Bill Press interviews Congressman David Cicilline about gun safety legislation.

The wall of campaign dishonesty.