America's Democrats

Former trade negotiator Ira Shapiro says fears about the TPP are exaggerated … Judicial analyst Ian Millhiser indicts the Supreme Court. And Bill Press interviews TPP opponent Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

A former NAFTA negotiator weighs in on the Trans Pacific Partnership, and Ira Shapiro argues it will benefit the American economy and put us in a better position in the competition with China. With the Supreme Court ready to end its terms with a flurry of important decisions, legal expert Ian Millhiser concludes that historically the court has sided against the bad guys. And Bill Press interviews Congresswoman Jackie Speier, an opponent of TPP.

Ira Shapiro negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement. He tells us why he thinks the very controversial Trans Pacific Partnership is necessary, and that it is not as bad as progressives have made it out to be.

www.shapiroglobal.com

Ian Millhiser has written extensively about the Supreme Court, and as the nine justices finish this term with important rulings, he says that time and time again the good guys lose in the highest court in the land..

http://thinkprogress.org/author/ian-m/

Bill Press and his guest, Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Feingold to Snowden to Paul: Curtailing the Patriot Act.

Author Robert Putnam on the rich world and the poor world … Latina activist Eileen Truax on immigration … and Bill Press interviews USA Today’s Susan Page

“Bowling Alone” author Robert Putnam has a new book out in which he talks about two very separate American worlds – the rich world and the poor world. With the President’s immigration program held up in the courts, Latina activist Eileen Truax tells us who the Dreamers are and why they are so important. And Bill Press interviews USA Today’s Susan Page.

Harvard professor and bestselling author Robert Putnam says Democrats  dropped the ball a long time ago by refusing to recognize that family structure and class – not race – was the main determinant of poverty.

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Our-Kids/Robert-D-Putnam/9781476769899

Eileen Truax is a Latina journalist and activist who has written about the Dreamers. With President Obama’s immigration policy under attack in the courts, she says many immigrants come to America not just for economic reasons but to escape violence in their home countries.

www.dreamersthebook.com

Bill Press and his guest, Susan Page of USA Today.

Far from "liberalizing" global policies, TPP is corporatizing.

First amendment expert David Shipler says covering Washington is like covering Cold War Russia … sociology professor Andrew Cherlin ties a drop in college graduation and marriage to the growing income gap … and Congressman Dan Kildee assails the president on trade in a Bill Press Show interview.

At this patriotic time of year, celebrating Memorial Day, journalist David Shipler says President Obama’s campaign against whistleblowing reminds him of covering Cold War Russia. Sociology professor Andrew Cherlin, at this time of graduations and weddings, notes that the growing economic disparity is having a negative effect on higher education and marriage rates. And Congressman Dan Kildee takes on the president over trade in an interview on the Bill Press show.

Barack Obama promised to be the most transparent president, but journalist David Shipler writes that this liberal constitutional lawyer has made covering national security like trying to cover Moscow during the Cold War.

Sociology professor Andrew Cherlin says that family life is shrinking along with the middle class because young people can’t afford to get married and devote time to children.

http://soc.jhu.edu/directory/andrew-j-cherlin/

Congressman Dan Kildee assails the president on trade in a Bill Press Show interview.  

Big Food trying a big hoax.

Barney Frank says his Wall Street reforms are working … Lee Drutman says Congress is a farm league for K Street. And Bill Press gets Congressman Xavier Becerra to consider a Senate run.

Barney Frank says that a repeal of the Wall Street reform act that bears his name will never happen as long as a Democrat is president. Professor Lee Drutman has written a book about the power of lobbyists, and he says Congress is merely a farm league for K Street. And Bill Press interviews 4th-ranking House Democrat Xavier Becerra about the Trans Pacific Partnership … and his own Senate aspirations.

How has the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform act worked out? Very well, says co-author Barney Frank, who also has some thoughts about the situation in Baltimore, the lack of affordable housing … and police unions.

http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Politics-Society-Same-Sex-Marriage/dp/0374280304

Corporate lobbyists spend 34 times as much money trying to influence Congress as does the combination of organized labor and public interest groups. And professor Lee Drutman says that means corporations have every seat at every table.

www.newamerica.org/

And now Bill Press and his guest, California congressman Xavier Becerra.

The secret coalition pushing the secretive TPP scam.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh on the troubles in Baltimore … former Ambassador Peter Galbraith on trusting Iran – or not … and Bill Press interviews political commentator Jonathan Allen.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh says the Baltimore riots highlight the need for improving police procedures and systemic conditions of poor health, bad education and hopelessness. Former ambassador Peter Galbraith reveals that President George W. Bush squandered the possibility for a good agreement to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. And Bill Press interviews journalist Jonathan Allen about the Republican presidential field … and Hillary Clinton.

Most police officers in Baltimore, and elsewhere, are fine public servants, but Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh says the troubles in that city point out the need to improve police procedures.

http://www.oag.state.md.us/

The U.S. could have had a good nuclear deal with Iran back in 2003, says former diplomat Peter Galbraith, but the George W. Bush administration squandered the opportunity.

Bill Press and his guest, journalist Jonathan Allen.

Stop postal execs from destroying our Postal Service.

Ian Millhiser explains what’s wrong – or far right – with the Supreme Court. Jared Bernstein says politics got in the way of a fuller economic recover. And Bill Press interviews Bernie Sanders.

Constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser takes the Supreme Court apart, and in light of the arguments on same-sex marriage, says no one wants a world where business can discriminate because you’re gay. With the latest numbers showing the economy flattening out, former Obama adviser Jared Bernstein says this was not a tremendous recovery, because politics got in the way. And Bill Press interviews Independent Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

For most of its history, the Supreme Court has sided with America’s aristocracy, and constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser says that’s because justices have no connection with the common people.

http://thinkprogress.org/author/ian-m/

Former Obama economist Jared Bernstein says we know how to fix the economy – the Fed should show patience with interest rates and Congress must stop doing fiscal harm.

And now Bill Press and his guest Independent Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

An epidemic of CNE syndrome strikes Wisconsin

John Halpin on Hillary Clinton and income inequality … Thomas Geoghegan on the Democratic Party’s need to revive organized labor … and Bill Press interviews Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Democratic analyst John Halpin says Hillary Clinton will not campaign as a raging populist but also is not going to propose rolling back Dodd-Frank. Union lawyer and activist Thomas Geoghegan says the Democratic Party is living in a fantasy world if it doesn’t recognize that its future depends on reviving the labor movement. And Bill Press interviews Congresswoman Barbara Lee on drone attacks.

The big issue of income inequality does not interest most Americans, says public opinion expert John Halpin. But Democrats can cash in on the issue if they talk about the specific components of inequality – such as wages, education, and taxes.

www.americanprogress.org

Longtime union lawyer and activist Thomas Geoghegan says labor will not come back as a political force without militancy, disruption and educating the Democratic Party elite that its future depends on unions.

http://dsgchicago.com/attorneys/attorney-thomas-geoghegan/books/

Bill Press and his guest California Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

A cluster bomb to obliterate our sovereignty.

Robert Putnam on the growing opportunity gap, Barry Eichengreen on watching out for the banking industry … and Bill Press with Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.

Harvard professor Robert Putnam, of “Bowling Alone” fame, talks with us about his new book about saving our children from the effects of a growing opportunity gap. Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen explains how the power of money in shaping public policy has put the American economic system at risk. And Bill Press interviews Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.about equal pay for women.

Harvard Professor Robert Putnam says it isn’t income inequality so much that we should be worried about but “opportunity inequality” – the economic and cultural class segregation that violates the core of America’s identity.

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Our-Kids/Robert-D-Putnam/9781476769899

Some fairly weak new regulations on the banking industry after the Great Recession might limit future booms and busts, but Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen says achieving financial stability is still a long way off.

http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199392001.do

And now Bill Press and his guest Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.

Message to TPP elites: Secret government is Un-American.

Former diplomat Peter Galbraith asks what’s the alternative to a deal with Iran. Environmental author Richard Heinberg says we may be facing the end of civilization. And Bill Press interviews church & state expert Barry Lynn.

Peter Galbraith is a former ambassador and expert on the Middle East. He answers questions about the value of the administration’s deal with Iran. Richard Heinberg is an environmental and energy expert. He warns we are on the brink of extinction as a civilization. And Bill Press interviews the Reverend Barry Lynn about recent assaults on civil liberties.

The recent agreement between the United States and Iran was a good one, says former diplomat Peter Galbraith because there is no better alternative.

Author Richard Heinberg says the fossil fuel industry is so powerful that it is writing America a prescription for environmental disaster.

www.postcarbon.org

Bill Press and his guest the Reverend Barry Lynn.

Oil refinery workers on strike over explosive issue.

Hillary Clinton biographer Jonathan Allen on her campaign prospects … professor Thomas Schaller on problems facing House Republicans … and Bill Press talks Chicago politics with Lynn Sweet.

It’s April already. Is this the month Hillary Clinton declares for president? Clinton biographer Jonathan Allen says after she announces, she will have to move to the left, but not too fast. Political scientist Thomas Schaller thinks the Republican party is going to be hurt by the loosening of campaign spending rules because it means outside forces will seize power from party leaders. And Bill Press interviews Chicago political reporter Lynn Sweet.

Jonathan Allen, now the chief political correspondent for vox-dot-com, has written extensively about Hillary Clinton. He says one problem facing her likely presidential run is the history of infighting among her staff.

www.hrcbook.com

Political scientist Thomas Schaller says the polarization in Congress is so great that all Republicans are farther to the right than any single Democrat. Another way of putting it is that the most conservative Democrat is still to the left of the most liberal Republican.

http://yalebooks.com/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300172034

Bill Press interviews Chicago political reporter Lynn Sweet.

2016 presidential candidates address inequality (sort of)