America's Democrats

Celinda Lake on the Democrats’ drubbing, former diplomat Robert Hormats on bipartisanship in foreign policy, and Bill Press interviews Zeke Miller of Time Magazine.

What went so wrong in the midterm elections, and what can Democrats do about it? Party strategist Celinda Lake says get an economic message. As the nation celebrates Veterans Day, former ambassador and Under Secretary of State  Robert Hormats says foreign policy has to be bipartisan. And Bill Press talks with Zeke Miller of Time Magazine.

The midterm elections did not produce the outcomes progressives worked for, but Democratic strategist Celinda Lake has some thoughts on how the party can recover the next time around.

http://www.lakeresearch.com

Foreign policy is too important to be caught up in partisan politics, says former Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats. He also has some thoughts about what went wrong in Iraq.

http://www.hormats.com

Bill Press and his guest, Time Magazine’s Zeke Miller.

http://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/

Surrealistic rule in the Silicon Valley.

O’Connell on presidents and religion, Vaheesan on how corporations play monopoly with our money, and Bill Press interviews Congressman Keith Ellison.

What role does God play in elections? Political scientist David O’Connell has some surprising findings. Or maybe not so surprising. Antitrust expert Sandeep Vaheesan explains how our economic system has fallen into the hands of monopolists, and it isn’t only Republicans to blame. And Bill Press talks with Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison.

The voters speak every two years, and some politicians say God speaks on the same timetable – to them or to the public. Professor David O’Connell has evidence that when presidents, at least, invoke religion to change public opinion, the higher authority turns out to be the voters themselves.

http://www.dickinson.edu/site/custom_scripts/dc_faculty_profile_index.php?fac=oconneld

The Reagan Administration left behind a pro-monopoly business environment, enforced by activist conservative judges, that is helping to widen income inequality today. Antitrust expert Sandeep Vaheesan says Democrats share the blame.’

http://www.antitrustinstitute.org/content/sandeep-vaheesan

Bill Press and his guest, Congressman Keith Ellison.

Arms peddlers discover your town… and tax dollars.

Darman on the similarities between LBJ and Reagan … Rhode on what women want … and Bill Press talks ebola with Congressman Peter Welch.

What did Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan have in common – besides their landslide victories? Author Jonathan Darman says they had the same political hero. With women potentially a decisive voting bloc in the midterm elections, law professor Deborah Rhode explains why a vast majority of Americans agree with feminist principles, but don’t identify as feminists. And Bill Press talks about ebola with Vermont Congressman Peter Welch.

Lyndon Johnson was as big-government Democrat as we have seen in our lifetime. Ronald Reagan ushered in the era of small government. But author Jonathan Darman talks with us about their similarities.

http://www.jonathandarman.com/

Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode says America ranks 78th in the world in the proportion of women in political leadership – and that’s behind Saudi Arabia. She has some ideas on how to change that.

https://www.law.stanford.edu/profile/deborah-l-rhode

Bill Press and his guest, Congressman Peter Welch of Vermont.

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The corporate purchase of America's political discourse.

Thomas Frank reminds us what’s still the matter with Kansas. Professor William Forbath says the Constitution belongs to progressives. And Bill Press interviews Congresswoman Jan Schakowski about the response to ebola.

Ten years ago, Thomas Frank wrote the landmark book “What’s the Matter with Kansas. ” Today, he says the same thing is still wrong in the Sunflower State – Governor Sam Brownback – and he is ripe for defeat. Constitutional law professor William Forbath explains how the concept of “originalism” works for progressives, too. And Bill Press interviews Illinois Representative Jan Schakowski, about the congressional response to ebola.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is ripe for defeat, says Thomas Frank, who predicts that in the long term, the Republican Party is doomed. The short-term presents some problems, however.

http://us.macmillan.com/pitythebillionaire/ThomasFrank

Law professor William Forbath says our Constitution was written to oppose oligarchy, to guarantee economic equality and to promote progressive ideals.

http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/wef58/

Bill Press and his guest, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.

The scariest thing about political fearmongers.

Hormats says ebola is a foreign policy challenge. Teixeira says 2016 looks good for Democrats, as do next month’s gubernatorial elections, says Danny Kanner.

Ebola fear is gripping the nation, and veteran diplomat Robert Hormats says the disease is just one of a number of new foreign policy challenges for the United States. Demographer and political analyst Ruy Teixeira says there’s a chance Democrats can retain the Senate, and that 2016 looks even better. And Bill Press interviews Danny Kanner of the the Democratic Governors Association about the election outlook in the statehouses.

Longtime diplomat Robert Hormats assesses the foreign policy challenges facing America … and he says ebola is one of them.

http://www.hormats.com

Political analyst Ruy Teixeira predicts Republicans will keep the House, the Democrats MIGHT retain the Senate but that 2016 looks good for the White House and Senate.

http://americanprogress.org/about/staff/teixeira-ruy/bio/

Bill Press and his guest, Danny Kanner, spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association.

Walmart scheme steals from taxpayer and its own workers.

Gary Donaldson on the LBJ alliance with Eisenhower. Karen Piper on how corporations control the world’s water. And Bill Press interviews Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings.

It’s been half a century since the Great Society, and historian Gary Donaldson takes a look at how Lyndon Johnson, working with President Eisenhower, accumulated the political clout to change America. Professor Karen Piper foresees a world that will be fighting wars about water, which, of course, is abundant – but severely maldistributed. And Bill Press interviews Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings about the Secret Service mess.

Fifty years after the high point of Lyndon Johnson’s power, historian Gary Donaldson talks about how he had previously reached an accommodation with President Eisenhower to keep the country on a middle road of prosperity.

http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=60239101661790

With the American Southwest facing water shortages, professor Karen Piper offers us a more global outlook on water distribution, which she says is largely a matter of corporate control.

https://english.missouri.edu/graduate-and-doctoral-faculty/131-karen-piper.html

Bill Press and his guest, Elijah Cummings, the Maryland Congressman and ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

GOP boo-boo reveals secret corporate donors.

Last term’s Supreme Court decisions on women’s rights should make Democrats happy this fall, says commentator Fred Rotondaro. Former ambassador Mike Ussery reviews U.S. diplomacy. And Bill Press interviews Joe Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund

The Supreme Court is ready to start a new term, and commentator Fred Rotondaro reviews last year’s women’s rights decisions. Former Republican ambassador Mike Ussery reviews the world’s diplomatic and military flashpoints. And Bill Press interviews Joe Cirincione, who recently had dinner with the leader of Iran.

Remember the Hobby Lobby case the Supreme Court decided last spring? Commentator Fred Rotondaro says voters will remember, and the anti-woman agenda of the Roberts Court should be a huge help to Democrats this fall.

http://www.americanprogress.org

Mike Ussery is an international businessman and a former ambassador in Republican administrations. He says that a century after World War I, it might be the Ukraine that becomes a world flashpoint.

Bill Press and his guest, Joe Cirinicione, head of the Ploushares Fund.

http://www.ploughshares.org/

Marriott's shameful hotel tipping scam.

Author Thomas Frank tells Democratic candidates what to run on … Feminist law professor Deborah Rhode tells us what women want. And Bill Press interviews California Congressman John Garamendi.

Essayist Thomas Frank has a three-point plan for Democrats to use in campaigns that he says will be massively popular. Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode has a new book out called “What Women  Want.” And Bill Press interviews California Congressman John Garamendi, who voted against the President on authorizing U.S. involvement in Syria.

Provocative essayist Thomas Frank says Democrats can win elections with a three-point platform that he says would be massively popular: 1) Enforce antitrust laws 2) hold Wall Street accountable and 3) do something about college tuition.

http://us.macmillan.com/pitythebillionaire/ThomasFrank

Stanford law professor Deborah Rhode says the feminist movement is in a bit of a valley and needs to do a better job of informing the electorate about the economic problems facing women.

https://www.law.stanford.edu/profile/deborah-l-rhode

Bill Press and his guest, California Congressman John Garamendi.

Trying to pervert consumer protection.

Is Chief Justice John Roberts crazy? Why can’t we take corporations to court? The answers to these dilemmas come from constitutional scholar Jack Balkin and antitrust expert Lina Khan. And Bill Press talks with Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

As the nation marks Constitution Day this week, legal scholar Jack Balkin of Yale University says conservative judges keep making up things that aren’t IN the Constitution and imagine a country that never existed. Antitrust expert Lina Khan tells us how the courts have taken away Americans’ right to sue corporations. And Bill Press interviews anti-war Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Law professor Jack Balkin, on the anniversary of the Constitution’s ratification, says the opinion of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts allowing unlimited political donations is “just crazy”

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/jbalkin/

Antitrust expert Lina Khan says the right to sue should be a fundamental conservative idea … but with help from Democrats, conservatives have virtually guaranteed that consumers can’t even go to court when corporations steamroll them.

http://newamerica.net/people/lina_khan

Bill Press and his guest, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

What job creation numbers don’t tell us.

Journalist Chuck McCutcheon decodes Washington-speak … anthropologist Janine Wedel decodes the world of shadow lobbyists. And Bill Press interviews Christina Bellantoni, editor of Roll Call.

With Congress back in session and an election coming up, journalist Chuck McCutcheon is here to interpret political euphemisms, explaining why calling someone “my good friend” is usually a lie. The author of a new book about political accountability says the conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is an example of a new kind of corruption – violation of the public trust. And Bill Press interviews journalist Christina Bellantoni about Democratic prospects for retaining the Senate.

Political reporter Chuck McCutcheon has written a dictionary of Washington euphemisms … or dog whistles as he calls them … to help us understand the Kabuki theater of Congress and the election campaigns.

http://dogwhistlebook.com/

Anthropologist Janine Wedel says the widespread loss of faith in institutions in America resembles Eastern Europe under late-stage communism.

http://ineteconomics.org/people/janine-wedel

Bill Press and his guest, Christina Bellantoni, editor of Roll Call.

"Tough Texas" wimps out in Pentagon giveaway.