America's Democrats

Which House of Congress better represents the people? And how does winning an Oscar affect your health? Some surprising answers today.

Why is there so much dysfunction in Congress? Constitutional scholar Ian Millhiser says, simply, it is “deeply baked into the legislative system.”

Author and demographer Phillip Longman has some surprising data about how your job determines how long you live, and how winning an Oscar affects health in Hollywood.

And Bill Press talks with Brendon Ayanbadejo of the world champion Baltimore Ravens about safety on the gridiron … and gay rights.

Constitutional law expert Ian Millhiser says the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court may not lead to more Republicans. But it will lead to worse Democrats! He also says the so-called “upper House,” the Senate, is actually more representative of the American people than the “people’s house.”
http://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/millhiser-ian/bio/

Do more than the minimum on minimum wage.

Do race and class matter in health care? Absolutely, says demographer Phillip Longman. It is not only the level of socioeconomic status, it is the disparity between the races and income levels that kills people.
http://newamerica.net/user/92

Bill Press and his guest, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo.
https://twitter.com/brendon310

Is 2016 Hillary’s “moment?” Will Republicans use the debt ceiling to inflict a catastrophe on the world economy? Who needs immigration reform the most?

She’s got money, organization, tenacity and discipline on her side. … And Bill Clinton. So what will Hillary Clinton do in 2016? Regular contributor and blogger Catherine Poe says, “This is her moment.”

M-I-T economist Simon Johnson tells us the economy is improving but “irresponsible austerity” will create a “catastrophe” here and around the world.

And Bill Press talks with Congressman Henry Cuellar, who says Democrats want immigration reform … but Republicans need it.

Hillary Clinton is no longer a political lightning rod, says regular commentator Catherine Poe. She is now a statesman, and now is her moment … to run for president.
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/staff/catherine-poe/

Economist Simon Johnson warns that irresponsible austerity methods proposed by Republicans could throw the world into a financial catastrophe. And, he says, it would be the private sector that really suffers.
http://baselinescenario.com/

Bill Press and his guest, Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas, who says Democrats want immigration reform … but Republicans need it.
http://cuellar.house.gov/

Movement on immigration reform. Why? Look at the election results!
 
Elections have consequences … and the proof is the sudden impetus for a bipartisan immigration bill. Just before a few Senate Republicans decided to join progressives in starting immigration reform, we spoke with Maria Teresa Kumar, head of the advocacy group Voto Latino.

And we continue our conversation with Erica Seifert (sigh-fert), the election analyst who has identified the new group of voters that she calls the “Rising American Electorate.”

And Bill Press talks with Tom Buffenbarger, head of the International Association of Machinists about threats to the labor movement.

One argument that might help speed immigration reform along could be the economic aspect. Reform advocate Maria Teresa Kumar, the head of Voto Latino, says new Americans will contribute taxes and application fees to the economy.
http://votolatino.org/press/maria-teresa-kumar-voto-latino

Good retail jobs would be good for America.

Polling expert Erica Seifert has identified and named the Obama voting coalition. They constitute, in her words, the “Rising American Electorate.” She analyzes the 2012 election and points out that not only does gerrymandering raise questions about how Congress functions … so does our tendency to live where our political friends live.
http://gqrr.com/erica-seifert-phd/

Bill Press and his guest, machinists’ union president Tom Buffenbarger head of the International Association of Machinists discuss the threats to the labor movement.
http://www.goiam.org/index.php/news

Optimism abounds … on the president’s toughness… on the American people’s commitment to progressive ideals… and on the Senate’s ability to get anything done.


Optimism abounds for a progressive agenda after President Obama’s second inaugural address.

Law professor Larry Gibson is a biographer of Thurgood Marshall and a Democratic campaign adviser in Maryland. He is optimistic that the president’s re-election signals a more progressive vision for the United States.

Our regular contributor, Fred Rotondaro of the Center for American Progress, says the president has learned he has to be tough as nails and will not have to compromise on hot-button Republican issues like the debt ceiling.

And Bill Press talks with former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, who is optimistic about the ability of the Senate to actually work.

Law professor Larry Gibson talks with us about his new biography of the young Thurgood Marshall, and also about his optimism about the country as a result of President Obama’s re-election.
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty/profiles/faculty.html?facultynum=049

Obama's Inaugural Address: Progressive and Presidential.

In the glow of President Obama’s second inaugural address, regular commentator Fred Rotondaro says the American public is behind  him and the president has learned to be tough as nails. Fred also has a reminder for American Catholics about a recent message from the Pope.
http://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/rotondaro-fred/bio/

Bill Press and his guest, Tom Daschle, former majority leader, who talks about his optimism for the Senate despite little progress on ending filibusters.
http://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/daschle-tom/bio/

Visitors from another planet inhabit Congress … and in the real world, a pressing issue for Congress is how to deal with visitors from other countries.

As President Obama begins his second term, he faces difficult challenges. Former Congressman Tom Allen says one of those challenges is dealing with a Congress whose members look at each other as visitors from another planet.

And Latina political analyst Maria Teresa Kumar says gains made in the 2012 elections can take effect only if minority voters and other Democrats show up at the polls in the 2014 midterm elections to retake the House of Representatives.

Bill Press speaks with Vincent DeMarco, who says the faith community can be a powerful force in getting more sensible gun laws.

Tom Allen is a former  Democratic congressman from Maine. He has just written a book about why Congress is so dysfunctional. He says the blame lies mostly with Republicans, whom he says must eventually become more pragmatic if they are to survive.
http://publishers.org/staff/2/

Let a grunt run the Pentagon for a chance

Latina political activist Maria Teresa Kumar reviews the 2012 election in terms of minority turnout and warns that Democrats have to gin up their vote in the 2014 midterm elections to win back the House of Representatives.
http://votolatino.org/press/maria-teresa-kumar-voto-latino

Bill Press and his guest, Vincent DeMarco, says the faith community can be a powerful force in getting more sensible gun laws.
http://faithsagainstgunviolence.org/

A good use for the 14th Amendment …and a terrible use for assault rifles.

Should President Obama change his mind and invoke the 14th Amendment to rid himself of troublesome debt ceiling opponents? Economist James Galbraith says he doesn’t have to “invoke” it – it is already part of the Constitution and ought to rule the day.

Former Congressman Mike Barnes, who also served as head of the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence, says legislative restrictions on firearms will be difficult since one political party and one House of Congress are owned by the gun lobby.

Bill Press and his guest Politico’s Reid Epstein, who says the president is spoiling for a fight over Chuck Hagel.

Why are we in the fiscal mess we’re in? Economist James Galbraith says it is because the dialogue has been “hijacked by a manic obsession over budget projections that are highly unreliable.” He says it is not up to President Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment to sidestep the forthcoming debt ceiling debate – the Constitution is already clear that the debt must, and will, be paid.

Slippin' and slidin' on corporate cash

Former Congressman Mike Barnes used to be president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He was also once a Marine. And he says it is pure insanity that America allows the sale to nearly anybody of the rifle he was issued – a weapon designed to kill as many people as possible as fast as possible.

Bill Press and his guest Politico’s Reid Epstein, who says the president is spoiling for a fight over Chuck Hagel.

Did that really happen? Two authors provide historical secrets from the New Deal and from the Cold War.

American University Professor Peter Kuznick, who, in partnership with Oliver Stone, has produced a Showtime series on the “Untold History of the United States. He offers some historical insights that present a different view of Henry Wallace … and Joseph Stalin.

Another author, Sally Denton, has written a book about an establishment plot to oust Franklin D. Roosevelt, and she compares his opponents to those who smeared President Obama.

And Bill Press and his guest, Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California, who asks her Republican colleagues, “What are you here for?”

Peter Kuznick is a professor at American University. He has teamed up with controversial director Oliver Stone to produce a series for Showtime that offers an alternate history of the United States since World War II than the history books tell us. He has also written a book to go along with the series, and he says it is just another side to American history.

http://www.sho.com/sho/oliver-stones-untold-history-of-the-united-states/home

Horrendous economic conditions, broken capitalism, vicious lies aimed at the president. These circumstances that faced President Obama were also present following the election of FDR in 1932. Author Sally Denton examines the plot against Roosevelt and points out the similarity of the tactics used by the right-wing hate machine to those used against Obama.

http://www.sallydenton.com/

And now Bill Press and his guest, Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California, who asks her Republican colleagues, “What are you here for?”

http://speier.house.gov/

Deep inside the "Taxpayer Relief Act"

TEASE: Challenges in the second term … the early years of Thurgood Marshall … and the Republican states’ rights fetish.

Progressive icon Fred Harris talks about challenges facing the second Obama Administration, including barriers to organized labor … law professor Larry Gibson tells us about his new biography of a young Thurgood Marshall … and historian Steve Conn rips Republicans for hating government, except for when they need it.

Fred Harris was a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and a candidate for president. Still active, Fred tells us what he sees as challenges for the second Obama Adminstration … labor rights, the minimum wage, civil rights and immigration reform
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_R._Harris

Larry Gibson is a prominent attorney and law professor in Baltimore. He has a new book out called “Young Thurgood,” which delves into the early years of Thurgood Marshall, the nation’s first African American Supreme Court justice.
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty/profiles/faculty.html?facultynum=049

Steven Conn is a historian and author of a book examining the benefits of government. He talks with us today about the fetish Republicans have about “states rights” – the rallying cry for slavery, attacking reproductive freedom and suppressing voting rights. Professor Conn says Republicans are laissez-faire when it suits them but in favor of government help with they need it.
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/members/memberview.cfm?memberid=11

This Christmas week -- Prospects for meaningful gun control … and prospects for Middle East peace

The Newtown shootings have once again focused the nation on the easy availability of guns. Today we talk with Ben Palumbo, an old Washington hand who has worked with the Brady Campaign against gun violence, and he tells of a politician who stood up to the NRA and won – nearly 50 years ago!

We also talk with Middle East expert Professor Richard  Bulliet about the prospects of stability in the region. He says you can’t go from dictatorship to democracy without instability.

And Bill Press speaks with Senator Tom Udall, who predicts the Senate will actually modify the filibuster rule.

Longtime Washington political operative Ben Palumbo has worked for decades on gun control issues, including a stint on the board of the Brady Campaign. In an interview with us before the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Palumbo said nothing will happen until politicians are ready to stand up to the National Rifle Association.

Taking a look at the constant turmoil in the Middle East, Columbia University professor Richard Bulliet predicts it could take 10 years before there is a hope of stability in the region. The reason, he says, is you simply can’t go from dictatorship to democracy without a lot of instability. But, instability does not necessarily mean war.

http://www.columbia.edu/~rwb3/Bulliet/Richard_W._Bulliet.html

Bill Press and his guest, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, with encouraging news about limiting Senate filibusters.

http://www.tomudall.senate.gov/

The Rising American Electorate comes through for Obama, but will they be there in two years? In four years?

The 2012 election is still being digested, and the aftertaste is good for progressives. The Obama campaign got its messaging right and its target voters right, but Democrats are going to have to work just as hard to keep this new coalition together for the 2014 midterm elections. And it’s clear that something is wrong with election procedures. We will hear from a polling analyst, and an elections expert.

And Bill Press interviews Michigan Congressman Sander Levin about his state government’s assault against working men and women.

Polling expert Erica Seifert deconstructs the 2012 election and concludes Obama’s victory was NOT inevitable. It was made possible by what she terms “the Rising American Electorate” – unmarried women, nonwhites and people under 30. But, she warns, the 2014 midterm elections are not a lock for Democrats if they don’t show up again.
http://gqrr.com/erica-seifert-phd/

The Czardom of Michiganistan

December’s Electoral College meeting makes formal the people’s choice in what everyone agrees was a fair presidential election. But there are still massive inefficiencies in the registration and voting process. Expert David Becker says millions of people may be incorrectly registered – although it is a matter of antiquated rules, not fraud.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/

Bill Press interviews Michigan Congressman Sander Levin about his state government’s assault against working men and women.
http://levin.house.gov/