America's Democrats

A provocative take on untold stories of American history ,and provocative ideas from the GOP on immigration and from progressives on taxes and spending.

Did you know that Democratic “bosses” made FDR accept Harry Truman as vice president? Did you know that Truman was “very anti-Semitic and racist?” Did you know that Japan did not surrender primarily because of the atom bomb? These are parts of “The Untold History of the United States,” a book and Showtime series co authored by Oliver Stone and our guest today, Professor Peter Kuznick

Columnist Catherine Poe reviews the Republican version of the DREAM Act, and tells us – thankfully -- it has no chance of enactment.

And Bill Press interviews tax expert Michael Linden of the Center for American Progress about a solution to the budget and deficit problem.  

A new book and Showtime Television series presents an “Untold” story of American history, Co-author Peter Kuznick, tells us that Democratic party bosses, the British and the French hated FDR’s vice president Henry Wallace because he was anti-Wall Street and anti-fascist.The result, he says, was the atom bomb and the Cold War.

Boehner's pitiful budget pitches

Some Senate Republicans are offering an alternative to the Dream Act as a way of loosening immigration restrictions. Regular contributor and columnist Catherine Poe says it not only fails to lead to citizenship, it fails to have any chance of passage.

Bill Press interviews tax expert Michael Linden of the Center for American Progress about a solution to the budget and deficit problem.  

Domestic and foreign policy outlooks in the second term, and a backlash looms against the discredited ideology of Reaganism.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle says no matter who is selected as secretary of state, he doesn’t expect any radical transformation of U.S. foreign policy.
Historian and author Michael Lind talks with us about different long-term waves in American history, where we are now and where we are going.
And Bill Press interviews Senator Chris Coons of Delaware about the so-called fiscal cliff … and why going over it might not be so bad.

We’re happy to have with us today Tom Daschle, long time leader of Democrats in the Senate, and an expert on health care and foreign policy. He says that in the president’s second term, a lot of hurdles face full implementation of Obamacare but that foreign policy is going to remain on an even keel, not matter who is named secretary of state.

Historian Michael Lind thinks the story of America is of long-term waves of technology and social upheaval. Where are we now? He says we are at the end of the Reagan era and there will be a backlash against its discredited policies in the near future.

Bill Press interviews Senator Chris Coons of Delaware about the so-called fiscal cliff … and why going over it might not be so bad.

By axing parks, politicos are stealing the people

The Middle East is in turmoil and the middle class is in danger. And in middle America, a visit to the Lincoln presidential library.

A Columbia University expert on the Middle East says if Romney had won the election, it would have meant “a green light for war on Iran. Now, he says, sanctions will have a chance to work.

Author and think tank scholar Phil Longman has an idea – give every American at birth a federal savings account that the parents and the child would contribute to for a lifetime.

And a special feature this week: With everyone talking about the Lincoln movie, Washington consultant and presidential historian Leon Billings reviews the best presidential libraries. And he recommends a stop in Springfield, Illinois.

Richard Bulliet is a Columbia University professor and an expert on the Middle East. He says Obama’s re-election is promising in terms of containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, as opposed to the “greenlight for war” that would have resulted from Romney winning the election.

Phil Longman is a progressive thinker, and he has a program he believes would preserve the middle class for generations – a lifetime savings account funded by the government to start and built by obligatory contributions from the holder’s salary.

Washington consultant Leon Billings recently took a vacation … touring presidential libraries and museums. He talks about his favorites, and finds that the Lincoln library is ideal for children, and Clinton’s the most educational.

Will Obama become more progressive in a second term? Does the election strengthen his hand against Iran? Hint … our guests think so!

Fred Harris, who served in the Senate with the late George McGovern, has a surprising candidate to wear the mantle of McGovern progressivism in these times – Barack Obama. Mike Ussery, who was an ambassador in two Republican administrations, says the election gives President Obama a stronger hand against Iran. And Bill Press interviews Charlie Fink, whose group of patriotic millionaires favors higher taxes on the rich.

Fred Harris, a former senator and chair of the DNC, says President Obama is a worthy successor to the late Senator George McGovern as an icon of the progressive movement. And, he says, the American electorate really does have a strong populist and progressive streak.

One result of President Obama returning to office, says Republican foreign policy expert Mike Ussery, is that he has more room to move in dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Bill Press and his guest,  Charlie Fink, of Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength.

A telling insight into Mitt's soul

The word of the day? Demographics. Tom Daschle says they define the future of the Democratic Party, and elections expert John Halpin says they can beat Republican money any day. And Bill Press talks with re-elected Senator Ben Cardin about the congressional outlook for compromise.

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After the shellacking administered to Republicans in the presidential and senatorial elections, former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle reflects on what a second Obama administration might be like. John Halpin is an expert on elections and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He says the election proved that Democratic voters can beat conservative money any time. And Bill Press interviews Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, who says HE is ready to compromise, if the Republicans are.

Tom Daschle was the Senate Democrat leader during the Clinton Administration and a key player in the development of health care reform. As a result of the president’s re-election, he says the Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank and Obama’s economic policy will stay in place.
www.dlapiper.com

       

The biggest loser of 2012

Electoral expect John Halpin of the Center for American Progress says the coalition of minorities, better-educated whites and working class Americans is real. And it’s a good sign, he says, that Democratic voters can beat conservative money – if they put their minds to it.
americanprogress.org

Bill Press and his guest,  newly re-elected Maryland Senator Cardin, on prospects for any sign of bipartisanship in Congress.

The Republican plot to destroy the Obama presidency four years ago and the Republican plot to keep Democrats from the polls this year. And how one immigrant family made it to the middle class.

Time Magazine’s top political reporter, Michael Grunwald says that with all the resistance President Obama has faced from Republicans plotting to destroy his presidency, the fact that he even had a shot at winning re-election suggests, in his words, “maybe he is not a political idiot after all.”
http://www.michaelgrunwald.com/

The mad dogs of Citizens United

President Obama’s stimulus program helped America recover from the near-Depression left him by President Bush ... and business taxes are now lower than under Ronald Reagan. Regular contributor Fred Rotondaro reminds us that Democratic programs are not about just giving people money – they are about strengthening the economy for everyone.
http://www.americanprogress.org/

Bill Press and his guest, Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP on how Republicans have switched from breaking the law to using the law to keep people from voting.
http://www.billpressshow.com/
http://www.naacp.org/

Longtime Washington political operative Ben Palumbo says the case for President Obama’s re-election is easy – in the face of Republican opposition he persevered in improving the lives of millions Americans – equal pay, student loans, saving the auto industry, reining in Wall Street, not to mention health care reform and ending the war in Iraq.

Ryan & Romney's dream for America

President Obama’s chances of winning the potentially critical four electoral votes from New Hampshire are pretty good, says former state party chairman George Bruno. The congressional races, he says, are competitive as well
http://www.usagroupinternational.com/aboutus.htm

Bill Press and his guest, former Senator and diplomat George Mitchell.
http://www.billpressshow.com/
http://www.dlapiper.com/george_mitchell/

Democrats run the economy better but Republicans are better at binding … and binders.

Did you know that nine out of the last 10 recessions began under Republican administrations? Did you know that the stock market does better under Democrats and Republicans? Some eye-opening historical economic data from small business expert Jere Glover makes it clear which party is better for America.
http://www.seidmanlaw.com/

Romney's "Farmer"

Ever since Newt Gingrich took over the House of Representatives almost 20 years ago, American politics as become “a knife fight,” says social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. He suggests one way for Congress to get along better would be for members to move their families to Washington, which would improve social relationships.
http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Haidt/e/B001H6GAXW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Bill Press and guest Brad Woodhouse, the communications director of the DNC.
http://www.billpressshow.com/
http://www.dscc.org/

History professor Steven Conn’s new book,“To Promote the General Welfare, the Case for Big Government,” takes apart the myth of a free market. He points out that there has never been a truly free market in America because the private sector routinely relies on government –from building railroads to breaking strikes to banning women’s reproductive choices. Buy the book

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was an acolyte of the right wing philosopher Ayn Rand. Jennifer Burns is a professor at Stanford who is an expert on that philosophy, and she explains its hold on Ryan and other extreme conservatives. According to Dr. Burns, Ayn Rand is “a gateway drug to life on the Right.” http://www.jenniferburns.org/

Bill Press and guest Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown with a morning-after analysis of the vice presidential debate. http://www.billpressshow.com/ http://www.brown.senate.gov/

Today’s topics are about different gospels – the good news about the Obama stimulus, the social gospel of progressive Catholics and the Republican gospel of “you’re on your own.”

Time Magazine’s senior national correspondent Michael Grunwald has written a book comparing the Obama Administration’s stimulus program to FDR’s New Deal. Why hasn’t the public understood how effective that stimulus was? Grunwald says it’s partly because of the news media, but also because of incredible Republican distortions of the record. http://www.michaelgrunwald.com/

The GOP rejects, then embraces, and now is stuck with Todd Akin

An expert on Catholic law and the co-chair of Catholics for Obama says the president is more pro-life than Mitt Romney because abortions are more likely when aid is cut to poor women. http://commonwealmagazine.org/authors/nicholas-p-cafardi

Bill Press interviews Congresswoman Diana DeGette on the day after the first presidential debate in her home state of Colorado. http://www.billpressshow.com/ http://degette.house.gov/