Like so much of what Paul Rosenberg writes, I found this post of his fascinating. I don’t read his stuff as faithfully as I ought to, because it usually requires a significant investment of time, but when I do it’s almost always worth it. In this posting he’s drawing from several thinkers in responding to [...] Read more »

From Roll Call:
Facing a tough political cycle, the DCCC is redoubling its efforts to enlist K Streeters to help its most vulnerable “Frontline” program Members with fundraising, messaging and campaign strategy.
The ask was formalized Wednesday evening at a dinner at Acqua Al 2, an Italian restaurant on Capitol Hill, organized by [...] Read more »

…Capable of being stopped only by this Republican candidate for US Representative in Pennsylvania.

In a new ad supporting Republican Tim Burns, who’s running for the seat vacated by the late Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA), the group RightChange.com depicts an animated Nancy Pelosi as a cross between Frankenstein’s monster and Godzilla.
Obama and Harry [...] Read more »

So, this Indiana Republican congressman is resigning because he had an affair with a staffer. So fine. The funny part?
Souder and his mistress actuallly made an anti-sex tape together: they appeared together in a video in favor of abstinence-only education.
Rich. Read more »

I thought this post was fascinating. And hard to excerpt, so read the whole thing:
Over the long-run, Democrats in Congress will look more like the Progressive Caucus.  Right now, the CPC is only group of Democrats in Congress who are representative of the Democratic rank and file.  At least 74.7%, or 59 of 79, of [...] Read more »

I love this post by Chris Bowers so much, I’m going to reproduce it in full:
If the public option campaign succeeds, it will be a proof of concept for the Progressive Block strategy–House Progressives threatening to join with Republicans to block must-pass Democratic legislation unless they receive a major concession. After all, the public option [...] Read more »

I really really liked this:
The idea that the left and the right are both inhabited by a “fringe” is a favority mainsteam trope, which PPP plays off of, though it does note that, “It’s hard to call a third of the country a fringe.” Nonetheless, the “fringe” characterization is a long-standing one, and it’s always [...] Read more »

I thought this article was fascinating, but it’s hard to find a snippet that gives you a flavor of teh whole thing. Therefore I’m doing a definite disservice by quoting only a little bit, and it’s well worth clicking through to read the whole thing.
From a mobilization point of view, running an electoral campaign is [...] Read more »

I really like Chris Bowers’ strategic thinking in this instance. Just for the purposes of backstory, Collin Peterson is the Chairman of the Agriculture committee, (Democrat, therefore) and he’s using his position to water down global warming legislation (though why it has to go through his committee, I don’t know). Here’s a bit more backstory…
Admittedly, [...] Read more »

This is what Chris Bowers, over at OpenLeft, thinks might happen if Obama and the Democrats win in a rout:

Republican Party moves to the right: Yes, that’s correct–I am pretty sure the Republican Party will become even more conservative if they are entirely blown out in this election. The reason is simple: all remaining mechanisms [...] Read more »

Gee, do you think this is newsworthy? Read more »

Atrios argues that handing debates and a good part of the political discourse over to the whims of currently undecided voters may not be the best thing in the world, and Matt Stoller elaborates:
Pandering to undecided voters makes the assumption that decided voters are irrelevant.  And we’re not.  Here are some choices a decided voter [...] Read more »

A fascinating overview of the Canadian election and the major issues there, for anyone who’s interested…
Big Issues:
Economy: Our banks aren’t collapsing, but Canada is seeing a great deal of economic change. High oil prices have driven up the Canadian dollar, which has hurt the manufacturing base in Ontario and Quebec. Jobs are drifting west to [...] Read more »

Tonight Sarah Palin and Joe Biden squared off and it reminded me of two things that really bother me about debates
Inclusion
The “Commission on Presidential Debates” which has been given control over setting the debates each four years (given control by whom? The two parties) says that nopresidential candidate can be allowed to participate unless national [...] Read more »

Per the BBC…
Congressional leaders are trying to finalise the deal in time for the opening of the Asian markets on Monday morning.
Next time we’re thinking about spending a trillion dollars, let’s try to decide it even faster! Next time Wall Street asks Congress for $700,000,000,000, Congress should try to have the cash in their hands within 24 [...] Read more »

In the midst of the current financial crisis, this phrase - “Tax the Rich” - should be on the lips of everyone who cares about the future of this country, and our collective well-being. There are pragmatic, political and punitive reasons for doing so, and there’s really no time to lose. If we’re unable to [...] Read more »

Matt Stoller cites the following email by a congressional lawmaker as a part of the debate currently taking place in Congress over the $700 Billion giveaway to the rich & irresponsible:
Paulsen and congressional Republicans, or the few that will actually vote for this (most will be unwilling to take responsibility for the consequences of their [...] Read more »

One of the reasons I love reading OpenLeft - aside from their focus on strategy and analysis, which is often lacking elsewhere but super-important - is that they’re not overenthusiastic about the prospects of an Obama presidency. While supporting Obama as a step in teh right direction, they’re yet clear-minded enough not to see him [...] Read more »

Matt Soller writes:
I was at a panel last week with Governor Corzine about paid family insurance, and there were a lot of bright people in the room discussing the tactical issues involved in passing legislation to allow someone to spend 6 weeks with their newborn.  And all I could think, while Wall Street was getting [...] Read more »

Just your friendly reminder for the day… Read more »