Rights and Democracy
Remembering George McGovern and Old-School Campaign Tools
George McGovern changed my life. I was a campus antiwar radical in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I wore blue jeans, a headband, and a thread belt. I had hair halfway down my back. And I’m sure the State Director wished that he had another option.
Supremely High Stakes in This Election
The rights of working families across America hang in the balance this Election Day. The future of laws protecting working people — our right to safe working conditions, to organize, to sue employers who have discriminated against us — will depend on who we elect.
GOP Looks in Mirror, Spots Voter Fraud
But now comes a Houston-based, tea-party outfit calling itself True the Vote. It claims to be dedicated to sniffing out ineligible voters — in particular, your darker-skinned types who favor the Democratic Party. True the Vote claims that hordes of these undesirables are swarming America’s polling places to vote illegally. Sadly, though, these self-appointed guardians of ballot integrity have not had much luck in sniffing out, you know, actual documented cases of such fraud.
Can Obama Get His Groove Back?
One January night before his re-election campaign heated up, President Obama took the podium at the Apollo theatre in Harlem. He scanned the room and flashed his megawatt smile, prompting the crowd of 1,400 young professionals to cheer “Four More Years! Four More Years!” The president gave a shout out to the singers India.Arie and the Rev. Al Green. Then, channeling Green, Obama sang: “I’m so in love with you.” The crowd, predictably, went nuts.
Pulling the Plug on Ex-Gay Quackery
Jerry, a 23-year-old gay Texan, endured seven years of so-called “conversion therapy” starting at the age of 13. One of the most humiliating “treatments” entailed being taken to Nevada, where prostitution is legal, and forced to perform sex acts — which he found revolting — with female “sexual healers” who were twice his age.
A Plan for the Democratic Party
Until the votes are cast and counted, no one, no matter how smart or well-connected, can predict with certainty the outcome of the 2012 elections. And yet, Democrats and some Republicans are already forecasting that President Barack Obama will win re-election, and Democrats will maintain control of the Senate and pick up new House seats.
The Problem with Craig Romney and his Padre
Mitt Romney’s son, Craig, has become known as Mitt’s ambassador to Latino voters. He stars in Spanish-language TV and radio ads for his father. He spoke directly to Latinos in Spanish at the Republican National Convention. He talks to Hispanic groups nationwide.
The Corporate Court’s War on Women
When President George W. Bush nominated John Roberts and Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court, women’s groups mobilized to no avail. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to filibuster either nomination despite personal pleas from feminist leaders. Our main worry was reproductive freedom.
Just Don’t Let the Other Side Vote
In some nations, the government is committed to getting everyone out to vote. Some of our states, like California, have special voter protection acts aimed at the same goal. But elsewhere, it seems, the fewer voters who turn out at the polls, the better.
What Not to Do on Camera
Romney’s words may have left us with the impression of a debate win, but he failed to restrain his signature off-putting smirks.
