Excellent Analysis of the Democratic Party Today

An outstanding article by Thomas Edsall of the New York Times, analyzing the announcement by former Senator Jim Webb that he is exploring a presidential bid.  The piece discusses the problems facing the Democrats among white middle- and working-class voters, and the notion that the party no longer truly represents working class issues.  It speaks to the idea that Mike Lofgren presented, that both parties are ultimately "working for Wall Street," and that many voters don't view the Democrats as presenting a viable alternative to the Republican agenda.  It also discusses the problems of Hillary Clinton as potential candidate, namely, that she represents "identity group" rather than "class based" politics.  Worth a read, especially in light of all we have recently been discussing about political parties.

US-China Climate Deal Is A Game-Changer

The United States, the world's biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to cut emissions by 26-28% by 2025 relative to 2005 levels, while China, the current biggest emitter, has promised to peak its emissions by no later than 2030. Some claim that while this is nice, it won't be enough to alter the global condition of our planet unless other states take similar courses of action. Do you think that deal will effect much of anything at all? Do you think that other nations will follow in this deal's footsteps?

House Republicans Hire Jonathan Turley to Pursue Obama Lawsuit

House Republicans have hired their third attorney since August to pursue their lawsuit against President Barack Obama for allegedly overstepping his authority, tapping George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley; Mr. Turley was chosen after the first two law firms that signed contracts to pursue the suit backed out of the assignment. Do you agree with the fact that Obama is overstepping his authority as the President of the United States? Do you believe that filing a lawsuit is the correct course of action?

Democrats lash out at Nancy Pelosi

After losing the Senate and even more seats in the House, Democrats on Capitol Hill are becoming increasingly critical of their leadership. Most of this discontent is aimed at Nancy Pelosi, for many reasons. Among them are the staggering losses in elections across the nation, and, on a personal level, Pelosi's tendency to turn routine debate into a verbal brawl ( i.e. The episode between Pelosi and Pennsylvania Rep. Tom Marino).  This combination of party-wide blues over the midterms and Pelosi's own behavior has put the long-time representative in a bad spot with her caucus. Such vocal attacks on party leaders is not very common within the Democratic Party. This unusual trend shows a lack of confidence within the party, seemingly parallel to that of Americans that voted in the recent elections.

Defiant Obama says he won't bend to GOP

Following the recent midterm elections, which saw the GOP take control of the Senate and gain seats in the already Republican dominated House of Representatives, the President has vowed not to comply with legislation coming from this new Congress. There is bound to be friction between Republican leadership and President Obama over a wide range of issues, such as: Immigration, Iran, and the Keystone XL pipeline. In this situation the question of Executive order is a prominent one. Republicans fear that Obama will use this power of his office in order to bypass congress on these issues, among others. Is the President right to be so defiant in an already bogged-down and highly partisan climate in Washington?

Democrats’ attempts to get away from Jonathan Gruber, translated

In the wake of controversial comments made by MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber, a key architect of Obamacare, top Democrats have tried to distance themselves from him. Gruber's comments, made on various occasions, claimed that the health care law was advertised to the public with the intent to deceive, and that those who wrote and passed the law took advantage of the "stupidity of the American voters." Meanwhile, mainstream news outlets such as CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and the New York Times barely mentioned the surfacing of Gruber's comments, if they mentioned it at all. What do you think of these revelations and the efforts by Democrats to downplay them, considering the fact that Obamacare is now the law?

Terror Attack Kills Four in Jerusalem Synagogue

Tuesday, two Palestinian men murdered four Israelis worshiping inside a synagogue in Jerusalem. Three of the Israelis were dual-American citizens. The terror group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, praised the attack. U.S. leaders, such as Secretary of State John Kerry, condemned it, despite the fact that the U.S. government provides about $400 million in annual aid to the Palestinian Authority, which includes Hamas. In response to the attack, Barack Obama said, "it's important for both Palestinians and Israelis to work together to lower tensions and reject violence." This is highly unlikely, since Hamas's charter calls for the unconditional destruction of Israel. What do you think of the latest Palestinian aggression towards Israel?

State Department Targeted by Hackers in 4th Agency Computer Breach

On Sunday, the State Department became the fourth government agency to have its computer systems breached. Other breaches have occurred at the United States Postal Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is unclear whether these attacks are related.

Using Executive Order on Immigration, Obama Would Reverse Long-Held Stance

This article is about President Obama's long time stance not to use executive order that would prevent thousands of illegal immigrants from being deported. In the past the President Obama has stated that using executive orders of immigration would be "violating our laws" and "very difficult to defend legally".  Why do you think President Obama is changing his stance now?

Democrats Argue Their 2014 Ground Game Worked

Regarding the most recent midterm election, Democrats say, although they lost by a pretty big margin, their ground game worked. What do you think about this view the Democrats have? Do you think it worked in the long run? Do you think the long run outcomes matters more than the actual current results?

Tennessee Just Became The Next Abortion Rights Battleground

Recently, Tennessee voted to allow endless restrictions to be made on abortion rights. Do you think this was a good idea? Regarding an article posted earlier in the blogs, what do you think this means for the South and their "growth" with social issues?

Justice Department Forced To Release over 64,000 pages Related to "Fast and Furious"

This scandal was a national disgrace to begin with and the need for a court order for the release of the documents further embarrassed the Justice Department. I believe one of the main problems with the federal government is a lack of transparency and this issue proved my point. Do you think the President should be allowed to use executive privilege to withhold information from lawmakers?

Marijuana still illegal according to the Federal Government, even though it owns over half of the land in states where it is legal

Marijuana legality in this country is highly confusing. The article cited an example in which a woman stayed within Washington state borders, but simply entered a national park and suddenly she was breaking the law. On most social issues, including the legality of marijuana, I am of the opinion that the federal government should allow the states to legislate for themselves. I think congress should end the federal prohibition and treat marijuana like alcohol and allow states to regulate it however they choose.

Favorability of democrats hit record lows

This article discusses a large problem facing the Democratic Party. After disastrous midterm elections, the Favorability of the democrats dropped 6 points to 36%. What could the problem be? Years ago, the republicans were facing the same obstacle after George Bush. What could the democrats do to fix this?

Voters to decided on new minimum wage

This article discusses he possibility of the minimum wage being raised in multiple states. It's no secret that the Democratic Party is in full support of the minimum wage being raised, but this article reveals the possibility of republicans in Alaska and Arkansas (among others) being in favor of such a change. Should the minimum wage be raised?

Michael Brown's Parents Testify at U.N.

Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. are the parents of Michael Brown Jr., the teenage boy killed in Ferguson. The parents traveled to Switzerland to speak in front of the U.N. committee about what is going on in Missouri. They want to let the U.N. know what kind of violence is happening and are pushing the U.N. to take measures against the police brutality. The parents say they addressed the U.N. to bring worldwide attention to the occurrences in Ferguson.

The Great Wage Slowdown, Looming Over Politics

With the recent beating that the democratic party took in the election, David Leonhardt poses a question to the party. He asks them how, as a collective party, they “plan to life stagnant middle-class incomes.” He points out that the democratic solution just isn’t very clear. Although employment growth is rising, average wage growth has shown no improvements. Leonhardt discusses and refutes many solutions to the present wage growth problem America is facing.

A Flood of Late Spending on Midterm Elections, From Murky Sources

There's no blog this week, but my dad emailed this article to me, and I thought it was worth sharing on here.

Street Harassment Law Would Restrict Intimidating Behavior

Recently, there has been a big push to acknowledge and stop street harassment and cat-calling. Some women are calling for a law that would prohibit this type of behavior. Though cat-calling has been recognized as demeaning and inappropriate, would this law violate our First Amendment right of freedom of speech?