Robert Reich: Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and the other tribunes of today’s Republican right aren’t really conservatives. Their goal isn’t to conservative what we have. It’s to take us backwards.
It’s a Tremor, Not a Quake. Yet.
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Tom Hayden: The LA occupation is not merely symbolic, but constitutes an interruption of government-as-usual by its presence on the City Hall lawn. The protest simply cannot be avoided by those in power.
The Seven Biggest Economic Lies
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Robert Reich: Here’s a short effort to rebut the seven biggest whoppers now being told by those who want to take America backwards.
Occupy Portland Is Born with Ten Thousand Strong
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Shamus Cooke: It should be no surprise that a city dubbed “Little Beirut” by President Bush Senior — due to the large protests against him — began its “occupation” on a level on par with Wall Street.
Dorothy Day, Radicalism, and Present-Day Politics
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Walter Moss: Dorothy Day’s work and legacy serve as a gentle reminder to politicians and those of us among the “chattering classes,” that what matters most is not what we say or how we or others label us, but how we contribute to the common good.
What to Do with the Anti-Government Outrage
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Adam Eran: The real outrage is that private banks receive far more money than any social safety net program would need, but the proposed cuts impact only safety net programs.
Rick Perry, Social Security, and the Ghost of Barry Goldwater
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Mark Nevin: In the 1964 presidential campaign, Republican Barry Goldwater initially criticized Social Security but then backed away from that criticism after he fell under attack from fellow Republicans. Despite his backpedaling, Goldwater could never shake the label of Social Security foe. Might current Republican front-runner Rick Perry be in a similar situation?
The Republican Weapon of Mass Cynicism
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Robert Reich: If we can’t trust government at a time like this, whom can we trust? Corporations? Wall Street? Bill Gates and Warren Buffett? Or is each of us now simply on our own?
Race and Anti-Obama ‘Hysteria’
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Berry Craig: The hysteria about Obama, although some of it may be related to philosophical objections to central authority, is largely rooted in race.
What Do Republican Politicians Believe?
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Steve Hochstadt: Displaying scientific illiteracy or telling disaster victims that their suffering is God’s punishment won’t create one new job. Scaring Americans about Social Security, the most successful social program in American history, won’t improve economic confidence.
Obama’s Jobs Speech: Prepare to Be Underwhelmed
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Joseph Palermo: President Obama’s much anticipated speech outlining his jobs agenda for the 2012 election year will sound a lot like a tiny mouse trying to make a loud roar. Instead of clarity, we’ll get hedging; instead of “bold,” we’ll get wishy-washy.
Not All Black Democrats Subscribe to ‘But He’s the First Black President’
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Jasmyne A. Cannick: Me — I long fell out of love with the President. I don’t talk about it much because doing so can be a detriment to your well-being in certain company.
Democrats Must Push Back
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Norman Solomon: Call me old-fashioned, but I believe in the vital lessons of the New Deal. Many millions of good jobs must be created — and that will require well-funded federal jobs programs on a large scale.
Healthcare: What Democrats Should Have Learned By Now
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Robert Reich: Had the President and the Democrats stuck to their guns during the health-care debate and insisted on Medicare for all, or at least a public option, they wouldn’t now be facing the possible unraveling of the new health care law.
Republicans Like Leopards Never Change Their Spots
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Sy Slavin: Republicans like the proverbial leopards never change their spots. In 1935 they tried to kill Social Security – today using the same vile tactics; they are trying to do the same.
The Deficit Committee Is a Stacked Deck
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Carl Bloice: Obviously, there is nothing demographically representative of the Gang of 12. It’s hardly democratic; but then, there is nothing particularly democratic about the whole setup.
If the Tea Party Were Liberal
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Tina Dupuy: If liberals were doing to their country what extremist tea party Republicans are doing to theirs – it would be called unpatriotic. A whole tsunami of sound bites would sweep the country calling for the sabotage to stop.
Time for a 2012 Democratic Primary Challenge?
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Karen Bernal: As elated as we were when President Obama was elected in 2008, after a disastrous eight years under the repressive and war-mongering Bush Administration, the Obama Administration has been a major disappointment to the working class and Progressives of this country.
Well-To-Do Americans Getting More Benefits than the Poor
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Sherwood Ross: All the Federal welfare checks, food stamps, and unemployment benefits don’t begin to add up to the more than $1 trillion in indirect tax breaks awarded annually to America’s middle- and upper-classes.
For Progressives, Debt Ceiling “Deal” Was a Real Downer
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Joseph Palermo: The last-minute lobbying by the titans of industry and finance shows that President Obama might have had more leverage over the Republicans in the debt ceiling “negotiations” than he chose to exercise. We now breathlessly await the arrival of the “Super Committee,” the tragedy that follows the farce.
In the Debt Ceiling Machinations Democracy Is Also Up for Grabs
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Carl Bloice: If the people who set the Tea Party in motion and sustain it want a mandatory “balanced budget” there is a democratic way of going about getting one; introduce specific legislation. They wouldn’t take that route.
Real Crises and Fake Ones
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Steve Hochstadt: Our economic disaster is not about national debt, but about national poverty. America cannot be a great country, if we do not alleviate the critical economic problems gripping our poorest families.
Primary Lessons
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Vijay Prashad: In the Progressive Caucus there was unanimity in the critique, but some hesitation over the way ahead. A few people felt that the far right was dangerous, and it seemed unsafe to unhinge what appeared to be Obama’s walkover in 2012.
In Memory of the GOP
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Tom Degan: It’s interesting to speculate what Lincoln and Roosevelt would make of their party today. It’s not much of a stretch to say that the both of them would be just a tad dismayed to see that it has been overtaken by half-wits and crazy people.
To Rebuild the American Dream, Put Pressure On Democrats
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Randy Shaw: A progressive coalition that claims to be “Bigger than the Tea Party” must hold Democrats accountable as effectively as conservatives do for Republicans .
The Biggest Driver in the Deficit Battle: Standard & Poor’s
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Robert Reich: Standard & Poor’s insists any deal must also contain a credible, bipartisan plan to reduce the nation’s long-term budget deficit by $4 trillion — something neither Harry Reid’s nor John Boehner’s plans do.
Will Obama Ever Hold the Republicans Accountable?
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Paul Loeb: Obama has forgotten the basic lesson of negotiation — you don’t hand everything over before you start, particularly to people who have utter contempt for your values and goals.
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