PRESIDENT OBAMA “THROWS IN THE TOWEL” ON POPULISM AND “INTEGRITY” IN HIS ADMINISTRATION Two obscure cabinet appointments with an outsized impact on the daily lives of Americans made by President Obama in the last month offers a startling look at the true course the president’s second term will take, argues Norman Solomon. Penny Pritzker [...]
Like the election campaigns that vaulted the individuals they celebrate into office, modern American presidential libraries have become a hotbed of influence peddling, big money, and secret donations. While the outward appearance of the libraries and museums constructed by and for former presidents are the epitome of civic pride and an homage to public service, [...]
Skeletal remains of the system of federal laws that regulate political contributions could be further weakened in another landmark case three years after the historic Citizens United decision opened the gateway for record election spending and unprecedented secrecy for wealthy donors. The Supreme Court agreed last month to hear a case that challenges federal limits on [...]
STOCK MARKET RECORD HIGHS: THE RICH GET RICHER, EVERYONE ELSE GETS POORER… Last week saw the Dow Jones stock index shatter its all-time record highs, an occurrence trumpeted by the press and the Obama administration as a clear sign of a full turnaround from the depths of the Great Recession and proof of a [...]
Nearly four months after the most expensive election in American history reached its conclusion the record-setting race for political cash goes on for President Obama. Transforming his reelection campaign apparatus into an unprecedented political advocacy extension of the White House, the president is seeking to stock the coffers of his new group with special access [...]
THE UNITED CASTES OF AMERICA. Upward economic mobility and the basic premise of the “American Dream” have been been eradicated, argues economist Joseph Stiglitz. Decades of regressive economic and social policies — policies wholly accepted and perpetuated by the current presidential administration — have severed a large and growing segment of the country from [...]
A renewed legislative effort to raise the national minimum wage and give a boost to the millions of Americans mired in working poverty was a featured promise made by President Obama in Tuesday’s State of the Union address. But political reality is likely to intrude on the president’s vision as familiar foes of wage hikes [...]
After the most expensive election in American history that made “bundlers” and “super-PACs” household terms, President Obama’s second inauguration is shaping up to be a a celebration of the big money that propelled his reelection campaign as well as the failed bid of his Republican challenger. Final fundraising totals for the 2012 race overwhelmed even [...]
The first true test of the post-Citizens United campaign financing landscape resulted in a cash “arms race”that drove election spending to unthinkable records, but with surprisingly little to show for the big checks cut by a cache of wealthy donors. The 2012 campaign will end up costing a total of over $6 billion, with $2 [...]
PRESIDENT OBAMA WINS REELECTION. ` Surpassing the 270 electoral votes necessary shortly after 11 PM on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win a second term in the White House. After a historically long, bitter and expensive campaign, the status quo was retained in Washington as the House and Senate [...]
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