Republicans

Memphis itself had been legally blocked from removing the statues of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and Confederate president Jefferson Davis from two public parks, according to The Commercial Appeal. But in December, the city council voted unanimously to sell the parks to a local nonprofit, for a reported $1,000 each. That evening, the nonprofit took down the monuments.   … [Read more...] about Tennessee Republicans Punish Memphis For Removing Confederate Statues

The House agriculture committee didn’t focus on race during nearly two dozen hearings on SNAP since 2015, but that doesn’t mean it’s an obscure topic. The interplay of welfare and race has been the subject of a lot of books and articles. When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) called Barack Obama “the food stamp president” in 2012, he had to answer for it. Ronald Reagan’s characterization of a food stamp recipient as a “strapping young buck” in 1976 is one of the most famous racist dog whistles in American politics. … [Read more...] about Republicans Swear Food Stamp Debate Has No Racial Connotations

Had Hillary Clinton secured 78,000 more votes in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan on November 8, 2016, she would be president today. When the margin of defeat is that narrow, every factor can reasonably be considered decisive ― people who want to blame James Comey, Robby Mook, de-unionization or the historical legacy of slavery all have a case. But it mattered that Trump won traditionally Democratic states that had all been economically gutted by the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing industry. … [Read more...] about Donald Trump’s Takeover Of The Republican Party Is Now Complete

Unions would have been required to bear the cost of the recertification elections. And in order to avoid decertification, they would have had to secure a majority of votes from the entire bargaining unit, as opposed to just a majority of those who voted. That means any workers who didn’t cast a ballot would essentially count as a vote against the union. … [Read more...] about Michigan Unions Dodge Republican Attack In Lame-Duck Session

In a new Politico/Morning Consult survey, 61 percent of voters favored “a recent proposal to levy a new, 2 percent annual tax on all assets owned by households with a net worth of $50 million or more, and an additional 1 percent tax on households with a net worth of more than $1 billion.” Just 20 percent were opposed, with the rest unsure. Democratic voters supported the plan by 74 percent to 11 percent, while Republican voters backed it by 50 percent to 30 percent. (The bipartisan support is particularly notable given that, earlier in the survey, the proposal was explicitly identified as Warren’s.) … [Read more...] about Elizabeth Warren’s Tax Proposal Is Popular Even With Republicans