San Francisco may be a bellwether for November’s midterms, and the future of the Democratic Party. Last November, when U.S. Representative and former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced her long-anticipated retirement, she vacated a seat held for nearly four decades, and gave San Franciscan voters a once-in-a-generation choice. As the growing shadow of […]
Tag: Congress
Congressmen Eric Swalwell on the Government Shutdown & Future of Democratic Politics
Isabelle Jacobson and Keira Bixler are joined by Congressman Eric Swalwell to discuss the current government shutdown, its impact on the American public, and the political landscape. He also shares his perspective on the future of the Democratic Party, its challenges, and the path forward in uncertain times.
Only Smokey the Bear Can Save National Parks–Except He’s Been Fired
It began with an email–or rather, a lack of one. Brian Gibbs was one of nearly a thousand workers whose livelihoods were compromised in the name of efficiency this February. About eight months into his role as an environmental educator at the Iowa Effigy Mounds National Monument, Gibbs was locked out of his government email […]
Clashes in Leadership
As the election looms ever closer, Congressional Republicans found themselves between a rock and a hard place: a government shutdown, and the demands of their presidential nominee, Donald Trump. However, this conflict arose not just from Democrat-Republican relations, but internal party politics. Through the whole month of September, Republicans and Democrats debated amongst themselves on […]
America Isn’t Broken—But Our Leaders Need It To Be
Americans hate politics. Or at least, that’s how it seems. A Pew Research Center study from last fall found that over half of Americans (55%) are “always” angry at politics in our country. And further, when asked “What word would you use to describe U.S. politics?” some of the most popular responses were “divisive” “chaos” […]
Congress, The Lifelong Career
Sitting high on Capitol Hill, the distant and seemingly elitist Congress has struggled to maintain Americans’ trust, with reports showing a measly 26% of the public trusts our legislative branch. Americans feel separated from Congress, and it’s a trend that has persisted over the last 20 years as politics become increasingly polarized among parties. Members […]
Playing Politics in America’s Pacific Territories
During the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) declared that America’s tax dollars should no longer be sent to “China, Russia, the Middle East, Guam – whatever, wherever.” However Guam, unlike the other places mentioned in her list, is fully American. For better or for worse, Guam’s American identity is […]
A Swindled Future: The Cost of the National Debt
From slaughtered schoolchildren to draconian abortion bans, there is much to deplore in our political present. Daily headlines are littered with stupidity, cruelty, dysfunction, and death. Such a disturbing picture makes it easy to dismiss less tangible issues—like the $31 trillion national debt—as mere distractions. But the government’s profligate ways are no longer a theoretical […]
The Quiet Menace of Court Packing
The Supreme Court has a credibility problem: a 40% approval rating, to be precise. Such a number is par for the course for President Joe Biden (whose approval hovers at 41%) and enviable for Congress, whose approval rose to a paltry 23% this year. But for the Supreme Court, 40% approval marks a seismic 19-point […]
Ten Years Post-Reform, How Are California’s Congressional Maps Still Unfair?
What a success story for California! After decades of Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature rigging Congressional maps through gerrymandering, citizens finally came together in 2008 to pass Prop 11, and in 2010 to pass Prop 20, putting redistricting in the hands of a bipartisan citizen commission. Once and for all, California had fair […]
The Haitian Migrant Crisis: Business As Usual For US Border Policy?
Why do we see brutal images and aggressive tactics against immigrants under the Biden Administration? Is US immigration policy just going to be a continuation of the Trump Era? 38-year-old Joanne Joseph told the New York Times that life in Haiti was “a struggle every day.” An immigrant, she feels safe and secure as she […]
What the Coronavirus Can Teach Us About Gun Violence
Only three years ago, mass shootings seemed to make national headlines nearly once a month. Gun control was at the center of the American political landscape as advocacy groups such as March for Our Lives (MFOL) emerged and sparked debates over gun control on the national level. However, as the coronavirus pandemic has consumed the […]
Is Marjorie Taylor Greene the Future of the Republican Party?
Marjorie Taylor Greene wants you to know that she’s just like you. With a degree from the University of Georgia and a commercial construction business with her husband, Greene presents herself, in one sense, like any politician would: a small business owner in touch with the needs of her constituents. But that is where all […]
American Hero vs the Blue Wave
By most accounts, 2020 is shaping up to be a blue wave of historic proportions. Polls put Biden within striking distance of 365 electoral college votes, which President Obama won in 2008. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has been quoted as saying that Republicans should prepare for “a bloodbath of Watergate proportions.” And Republicans across the country […]
A Contentious Congressional Race in One of Southern California’s Last Republican Districts
One of the most contentious and unpredictable congressional races in the 2020 general election is in California’s 25th District. Encompassing the suburban cities of Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster and Simi Valley, CA-25 is the only Republican district in Los Angeles County, a notoriously Democratic stronghold. Prior to 2018, the district had been represented by a […]
Fix Medicare-for-Some Before Creating Medicare-for-All
In 2016, Bernie Sanders challenged Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary with a long-shot bid from the far-left flank. Now, many of his ideas that were once considered radical are becoming mainstream, with 70 percent of Democratic presidential candidates supporting his Medicare-for-all platform. In this year’s primary, the near total proliferation of public healthcare platforms […]
Breaking the Silence Over Israel
The political and publish backlash that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) faced over her recent comments criticizing Israel and AIPAC shows a dire need for an active debate within Congress that would allow for legitimate criticism of Israel’s actions as well as serious discussion about anti-Semitic forces in the United States. The inability to foster a […]
Lights, Camera, Deregulation! Big Banks Get Their Big Break
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tackling one of America’s most dire, pressing issues, Congress turned its attention in March away from passé, low-stakes issues like gun control and immigration to — you guessed it — banking reform. By May 22, the House passed the duplicitously-named Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), a law that will roll back aspects of the […]
The Political Case Against Impeaching Trump
This summer, Alan Dershowitz, a retired Harvard Law School professor, laid out his case against impeaching President Donald Trump in his new book, The Case Against Impeaching Trump. While he presents a valid case from a legal perspective, the political arguments against impeaching the president may be even stronger. Trump’s Popularity Donald Trump is popular — at […]
Democrats Join the Mad Tea Party: The Contest Begins between Feinstein and De León
The December midnight was drenched in silence. A large crowd stared on from the harbor as the Sons of Liberty crept along the docks in Mohawk Native American costumes. They swept through the streets of Boston with one pursuit in mind: dump the coercive British tea. With the quiet punctuated only by the sound of […]
The United States… And Territories: America’s Paradise Lost
On October 13, one news headline stood out among the rest: “Trump says he spoke to U.S. Virgin Islands’ ‘president’ — which is him.” “Must’ve been a one-sided conversation,” one Twitter user noted. The Daily Show put out a video of Trump shaking hands with his “genetic replica.” This hilarity momentarily puts a spotlight on […]
Divisive Indivisible: Will Democrats Decide to Divorce?
Marriages are messy. Every couple shares some common ground that forms the basis of their relationship, but, humans being humans, each will have disagreements that create tension. Sometimes, the spouses come together and talk about these differences like adults. But if they come to view the other as detrimental to their wellbeing and fail to […]
Of Miscreants and Malignancy
Something is rotten in the state of the Union. Our leaders are more concerned about making the other side look bad than they are about effective governance, and have forgotten that they were elected to make mature decisions about the nation’s future. Politicians use underhanded methods and baiting tactics to produce “gotcha” moments for the […]
If He’s Messed Up, You’re to Blame
In the parlance of Donald J. Trump, ‘many people are saying’ how the candidacy he has waged is unprecedented, incomprehensible, and astounding. The narrative goes that never in the history of the Republic has a candidate come about with such an unintelligible policy platform or knack for the offensive and absurd. The Access Hollywood tape depicting Trump’s already well-documented misogynistic folksiness […]
Why the Clinton Democrats Lost and Will Keep on Losing
Bill and Hillary Clinton at Hillary’s Concession Speech. President Trump. Let that sit in. People across the country are confused, angry, or celebrating Trump’s decisive win over Hillary Clinton after a bitterly divisive presidential election. Misogyny, racism, and the FBI are being suggested as potential causes for the loss of a former Secretary of State […]
An Open Letter to President-Elect Donald Trump
Dear President-Elect Trump, I’d like to start this off by offering my congratulations on a well-fought campaign. While you did not have my support before the election, I recognize that you are now my President, and I refuse to protest the will of the people. You have clearly pinpointed a strong source of anger and […]
The Critical Need to Enact Gun Control
This is one part of the larger debate on gun control in the U.S. The opposing article can be found here. Infuriating political stalemate aside, Congress must act to bring about gun control legislation. The current trajectory of federal inaction in the wake of a record number of gun-related massacres suggests the likelihood that it […]
Gun Violence and the American Mind
“Reform the mental health care system.” Time and time again, this has been the right-wing response to mass shootings. From three years ago, when 26 lives were lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School, to more recently, when ten people were killed at Umpqua Community College, right-wing politicians have consistently shifted blame onto the American system of […]
Harris’ Senate Race is Now a Woman’s Race
Could Gavin Newsom be afraid of Kamala Harris? Just before California Attorney General Harris formally announced her bid to run for the United States Senate on Tuesday, January 13, Newsom dropped his potential candidacy for the senate position. He instead announced his three year campaign in his bid for the 2018 gubernatorial race. According to […]
Eric Cantor or Eric “Can’t Win”?
It didn’t matter that David Brat was an unknown economics professor. It wasn’t enough that Eric Cantor had spent nearly $5.4 million on his campaign. And it certainly made no difference that Cantor branded himself as a preacher of the Republican Creed. On the evening of July 10, 2014, Eric Cantor made congressional history, becoming […]
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Fast Track Authority: What’s the Big Deal?
A cornerstone of President Obama’s trade agenda has created a rift between his administration and his Democratic base, who have joined with Tea Party Republicans in an unusual marriage of convenience. The legislation in question, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is a colossal proposed trade agreement that involves twelve countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and […]
ANWar: The Historic Fight for Alaska’s Wilderness Heats Up
As Obama looks to the end of his presidency, he’s turned to the Arctic North to put some heat on his environmental detractors. In January 2015, President Obama designated 12.3 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness, the largest formal designation of its kind. President Obama’s conservation legacy has long been […]
2014 Midterms Recap: What You Need to Know
Though one of the biggest stories from the midterm election results on Tuesday was the Republicans gaining control of the Senate, there were other significant stories as well. Not only were pollsters incorrect in predicting how close certain Senate races would be, many of the gubernatorial races went the way of the Republicans as well […]
Death of a Salesman
If I were President Obama, I might be asking myself, “How did I get here?” “What happened to those chanting masses? Where are all those t-shirts? What about the bumper stickers, the signs, the Nobel Peace Prizes? This is not my vision. This is not my changed world. Things are the same as they […]
Gerrymandering and the Government Shutdown
The recent government shutdown has severely shaken the American people’s faith in their government (even more so than before), and has people wondering “what happened?” The inability of our elected leaders to keep our government functioning, at the very least, is symptomatic of a much larger problem– the extremely polarized political environment of Washington. […]
Hope for the 12 Million: A Path to Citizenship
Since the failure of the DREAM Act back in 2010, we have yet to see any meaningful or progressive immigration reform policy. While legislation like the KIDS Act is in the works, none offers a solution to the heart of the issue of immigration reform- a comprehensive path to citizenship. Without offering undocumented immigrants a […]