Three trillion dollars. Once all the costs of the actual fighting, veterans care, expanded baseline defense spending and extra interest on the national debt are factored in, that's the price tag for the still-unfunded American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But there's one more reason to institute a post-recession war tax to pay for the […]

A word of advice to conservatives desperately trying to smear teachers and other public employees in Wisconsin: when trapped in a hole, first stop digging. On Monday, the right-wing blogosphere made the mistake of complaining that Wisconsin received millions of dollars in federal education aid when solidly Republican red states get much, much more. Now, […]

For years, red state socialism - the steady, one-way flow of taxpayer dollars from Washington DC to solidly Republican states - has been one of the defining traits of American federalism. Which is why the conservative charge that Wisconsin schools - and their unionized teachers - received $670 million in federal funding is so laughable. […]

Perhaps more than any other factor, the overwhelming Republican midterm triumph was fueled by the elderly. Voters 65 and over, the only age group to support John McCain in 2008, boosted their share of the turnout to 21% from 16% two years earlier. Nationwide, Republicans won seniors by a staggering 59% to 38%. But now, […]

In just the latest front in the perpetual GOP campaign to divide and conquer, Republicans are trying to get Americans to turn on their neighbors who work for government and unions on each other. Of course, the Republican assault on collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin, Ohio,

Over the past several days, Fox News host Glenn Beck has explained that the unrest sweeping the Middle East augurs a New World Order jointly pursued by a combination of George Soros, radical Islamists and communist unions, all aided, apparently, by Google. But on Thursday, Beck literally turned apocalyptic, warning that the seeming chaos could […]

On Tuesday, House Budget Committee Paul Ryan blasted Obama budget chief Jack Lew over entitlement spending, declaring "why did you duck?" But for their part, Republicans have yet to offer their own plan for addressing the fiscal health of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. While Majority Leader Eric Cantor promised "a serious document" addressing entitlement […]

If nothing else, the Republican Party is a machine for generating talking points - and irony. While Senators Mitch McConnell and Jeff Sessions insisted President Obama's $3.73 trillion budget proposal wasn't "serious," over in the Speaker House John Boehner and his lieutenant Paul Ryan claimed Obama "punted" on the deficit. Sadly, those sound bites came […]

Back in October, Ezra Klein of the Washington Post warned of the "anti-stimulus." That is, the draconian budget cuts and steep layoffw at the state and local level, Klein argued, were more than offsetting the gains from the $787 billion federal stimulus program. Now, a new analysis from the National Bureau of Economic Research - […]

George W. Bush was the first modern president to cut taxes during wartime. Now, the unpaid $2 trillion bill for the wars he fought - and chose to fight - is long overdue. While President Obama and the Republican leadership in Congress jockey to position their budget cutting plans, it's time for both parties - […]