With Tax Day again upon us, two story lines will predictably dominate the media coverage on April 15th. In their perpetual war on taxes, conservatives will claim that rates are too high even as those Americans who receive tax credits get "welfare." Meanwhile, frothing-at-the-mouth Tea Partiers will protest about being "Taxed Enough Already." Sadly, the […]

For the millions of Americans struggling to find jobs or pay their mortgages, the Dow Jones' flirtation with 11,000 isn't particularly meaningful. But for the legions of right-wing talking heads who even before the November 2008 election declared Barack Obama's supposed "socialism" would "tank the market," the Dow's 38% gain since Obama's inauguration is indeed […]

On Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the nonprofit group which officially marks the birth and death of economic downturns, announced that the Bush Recession which commenced in December 2007 isn't over, at least not yet. Despite the promising signs of economic growth, job creation and a bull market, the NBER arbiters of […]

On Friday, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post proclaimed Mississippi Governor and former RNC chairman Haley Barbour "the most influential Republican in the country." If so, that dubious title is a reflection of the sad state of the GOP and the nation. After all, just days after Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's Confederate History Month proclamation […]

In the wake of the Massey Energy tragedy that killed 29 coal miners in West Virginia, there appear to be two steps that could improve worker safety there. First, as the mine accident record of the last decade suggests, join a union. Second, put Democrats in the White House to reverse the GOP's nationwide gutting […]

Over the past few weeks, two conservative myths about the Tea Party movement have exploded. First, despite the best efforts of Republicans to paint the angry mobs as independents, a bevy of polls confirmed that Tea Party members are ideologically conservative and overwhelmingly vote Republican. Second, a new survey from the University of Washington revealed […]

Back in the 1980's, President Ronald Reagan hailed the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as "the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress." But as Tax Day approaches, conservatives have forsaken their patron saint, decrying the "redistribution of wealth" for working families provided by […]

A modest proposal: no one displaying the Confederate flag gets to lecture any American about patriotism - ever. Ditto for anyone trafficking in Confederate nostalgia as a political strategy. Of course, that new red, white and blue rule would pose a problem for today's Republican Party. After all, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, the same man […]

Arizona Senator and self-proclaimed maverick John McCain raised eyebrows this week with declaration in Newsweek that, "I never considered myself a maverick." But as it turns out, this new role for the failed 2008 GOP presidential candidate isn't his second incarnation, but his fifth. In a thirty year career, John McCain has ping-ponged from Goldwater […]