No doubt, Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan's dashing good looks make the Washington chattering classes weak at the knees. But his policy proposals make most Americans - including most of his party leadership - sick to their stomachs. After all, the past week highlighted how Ryan's supposedly budget-balancing Roadmap for America's Future would instead produce […]

Everything, they say, is bigger in the Texas. So it is with the failure of the health care system. Leading the nation with a horrifying 25% of its residents uninsured, Texas ranked 46th in the Commonwealth Fund's 2009 scorecard of state health care performance. Nevertheless, that dismal performance was no barrier to Governor Rick Perry […]

During the heated debate over health care reform, President Obama repeatedly insisted that under his proposal, "you can keep your doctor." But the President was also careful to add the important caveat, "what I'm saying is the government is not going to make you change plans under health reform." Which is exactly right. But by […]

Back in February, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan defended his "Roadmap for America's Future," which among other things would privatize - and inevitably ration - Medicare. "Rationing happens today!" Ryan revealingly protested, "The question is who will do it? The government? Or you, your doctor and your family?" Of course, he omitted the real culprit, private […]

Republican leaders are calling for Michael Steele's head in the wake of his remarks calling the conflict in Afghanistan "a war of Obama's choosing" which is destined to fail. But it's hardly the first time the GOP threatened Steele with the chopping block for bucking the party line. Last year, when the RNC chairman rolled […]

The past week has brought a lot of heat if not light to the ongoing battle over health care reform in the United States. On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled a "Patients Bill of Rights" touting new consumer protections. Meanwhile, even as polls show the Affordable Care Act is becoming more popular, House Minority Leader John […]

Back in February, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) rolled out his Republican "Roadmap for America's Future." When confronted about the certainty that his drastic privatization scheme would inevitably lead to rationing of Medicare, Ryan departed from the GOP health care script to protest, "Rationing happens today!" But now, Senate Republicans are trying to block Donald Berwick, […]

For years, retail giant Wal-Mart and its smiley face logo have lured American shoppers to its stores with a campaign to "rollback" prices. Now, as Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul was just the latest to make clear this week, the Republican Party is waging a rollback campaign of its own. From health care, Social […]

Back in March, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his party's fall campaign to undo health care reform, declaring, "I think the slogan will be 'repeal and replace', 'repeal and replace.'" But a funny thing happened on the way to November. Surveys from Kaiser and Deloitte showed Americans strongly supported individual provisions of the new […]

For conservative free-market ideologues, April has been the cruelest month, indeed. In a perfect storm washing over Republican foes of government regulation, the last several days alone featured unbridled Wall Street greed, corporate mismanagement of a devastating oil spill, and corruption and criminality in the nation's coal mines. Meanwhile, in another blow to GOP "repeal […]