For most liberals, the Constitution's aspirational goal for "We the people" to "form a more perfect Union" is a guiding statement of American national purpose. Nevertheless, these days many blue staters are growing exasperated with their red state brothers and sisters. After all, the "Southernization" of American politics has helped give conservative policies and politicians […]

Bill Clinton's address to the Democratic National Convention accomplished a good many things for his party. Among them was shining a spotlight on one of the least reported but potentially most far-reaching proposals Mitt Romney and his Republican Party have promised to pursue. While all eyes have been on the Romney-Ryan plan to voucherize Medicare, […]

The labor movement, as its supporters rightly say, is just the folks who brought you the weekend. Now as Americans mark this Labor Day, it seems that Mitt Romney wants to take it back. After all, the man who said that "corporations are people, my friend" routinely decries the "crony capitalism" of "union stooges." A […]

Few phrases pepper the rhetoric of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney more frequently than variations of Justice Brandeis' famous quote that the states may "serve as a laboratory" for the rest of the nation. "Before imposing a one-size-fits-all federal program," Romney wrote in 2009, "Let the states serve as 'the laboratories of democracy.'" Two years […]

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision in NFIB v. Sebelius, the greatest threat to enabling health insurance for 30 million uninsured Americans may come not from Republicans in Congress, but in the states. With the Court's ruling that the federal government cannot penalize states who refuse to accept the expansion of Medicaid, Republican […]

Few battle cries rally Republicans more than the demand for "states' rights." But for today's Party of Lincoln, that ideological bludgeon once used to deny millions of Americans their freedom for the first century of the Republic and ignore their rights in the second has a new purpose. When it comes to helping Americans realize […]

In the wake of this week's Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, Republican governors are talking tough about turning down expanded federal Medicaid spending that would enable insurance coverage for millions of their residents. Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, who warned the "frightening" Court decision could lead to penalties for those who "refuse to eat […]

Whatever ruling the nation's highest court hands down on President Obama's Affordable Care Act, Republican challenger Mitt Romney's prescription for health care is unchanged. "Now if I'm able to repeal it--or if the Supreme Court is able to get that job done for us," he announced last week, "We want to replace it." But what […]

If nothing else, Tuesday's recall election in Wisconsin showcased the triumph of deep pockets and short memories. But while Republicans tried to downplay their side's 8-to-1 cash advantage, they and their right-wing water carriers loudly denounced the recall effort itself. They weren't alone. While 60 percent of Badger State voters said recall elections are only […]

For months, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has falsely claimed that President Obama "did not cause this recession, but he made it worse." This week, Romney charged that Obama "started off by blaming George Bush, and that worked for a while but, you know, after three and a half years that wears kind of thin." […]