USA watch

White working class overlooked

May 012012

Democratic campaign strategists debate which voters are worth wooing.

by David Moberg

Once a key constituency of the New Deal coalition, since the 1950s the white working class has consistently voted against Democratic presidential candidates — and their own interests.

In the likely presidential face-off this fall, President Obama will rely on support from a core of young voters, single women, African Americans, Latinos, highly educated voters, liberals and – though often forgotten – union members. Mitt Romney will count on lopsided votes from social and religious conservatives, wealthy business-oriented voters and the anti-Obama crowd – from virulent haters to frustrated voters ready to blame whoever holds power.

Obama much more than a lesser evil

Apr 042012

USA watch

Progressives see President's flaws but overlook his achievements.

by Gary Dorrien

Every week on the lecture trail, I meet progressives who are demoralized and/or infuriated by Barack Obama's performance as president. They insist that they will not work for him again or even vote for him. Many have signed petitions saying as much. They are finished with Obama.

Often they assume that I agree, since I have criticized many of Obama's policies throughout his presidency. But my progressive friends and allies are overlooking three things:

Many of them played a disastrous role in the 2000 election, preventing the Gore Administration that should have been.
Their charge of betrayal is exaggerated.
Obama, for all his temporizing and capitulation, is America's most progressive president since FDR, and electing a more compelling human being to the White House is probably impossible in this country.

America and the world would be better off today had there been a Gore Administration. President Gore would not have invaded Iraq, showered the rich with tax cuts, doubled the federal debt, or let corporate lobbyists devise America's energy policies. The left-liberals who sat out the 2000 election or that supported Ralph Nader had cause to be frustrated with Bill Clinton's legacy and put off by Gore's candidacy. But the differences between the Gore Administration that should have been, and the Bush administration that occurred, were enormous, vastly outstripping the reasons that progressives gave for spurning Gore.

Hate and extremism 2011

Mar 132012

USA watch

As US election season heats up, extremist groups reach record numbers.

from the Southern Poverty Law Center

The American radical right grew explosively in 2011, a third consecutive year of extraordinary growth that has swelled the ranks of extremist groups to record levels, according to a report issued today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The rise was led by a stunning expansion of the anti-government "Patriot" movement.

"The dramatic expansion of the radical right is the result of our country's changing racial demographics, the increased pace of globalization, and our economic woes," said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the SPLC and editor of the new report.

Newer Entries