As billionaire Republican Michael Bloomberg dispatches his thuggish aides to presumptuously berate Democratic Gov. David Paterson for daring to consider appointing anyone other than Caroline Kennedy to the New York Senate seat, a new poll shows New Yorkers are incredibly uncomfortable with the idea:

44% of the state's...

NOTE: A day after this post, Reid appeared on Meet the Press to deny the Sun-Times report that he believes - or told Gov. Blagojevich - that he believed top Illinois African American leaders were "unelectable." I'm glad Reid did this, and in the spirit of "innocent till proven guilty"...

I appeared on Fox News yesterday to discuss both the Blagojevich flap and the imminent economic recovery package from the Obama administration. You can watch the clip here. As you'll see, on that latter issue, Fox News is starting its campaign to...

Last night, Rachel Maddow did something I never thought I'd see a journalist do: In the name of transparency, she went back and clarified that a bailout-justifying guest of hers actually had a blatant conflict of interest. Watch the clip...

The week before last, I traveled to Las Vegas for the annual Progressive States Network/EARN conference for state legislators. It was a great event - lots of terrific legislators are planning to do a lot of really progressive things in the upcoming legislative sessions. But as I say in...

If you're a procrastinator like me, then you are frantically scurrying at the last minute to pick up holiday gifts for friends and family. So let me suggest four great gifts for you or any progressives you know - gifts that make great presents and that also help build and...

Hale "Bonddad" Stewart counters the argument I made on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show this week and that I've been making in my columns and blog postings for the better part of the last three months. He says the American people weren't deceived on the Wall Street bailout;...

The lobbying among Democratic politicos here in Colorado for Ken Salazar's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat is fast and furious. The Denver Post's front-page story today goes through some of the candidates. Strangely, there's only passing mention of what could be the most important differences between them all - their stances...

I appeared on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show last night to discuss my latest newspaper column about the bailout. You can watch the clip here. Rachel's first question really is the question of our time: Did we get punked? As progressive bailout critics have been...

I appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto yesterday to talk taxes. This follows my recent CNBC debate with Grover Norquist on the same issue just a few weeks ago. Cavuto, of course, was...

My newspaper column this week takes a look at three recent government reports that prove when it comes to righting our economy, progressives were right, and Beltway insiders were wrong.

Remember when progressives protested the 2005 bankruptcy bill? Remember when we said it would wreak economic havoc? And...

I woke up this morning, and checked some "news" sites like I usually do. I put "news" sites in quotes because I visited the Politico* - a gossip rag whose ace "reporter" Jonathan Martin told me this:

In the wide-ranging [Meet the Press] appearance, Obama once again gave strong indications...

Back in October, I wrote a column about how the economic pressure to compete against foreign autocracies was pushing our political system to subjugate democracy in favor of a kind of czarism - one justified by the need for quick action in international financial markets. That was the theory...

Having grown up outside of Philadelphia, I just want to say I really hope Chris Matthews runs for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, and is humiliatingly obliterated in a Democratic primary (preferably by a good progressive like, for instance, former Rep. Joe Hoeffel).* The sense of entitlement that this blowhard...

Good news and bad news in the last day. The good news: Barack Obama has appointed a NAFTA critic, Rep. Xavier Becerra, as the next U.S. Trade Representative (more on that here). The bad news is this just off the Reuters wire:

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama...

Just as an add-on to my column this week, I wanted to add two more macro thoughts about Obama's appointments, and progressive unrest about those appointments.

First, I think there's a psychological aspect to what bothers progressives about Obama's refusal to appoint movement progressives to key positions. The

Lots of folks are expressing concern over Barack Obama's appointments, and in my new newspaper column I offer three separate thoughts on the worries: 1) Don't worry so much, 2) Worry a little bit and make your worries heard and 3) What did you expect?

This last point is...

I watched one of the two Best Worst Movies in film history this weekend - Big Trouble in Little China (the other Best Worst Movie is Army of Darkness). Whether brought on by the natural high of a leftover-filled stomach, or the artificial high of Thanksgiving night Maker's...

Grover Norquist is regularly billed as one of the leading intellectual lights of the conservative movement - and I think you will agree that...

I'm confused about the state of Barack Obama's tax promises. Last week we heard this strong, admirable declaration that campaign promises would be upheld - a rejection of the "center-right" media meme that tax increases on the super-wealthy hurt the economy (anyone remember how the economy boomed after Bill...