Editor's Cut

Americans for Financial Reform

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

In April, President Obama delivered a speech in which he alluded to the Sermon on the Mount to describe the stronger, more just economy he envisioned: "We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand," he said. "We must build our house upon a rock."

But the regulatory reforms he laid out on Wednesday do not fully accord with those eloquent words. Indeed columnist Joe Nocera accurately described President Obama's new plan in the New York Times yesterday: "The Obama plan is little more than an attempt to stick some new regulatory fingers into a very leaky financial dam rather than rebuild the dam itself…. Everywhere you look in the plan, you see the same thing: additional regulation on the margin, but nothing that amounts to a true overhaul."

Yet, at a time when we are living amid the blowback of an overgrown financial sector that did more harm than good, and we've seen the failure of a whole model of banking -- the Administration has offered some useful reforms. Most promising is the creation of a Consumer Finance Protection Agency-- the brainchild of Elizabeth Warren. But we don't see the kind of real revamping that is sorely needed. What we really need now -- as Obama himself indicated in April -- is a new foundation for a new economy. That means ensuring -- through tough regulatory reforms that Nocera pointed out would "make some bankers mad" -- that we have a financial sector that is more responsive to the public interest and the real economy; that is a servant, not master, of the people.

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June 19, 2009

War Supplemental Narrowly Passes

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

Just a few minutes ago, the Obama Administration's $106 billion war supplemental passed on the House floor by a vote of 226-202. Congressional Democrats who oppose military escalation were in a tough position. They were whipped aggressively by both Speaker Pelosi and the White House. And they support President Obama.

Which is exactly why they did the right thing in voting no.

President Obama himself has said, "There's got to be an exit strategy." Yet we are sliding into a military escalation and commitments without a full and necessary national debate about the ends, means, or exit strategy for this war.

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June 16, 2009

Leveraging Inside Outside Power

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

When it comes to the big issues of our time -- like healthcare, energy and climate change, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and building a more just economy -- I've long believed it will require a strong inside-outside strategy to push progressive solutions through Congress. That's why I was so pleased when Darcy Burner was recently named Executive Director of ProgressiveCongress.org. (Full disclosure: I'm a board member.)

The organization's purpose is to bring together progressives both inside and outside of Congress to craft strong policies and work cooperatively to implement them. Burner knows the grassroots, netroots, and political landscape as well as anyone, and her close Congressional races in Washington state against a Republican incumbent in 2006 and 2008 are a testament to that fact. A former Microsoft manager, she was also the architect of the "Responsible Plan to End the War In Iraq".

Last month, ProgressiveCongress.org asked people to submit and vote on questions regarding healthcare reform via its website. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) then answered the questions on the House floor, where proceedings are broadcast on C-SPAN and entered into the Congressional Record.

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June 15, 2009

Around The Nation

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

Last week in The Nation, investigative reporter Teo Ballve exposed a stunning lapse in American foreign policy: USAID's "Plan Colombia" appears to be subsidizing drug traffickers. Although USAID insists that it has done nothing wrong, Balleve's investigation suggests that taxpayer funds are allowing Narcotraffickers to cultivate biofuels on stolen, contested land. It's a disturbing story, and while it hasn't taken off here in the States it made the front page of Colombia's newspaper of record, El Tiempo. The link is here (in Spanish). Here is a great interview with Teo from the Jack Rice Show, from Air America and other stations nationwide.

We're hopeful that more attention on this important story will yield some action and a change in USAID policy.

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June 9, 2009

Time for a New Round of Stimulus

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

"We might be witnessing the mother of all jobless recoveries."

That's how economist Bernard Baumohl described today's jobs report to the New York Times.

While there were "only" 345,000 jobs lost last month--as compared to 504,000 in April--the report doesn't account for the upcoming job losses as well as the ripple effect that will result from the GM bankruptcy. Nor does it reflect the severe budget shortfalls states continue to face. It did, however, reveal a continued collapse of wage growth, the highest unemployment rate in 25 years, and the loss of 156,000 manufacturing jobs.

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June 5, 2009

A Seat at the Table for Single-Payer

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

This week, Senator Bernie Sanders has been firing on all cylinders as he continues his advocacy for real healthcare reform that controls costs while extending quality care to every American. Monday he held a town meeting in Burlington to discuss what we can learn from other countries that have developed cost effective universal health care systems. On Tuesday he met with President Obama along with other members of the Finance and Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committees responsible for drafting the Senate's healthcare legislation. Yesterday he arranged a meeting between single-payer advocates and Finance Chair Max Baucus--Baucus had previously not only denied them a seat at the table for his hearings but even had some arrested.

I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Sanders this evening as he took a brief break from ongoing discussions within the HELP Committee, and prior to his making the case for single-payer on The Ed Show (a case Schultz has featured on his five-night-a-week MSNBC program and in town halls across the country). This is what the Senator had to say:

Q: Tell me about the purpose of the meeting with Senator Baucus today?

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June 4, 2009

Gun (In)Sanity

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

Despite a Democratic Congress and President, it's been a bad time for common sense measures to curb gun violence.

Earlier this year, a voting rights bill for the citizens of the District of Columbia was stalled by a Senate amendment that would strip the city of its right to regulate guns. And last month, the credit card reform bill was hijacked in the Senate and amended so that concealed guns are now permitted in our national parks.

Here's hoping the majority of Americans who support sane gun control begin to turn the tide.

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June 2, 2009

Time Will Justify Our Strength

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

At a moment when our country stands at a potentially transformative political moment--an opportunity to realize the ideal of a nation governed by the rule of law, the Massachusetts ACLU held its annual Bill of Rights dinner to honor the courage of those who protect our rights as defined in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

The evening was spirited, moving, and inspiring for its celebration of conscience and dedication to causes won, and not yet won. I was privileged to be a part of it. My keynote remarks follow.

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May 30, 2009

Did AT&T Crown American Idol's Winner?

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

Okay, I know the stealing of "American Idol 2009" isn't on par with the stealing of the 2000 election.

But for American Idol fan(atic)s, and I confess I am one, Wednesday's New York Times report that AT&T workers in Arkansas, Kris Allen's home state, "might have influenced the outcome of the this year's competition by providing phones for free text-messaging services and lessons in casting blocks of votes at parties organized by fans of Allen" deserves to be investigated by a non-partisan commission with full subpoena power.

(Details of the voting support provided by AT&T representatives were first reported last week in an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.)

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May 27, 2009

The Front Lines of the Economic (and Democracy) Crisis

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

On May 12, in a packed hearing room on Capitol Hill, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) held a spirited briefing for its Members and their staffs -- "Voices from the Front Lines of the Economic Crisis: A Bold Agenda for Change".

CPC Co-Chair Raúl Grijalva and Congressman John Conyers, as well as about 30 congressional staffers and other allies, heard testimony from members of the Inter-Alliance Dialogue -- an emerging coalition of networks representing domestic workers, janitors, day laborers, housing activists, worker rights advocates, and others hit hardest during these times. The event was co-sponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive multi-issue think tank in Washington, DC.

Witnesses painted a vivid picture of the current struggles too many workers and communities face, and described their vision for addressing short-term needs as well as long-term systemic change.

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May 26, 2009