Katrina vanden Heuvel | The Nation

(Reuters/Rick Wilking.)

In the Citizens United era, with billionaires and big business out to buy our elections wholesale, defending our democracy will take every weapon in our arsenal. Fortunately, a local elected official has just come up with a new one.

Last week, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli brought suit in Delaware’s Chancery Court to force the tech company Qualcomm to provide information about its political donations. Qualcomm, like about half of all US corporations, is based (on paper) in Delaware. DiNapoli is the sole trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, a public employee pension fund holding $378 million in Qualcomm stock. So he’s been seeking information from the companies the fund invests in about their political spending. Over the past two years, the fund has pushed twenty-seven pro-disclosure shareholder resolutions, leading to settlements with ten companies. Qualcomm proved more stubborn.

FIXING THE ECONOMY. In my Washington Post column, I call on Congress to make the economy work for working people, by addressing issues like inequality, climate change, healthcare and infrastructure. As the debt ceiling debate rages on over the coming weeks, what did the “fiscal cliff” deal accomplish? George Zornick lays out the good and the bad; find out more on why we can be hopeful about extended unemployment insurance and raising rates on top earners—but also about the possibility of harmful austerity measures to come. And take a look at blogs this week from Greg Kaufmann and Bryce Covert on how the deal affects those living in poverty. For more, listen to a Nation Conversation on the winners and losers in Washington’s debt deal featuring Zornick, Covert, Jamelle Bouie and Pat Garofalo.

VAWA & THE GOP. Over the nearly two decades of its existence, the Violence Against Women Act has been renewed without controversy every five years, each time adding new protections to keep it up-to-date. Until now, that is—Republicans of the 112th Congress refused to reauthorize VAWA, in an unprecedented move that leaves rape survivors with few options. Erika Eichelberger has more. And, as Jessica Valenti writes, we desperately need to address America’s rape problem: “It’s time to acknowledge that the rape epidemic in the United States is not just about the crimes themselves, but our own cultural and political willful ignorance.” Read more from Valenti here, and find out what you can do to take action.

CONGRESS & GUN LEGISLATION. “The center of gravity for the debate of gun control is, for once, firmly on the gun control side, and Democrats are working to keep it there,” writes George Zornick in this week’s issue. Democrats in Congress may have introduced gun legislation, but can they overcome the NRA? Without filibuster reform, Democrats would need Republican votes—a possible but not assured outcome. I talk about this and a way forward for a safer America on The Ed Show this week—watch that segment here.

Editor’s Note: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

The Perils of Pauline melodrama over the “fiscal cliff” will drag on as Washington heads toward another “debt ceiling” faceoff that will climax over the next eight weeks or so.

This farce captivates the media, but no one should be fooled. This is largely a debate about how much damage will be done to the economic recovery and who will bear the pain. There is bipartisan consensus that the tax hikes and spending cuts that Congress and the White House piled up to build the so-called fiscal cliff are too painful and will drive the economy into a recession. So the folderol is about what mix of taxes and spending cuts they can agree on that won’t be as harsh.

AFTER NEWTOWN. Our editorial in this week’s issue calls on Congress to pass legislation banning assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. “Gun control advocates should not be intimidated: the political winds at their back are strong,” we write. But with no political will to ban the sale of handguns, we argue that its time to broaden the fight—and target those who profit from guns. George Zornick reports how Walmart, the top seller of firearms and ammunition nationwide, helped make the Newtown shooter’s AR-15 the most popular assault weapon in the country. Just as his story was going to press, Walmart pulled the weapon from its website. But don’t be fooled—as Zornick reports, the move is a public relations one: the retail giant never directly sold the AR-15 on its website, and it’s still on the shelves in about 1,700 stores nationwide. Click here for more on five assault weapons you can pick up at Walmart. And take a look at a clip of George Zornick talking to MSNBC’s Tamron Hall about his investigation.

Also this week, Lee Fang asks who the NRA really represents: gun manufacturers or gun owners? “In reality, the NRA is composed of half a dozen legal entities; some designed to run undisclosed attack ads in political campaigns, others to lobby and collect tens of millions of undisclosed, tax-deductible sums,” writes Fang. Find out more on how corporations who profit from unregulated guns are funding the NRA. And take a look at Todd Gitlin’s piece on the “unbearable elasticity of gun logic” and how for the gun lobby, Newtown was evidence that more guns are necessary.

PROGRESSIVE HONOR ROLL. We’re happy to unveil this year’s annual Most Valuable Progressives Honor Roll list from Washington correspondent John Nichols. From Bernie Sanders to Boots Riley, we celebrate nineteen activists, movements and politicians. Find out Nichols’s take on most valuable media moment, book, and music—and why he chose “Legalize it!” to be the most valuable big idea. Read about the courageous work of progressives like Senator Jeff Merkley, Governor Peter Shumlin, Esther Armah, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Voces de la Frontera and more here. “After a long election season and a hopeful outcome, there is still work to be done,” writes Nichols. “Here are some of the Americans doing it.”