Nation in the News | The Nation

After Republican senators bullied Susan Rice out of the running for Secretary of State, John Kerry has emerged as a front-runner for the cabinet position. But partisan predictions for the president’s nominee have drowned out the real debate on Obama’s foreign policy priorities. Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel joined Alex Wagner on her MSNBC show to outline the real concerns we should have for the next face of American international relations. 

—Christie Thompson

When deciding to pass anti-labor legislation, why did governor Rick Snyder ignore the interests of Michigan workers? He was more concerned with pleasing the corporate donors and conservative lobbyists that helped get him into office. Nation contributor Josh Eidelson joined Nation columnist Melissa Harris-Perry on her MSNBC show to lift the curtain on the right-wing interests that steamrolled right-to-work. As Eidelson later pointed out, such state laws keep workers under strict company control, putting their jobs at the mercy of their employers. 

—Christie Thompson

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have taken to the street since President Mohamed Morsi declared himself above judicial oversight last month. Mr. Morsi backtracked on the decree, but he’s sticking to a December 15 referendum on a controversial constitution. As clashes that have left at least seven dead continue to erupt, opposition to Morsi is only growing stronger. In a report from Cairo for Democracy Now!, Nation Institute fellow Sharif Abdel Kouddous notes, “There’s tens of thousands of protesters that have gathered here that are calling now on the president, Mohamed Morsi, to leave. No longer is the call for it to him to reverse his decree.”

—Steven Hsieh

At least seven are dead and hundreds wounded after deadly clashes between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and opposition protesters. The violence follows two weeks of protests responding to Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi’s power play last month, when he issued a decree that placed him above judicial oversight. On Democracy Now!, Nation Institute fellow Sharif Abdel Kouddous reported live from the scene in Cairo, where he says protesters are using the same “kind of language that we heard during Mubarak’s ouster.”

—Steven Hsieh