(Angela Merkel | Source: Egypt Independent) The only surprise from Germany’s election was how close Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic coalition came to winning an outright majority. Thus the weeks of waiting for her to claim victory gave progressives and Obama administration plenty of heartburn. The Social Democrats have a strong enough hand to force Merkel […]

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(Ted Cruz | Source: Fox News) It’s hard to be a leader if no one follows. On Monday, it was as if Ted Cruz saw himself charging up San Juan Hill only to look back to see Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, and other Senate Republicans still sitting around the campfire, pointing up at him and […]

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(Lawrence Summers | Source: AP via Salon) Last week, economic Voldemort Larry Summers stunned observers when he withdrew from consideration as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Much has been made of behind-the-scenes wrangling by progressive organizations that culminated in stands against Summers by four Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee. The attention is deserved. […]

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(Source: Polis) I’ve long been bothered by activists’ recent habit of focusing on debt both as a political target and analytical center. This came to the fore during the Occupy moment, and continues today in, well, should we call it the post-Occupy era? Yes, debt is a problem, no doubt about it. Given the age […]

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(Richard Trumka | Source: Creative Commons) Sitting in the office of the AFL-CIO president, Richard Trumka, one sees books on labor history, economics, corporate crimes and proposals for change piled up everywhere. Perhaps that helps explain why Mr. Trumka, a former coal miner who became a lawyer, presented his besieged organization’s quadrennial convention in Los […]

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