SubscribeThis story was written by David Sirota and Andrew Perez.In the chaos of 2020, the national press corps used all of its magical mythmaking and storytelling powers to conjure two towering political heroes for a country in crisis. From the maw of the media machine, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Lincoln Project emerged as our alleged sentinels bravely battling a deadly pandemic and an authoritarian president — and supposedly leading us with principles and morality into a new era of accountability and integrity. For millions of credulous liberals already , the twin tales conjured...…SubscribeThis story was written by David Sirota and Andrew Perez.In the chaos of 2020, the national press corps used all of its magical mythmaking and storytelling powers to conjure two towering political heroes for a country in crisis. From the maw of the media machine, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Lincoln Project emerged as our alleged sentinels bravely battling a deadly pandemic and an authoritarian president — and supposedly leading us with principles and morality into a new era of accountability and integrity. For millions of credulous liberals already , the twin tales conjured...WW…

Democrats argue that it’s impossible to deliver a higher minimum wage, when there are plenty of ways to overcome this impasseMon 1 Mar 2021 06.11 ESTLast modified on Mon 1 Mar 2021 08.21 ESTA tale from history proves this latter myth is complete garbage – and that tale is newly relevant in today’s supercharged debate over a $15 minimum wage.In that debate so far, we have seen Democratic senators prepare to surrender the $15 minimum wage their party by insisting they are powerless in the face of a non-binding advisory opinion of a parliamentarian they can or .That explanation is and , so...…Democrats argue that it’s impossible to deliver a higher minimum wage, when there are plenty of ways to overcome this impasseMon 1 Mar 2021 06.11 ESTLast modified on Mon 1 Mar 2021 08.21 ESTA tale from history proves this latter myth is complete garbage – and that tale is newly relevant in today’s supercharged debate over a $15 minimum wage.In that debate so far, we have seen Democratic senators prepare to surrender the $15 minimum wage their party by insisting they are powerless in the face of a non-binding advisory opinion of a parliamentarian they can or .That explanation is and , so...WW…

Amid for Cuomo to resign, the governor and his aides are frantically trying to cover up the facts of what happenedThu 18 Feb 2021 06.10 ESTLast modified on Thu 18 Feb 2021 08.14 ESTIn the middle of a public health emergency, he used his office to help one of his largest political donors shield itself from legal consequences as died from Covid-19 – and then he and his administration underreported that death toll, helping the same donor.The Daily Poster and had been it . The scandal is a cautionary tale of hubris, megalomania and corruption that left a literal of preventable Covid-19 deaths...…Amid for Cuomo to resign, the governor and his aides are frantically trying to cover up the facts of what happenedThu 18 Feb 2021 06.10 ESTLast modified on Thu 18 Feb 2021 08.14 ESTIn the middle of a public health emergency, he used his office to help one of his largest political donors shield itself from legal consequences as died from Covid-19 – and then he and his administration underreported that death toll, helping the same donor.The Daily Poster and had been it . The scandal is a cautionary tale of hubris, megalomania and corruption that left a literal of preventable Covid-19 deaths...WW…

Facing a virulent new strain of coronavirus, California’s pandemic outbreak is so out of control that public officials have had to lift air pollution regulations in order to accomodate a spike in cremations. Meanwhile, public opinion data shows widespread support for keeping businesses closed to halt the outbreak. In response to the emergency, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is lifting stay-at-home restrictions, removing essential workers from the state’s vaccine priority list, and championing a complex deal that extends the state’s expiring partial eviction moratorium but still allows...…Facing a virulent new strain of coronavirus, California’s pandemic outbreak is so out of control that public officials have had to lift air pollution regulations in order to accomodate a spike in cremations. Meanwhile, public opinion data shows widespread support for keeping businesses closed to halt the outbreak. In response to the emergency, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is lifting stay-at-home restrictions, removing essential workers from the state’s vaccine priority list, and championing a complex deal that extends the state’s expiring partial eviction moratorium but still allows...WW…

ShareThis story is co-published with On January 4, made an unequivocal pledge,voters that by electing to Georgia's senate seats, "you can make an immediate difference in your own lives, the lives of people all across this country because their election will put an end to the block in Washington on that $2,000 stimulus check, that money that will go out the door immediately to people who are in real trouble."Less than four weeks later:Feel familiar? We've gotten into a flux-capacitor-powered DeLorean, flown back in time and dropped ourselves into 2009.Back then, and Biden had gotten...…ShareThis story is co-published with On January 4, made an unequivocal pledge,voters that by electing to Georgia's senate seats, "you can make an immediate difference in your own lives, the lives of people all across this country because their election will put an end to the block in Washington on that $2,000 stimulus check, that money that will go out the door immediately to people who are in real trouble."Less than four weeks later:Feel familiar? We've gotten into a flux-capacitor-powered DeLorean, flown back in time and dropped ourselves into 2009.Back then, and Biden had gotten...WW…

Sharepreys on low-income communitiesBut here we are, with Georgia and its Senate races poised to decide it all.If you were writing a Hollywood screenplay about the battle over direct aid to millions of Americans, you would almost certainly have its backdrop be the Peach State and its special election.One of the senate races features Republican Kelly Loeffler, who was and appointed to the Senate. There, she quickly made after a government briefing about the pandemic, and also got herself to the panel regulating the agency that polices her husband's business empire.The other senate race...…Sharepreys on low-income communitiesBut here we are, with Georgia and its Senate races poised to decide it all.If you were writing a Hollywood screenplay about the battle over direct aid to millions of Americans, you would almost certainly have its backdrop be the Peach State and its special election.One of the senate races features Republican Kelly Loeffler, who was and appointed to the Senate. There, she quickly made after a government briefing about the pandemic, and also got herself to the panel regulating the agency that polices her husband's business empire.The other senate race...WW…

Billionaire Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman bragged about his firm’s big earnings off high rents — and he boasted that his firm “was a huge winner coming out of the global financial crisis” in 2008. The world’s largest private equity firm has bankrolled campaigns against rent control and been accused by the United Nations of fueling a global housing crisis. Now, as millions are threatened with eviction during the pandemic, Blackstone’s top executive is openly bragging that the firm is making huge profits off of rent increases. At the Goldman Sachs’ Financial Services Conference on...…Billionaire Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman bragged about his firm’s big earnings off high rents — and he boasted that his firm “was a huge winner coming out of the global financial crisis” in 2008. The world’s largest private equity firm has bankrolled campaigns against rent control and been accused by the United Nations of fueling a global housing crisis. Now, as millions are threatened with eviction during the pandemic, Blackstone’s top executive is openly bragging that the firm is making huge profits off of rent increases. At the Goldman Sachs’ Financial Services Conference on...WW…

Buried in the new 525-page stimulus bill is a provision granting military contractors benefits that are being denied to workers and small businesses across the country. Earlier this year, Republican senators slammed the idea of spending money to pay Americans not to work during the pandemic. Only a few months later, a group of GOP senators has signed onto bipartisan stimulus legislation that would authorize the government to pay idle defense contractors to not work, even as those contractors’ rack up big profits during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the same bill excludes bipartisan provisions...…Buried in the new 525-page stimulus bill is a provision granting military contractors benefits that are being denied to workers and small businesses across the country. Earlier this year, Republican senators slammed the idea of spending money to pay Americans not to work during the pandemic. Only a few months later, a group of GOP senators has signed onto bipartisan stimulus legislation that would authorize the government to pay idle defense contractors to not work, even as those contractors’ rack up big profits during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the same bill excludes bipartisan provisions...WW…

In praising the pro-corporate Washington hacks Joe Biden has chosen to staff his administration, liberal groups are betraying their missions in order to try to gain influence — despite that appeasement strategy rarely working in American history. Last night, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris a straightforward question: “Who would you point to now as a leading progressive voice in the cabinet?” Harris had no answer, saying only that “we’re not even halfway there” on nominations. Biden touted only his Homeland Security nominee, who previously helped run Immigration and...…In praising the pro-corporate Washington hacks Joe Biden has chosen to staff his administration, liberal groups are betraying their missions in order to try to gain influence — despite that appeasement strategy rarely working in American history. Last night, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris a straightforward question: “Who would you point to now as a leading progressive voice in the cabinet?” Harris had no answer, saying only that “we’re not even halfway there” on nominations. Biden touted only his Homeland Security nominee, who previously helped run Immigration and...WW…

SubscribeThis report was written by David Sirota and Andrew Perez. It is the first of a two-part series being released just before the election.In the closing hours of the 2020 election, Donald Trump is dishonestly his reelection bid as a crusade against the corrupt swamp that he helped expand and , while Democrats are promising that if Trump is defeated, voters will finally be able to go back to brunch as the Washington establishment returns itself to power. The former’s message is laughably dishonest, the latter’s message is profoundly cynical and potentially dangerous.To state the...…SubscribeThis report was written by David Sirota and Andrew Perez. It is the first of a two-part series being released just before the election.In the closing hours of the 2020 election, Donald Trump is dishonestly his reelection bid as a crusade against the corrupt swamp that he helped expand and , while Democrats are promising that if Trump is defeated, voters will finally be able to go back to brunch as the Washington establishment returns itself to power. The former’s message is laughably dishonest, the latter’s message is profoundly cynical and potentially dangerous.To state the...WW…

SubscribeThis report was written by David Sirota, Andrew Perez and Julia RockAs the country awaits the final results of the presidential election, there are already six key lessons to be gleaned from election, campaign finance and public opinion data. The Democratic ticket pretty much ran away from economic issues — sure, it had decent position papers, but economic transformation was not a huge part of its public messaging, and that failure buoyed Trump, according to from Edison Research. Trump won 81 percent of the vote among the third of the electorate that listed the economy as its top...…SubscribeThis report was written by David Sirota, Andrew Perez and Julia RockAs the country awaits the final results of the presidential election, there are already six key lessons to be gleaned from election, campaign finance and public opinion data. The Democratic ticket pretty much ran away from economic issues — sure, it had decent position papers, but economic transformation was not a huge part of its public messaging, and that failure buoyed Trump, according to from Edison Research. Trump won 81 percent of the vote among the third of the electorate that listed the economy as its top...WW…

SubscribeThis story was written by David Sirota and Matthew Cunningham-Cook.In the months before the 2020 election, Donald Trump and Washington lawmakers put the postal service under the control of a former Republican National Committee chairman who has also led the Senate GOP’s major super PAC, according to federal and state documents reviewed by TMI.The Trump administration is facing allegations that it is deliberately the United States Postal Service to try to prevent an expansion of vote by mail and swing the 2020 election, after the president this week he would block emergency funding...…SubscribeThis story was written by David Sirota and Matthew Cunningham-Cook.In the months before the 2020 election, Donald Trump and Washington lawmakers put the postal service under the control of a former Republican National Committee chairman who has also led the Senate GOP’s major super PAC, according to federal and state documents reviewed by TMI.The Trump administration is facing allegations that it is deliberately the United States Postal Service to try to prevent an expansion of vote by mail and swing the 2020 election, after the president this week he would block emergency funding...WW…

Governor of New York has stood firm against intensifying pressure to avert massive budget cuts by raising taxes on the many billionaires who live in his state.Read moreAs that campaign to tax billionaires received a recent boost from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and , Cuomo has insisted that he fears that the tax initiative will prompt the super-rich to leave the state. On Wednesday, he doubled down, that if the state tried to balance its budget through billionaire tax hikes “you’d have no billionaires left”.But in defending billionaires, Cuomo is protecting a group of his most...…Governor of New York has stood firm against intensifying pressure to avert massive budget cuts by raising taxes on the many billionaires who live in his state.Read moreAs that campaign to tax billionaires received a recent boost from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and , Cuomo has insisted that he fears that the tax initiative will prompt the super-rich to leave the state. On Wednesday, he doubled down, that if the state tried to balance its budget through billionaire tax hikes “you’d have no billionaires left”.But in defending billionaires, Cuomo is protecting a group of his most...WW…

Conservatives claim to love law enforcement - but they cut cops who protect us from powerful and dangerous criminals Mon 15 Jun 2020 05.45 EDTAfter two weeks of police violence and protests, Republican politicians have been pretending to have a fainting spell over the phrase “defund the police.”“There won’t be defunding,” said a pearl-clutching Donald Trump, as Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy similarly outrage over protesters pushing public officials to reevaluate the nation’s bloated .Republican leaders would have us believe they love law...…Conservatives claim to love law enforcement - but they cut cops who protect us from powerful and dangerous criminals Mon 15 Jun 2020 05.45 EDTAfter two weeks of police violence and protests, Republican politicians have been pretending to have a fainting spell over the phrase “defund the police.”“There won’t be defunding,” said a pearl-clutching Donald Trump, as Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy similarly outrage over protesters pushing public officials to reevaluate the nation’s bloated .Republican leaders would have us believe they love law...WW…

SubscribeDonald Trump yesterday deployed federal police to , all to stage a photo op of himself threatening to militarily invade his own country. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer issued a , and promised no real action to do anything, days after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer that the U.S. House won’t have any floor votes for another month.Democrats would have you believe they are victims and have no power in this situation -- which is, in a word, horseshit. And not just run-of-the-mill horseshit we’ve all gotten used to -- this is...…SubscribeDonald Trump yesterday deployed federal police to , all to stage a photo op of himself threatening to militarily invade his own country. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer issued a , and promised no real action to do anything, days after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer that the U.S. House won’t have any floor votes for another month.Democrats would have you believe they are victims and have no power in this situation -- which is, in a word, horseshit. And not just run-of-the-mill horseshit we’ve all gotten used to -- this is...WW…

As Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a spirited challenge in his bid to win New York’s 2018 Democratic primary, his political apparatus got a last-minute boost: a powerful healthcare industry group suddenly poured more than $1m into a Democratic committee .Less than two years after that flood of cash from the Greater Hospital Association (GNYHA), Cuomo signed legislation last month quietly shielding hospital and nursing home executives from the threat of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The provision, inserted into an annual budget bill by Cuomo’s aides, created one of the...…As Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a spirited challenge in his bid to win New York’s 2018 Democratic primary, his political apparatus got a last-minute boost: a powerful healthcare industry group suddenly poured more than $1m into a Democratic committee .Less than two years after that flood of cash from the Greater Hospital Association (GNYHA), Cuomo signed legislation last month quietly shielding hospital and nursing home executives from the threat of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The provision, inserted into an annual budget bill by Cuomo’s aides, created one of the...WW…

hese are bleak days for America’s progressive movement. The Democratic primary process handed the party’s nomination to the candidate with the most conservative record. Corporate-friendly politicians like the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, are using the pandemic to brandish their images and . Progressive lawmakers in Congress are being steamrolled, . And a recession is battering the state and local budgets that fund progressive priorities like education and the social safety net.Read morePerhaps this is a temporary stall-out – a fleeting moment of retreat in a...…hese are bleak days for America’s progressive movement. The Democratic primary process handed the party’s nomination to the candidate with the most conservative record. Corporate-friendly politicians like the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, are using the pandemic to brandish their images and . Progressive lawmakers in Congress are being steamrolled, . And a recession is battering the state and local budgets that fund progressive priorities like education and the social safety net.Read morePerhaps this is a temporary stall-out – a fleeting moment of retreat in a...WW…

Grover Norquist is regularly billed as one of the leading intellectual lights of the conservative movement – and I think you will agree that the arguments he made in a debate with me over taxes this morning on CNBC highlight not merely the shocking intellectual bankruptcy of the movement he leads, but just how out of touch Republicans in Washington really are.The debate revolved around to put off raising taxes on the very wealthy. Norquist begins the debate with the claim – I kid you not – that "the economy is in the present state because when the Democrats took the House and Senate in 2006...…Grover Norquist is regularly billed as one of the leading intellectual lights of the conservative movement – and I think you will agree that the arguments he made in a debate with me over taxes this morning on CNBC highlight not merely the shocking intellectual bankruptcy of the movement he leads, but just how out of touch Republicans in Washington really are.The debate revolved around to put off raising taxes on the very wealthy. Norquist begins the debate with the claim – I kid you not – that "the economy is in the present state because when the Democrats took the House and Senate in 2006...WW…