Tag Archive

The Unemployed: Key 2010 Constituency?

JESSICA BADER: If the sort of organized activity among the unemployed depicted in that article is more than just a handful of isolated anecdotes, it could be a serious game-changer in politics as we know it. Not necessarily because it aligns with one party and not just because it entails more sophisticated political action than marching around waving posterboard signs in the air, but because it could alter the incentives that elected officials face.

HOWARD MEGDAL: I’d like to believe that the combination of GOP policies, 2010 technology and the worst economy in decades will coalesce to produce the silver lining of the unemployed rising as one and voting in their economic self-interest like never before. Consider me unconvinced, and not for the disgusting rationales offered by many Republicans (that the unemployed are too lazy, for instance).

Hispanics and the GOP

HOWARD MEGDAL: Make no mistake about it: support for the immigration law in Arizona will alienate Hispanics the way African-Americans have been alienated by the GOP over decades of dog-whistle racism.

JESSICA BADER: The Republican Party’s hard shift to the right on immigration is often referred to as something that will benefit them in the short term but hurt them in the long run as Hispanics make up an ever-growing share of the universe of potential voters. I’m not so sure that it’s even a short-term winner for them

You may find it morally reprehensible, irresponsible from a policy perspective, and so on. But what choice does the party have, politically?

NY-Mayor: Bloomberg Squeaks By

STEPHON JOHNSON: The mayoral race in New York City spoke clearly about the class/economic divide the city has trouble overcoming.

JESSICA BADER: In the months leading up to Election Day, my attitude towards Mike Bloomberg’s campaign for a third term was one of ambivalence.