Matt Flamm, candidate for Palatine Township Democratic Committeeman, has announced the formation of his campaign committee. “I am honored to have the support of so many public-spirited, progressive people,” said Flamm. The committee is chaired by Sue Walton, the incumbent Palatine Township Democratic Committeeman. Nancy Shepherdson and Lauren Beth Gash, Democratic State Central Commtte... »
Yesterday, the Illinois General Assembly voted for marriage equality. Governor Quinn will sign the bill into law. This is the kind of “good news” that shows us our society is moving in the right direction. Of course, there will always be dissenters like my State Representative, Tom Morrison (who defeated me in the 2010 general election). Tom is of the mistaken belief that allowing gay ... »
We pay too much attention to “bad news.” This includes government programs that aren’t implemented as well as they might be, inability of politicians to agree on even basic facts, and outrageous things said or done by extremists on either end of the political spectrum. We don’t talk enough about “good news.” This includes programs that accomplish what they were ... »
Tonight’s vote to end the government shutdown represents a watershed moment. The New York Times headline, “Republicans Back Down, Ending Budget Crisis,” understates the importance of this vote. The extreme right wing has controlled the Republican Party for too long. Using the so-called “Hastert Rule,” the most extreme members of Congress forced the rest of the party t... »
The editorial page of The Wall Street Journal has consistently followed the right-wing line, blasting the Affordable Care Act at every opportunity. Perhaps if they read their own paper, they’d sing a different tune. This Sunday’s WSJ contained an article titled, “How Obamacare Benefits Older Workers.” The article points out that, for older workers not yet eligible for Medi... »
The New York Times published an extensively-researched article about the “blueprint for defunding Obamacare” created “shortly after President Obama started his second term.” The plan was devised by the usual right wing conspirators: Tea Party Patriots, Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Works, the Club for Growth, and Heritage Action. Where did the money come from? Charles a... »
Join us on Saturday, October 19th as we ask Democrats to sign petitions for Matt and other Democratic candidates. We’ll have two shifts, one from 9am to noon and one from 1pm to 4pm. Meet at the Palatine Democrats’ office, 1310 W. Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights. In between shifts, we’ll meet at the office for pizza and conversation. We’ll have a notary available to ... »
Ezra Klein boiled down the current situation in one sentence: “The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics — it is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.” He’s quoting Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein in their excellent book “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the ... »
Robert Creamer, progressive organizer and husband of Jan Schakowsky, hits the nail on the head in this Huffington Post article. GOP Desperate to Defund ObamaCare Now Because They Know Its Popularity Is About to Skyrocket | Robert Creamer. It’s the same reason they were desperate to stop social security: once people get it, they’ll never want to lose it. They’ll realize that the ... »
Robert Creamer’s article in The Huffington Post explains what President Obama has been doing with regard to chemical weapons in Syria. The US has no interest in getting involved in Syria’s civil war, but we do have an interest in keeping chemical weapons from being used. The threat of bombing has brought Assad to express his willingness to give up chemical weapons. Some say it will be ... »
