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Politics

Aid for Haiti Moving Through Senate In Fits and Starts

by Julianne Hing on May 24 2010, 2:14PM

Four months after the earthquake in Haiti, Congress is still debating best practices for how to help the country recover. Tomorrow, the Senate foreign relations panel will consider a bill by Senators John Kerry and Bob Corker that calls $3.5…

Topics: Global Affairs, Politics

Is the Tea Party the New Black Panther Party?

by Jamilah King on May 21 2010, 6:00AM

That was the question posed to readers earlier this week over at The Root. Writer Cord Jefferson, arguing that while there’s no way to reconcile the groups’ different ideological underpinnings, notes that they still seem to have a lot…

Topics: Politics

Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek’s In The Hot Seat

by Jamilah King on May 20 2010, 9:17AM

It’s been a rough week for Democrats. Tuesday’s primary Congressional elections showed just how fragile the party’s standing is in many states. Now there’s news that Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Black candidate who’s one of the party’s key players…

Topics: Politics

Mexican Pres. Calderon Arrives In U.S., Slams Arizona Law

by Julianne Hing on May 19 2010, 3:59PM

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and First Lady Margarita Zavala arrived in the United States today, and Calderon wasted no time getting down to business. In a joint press conference with President Obama at the White House Rose Garden, Calderon raised…

Topics: Immigration, Politics

McCain Ad Promotes “Danged” Fence He Once Thought Danged Dumb [Video]

by Michelle Chen on May 17 2010, 10:30AM

Sen. John McCain’s touting his 10-point Border Security Plan—a familiar right-wing wish list of ways to militarize the border—in a campaign ad that presents him as just the kind of stalwart border vigilante who could win over angry constituents…

Topics: Immigration, Politics

America vs. the Census

America vs. the Census

by Kai Wright on May 10 2010, 12:00PM

The country’s 2010 effort to enumerate itself was more ambitious than ever—and may have been more consequential. But it’s complicated by the question it begs: Who does and doesn’t count?

Topics: Immigration, Politics

Black Tea Party Members: We Hate Welfare, Too

by Juell Stewart on May 7 2010, 12:30PM

The Tea Party is working hard to shed their racist image, according to a piece in the Washington Post. Amidst the highly publicized racial epithets and racially-charged signage, even the leadership behind FreedomWorks and Tea Party Nation—two of the movement’s…

Topics: Politics

32 Black Republicans Running For Congress This Year

by Jamilah King on May 5 2010, 2:13PM

The New York Times is reporting on a curious byproduct of Obama’s election: the ascendence of Black GOP hopefuls. According to the Times, at least 32 Black republicans are running for Congress this year, the largest number since Reconstruction….

Topics: Politics

Gutierrez Rattles Election Saber at Obama Over Immigration

by Kai Wright on April 20 2010, 10:49AM

Rep. Luis Gutierrez is pissed. The Chicago Democrat and Congressional Hispanic Caucus immigration task force chair was once one of President Obama’s loudest Latino advocates. No longer. Here’s what he had to say about the November elections in today’s The…

Topics: Immigration, Politics

Exploring Race in the NYT Tea Party Poll

by Guest Columnist on April 15 2010, 4:50PM

By Victor Goode Yesterday’s New York Times poll of “tea party” supporters shows that while their most important concern is the economy, they often view this issue through the lens of racially tinted glasses. Not surprisingly, no public figure is…

Topics: Politics

An Interactive History of the Tea Party’s Many Co-Conveners

by Jamilah King on April 14 2010, 12:00PM

John McCain. Newt Gingrich. CNBC. Fox News. Even poor old Michael Steele. It’s taken a whole lotta leaders to keep this party going. Click your way down memory lane.

Topics: Politics

The Media-Savvy Racist

by Daisy Hernandez on April 13 2010, 6:54PM

The day has finally arrived. It’s not enough to hear the N-word screamed at you in public and to report it. You must have a YouTube video to prove it and preferably the audio transcript—all of which goes to…

Topics: Politics

Barbour: Slavery ‘Goes Without Saying,’ Confederate History Flap’s a ‘Nit’

by Kai Wright on April 12 2010, 9:44AM

Looks like Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s on a roll. Fresh off of praising the federal response to Katrina as “generous” — in a speech in New Orleans, no less — the chair of the Republican Governors Association tells CNN…

Topics: History, Politics

GOP Governors’ Chair: Bush Did a Heckuva Job on Katrina

by Kai Wright on April 12 2010, 9:00AM

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference closed out a rich few days in New Orleans over the weekend. On Thursday, Sarah Palin once again urged the faithful to “reload.” A straw poll on Friday and Saturday found Mitt Romney running…

Topics: Katrina, Politics

South Rides Again in Virginia Governor’s Office

by Kai Wright on April 7 2010, 8:30AM

It’s enough that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a GOP darling, has revived the tradition of declaring April “Confederate History Month.” But what’s truly astonishing is that in bringing it back he dropped from the ceremonial proclamation a previous obligatory nod…

Topics: History, Politics

Lessons of Rage in South Africa

by Michelle Chen on April 6 2010, 6:16PM

The 69 year-old white supremacist leader Eugene Terre’Blanche, the notorious founder of the ultra-right Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) of South Africa, recently died a gruesome death. Authorities say the gory beating and hacking, allegedly at the hands of two farmworkers, was…

Topics: Global Affairs, Politics

Michael Steele’s Problem “Isn’t the Race Card, It’s the Credit Card”

by Jorge Rivas on April 6 2010, 1:43PM

Chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele is in the news again. Last month he was making headlines for spending almost $2,000 of RNC money at an erotic, bondage-themed strip club in California. And just when you thought…

Topics: Politics

Obama on Tea Party’s ‘Core’ Crazies vs. ‘Legitimate Concerns’

by Kai Wright on March 30 2010, 10:23AM

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy President Obama covered lots of ground on the Today show (taped Monday). Perhaps most interesting was his parry with Matt Lauer’s tired questions about the “tone in Washington.”…

Topics: Politics

Obama’s Health Care Lesson: Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way

by Kai Wright on March 23 2010, 1:17PM

As President Obama wound into his health care victory speech this morning, an urgent cry rang up from the East Room crowd: “The bill! Sign the bill!” Everybody laughed, but it was the most real moment of the ebullient signing…

Topics: Health, Politics

The Morning Browse: Noose Faxes, GOP’s Immigration Rhetoric, and More

by Kai Wright on March 23 2010, 9:37AM

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy The Tea Party onslaught continued yesterday as Rep. James Clyburn told Keith Olbermann about noose faxes to his office - “This stuff is not all that isolated.” GOP…

Topics: Economy, Environment, Health, Immigration, Politics