"There's another challenge that we must address and it is the corrupting force of the vast sums of money necessary to run for office. The unending chase for money I believe threatens to steal our democracy itself."

No, that's not a quote from the President Obama's State...

We have an enormous area of this country, including the most densely populated region of the United States, in the grips of an enormous and ongoing crisis tonight. This is another dark, cold night for millions of people, and just today for a lot of people, things started feeling a...

I really wish I wasn't writing this. Especially in the wake of Bill Clinton's formidable speech last night. But it needs to be said.

Back in 2000, I worked with Arianna at the Shadow Conventions. She and I had met the previous year because of our shared passion for...

The Huffington Post published an excellent piece yesterday by reporter Chris Kirkham describing how the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) wants to buy up state prisons, all under the guise of helping state governments deal with their budget shortfalls.

Called the Corrections Investment Initiative (sounds so positive, right?), it's...

Freud considered denial to be one of the most powerful psychological disorders.

The GOP primary debates feature politicians and the debate moderators in a deep state of denial about the most burning issue facing the country -- one that a vast majority of Americans care intensely about: the fact that our elections have become auctions.

How intensely? A recent Rasmussen poll shows that a record 48% of Americans agree that Congress is "corrupt." A CNN poll shows that 86% believe that Congress' priorities are set by donors. Congressional approval ratings are at 9%. And, in polling released yesterday, voters, by a two to one margin say that reducing the influence of money in politics would be an important factor in their votes. This issue cuts easily across party lines, by the way.

Super PACs are outspending the candidates 2 to 1, and manipulating voter views dramatically and often anonymously. Yet of the 17 Republican primary debates, the topic of money in politics has come up a mere couple of times -- and only in relation to the nasty tone of some political ads.

If we had a truly representative democracy and an accountable media, this would not be the case. A topic this big, that burns this hot -- from the Tea Party to Occupy to everyone in between -- must be at the center of the conversation. Money's control over politics is at the root of the rip-off Wall Street bailouts, the never-ending jobs crisis, the yawning wealth gap, our ancient energy policy, inflated health-care costs, and the list goes on and on.

This year's political campaigns are expected to spend a total of $6 billion dollars, and it's going to be a mess that often times will have little or no connection to the huge, structural problems our country faces. People are going to continue to be cynical and nauseated by the attack ads and the robo calls and the utterly disingenuous poll-tested messages that are going to be sprayed around.

This weekend marks the second anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that flung open the floodgates of corporate and billionaire political spending. And on Monday the first televised Florida primary debate will be held.

So what better time than now to spark a great conversation about the routine buying and selling of our government?

We just produced a funny video that illustrates the problem with the debates so far. Take a look.

Alcoholics and addicts are masters of denial. There is no better metaphor for our money-flooded politicians than that - utterly dependent on a substance (big money) that is ultimately destroying them and everything around them. But incapable of admitting there's a problem. It's time to yank our elected officials out of their collective state of denial.

Starting today, and throughout this year's elections, we'll be helping end the denial and force the real debate that we all - left, right and center - are hoping to have. Let's do it together....

We've been at the protests in the last few days in both Washington and New York, and while reliable crowd size estimates are scarce, they are clearly growing from the thousands to the tens of thousands, and quickly replicating across the country.

Amidst this remarkable uprising we...

I don't believe in a god, but I believe in something equally as improbable and audacious. No, not Obama. American democracy.

There is no higher power, but we have our common power. No heaven, but the rich Earth. And the promise of America.

This is my faith. It saves me,...

Much has been surmised about white working-class voters in this election. After the Democratic primaries, in which lower-income whites broke heavily for Hillary, the conventional wisdom in DC was that many of those folks would migrate to McCain. And, surely, some did. But Obama never gave up on them, campaigning...