Paul Hogarth

When I was an 11-year-old kid in Chicago, my fifth grade class was assigned to do a school assembly for the month of May. As my teacher brainstormed what holidays are in May, I innocently suggested May Day. "No, Paul," she replied sternly. "May Day is only celebrated in Communist...

California's new map of legislative districts offers Democrats an historic opportunity to pick up seats in November -- and win a two-thirds majority that would make Republicans irrelevant. But in a move to consolidate control at the expense of everything else, Assembly Speaker John Perez has diverted resources from competitive...

Today, I leave for Minneapolis to attend the sixth annual Netroots Nation -- where thousands of liberal bloggers, online organizers and liberal politicos gather to network, strategize and focus on what lies ahead for progressive politics. Back in 2006 at the first such conference, George Bush was still President and...

It's great to be back in San Francisco, after a three-week vacation -- where I flew to Chicago, and then drove all the way back to California via Historic Route 66. When I was a child growing up in Chicago, I learned of the great "Mother Road" that takes you...

While President Obama capitulates to right-wing Republicans by extending tax cuts for the wealthy, some Democrats in Congress are pushing what is not only good policy -- but smarter politics. Bernie Sanders in the Senate and Jan Schakowsky in the House have sponsored legislation to raise taxes on millionaires --...

In January 2008, right before the Nevada Caucus, Hillary Clinton slammed Obama for making comments to the conservative Reno Gazette Journal that appeared to praise Ronald Reagan. Specifically, Obama said Reagan "changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and in a way that...

Much has been written about how Jane Kim beat San Francisco's "progressive machine" last week to win the District 6 Supervisor race. But a precinct analysis of the election results tells a far bigger story, and explains how she pulled it off. Just like Howard Dean's Fifty State Strategy...

The California Secretary of State's Office has assigned numbers to all the November ballot measures, so now we know that passing Proposition 25 and defeating Proposition 26 are absolutely essential. The two-thirds requirement for passing a budget has paralyzed our state every year, and Prop 25 would end the extortion...

Today, the Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco Federal Court will hear its long-awaited closing arguments -- as gay marriage advocates prepare to return to the ballot. And a new study conducted by the Haas Jr. Foundation looks at pre-election polling data from 33 states that passed anti-gay marriage...

I've been a political campaign junkie for years. And the frustrating part about this job is that after going to Election Night parties, I have to go home and write about it for readers to view the next morning. So if a particular race takes the whole night to resolve,...

The FOX TV series Glee broke new ground this week, and it's not because they had a Lady Gaga episode. As any viewer who watches the show would know, that idea was just painfully predictable. No, the highlight of the episode (which can be viewed here) was when Kurt's...

In 2006, Democrats took back control of Congress because of public outrage at George Bush and the War in Iraq. But we should remember it almost didn't happen - until August, when Ned Lamont proved that Democrats can galvanize that energy to beat an incumbent Senator in a primary....

Pride at Work's latest stunt infiltrating the Westin St. Francis is now a YouTube sensation, generating over 35,000 hits yesterday. It was featured on two local evening news shows, the progressive webzine Common...

With a conventional wisdom that would make David Broder blush, the New York Times issued a dire warning to Democrats yesterday: 2010 will be a bad year, no incumbent in Congress will be safe, and expect to spend much of the time playing defense. Here in California, progressives should...

Candidates for the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) have reported fundraising numbers for the period ending March 17th - and the need for reform is evident. Unlike other local races in the City (where contributions are capped at $500), there are no limits for giving to a DCCC...

After months of watching Teabagger protests and a weak and ineffectual Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, it was clear that Democrats were going to get creamed in November. But with Congress having finally passed health care reform, pundits are saying President Obama has gotten his "second wind" - and the...

Congress will pass health care reform any day now, and it probably won't have a public option to hold private insurance accountable. Even though a version passed the House last November, and 51 Senators are on record saying they would vote for it. And while Democrats are at this point...

Mayor Gavin Newsom has entered the race for Lieutenant Governor, a job he ridiculed while running for Governor - and his supporters include San Francisco progressives who figure it's an opportunity to get rid of him. Nonetheless, an endorsement list that includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Teachers Association...

It's tempting to look at the recent gay marriage defeats in Maine and California, and say at least we're on the "right side of history." The opposition is running on borrowed time, as young people increasingly support marriage equality. But the trend is not moving fast enough, and it's clear...

There's been a lot of analysis about why Democrats lost the Massachusetts Senate race, because it was so obvious. Failing to accomplish what you campaigned on depresses your base, emboldens the enemy and convinces independents that you're a loser. The lesson is not that Democrats went "too far" - but...