Jared Bernstein

Fmr. Obama administration economist; CNBC and MSNBC contributor

Opponents who wanted to make the case that comprehensive reform of our current "system" would be a net cost just got some pretty bad news.

Robert Reich

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; Author, 'Beyond Outrage'

It's as if they didn't learn a thing from 2012. Republicans are on the same suicide mission as before -- trying to block immigration reform, roll back the clock on abortion rights, and stop gay marriage wherever possible.

Jeff Danziger

Political cartoonist syndicated by the NYTimes worldwide

Will Bunch

Author, 'Tear Down This Myth'

In both Turkey and Brazil, it has been the reckless brutality of the security forces -- captured on smartphones and broadcast to a whole world that's watching -- that has caused the protests to grow. Will the United States go down the same road?

William Astore

Writer, Professor, Retired Lt. Colonel, Air Force

How about some truly fresh thinking on national security? Here are five ideas that are more visionary than anything our sclerotic and self-absorbed bureaucracy will ever produce.

Joshua Graham Lynn

Program Director, Represent.Us

Do I really believe that Limbaugh has evolved beyond partisanship? No, the sun still rises in the East. But I'm grinning because I've learned that at the end of the day America only works when it represents its people, and it's fun to see Rush learn that lesson too.

Mary Kay Henry

President, Service Employees International Union

As a country that counts equality among our basic values, we should never single out one group for harsher treatment. We're better than that.

Natalia Brzezinski

writer, mother, wife of U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, women's empowerment activist

Our hour-long conversation ranged from how to effectively empower women to reach for the C-suite to education to positive role models and examples of best practices that the United States and Sweden can share.

Lee A. Saunders

President, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO

Once again, the facts speak for themselves: Unions are the first and last line of defense for America's workers.

Shan Wells

Nationally syndicated political cartoonist

Charles A. Birnbaum

President, The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Nationally, in the wake of urban growth and renewal, there is considerable debate about whether public parks and open space should be given away or sold to for-profit enterprises. Are they valuable civic resources or just places to put stuff?

Barry Cooper

Law lecturer and filmmaker

Does America breed more criminals than any previous or current society? Or could there be a dysfunctional flaw in the criminal justice system? Common sense says the latter.

Joseph Blady, M.D.

Former program officer for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and senior analyst for the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence

As with Vietnam, negotiations might buy a little time for the government we leave behind, but we have the small consolation that we're separating from the worst partnership we've ever had. And like North Vietnam, the Taliban are unlikely to pose a threat to our security once we've left.

Neill Franklin

Executive Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)

How to Make Money Selling Drugs makes the argument that we should end the war on drugs. As a former cop, my reasons are simple: Drug prohibition is bad for public safety, and it's never going to work. We can't arrest our way out of this problem. Take it from someone who tried for 34 years.

Robert Scheer

Editor, Truthdig.com; Author, 'The Great American Stickup'

For defense contractors, the government officials who write them mega checks, and the hawks in the media who cheer them on, the name of the game is threat inflation. And no one has been better at it than the folks at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Joel L. Watts

Scholar, Author, and Blogger

Chris Christie, in case you haven't noticed, is a contender for the Republican nomination in 2016. Hillary Clinton is the presumed front-runner for the Democrat nomination of the same year. Maybe I am thinking wistfully here, but here is the scenario I would like to see play out.

Richard Kirsch

Senior Fellow, Roosevelt Institute; author of 'Fighting for Our Health'

New health insurance marketplaces will make affordable care accessible to millions, but low-wage employees of big businesses may be left out.