There is a growing body of evidence that the national political environment which led to big GOP gains in 2010 has ended, and is giving way to a new environment much more favorable to the Democrats. While there is a long way to go until the 2012 elections, Republicans have...

Congressional Republicans came to power earlier this year with a simple economic argument -- the government was spending too much money and a new era of austerity was required. In January of this year, the economy had been in a slow and inadequate recovery for some time. Jobs were being...

As I wrote in a Huffington Post essay, "Obama, No Realist He," it is impossible to understand what is happening in North Africa and the Middle East right now without taking a step back and recognizing how fundamentally things are changing throughout the world today. We are seeing so...

At this point I don't know what is going to happen in Congress over the next few days with the new "deal" announced by the president Tuesday, but my initial take is that he got more than he is being credited for, and the GOP was exposed as having a...

The Whole Idea of Base/Swing Needs to Be Tossed Out

Here is a mental image of the electorate that is often used, which goes something like Dem Base/Left -- Middle/Moderate/Independent -- Right/GOP Base. One hears commentary as if the size of the two party's bases are static, and the only...

Though it is late in the election cycle, Democrats still have one major strategic card to play. They can seize control of the economic conversation and turn it into a debate about what more needs to be done to help struggling Americans and the American economy.

That the Republicans have...

The foundation of the Republicans' "return to power" argument is a promise to reduce the federal budget deficit and rein in government spending. But in a major speech last week, the Republican House leader John Boehner made clear that this promise is at best a false one, and perhaps even...

In prepping for my last two segments on Fox News (here and here) I had to review new polls which had some not so good news for Democrats. The first was from Public Policy Polling. The second one from NBC/Wall Street Journal.  In digging down on...

There is a new breeze blowing through Washington this week. Yes it has hit 70 degrees outside. Spring is in the air, and it has lightened everyone's step a bit. But the real change is what is happening in the governing party and in the Capitol. The people's business is...

This memo is the third in a series of memos NDN has released around the theme of "keeping the focus on the struggle of every day people." The first was released August 17, 2008, and the second was released September 3, 2009. This memo, updated to...

If you want to do something to help the people of Haiti -- or do more -- then text the word Haiti to 90999 today. Your action will immediately donate $10 to the Red Cross. Using this method will ensure that all $10 go directly to the Red Cross, and...

As the Huffington Post has been reporting all morning, ABC sums up the New Jersey and Virginia exit polls this way:

Vast economic discontent marked the mood of Tuesday's off-year voters, portending potential trouble for incumbents generally and Democrats in particular in 2010. Still the gubernatorial elections in Virginia...

Last night's reports of the murder of a US Census worker will bring national attention to the emerging politics of the Census count, something that we've long been worried about at NDN.

In August I posted the following about a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed which signaled the...

The last few months have not been particularly good ones for Democrats.  That's the bad news.  The good news is there a clear roadmap for how they can use the coming months to get back on track, and it revolves around staying relentlessly focused on the economy and the struggle...

This piece originally appeared on NDN.org.

First, as someone who has been encouraging our nation's leaders to better understand and adapt to the rapid growth of our Hispanic population, today is a very satisfying day. Despite her incredible qualifications as a judge, Sonia Sotomayor was not a safe or...

I'm not going to have enough time to get this all out this morning, but to start, I want to agree with folks like Fareed Zakaria and Zbig Brzezinski that the central dynamic driving global politics today is the "rise of the rest," or the powerful aspiration of the rising...

Today President Obama is conducting a town hall meeting in New Mexico focusing on the issue of credit card debt. This is a welcome turn in the national economic conversation from the plight of big institutions and the financial system to what is perhaps the most important part of the...

Today in the Senate, Senator Schumer is holding an important hearing: "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do it and How?" At NDN, we believe the answer to whether Congress can pass reform this year is "yes." Below are seven reasons why:

1) In tough economic...

There are many good reasons to fix our broken immigration system this year. But there is one reason that may end up driving Congress to act this year more than any other: the growing weariness of lawmakers as the year moves on of battling over immigrants and immigration on issue...

During the Clinton administration, Judd Gregg fought hard to deny the Commerce Secretary the ability to use the latest techniques to ensure the most accurate Census count. The goal of this effort was to make it harder for the Census to count minorities, young people and the poor, groups the...