Democrats

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Maine's donkey party loves the rich and the poor — but can't protect both

Two-faced Democrats
In the current legislative fight over Republican Governor Paul LePage's lust to slash Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) programs because of a $221-million shortfall in its budget, Democrats say over and over that they want to protect the poor, sick, and disabled people from whom the governor wants to withdraw state assistance.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 15, 2012

What they write about

The Maine Democratic Party's US Senate prospects
Thanks for coming to my power-point presentation.
By AL DIAMON | February 15, 2012

Go green

Hoopleville
Or go home!
By DAVID KISH | January 25, 2012

It might never happen

Democrat domination
The Very Smart People have proclaimed that the Democratic Party is about to reclaim control of the Maine House of Representatives.
By AL DIAMON | January 11, 2012

The debt crisis is only on hold

Plus, what does congressman Bill Keating have against Cuban families?
The United States was only hours away from joining in the international community of deadbeats and bunko artists — think Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal — when President Barack Obama signed the legislation raising the national debt ceiling and cutting trillions of dollars in federal spending.
By EDITORIAL | August 03, 2011

Let's compromise

Letters to the Portland Phoenix Editor, July 22, 2011
I am writing in response to the article that ran in the paper on July 1 entitled " Democrats Celebrate Victory in the Face of Defeat " (by Lance Tapley).
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | July 20, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

Democrats celebrate victory in the face of defeat

They cozy up to Republicans and the rich
Senator Dawn Hill, of Cape Neddick, the lead Democrat on the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, which fashioned the recently passed $6-billion state budget, explained to the Phoenix why she voted to reduce income and estate taxes on the rich while also voting for cuts in help to the poor and in teacher and state-worker pensions.
By LANCE TAPLEY | July 06, 2011

The plan to turn Rhode Island red

GOP strategist Ken McKay is quietly plotting a data-driven explosion of the state’s one-party rule
The Rhode Island Republican Party's reputation for ineptitude is, by any reasonable measure, richly deserved.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 12, 2011

Netroots Nation eyes Providence (again)

Convening
Netroots Nation, an annual gathering of progressive bloggers, has become a sort of whistle stop on the lefty campaign calendar.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | June 01, 2011

Washington gets serious about cybersecurity

Lockdown
With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, Democrats in control of the Senate, and both parties focusing on next year's election, there's a whole lot of nothing happening in Washington right now.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 25, 2011

Talking points

Letters to the Portland Phoenix Editor, April 22, 2011
Maine has had a favorable history when it comes to third parties in chaotic political times.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | April 20, 2011

Down again

State-government shutdown
Here's a great idea for commemorating the 20th anniversary of Maine's last state-government shutdown in 1991: Let's do it again.
By AL DIAMON | March 30, 2011

The ''Weak Evidence Effect''

That's It?
About one month before the mid-term elections last fall, 98 people from around the country — Democrats, Republicans, and independents — sat down at their computers to participate in a psychological experiment put together by three Brown University researchers.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | March 16, 2011

From carpenter to king

LePage has been surprisingly polite
In the wake of last month's election, I expected Republican governor-elect Paul LePage to provide me with an inexhaustible supply of column material.
By AL DIAMON | December 08, 2010

Conducting tests on Maine Republicans

Highly experimental
Here at the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Effects of Sarcasm and Derision on Political Philosophies, we've been conducting a comprehensive battery of tests to determine whether newly elected Maine Republicans really mean that stuff they've been saying about reducing the size and cost of state government.
By AL DIAMON | November 16, 2010

Maine Democrats try to put the past behind them

Losing team
State Democrats may be down (in numbers) but they're not out (of ideas).
By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 16, 2010

Minority Blues

Massachusetts's Democratic Congressmen won their elections, but lost their power. What will they do in John Boehner's House?
The historic national Republican wave, which saw the GOP gain at least 64 seats in the US House of Representatives, seemed to skip Massachusetts, which elected Democrats in all 10 congressional districts.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 17, 2010

Ten Little Congressmen . . .

The outlook for each of Mass.'s Representatives
Each of Massachusetts's 10 congressmen — soon to be nine, following next year's redistricting — are looking at the House shakeup from their own career perspectives.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 17, 2010

Democrats against Obama

Even before the rout at the polls, Democrats were nervous about their President. The left felt sold out, and moderates were frightened. Now it's payback time.
Now that the midterm wipeout has concluded, analysts are already sizing up the GOP challengers to a weakened Barack Obama. Not only that: some Democratic party elders are considering the once-unthinkable scenario of a debilitating challenge to Barack Obama from inside his party.
By STEVEN STARK | November 03, 2010

Reliving the nightmare

Massachusetts escapes, but much of the nation succumbs to the ravages of democracy
Somebody should thank Scott Brown.
By EDITORIAL | November 03, 2010

Photos: Scenes from the Rally to Restore Sanity

Thousands of Daily Show fans, Flying Spaghetti Monsters, and Hogwarts alums, and more converge on the National Mall | October 30, 2010
With nary a pair of be-skidmarked Betsy Ross boxer shorts in sight.
By ERIN BALDASSARI | November 01, 2010

Three-Fall

President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and Speaker Pelosi have accomplished much — and are running for their political lives
In a less politically charged world, the triumvirate of Democratic political leaders in Washington — President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — might now be taking victory laps over one of the most productive two-year sessions in decades.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 20, 2010

Review: Inside Job

The feel-bad movie of the year.
Although Inside Job is destined for Academy acclaim, it seems unlikely that anyone will actually enjoy Charles Ferguson's new documentary.
By CHRIS FARAONE | February 24, 2011

Waiting for Repo Man

The man behind Inside Job shows us just how low Wall Street has sunk
Inside Job , Charles Ferguson's newly released documentary, details with painful precision just how royally Wall Street screwed the planet.
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 13, 2010

The weird get weirder; all about rubbers; farewell to Mr. Burke

Republican theocrats
When you consider the Democrats' disunity, ineptitude, and near-complete inability to present voters with a coherent program, it would seem that the pundits who have been predicting a Republican tsunami have a strong argument. But wait! Just in time, the GOP comes to the rescue by putting up a whole slew of Christian fundamentalist candidates.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 13, 2010

American jitters

Between paralysis and nervous breakdown
You would have to be delusional not to be anxious, perhaps even fearful.
By EDITORIAL | October 06, 2010

Can Patrick Hang On?

What Deval needs to do now
Massachusetts has a mixed record of re-electing governors.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 29, 2010

Why did the liberals help construct our concentration camps for the poor?

Prison complex
Why did middle-class liberals, historically the leaders of compassionate social reform, allow, with nary a peep, the construction of our colossal Prison Complex? Two books, one new and one a few years old, explain why liberals not only went along with this right-wing, racist project — they encouraged it.
By LANCE TAPLEY | September 08, 2010

Strangely familiar

Politics & other mistakes
The clock struck midnight on a cold, starless night in January, 2011, signaling the end of Inauguration Day in Maine.
By AL DIAMON | August 04, 2010