I didn't join the street protests against Proposition 8 right after it passed. My gut reaction was: "where were all these people when we had the chance to defeat it?" But "No on 8" ran a terrible campaign that would not have effectively used more volunteers, and it's possible...

When SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued last week to overrule Proposition 8, I didn't expect him to prevail - as much as I appreciated him trying. As wrong as it sounds, the initiative process allows a bare majority of California voters to change our state constitution - and with...

It pains me to describe it this way, but "No on 8" - like Michael Dukakis - blew a seventeen-point lead. Progressives were lulled into complacency by early poll numbers, and distracted by the Barack Obama campaign - even after it became apparent he would win.

But "No on 8"...

In the final stretch of this election, Proposition 8 is dangerously close in the polls -- after months of it being safely behind. With massive out-of-state funding, including $8.4 million from the Mormon Church, the "Yes on 8" campaign has scared many swing voters into falsely believing that marriage equality...

Liberals have worried about Barack Obama's safety ever since he entered the race -- but only in the past week have I started to get nervous. We've all heard about the hostile rhetoric coming from crowds at Sarah Palin rallies. Now John McCain's impending loss has made Republicans increasingly vicious...

For progressives, 2002 was the year Democrats failed to oppose President Bush's March to War--and lost control of the U.S. Senate. But the two most depressing outcomes of that year were the Senate races in Georgia and Minnesota, where Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Norm Coleman vanquished their opponents by sinking...

"Barack Obama should win Wisconsin," a Madison City Councilwoman told me when I arrived last week in the Badger State. "But it will be a razor-thin victory, which means he needs a strong field presence." Having just spent one week of vacation time to help Obama's Wisconsin field operation, I'm...

Last night, I got to live history. Being at Denver's INVESCO Field when Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination in front of 84,000 was a moment that will transcend this election. Since at least 1968, progressives have struggled with the inherent conflict between electoral politics and social change. Many of...

Of course Hillary Clinton's speech last night at the Democratic National Convention was emphatic and inspiring - as she urged all her supporters to get behind Barack Obama. But Hillary has made this plea before, and the more important speech at "healing the rift" will happen tonight when ex-President Bill...

Republicans get screwed when exposed as elitists -- and hypocrites. In 1996, GOP Congressman Fred Heineman lost re-election after saying his $183,000 salary made him "lower-middle class." Last week, John McCain said you have to make $5 million a year to be "rich." Now, as millions of Americans face foreclosure,...

It's déjà vu all over again. We're in August of a presidential election year, and all of a sudden progressives are freaking out by saying: "I think [insert Republican candidate here] is going to win." But it's important to keep things in perspective, and stop the same usual panicking that...

Arnold's executive order laying off 10,000 state employees -- and slashing another 200,000 paychecks to the federal minimum wage -- is not just insulting because he's punishing people for the actions of others. It's that the budget crisis we're in is largely his fault, and the Governor refuses to take...

Chicago does not have rent control. In 1997, the Illinois legislature passed -- and Republican Governor Jim Edgar signed -- SB 531 (the Rent Control Preemption Act), which prohibited local jurisdictions from passing it. At the time, no city in Illinois had rent control -- but the real estate lobby...

It's no surprise that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got a tough reception at Netroots Nation -- as bloggers asked about the Iraq War, impeachment and (of course) FISA. Pelosi passed the buck on all of these issues -- saying that she's let House Judiciary Chair John Conyers handle executive contempt,...

In recent weeks, some progressives have been alarmed at Barack Obama - who they fear has "moved to the center" for the general election. They have argued that his recent shifts won't help him pick up "swing voters," but it's clear that Obama is playing pre-emptive defense rather than trying...