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Former President Bill Clinton mocked Rep. Allen West (R-FL) at a fundraising event for President Barack Obama on Monday night. Clinton mocked West’s claim that House Democrats were communists – he said that “this isn’t the 1950s” and “no one has seen a communist in over a decade.” Clinton praised the work that Obama has accomplished in his first term in office and said that he’s had to accomplish the reforms he has instituted amid significant adversity. “He’s had to get all this done while people as recently as last week were still saying he wasn’t born in America,” said...

Actual title is :Is this Media Matters ‘favorite’ WashPost columnist?: Undisclosed group instrumental in promoting Obama’s political career. A Washington Post columnist to which Media Matters reportedly pushed its content has a previously undisclosed connection to President Obama – the two were part of a small group at Harvard University that met for a period of three years purportedly to promote involvement with U.S. community institutions. Participants at the research project, which took place between 1997 and 2000, included scores of individuals with ties to Obama, including several activists who were later appointed to positions in the Obama administration. Other...

Most people don't even know what Fabianism is. Those who do, may think it's limited to Britain. It's not. In The Encyclopedia of Social Reform, By William D. P. Bliss, this is written:(Page 578) FABIAN SOCIETY, THE (AMERICAN) A movement to establish in America a Fabian Society and carry on a work like that of the Fabian Society in England (see the next article) was commenced in Boston in February, 1895, under the lead of the Rev WDP Bliss. Doesn't get any clearer than that. It was founded by William Dwight Porter Bliss, in Boston. His Fabian organization in Boston...

Today, there are protests all over America that are targeting "the one percent" and all of the wealth and power that they have accumulated. Unfortunately, many of the solutions that these protesters are advocating simply will not work and will not lead to less wealth inequality. To understand this, you have to understand how we got to this point. Over the past several decades, our federal government has exploded in size and our large corporations have exploded in size. In fact, we have seen this pattern happen pretty much all over the world. Governments and corporations all over the...

NEW YORK — Can an Anglican theologian from Britain revive an 80-year-old Catholic social justice theory and provide a solution to America’s economic woes and political polarization? Philosopher and political thinker Phillip Blond thinks so, and he’s giving it everything he’s got. Blond, who has been a counselor to British Prime Minister David Cameron, just wrapped up a two-week U.S. tour to pitch his retooled version of “distributism,” a theory that argues that both capitalism and government are out of control. In that sense, the thinking goes, both Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party are right...

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's has come out in support of the "Occupy Wall Street" campaign. The company's blog says its board of directors has the "deepest admiration" for those taking part. It adds: "We support this call to action and are honoured to join you in this call to take back our nation and democracy." Demonstrators have camped out in New York's financial district, in lower Manhatten, since 17 September. The protest is promoted by the Adbusters magazine. The activist publication says the action was inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising and the Spanish anti-austerity rallies. The...

In the context of Social Security reform, “centrist” and “bipartisan” are too easily mistaken for “intelligent” and “sound,” as well as “brave.” But in regards to the centrist Democrat-aligned Third Way’s Social Security reform plan, “centrist” equals “backward” and “unfortunate.” And it’s worth pointing out because the Third Way plan bears a close resemblance to the Fiscal Commission’s Social Security plan, which a bipartisan group of senators is seeking to revive.

Earlier this month, President Obama announced William Daley (brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and former executive at JP Morgan Chase) as his new chief of staff, replacing Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel. Less well known is the fact that Mr. Daley was a member of the board of trustees for Third Way, which bills itself as an "influential think-tank that creates and advances moderate policy and political ideas." Therefore, last week's release by Third Way of a domestic policy memo outlining a plan for "Fixing Foreclosure-gate" may well be a trial balloon for the Obama administration's next set of...

A poll found voters were twice as likely to blame President George W. Bush than President Obama for economic problems. A new poll released Monday found voters were twice as likely to blame President George W. Bush, rather than President Obama, for the nation’s economic problems. When asked whether Bush or Obama was responsible for the recession, 53 percent of likely voters said Bush and 26 percent said Obama, according to the poll from Third Way, a think tank with close ties to centrist Democrats. Another 21 percent of respondents said they didn’t know. Benenson Strategy Group conducted the survey...

U.S. President Barack Obama sought on Wednesday to lift sagging confidence in his economic stewardship by enlisting the help of predecessor Bill Clinton, as a leading business group issued a scathing critique of the administration's policies. Clinton, who presided over the 1990s economic boom, was to join Obama at a White House meeting with business leaders at 2:35 p.m. Eastern time (1835 GMT) to encourage job creation and investment, including in clean energy. SNIP Four months before the November congressional elections, Republicans have tried to paint Obama and his Democrats as anti-business. Obama is increasingly turning to former President Clinton...

Complete title: FCC Moves to Regulate Internet--Even Though the Law Calls for Internet to be 'Unfettered by Federal or State Regulation' (CNSNews.com) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski--even though federal law calls for an Internet "unfettered by Federal or State regulation." This step comes after the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April rebuked the FCC in its attempt to enforce a controversial regulatory doctrine called Net Neutrality, which  would allow the government...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski--even though federal law calls for an Internet "unfettered by Federal or State regulation." This step comes after the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April rebuked the FCC in its attempt to enforce a controversial regulatory doctrine called Net Neutrality, which would allow the government to prevent private Internet providers from deciding which applications to allow on their networks. The court said that the...

Obama, Brown, and the ‘Third Way’The Left loses its way by abandoning the “third way.”  Left parties are in trouble in the Anglosphere. Here in America, Democrats are doing worse in the polls today than at any time in the last 50 years. In Britain, the Labour party is on the brink of finishing third, behind both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, in the election next Thursday. All of which raises the question: What happened to the “third way” center-left movement that once seemed to sweep all before it? Only a dozen years ago, in 1998, President Clinton enjoyed...

Ron Paul: Barack Obama is Not a Socialist NEW ORLEANS–Republicans and tea party activists are fond of accusing President Barack Obama of being a socialist, but today party gadfly Ron Paul said they had it wrong. “In the technical sense, in the economic definition, he is not a socialist,” the Texas Republican said to a smattering of applause at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. “He’s a corporatist,” Paul quickly added, meaning the president takes “care of corporations and corporations take over and run the country.”

Republicans hope a fresh crop of business executives-turned-political candidates can bolster the party’s fortunes in November. In races from California to Ohio, Democrats are targeting several leading GOP candidates who boast long corporate and Wall Street résumés. The Republican campaign committees recruited these candidates because they’re not subject to anti-incumbent anger and many can self-fund their races. Democrats are hoping the anxiety about the economy and the financial bailout will be directed at these corporate executives now seeking office. Two prominent GOP recruits from the business world are California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R), who was CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co....

The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin -- 51 percent to 41 percent -- Americans think the standing of the U.S. dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama's presidency. On the national security front, a massive gap has emerged, with 50 percent of likely voters saying Republicans would likely do a better job than Democrats, a 14-point swing since May. Thirty-three percent favored Democrats. "The erosion since May is especially strong among women, and among independents, who now favor Republicans on this question by a 56 to 20 percent margin," the pollsters...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new poll on Monday found signs of trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and his Democrats on national security issues such as the handling of terrorism suspects. The poll was conducted jointly by Democratic Corps, a Democratic organization, and Third Way, a progressive non-profit organization. It was done mainly to gauge voters' views on Democrats' handling of national security. The poll also found weaknesses for the Democrats on other issues ahead of November elections, in which they hope to defend their strong majorities in Congress. The poll found 60 percent of Americans believe the United States...

Dear Mr. President, We are still a free country with a constitution and our God-given unalienable individual rights. You can't just order people to purchase your health insurance plan. The congress does not have the constitutional authority to enact your socialist health care plan anyway. The federal government has no authority to involve itself in health care issues. And your plan is most definitely socialism whether you care to admit it or not. And it's unconstitutional. But I do love your methodology. No matter what the problem, all we have to do is throw more federal money at it and...

Conservatives, who constitute the overwhelming majority of Americans, are angry with the Republican Party leadership and how politics has been played since Ronald Reagan left office. Often Republican nominees have seemed to copy Bill Clinton's "triangulation" -- strategically placing themselves as the arbitrators between conservatives and leftists. Sen. John McCain luxuriated for years in fawning media coverage of his "independence" from conservatives. George H. Bush, as soon as the Gipper was gone, promised to move us to a "kinder, gentler" -- more moderate -- America. Specter and Jeffords switched parties at critical times. Who trusts Republican leaders? Not serious conservatives,...

I said Obama could turn out to be America's Tony Blair - just a vacuous showman. This week we'll find out if U.S. voters agree. On Tuesday, almost a year to the day since he took the oath of office, Barack Obama faces a referendum on his presidency. The jury is out and the verdict is far from certain. Voters in Massachussetts go to the ballot box to elect a successor to Senator Edward Kennedy, who died of brain cancer last August. It should be a formality for the Democrats, who have held the state since the late John F....