Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.

With the ever-encompassing debate over healthcare another Progressive initiative that is greatly needed has been overlooked in the last several months. The Employee Free Choice Act is still desperately needed to even the playing field for American workers, and the recent trouble in the economy despite what some will say has only deepened the need. As pointed out in one great piece, with the current crashed economy it seems as if once again the only ones who are feeling the pinch is the working American.

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If the middle class could give your Congressmember a grade, what would it be?  Today, DMI releases grades for every senator and representative, evaluating their votes on key legislation that affects the current and aspiring middle class.

2007 began as a year of great promise. Congress was flooded with dozens of new members, many elected with a pledge to address the middle-class squeeze and help more working people attain a middle-class standard of living. Important legislation--from expanding children's health coverage to bringing down the cost of college loans--was introduced and brought to a vote. But, faced with Senate filibusters and a recalcitrant President, many bills died or were passed in watered-down form. Still, the bills that did become law represent concrete gains for current and aspiring middle-class Americans, including a higher minimum wage, expanded Pell Grants, a freeze on middle class tax hikes and lower costs to fuel cars.

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Wow, I sound like a libertarian.  Federalist Society, here I come!

In all seriousness, no, I'm not talking about some other seedy politician's affairs (at least not this time).  Nor am I referring to some other shenanigans of the Oval Office's secret cabal of political operatives, a la Rove and his distinctly American spin on Rasputin.

No, I'm referring to the Oval Office and the Departments of Labor and Homeland Securities' recent plan to push farm workers even deeper into the bottom of the barrel.  

Yep.  Undaunted by his dismal approval ratings, the tanking economy, or even the Democratic Presidential nomination ping-ponging between Senators Clinton and Obama, President Bush continues to try to Go Where No Man Has Gone Before on immigration (not on Star Trek.)

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Dream with me for a minute. Imagine that we-the-people could easily find out how our members of Congress voted on the bills that are most important to us. Imagine that there was a place that explained clearly and simply how those votes really impact America's current and aspiring middle class.
And, while we're dreaming, imagine that Congress knew that Americans of all walks of life could keep an eye on them, comparing their rhetoric in favor of strengthening and expanding the middle class with their votes.  

Wake up and smell the Web 2.0 glory.

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(by the Drum Major Institute's Andrea Batista Schlesinger)
Lou Dobbs is at it again. His target this time? Governor Eliot Spitzer and his plan to provide drivers licenses to New Yorkers regardless of their citizenship.

       In developing your own opinion on the Governor's proposal consider this:  If, like Lou Dobbs, you believe political pandering that exploits fear should be used to stall a much-needed conversation about immigration policy, you should join his knee-jerk opposition to Governor Spitzer's plan.  But if you want a common-sense approach that follows the lead of eight other states and would make New York's people and streets safer, go with the Governor.

       Washington's failure to achieve consensus on an immigration bill should not obscure the fact that commonsense immigration laws have strong majority support. Americans believe it is neither feasible nor desirable to deport the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently here. Instead, there is consensus in favor of providing a path to citizenship for immigrants of all kinds who learn English, work hard, and participate in the American system.  Unfortunately, the anti-immigrant sentiment fostered by Dobbs and his ilk kept Washington from pursuing it.

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