Washington Post: Obama Judges Tip Appeals Court To Democrats
When President Bush II left the White House in 2009, the 13 U.S. courts of appeal were firmly under Republican appointees’ control. Ten appeals courts had majority GOP judges, two were evenly split and only one had a majority of Democrats. President Obama’s 49 appeals court appointees have dramatically altered the landscape. As of the Senate’s recess on May 23, nine of those courts had majority Democratic appointees and four had Republican majorities.
(There are 10 vacancies in the circuit courts. One Obama nominee is awaiting a Senate vote and three nominees pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.) The change, much feared by Republicans, is not necessarily shocking. But the transformation, in just 5 1/2 years, said University of Pittsburgh law professor Arthur D. Hellman, an authority on the federal circuit courts, marks ”a huge shift in a very short period of time.” And it means that Democratic appointed judges “have the ability to control every important case if they wish to” in those nine circuits, he said.
More here
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Timothy B. Lee: Obama Has Secured Democratic Majorities On Most Federal Appeals Courts
A president’s Supreme Court nominees get a lot of attention, but presidents shape less visible parts of the judiciary too. Barack Obama is no exception. The Washington Post has a chart showing how the president has changed the composition of the nation’s appeals courts over the last five and a half years: Now, it’s important to say that courts are not supposed to be partisan institutions.
Still, Democratic judicial nominees tend to be more liberal than Republican nominees. And so the growing number of Democrat-appointed judges in our appeals courts will push American jurisprudence to the left on a wide range of issues. And because Obama’s nominees will stay on the bench long after Obama leaves office, these nominations will be one of his most durable legacies.
Will Rogers’ old aphorism—”I belong to no organized political party; I’m a Democrat”—was, at one point, an endearing shorthand for the messiness of Democratic politics. Now, however, it may threaten Democratic chances to gain back the House and hold the Senate this year.
A few examples:
* Today President Obama travels to North Carolina for an event. Democratic senator Kay Hagan is staying in Washington, DC, for the Senate session. Now, while commendable, it is rather interesting that she couldn’t spend a couple of hours welcoming the leader of her party to her state as she gears up for a tough election battle. One has to wonder if she’s putting distance between herself and the President.
* Gov. Brian Schweitzer, putative 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, was asked in an interview to name one positive thing accomplished by Pres. Obama. After much reflection he came up with this:
“My mother, God rest her soul, told me ‘Brian, if you can’t think of something nice to say about something change the subject,’” he said.
But he couldn’t help himself, slamming Obama’s record on civil liberties (the NSA revelations were “un-effing-believable”), his competency (“They just haven’t been very good at running things”), and above all, Obamacare (“It will collapse on its own weight”).
This is the man touted as one of the 2016 frontrunners: someone who wants to expurgate Obama’s two terms as President from the collective memory.
President Obama hugs his campaign manager Jim Messina during an unannounced stop at campaign headquarters in Chicago, Nov. 7 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (All Times Eastern):
12:30: Jay Carney briefs the press
6:0: President Obama hosts screening of ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’
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Getting people covered with health insurance is in everyone’s interest. Time to put #PeopleOverPolitics. pic.twitter.com/GqiLiGgn51
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2025
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Mayor Julián Castro: Let’s Stop Denying Texans Health Insurance Because Of Politics
Usually, we do things bigger in Texas. But right now, when it comes to covering the uninsured, some of our neighboring states are trying to beat us to the draw. In Arkansas, for example, they¹ve cut the total number of uninsured in the state by nearly 14 percent in just over a month.
There’s one big reason for that. Under the Affordable Care Act, states can choose whether or not to expand Medicaid to cover more of its citizens, and Arkansas chose “yes.” If we made that same choice in Texas, it would cover more than one million of our citizens, and save our taxpayers $1.7 billion over the next decade in unpaid hospital bills.
More here
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USA Today: Reversing CNN’s Fortunes Proves A Daunting Task
With its heavy emphasis last week on the woes of the new national health insurance exchange website’s rollout, the cable news network registered its lowest weekday primetime ratings in over a year. For the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, the Time Warner-owned network averaged 385,000 viewers – lowest since Aug. 2012 - and 95,000 coveted adults between the ages of 25 and 54.
CNN’s ratings numbers have always popped with national breaking news. But the story about an insurance website – however comprehensive in coverage - likely wasn’t the kind that drives viewers to interrupt their day’s routines to tune in, says Andrew Tyndall, a longtime TV news monitor and publisher of industry newsletter Tyndall Report.
More here
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Think Progress: Texans Sharply Disagree With Rick Perry On Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion
While Perry hasn’t exactly been shy about his opposition to that ACA provision, his constituents have a markedly different view, according to a new poll by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune.
In addition to wide-ranging support for various ACA components such as insurance subsidies for low-income Americans and tax credits to businesses for providing health coverage, the poll finds that two-thirds of Texans support Medicaid expansion. Over 35 percent of the respondents even said that they “strongly support” the policy
More here
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Kerry pledges $75M in aid for Palestinian infrastructure projects: bit.ly/1a7LZ8b
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) November 06, 2025
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Washington Post: Debt Collectors Face New Rules Under Proposal From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The government is preparing restrictions on debt collectors, a loosely regulated industry under increasing scrutiny over complaints of abusive tactics. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is slated to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to modernize the legal framework governing debt collection.
The government watchdog is seeking public and business comment before formally proposing the rules, which are expected to be finalized by next year. The bureau is asking Americans whether creditors and collection agencies are providing accurate information about their outstanding debts. It also wants to know whether people are receiving threatening calls at all hours of the night or being dragged into court for money they do not owe.
More here
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Jamelle Bouie: How High Black Turnout Gave Terry McAuliffe His Win In Virginia
One of the big questions of the next few years of politics is whether Democrats can replicate the “Obama model” of minority turnout without the presence of Obama on the ballot. If the Virginia gubernatorial election was a test case, then the early answer is a clear “yes.” Cuccinelli maintained the GOP’s traditional advantage with white and married women, winning the former by sixteen point spread of 54 percent to 38 percent, and the latter by a solid margin of 51 percent to 42 percent.
Where the change from 2009 was most significant was among black voters. Then, African Americans were 16 percent were of the electorate, a significant drop from the 2008 election. This year, blacks were 20 percent of all voters, which means their turnout was exactly where it was in 2012.
Put another way, for the second year in a row, African Americans turned out at a rate above their percentage of the population, and supported the Democrat by a 9-to–1 margin. This is huge. For McAuliffe, what it meant is that—for almost every black voter who went to the polls—he could count on a vote, giving him crucial support in a tight race. To wit, more than 37 percent of his vote total came from African Americans.
More here
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Sy Mukherjee: No, Obamacare Won’t Cause Millions Of Workers To Lose Their Employer Sponsored Health Plans
Forbes contributor and former Mitt Romney health care adviser Avik Roy wrote a piece claiming that the Obama administration knew “93 million Americans will be unable to keep their health plans” under Obamacare and that many of them would actually be workers with employer-sponsored coverage.
Under the “grandfather clause,” a plan issued before the ACA was signed in 2010 could remain in place as long as employers or insurance companies didn’t drastically change its terms in a way that would harm the policy holder, like increasing out-of-pocket costs or dropping benefits. However, if a plan did change, it would lose its “grandfather status.” Then, any new plan issued in its place would be subject to Obamacare’s various requirements.
“So it isn’t like all of a sudden people are going to wake up and find out I don’t have my employer coverage anymore,” said Jost. “It’s just there are going to be some minor changes in those plans that benefit enrollees, and that many employers probably already covered anyway.” These small changes might include things like covering workers’ dependent children, or adding preventative care services, according to Jost.
More here
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Sure, Bloomberg. Stop and Frisk has nothing to do with racial discrimination
Over a four-year period, the NYPD made 52,000 stops in a section of Brownsville, BK that's about a few blocks wide.
— Gene Demby (@GeeDee215) November 06, 2025
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Yahoo: Starbucks Wants To Recruit 10,000 Vets, Spouses To Its Ranks
Starbucks Corp is looking for thousands of good men - and women. The world’s biggest coffee chain said on Wednesday it would commit to hiring at least 10,000 veterans and spouses of active military in five years.
It also said five new and existing U.S. Starbucks cafes on or near military bases will share a portion of each sale with non-profit organizations that help veterans re-enter the workforce.
Many U.S. companies have committed to hiring thousands of military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seattle-based Starbucks said it will have specialized recruiters to match the unique skills of veterans and their spouses with company jobs.
More here
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Please, more spin on how a result showed opposition to Obamacare, when said result will likely result in expansion of Obamacare. #virginia
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) November 06, 2025
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Alec MacGillis: The Pundits Are Wrong. The Virginia Election Was A Big Win For Obamacare
Last night, the prospects for Robin L. and the estimated 400,000 Virginians who would be eligible under a Medicaid expansion brightened considerably. The gubernatorial election was won by Terry McAuliffe. So, the election was a clear win for Obamacare, right? Nope, say the pundits.
I’m not sure when I last saw such a stark example of election spin and punditry floating away from the substantive reality of governing and its impact on actual people. There is no mention in these accounts of the greatly enhanced prospects for the Medicaid expansion in Virginia as a result of McAuliffe’s win. No, it’s all about the exit polls and what it might mean for Obama and the Democrats.
All we know right now is that after a very rough patch for the law, the guy who ran strongly in support of it beat a guy who was strongly opposed to it, in the most purple state in the country. And as a result, hundreds of thousands of working poor may get health insurance coverage. How removed from the reality of these people’s lives does one have to be to chalk up such a result as a loss for Obamacare?
More here
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MORE: U.S. economy grew at 2.8 percent annual rate July-Sept., percentage point stronger than predicted: apne.ws/1iP1Ji6 -SS
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 07, 2025
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BBC: US Economy Sees Growth Pick Up
The US economy grew at an annualised pace of 2.8% in the third quarter of the year, latest figures have shown. The growth rate was faster than expected, and was an improvement on the 2.5% pace seen in the previous quarter. Growth was lifted by rising exports, businesses restocking shelves and a pick-up in home construction.
More here
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Democrats swept local elections in Boone NC yesterday, where GOP tried to restrict student voting journalnow.com/news/elections…
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) November 06, 2025
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Keith Boykin: Despite What Conservatives Try To Argue, Black People Do Vote For White Candidates
Although no Democrat has run New York City since Dinkins, New Yorkers on Tuesday chose a progressive white Democrat, Bill de Blasio, who was swept into office with enormous Black support, an accomplished African-American wife and a highly publicized interracial family, all of which served as a rebuke to the racial polarization of the Rudy Giuliani regime and the racist stop-and-frisk policies of the Michael Bloomberg era.
On the same day de Blasio was elected, voters also chose Letitia James to succeed him as the city’s public advocate, making her the first Black woman in New York history to hold citywide office. The real story was about the influence of Black women, who voted 91 percent for McAuliffe while only 38 percent of white women did so, according to a New York Times exit poll.
That’s a lesson Democrats should remember as they suit up for 2014 and 2016. Democrats win when they attract a wide and diverse group of voters, just as President Obama did.
President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia walk from Marine One to board Air Force One at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Nov. 7, 2012, in Chicago, the day after the presidential election.
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On This Day:
President Obama hugs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Cannon House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Nov. 7, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
Nov. 7, 2010: “In India, the President was finally persuaded to join the First Lady on the dance floor at Holy Name High School in Mumbai.” (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet young dancers at a Diwali candle lighting and performance at Holy Name High School in Mumbai, India, Nov. 7, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama greets students following a town hall meeting at St. Xavier College in Mumbai, India, Nov. 7, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama, First Lady Michelle and their daughters Sasha and Malia appear on stage on election night November 6, 2025 in Chicago
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Today (all times Eastern):
2:0: President Obama departs the White House
3:15: VP Biden delivers remarks at the CSX Northwest Ohio in North Baltimore, Ohio
3:45: Michelle Obama attends DNC fundraising event in Pittsburgh
5:10: President Obama arrives in Dallas
5:40: Participates in an Affordable Care Act event, Linz Hall, Temple Emanu-El
6:15: VP Biden attends DSCC event in Cleveland
7:40: President Obama delivers remarks at a DSCC event (private residence)
8:40: President Obama delivers remarks at a DSCC event and answers questions (private residence)
9:45: Departs Dallas
12:30: Arrives the White House
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USA Today: Obama congratulates McAuliffe, de Blasio and Walsh
President Obama made congratulatory calls late Tuesday to three East Coast Democrats that emerged as Election Night winners.
According to the White House, Obama telephoned Virginia Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe, New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and Boston Mayor-elect Martin Walsh.
….. Obama “congratulated each of them on their election victories and vowed to work with them in the months ahead to expand economic opportunity for middle-class families in their communities,” the White House said in a statement.
More here
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Bill de Blasio’s 49% victory margin was largest in NYC Mayor’s race since Koch’s 68% in 1985. http://t.co/DsF7Kl6V7B pic.twitter.com/YdMOH9oe0o
If you ever wondered why Republicans want to suppress black voters - here’s your answer pic.twitter.com/jNJsTHXQNf
— Smarty Pants (@Smartypants60) November 6, 2025
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Des Moines Register: Biden Phones Winner Of Memorable Coralville Election
In a contest that attracted the attention of Vice President Joe Biden and spending by the national conservative group Americans for Prosperity, Coralville’s three incumbent candidates are staying for another term. Unofficial results Tuesday showed John Lundell winning the mayoral contest and Tom Gill, Bill Hoeft and Laurie Goodrich winning seats on the council in an election with record-breaking turnout.
Shortly after Lundell’s victory became apparent, the City Council member said, he received a surprise phone call from Biden. “He indicated that he was very proud of our city, that we took on the Koch brothers and successfully beat them by such a huge margin,” Lundell said. “That was another aspect of this election that was unanticipated, that after the polls closed that I’d be speaking to the vice president of the United States.”
More here
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Congratulations to the Tea Party on the incredible messaging and scare-out-the-vote effort it took to elect Terry McAuliffe Governor.
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) November 6, 2025
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Steve Benen: Far-right suffers another setback in Virginia
On paper, Republicans were poised to have a very good year in Virginia’s off-year elections. For over a generation, whichever party controls the White House invariably loses in the commonwealth, in Virginia this year, Democrats nominated a gubernatorial candidate who’d never held elected office, didn’t have deep political roots in the state, and wasn’t especially well liked by voters.
It looked like a recipe for GOP success. It wasn’t. As the dust settles on Election Day, Terry McAuliffe (D) has narrowly won Virginia’s gubernatorial race, Ralph Northam (D) was easily elected Virginia’s next lieutenant governor, and Mark Herring (D) very narrowly leads the still-uncalled race for state attorney general.
The Tea Party wing of Virginia’s Republican Party got the extremist candidates they wanted, and it looks like they lost in a clean sweep.
More here
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ThinkProgress: Why Terry McAuliffe Won In Virginia
Democrat Terry McAuliffe defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II on Tuesday to become the next governor of Virginia — in a race that Cuccinelli had termed a “referendum on Obamacare.” But an examination of the issues the made up the battleground of the race shows that the Affordable Care Act was just one of several progressive ideas that McAuliffe fully embraced and Cuccinelli fully opposed.
Virginia has historically been a conservative-leaning swing state. It backed every Republican presidential nominee from Richard Nixon through George W. Bush and elected a Republican governor by a 59 to 41 landslide in 2009. While the state has one of the highest percentages of federal employees, polls showed McAuliffe’s lead remained fairly steady before and after the shutdown and Cuccinelli himself dismissed it as largely forgotten factor before Election Day.
More here
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With @TerryMcAuliffe‘s win tonight there will be 4 Southern Dem Govs. AR (Bebee), KY (Beshear) & WV (Tomblin). Let’s add more in 2014!
— South Forward (@SouthForward) November 6, 2025
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ThinkProgress: The Biggest Winner From Last Night’s Election? Obamacare
Virginia’s Ken Cuccinelli — the loudest critic of health care reform — went down in defeat on Tuesday night, paving the the way for the “bellwether for national politics” to expand Obamacare to nearly 400,000 Virginians.
A 10-member panel is currently considering whether the state should accept federal dollars to provide insurance to individuals and families below 133 percent of the federal poverty line ($31,321 in income for a family of four) through its Medicaid program. The decision still has to be approved by a majority of delegates and senators on the panel, though McAuliffe could bypass the GOP-controlled group “by deciding whether to include the federal Medicaid money in the state budget.” On the campaign trail, he repeatedly promised to build bipartisan consensus over the measure, going so far as to say that “he would not sign a budget that did not include Medicaid expansion.”
More here
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Tonight’s lesson for Republicans: Hug Obama and expand Medicaid.
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) November 6, 2025
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NPR: In Colorado, A Couple Finds Relief In Obamacare
There’s plenty of criticism of the Affordable Care Act and how it’s being implemented.
But let’s introduce you to someone who is quite pleased with her Obamacare experience: Lela Petersen of Flagler, Colo. She’s a small business owner with a very big health insurance bill.
But thanks to the health law, she expects that bill will be cut by more than half in January.
Petersen is 57, and her husband, Mike, is 60. They have some pre-existing conditions. He has diabetes. She has a back injury. The HMO policy they’ve carried since 1992 has risen over the years to $1,950 per month, just for the two of them.
…. At the beginning of October she checked out Colorado’s insurance exchange and found the exact same policy from the same insurer for only $832 a month. “It’s dropping us down about $1,100 a month. We can retire. We can go fishing. We can actually see a future,” says Petersen.
More here
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ThinkProgress: Senator Obliterates GOP Talking Point On Obamacare’s Maternity Coverage In 60 Seconds
During a hearing on Obamacare implementation Tuesday, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) offered a powerful rebuttal to those criticizing the Affordable Care Act’s inclusion of maternity care coverage as one of ten “essential health benefits” categories that insurance companies must offer consumers under the health law.
More here
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“Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours.” —President Obama
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 6, 2025
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Statement by the President on Marriage Equality in Illinois
Tonight, I applaud the men and women of the Illinois General Assembly, a body in which I was proud to serve, for voting to legalize marriage equality in my home state.
As President, I have always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally under the law. Over time, I also came to believe that same-sex couples should be able to get married like anyone else. So tonight, Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours – and for their friends and family who have long wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and equally under the law.
I also commend the members of the General Assembly for approaching this issue in a fair and open way, and for recognizing the importance of our commitment to religious freedom by engaging the religious community in this conversation. Throughout this debate, they’ve made it clear that this is about civil marriages and civil laws, and made sure that churches and other institutions of faith are still free to make their own decisions that conform to their own teachings.
As I said in my Inaugural Address last January, our journey as a nation is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. And tonight, I’m so proud that the men and women elected to serve the people of the great state of Illinois have chosen to take us one step further on that journey to perfect our union.
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Three Years Ago Today:
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Steve Benen: Christie looking ahead
Gov. Chris Christie pushed for an overwhelming re-election victory and met his goal, winning a second term by a whopping 22-point margin, besting his Democratic rival, state Sen. Barbara Buono, in 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
The point, of course, was to position the governor for his national campaign – Christie very nearly launched a presidential campaign last night during his victory speech – which will be a major topic of conversation for the political world today and in the near future.
…. I’d recommend at least some caution …. hristie’s ability to crush Buono doesn’t tell us much about how he’d fare against, say, Hillary Clinton. Indeed, New Jersey voters were asked yesterday who’d they support in a hypothetical Christie-Clinton match-up. While the governor was winning his re-election bid by 22 points, the exact same New Jersey voters still preferred Clinton by six points.
…. Given all of this, I’d recommend keep the coronation plans on hold.
Full post here
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Christie: I want to thank the lunatics who make me look moderate. Sometimes I can’t even believe it myself. You know who you are.
Congratulations to TOD’s very own newly elected official:
ALYCEE!!!!!!
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You know your sh*t stinks if the Washington Times drops your azz! Washington Times drops Rand Paul: http://t.co/uqVtzejevG via @slate
— Alycee (@jazziz2) November 6, 2025
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A Year Ago Today
My Most Loved Election Photo Ever: Despite all the voter suppression efforts, the people spoke….
William Wright and India Johnson wait in line to vote at Larchmont Elementary School in Norfolk, Va., Nov 6, 2012. Wright and Johnson, both from Richmond, were casting their first votes in a Presidential election.
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President Obama is embraced by a volunteer as he visits a campaign office the morning of the 2012 election in Chicago, November 6, 2025
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President Obama talks on the phone with Mitt Romney in the Presidential Suite at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park in Chicago (Pete Souza)
Des Moines, Nov 5, 2025 - the final rally of the campaign
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Today (all times Eastern):
11:30: President Obama and VP Biden meet with business leaders to talk about the impact overhauling immigration laws will have on U.S. economy
2:10: President Obama departs the White House en route Bethesda, Md. where he will visit wounded troops at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He will also visit Fisher House, a program that supports military families
4:0: Michelle Obama makes remarks at White House Diwali celebration
6:30: VP Biden and Jill Biden host reception for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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Video of President Obama addressing OFA yesterday - see here
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Today (Tuesday, November 5th) is election day. Get all the information you need vote411.org
Then go V-O-T-E.
— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) November 05, 2025
Have you voted yet #TeamTerry? Find your polling place and get to the polls! terrymcauliffe.com/locate #VAGov http://t.co/4ZRziGFGsk
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) November 05, 2025
#Vote Nov. 5 - Time to Vote for #NYC's next mayor, @BilldeBlasio @deblasionyc. Keep calm, & vote Democratic y'all! ;) http://t.co/sFrfc7e1Qc
— Carmelo Menace (@38_28_38) November 05, 2025
Already voted? Help us make calls: BuonoForGovernor.com/calls Let's get out the vote New Jersey!
— Barbara Buono (@BuonoForNJGov) November 05, 2025
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NYT: For Uninsured, Clearing a Way to Enrollment
Kelli Cauley’s fingers raced over her keyboard as she asked the anxious woman at her side a series of questions. What was her income? How many people lived in her household? Did she smoke? (“That’s the only health question it asks,” Ms. Cauley said of the application they were completing.)
The woman, a thin 61-year-old who refused to give her name, citing privacy concerns, had come to the public library here to sign up for health insurance through Kentucky’s new online exchange. She had a painful lump on the back of her hand and other health problems that worried her deeply, she said, but had been unable to afford insurance as a home health care worker who earns $9 an hour.
Within a minute, the system checked her information and flashed its conclusion on Ms. Cauley’s laptop: eligible for Medicaid.
The woman began to weep with relief. Without insurance, she said as she left, “it’s cheaper to die.”
More here
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After logging out of Kynect, she says she decided that Obamacare was "just too good to be true.” huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/ken…
— (@igorvolsky) November 05, 2025
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Jonathan Cohn: ‘I Would Jump At It’ The media labeled her an Obamacare victim. Here’s what she really thinks.
If you’ve followed the stories of insurance cancellations related to Obamacare, you may have heard about Dianne Barrette. She’s the 57-year-old Florida realtor who was paying $54 a month for a Blue Cross insurance plan. The plan won’t be available after December. And while FloridaBlue offered her a new plan, the company told her the premium would be $591 a month. Barrette, who makes $30,000 a year and could not pay for such a plan, was flabbergasted. Jan Crawford of CBS News made her the key source for a story about plan cancellations. An appearance on Fox News followed, as did multiple cameos in press releases from Obamacare critics. For at least a few days, she was the poster child for the Obamacare cancellation story.
But Barrette’s situation defies quick and easy description. It’s true that she can’t keep her current policy—and that most policies available to her for next year have higher premiums. But those plans also offer real coverage, and her current plan does not. Some people might resent government effectively prohibiting her current plan. Barrette doesn’t appear to be one of them. Based on conversations we’ve had over the past few days, she wants more comprehensive insurance and, within reason, she’s willing to pay more for it.
More here
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The real reason that the cancer patient writing in today’s Wall Street Journal lost her insurance: thkpr.gs/1hHgZjp
— (@igorvolsky) November 04, 2025
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Bob Cesca: Another Obamacare ‘Horror Story’ Debunked; And, No, the President Didn’t Lie About the Law
As the week began, another “Obamacare” horror story hit the press, instigating a fleet of outrage-pornographers and concern trolls across the political spectrum to resume its self-flagellation and screeching about the disastrous Affordable Care Act — selectively forgetting about actual healthcare horror stories that existed before the law was implemented. It was a story focusing on yet another vague, anecdotal tale about a hapless ACA victim whose insurance policy was canceled, thus vindicating the accusation that the president lied about “keeping your existing insurance policy if you like it.”
Before we dive into the lie accusation, let’s take a closer look at an op/ed for the Wall Street Journal written by a stage-4 gallbladder cancer survivor, Edie Littlefield Sundby.
More here
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Cancellation letters from insurance companies signal end to worthless, limited benefit policies bit.ly/19u9GrP by @wendellpotter
— Public Integrity (@Publici) November 04, 2025
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Sally Kohn: 6 other Obamacare promises - and these are very much coming true
Republicans recently pounced on the fact that, yes, some Americans will lose their current crummy insurance plans that don’t meet the new standards set by the Affordable Care Act.
These Republicans are accusing President Obama of having misled the American public - or worse, having lied.
I think that’s a ridiculous claim. If you like your crummy plan, you can’t keep your crummy plan under Obamacare, but odds are you will find a better plan that is also more affordable, with subsidies available to more than half of Americans.
Aside from parsing this promise that you could keep your plan, it is wrong to say that this alone was how Obamacare was sold to the public.
…. here, for the record, are a few of the Affordable Care kept promises:
More here
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.@GovSteveBeshear on @edshow: “Now for the 1st time in history, every Kentuckian is going to have access to affordable healthcare.” #ACA
— Dag Vega (@DagVega44) November 04, 2025
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Washington Post: Congratulations, America! Your deficit fell 37 percent in 2013
The federal government’s 2013 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, though most of us were so busy focusing on the government shutdown that accompanied the new fiscal year that there wasn’t much time to reflect on the year that had passed.
Now the Treasury and Office of Management and Budget is out with the final budget results. Surprise! The deficit fell quite a bit in 2013. The federal government took in $680 billion less revenue than it spent, or about 4.1 percent of gross domestic product. In 2012, those numbers were $1.087 trillion and 6.8 percent of GDP. That means the deficit fell a whopping 37 percent in one year.
This is the first sub-$1 trillion and sub-5 percent of GDP deficit since the 2008 fiscal year, which ended the very month that Lehman Brothers fell and a deep crisis set in.
More here
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Patrick Stewart is a Boss. http://t.co/gkpPjR3kWp
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 05, 2025
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ThinkProgress: Three Progressive Measures On Tuesday’s Ballot That You Should Know About
Congress may not be up for grabs, but Election Day 2013 still comes with high stakes for progressive economic policy ideas. On Tuesday, voters in Colorado, New Jersey, and a small Washington town are getting an up-or-down vote on some proposals that would improve lives both today and decades from now. Here’s a rundown of the three ballot initiatives:
Colorado’s Amendment 66 would raise income taxes and commit $1 billion in new revenue to public schools….
New Jersey’s Question 2 would raise the minimum wage and keep it rising….
SeaTac, Washington’s Proposition 1 would mean a $15 minimum wage for one of the country’s busiest airports….
More here
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Steve Benen: Rand Paul caught once again
After Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was caught presenting others’ work as his own by The Rachel Maddow Show, BuzzFeed, and Politico, the senator’s office seemed to realize Paul had a problem on his hands. It reached the point late Friday that the senator’s aides started making it more difficult to access Paul’s speeches, perhaps fearful more evidence would come to light.
Unfortunately for the senator, it’s too late to hide op-eds Paul has already written and published…
More here
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Billie Jean is not my lover, she’s just a girl who claims that I am the one but the kid is not my son. #RandPaulSpeeches
— S Caruso (@scaruso5555) November 5, 2025
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A Year Ago Today - The Final Day of the Campaign
Madison:
Photo by Scout Tufankjian
Orlando:
Columbus:
Photo by Scout Tufankjian
Photo by Scout Tufankjian
Greatest Intro Eveeeeeeeeeer:
…. with Jay-Z and Bruce Springsteen at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Joe Biden: “Tonight the people of Ohio delivered a gigantic victory for the middle class with their overwhelming rejection of a Republican attempt to strip away collective bargaining rights. Fundamental fairness has prevailed. By standing with teachers and firefighters and cops, Ohio has sent a loud and clear message that will be heard all across the country: The middle class will no longer be trampled on. The people of Ohio are to be congratulated.”
Steve Benen: Going into Election Day 2011, the conventional wisdom said that voters would offer some clues about prevailing political attitudes and what’s to come in 2012. As the dust settles on last night’s results, if the conventional wisdom is right, Republican optimism about next year is badly misplaced.
From coast to coast, Democrats and progressive goals not only won, but in most instances, won big. Some of the highlights….
Full post here
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PPP
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Wednesday:
4:15: The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Silva of Portugal.
8:35 PM: Delivers remarks at the National Women’s Law Center’s annual awards dinner.
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Thanks Ladyhawke
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Father of the year Joe Walsh’s meltdown:
Thanks Loriah
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Aaaaaaaaw!
Bloomberg: The Senate President of Arizona and author of the state’s hard-line laws against illegal immigration lost a recall election seen as a bellwether on “extreme” politics.
Republican Russell Pearce, lost by 53 percent to 45 percent with all precincts reported, according to the Maricopa County Elections office. Pearce, 64, was defeated by Jerry Lewis, a Republican school administrator who has said he opposes Pearce’s enforcement-only approach to immigration policy.
“There is a deep dissatisfaction in Arizona for what is viewed as politics in the extreme,” said Earl de Berge of the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center, a nonpartisan polling company. Pearce “symbolizes a very hard-nosed view on conservative policies.” The loss will show moderates that they can win in the state, de Berge said. “It is going to be a sea change in Arizona,” he said.
Steve Benen: In the closely-watched Wisconsin state Senate recall elections, Democrats and their labor allies needed to pick up three GOP seats yesterday to win control of the chamber. As the dust settled last night, Dems came up one seat short:
Democrats won two state Senate seats in Tuesday’s historic recall elections, but failed to capture a third seat that would have given them control of the chamber.
By keeping a majority in the Senate, Republicans retained their monopoly on state government because they also hold the Assembly and governor’s office. Tuesday’s elections narrowed their majority — at least for now — from 19-14 to a razor-thin 17-16.
Republicans - in Wisconsin and DC - are understandably delighted, and no doubt feel quite relieved. For the left in general, this has to feel like a tough setback.
But I still consider the events of the last several months in Wisconsin rather remarkable….Also note the specifics of the electoral battleground: these six Wisconsin districts elected Republican state senators in 2008 — a great year for Democrats. In other words, yesterday’s recall elections were held in districts that can safely be described as GOP strongholds, making the left’s efforts that much more difficult. And Dems still managed to flip two districts from “red” to “blue.”
The trees are clearly disappointing for much progressives, but the forest still looks pretty impressive to me…..
Full post here
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Greg Sargent: …. There’s no way to sugar-coat it: Unions and Dems failed in their objective as they defined it, which was to take back the state senate, put the brakes on Scott Walker’s agenda, let the nation know that elected officials daring to roll back public employee bargaining rights would face dire electoral consequences.
But nonetheless, what they failed to accomplish does not diminish what they did successfully accomplish. The fact that all these recall elections happened at all was itself a genuine achievement. The sudden explosion of demonstrations in opposition to Walker’s proposals, followed by activists pulling off the collection of many thousands of recall signatures in record time, represented an undiluted organizing triumph.
At a time of nonstop media doting over the Tea Party, it was a reminder that spontaneous grassroots eruptions of sympathy and support for a targeted constituency are still possible and can still be channeled effectively into a genuine populist movement on the left. At a time when organized labor is struggling badly and GOP governors earn national media adulation by talking “tough” about cracking down on greedy public employees, what happened in Wisconsin, as John Nichols put it, amounted to “one of the largest pro-labor demonstrations in American history,” one that carried echoes of the “era of Populist and Progressive reform in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
What’s more, no matter how many times conservatives falsely assert that labor and Dems subverted the popular will by fighting Walker’s proposals, in reality precisely the opposite happened.
John Nichols (The Nation): The Wisconsin recall elections that take place Tuesday provide one of the most remarkable accountability moments in modern American history. After Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his Republican allies used their control of the executive and legislative branches of state government to attack labor rights, local democracy, public education and basic services, mass demonstrations erupted across the state—culminating in an early-March protest outside the state Capitol that drew 150,000 people to one of the largest pro-labor demonstrations in American history.
Despite the protests, despite polls that showed broad opposition to the governor’s agenda, Walker’s legislative allies continued to advance their wrecking-crew agenda.
So the Wisconsin movement dusted off an old accountability tool developed during the era of Populist and Progressive reform in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: the recall. Wisconsin is one of nineteen American states that allow citizens to collect signatures on petitions and force sitting official to face a special election.
In Wisconsin, six of the Republican state senators who voted with Walker face recall elections on Tuesday. While the labor and community forces that organized the recall drives had little trouble collecting the tens of thousands of signatures needed to force the election, they faced unprecedented obstacles in getting to this point.
Terrified by the threat to his authority, Walker and his allies tried to thwart the recall drive with procedural, legal and electoral challenges—going so far as to file “fake” Democratic challengers, all of whom lost to real Democrats in July 12 primaries. Walker allies also launched recall drives against a half-dozen Democratic senators, on the theory that defeating Democrats might allow them to offset losses by Republicans. (Only three of the Republican petition drives attracted sufficient support to force recalls of Democrats; one of the targeted Democrats has already been re-elected, while two others face tests August 16.)
With the approach of Tuesday’s election, Walker’s allies in national movements to privatize public schools, undermine unions and create a pay-to-play politics that favors corporate interests over those of citizens and communities have pumped millions of dollars into local elections with an eye toward defeating the Democratic challenges…..
White House.gov