The new Progressive Maryland Education Fund (PMEF) 2008 Legislative Scorecard numerically rates the performance of individual General Assembly lawmakers on issues important to Maryland working families. This year's scorecard tracks their records on nine key bills considered during the 2007 special legislative session and the 2008 regular session.
Most important accomplishments were the historic, though imperfect, progressive income tax overhaul and expansion of health care coverage passed during the November 2007 special session. Most disappointing was voluntary, public funding of state electoral campaigns, which the Senate killed during the 2008 regular session. Gov. O’Malley deserves credit for pushing bills helpful to working families, but the Democrat-controlled General Assembly sadly killed nearly every pro-worker bill not part of the Governor's formal agenda. See scorecards by name and district and see whether your reps sided with your family -- or the special interests.
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Mandatory political indoctrination. Democrat-bashing. Voter intimidation. Yes, it's business as usual at Wal-Mart.
In the past couple of years, Wal-Mart has tried to burnish its terrible and well-earned reputation with a blizzard of press releases falsely claiming it gives workers good benefits and cares about the environment.
But Wal-Mart's mask has slipped off -- again. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the world's biggest corporation this summer has organized mandatory meetings at its stores across the country -- including in Maryland -- all with one purpose: to intimidate its workers into voting Republican. The company's workers have been forced to attend ideologically charged rants against Democrats, against Barack Obama, and against landmark legislation that would allow workers to vote for or against union representation.
By intimidating its workers to vote a certain way, Wal-Mart has almost certainly broken federal election law. Click here now to tell the Federal Election Commission to investigate Wal-Mart and get to the bottom of this scandal. Wal-Mart needs to learn that political intimidation might be normal in Putin's Russia -- but not in the USA.
Obama's Small Donors an Exception, Not Trend
In state and federal elections overall, ever more campaign cash comes in big not small increments
Apologists for our nation's rotten campaign finance system are pointing to the fact that more than half of Barack Obama's contributions have come in increments of $200 or less. This, they claim, is proof that lawmakers' careers are financed mostly by grannies, firefighters, and small business owners -- not by oil companies, HMOs, and banks.
But the facts undermine this claim. First, only a tiny percentage of the population gives campaign contributions of any kind. A report by the Progressive Maryland Education Fund found, for example, that only 2.7% of Marylanders gave a campaign contribution of any kind to candidates running for state office in the 2006 election. Considering the average sized contribution was $200 (a 21% increase over the 2002 average), it seems very likely that this small group of people who could afford to write checks of this size are disproportionately wealthy.
Second, and even more compelling, a new analysis by Public Campaign shows Obama's surge in small donations is an anomaly. For in state and federal elections overall, the trend is toward an ever greater share of campaign dollars donated in increments of $200 or more. The role of the small contributor continues to dwindle in American elections.
More Top Stories
- PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND IN THE NEWS (recent & archived)
- Donor Trends and Undue Influence Drive Need for Public Funding of Campaigns
- Officials, Activists Aim to Avoid Abuse, Snags in Record Turnout Elections
- Transit Ridership Soars as Agencies Struggle with Growth, Funding
- Labor News Roundup
- Cardin, Van Hollen, Sarbanes, Edwards, Back USAction's 'Invest in America's Future'
- The Importance of Pre-K Education
- Over 400 Candidates in Maine, Arizona Elections Choose Public Funding
- Voter Registration Spikes Among Young Adults
- "Health Care for America Now" Campaign Launched in 52 Cities;
State Expands Medicaid, Congress Overrides Medicare Veto
- Study Predicts Long Lines at Maryland Polls in November: Voting
Rights Advocates Propose Paper Ballots to Reduce Wait Times
- Hearings on Repeal of Death Penalty: July 28; Aug. 5, 19; Sept. 5
- Summaries of 2008 General Assembly Session
- FEDERAL ISSUES & LEGISLATION
- EVENTS & NEWS ARCHIVE
Best Reports & Resources
- 2008 Legislative Scorecard, PMEF
- Protect votes and be paid as a "Pollworker for Democracy" Election Day Nov. 4
- Stealing America Vote by Vote, Aug.29-Sep.4, E Street Cinema, Wash. DC
- Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections, Sep.9, 7pm, AFI, Silver Spring
- Invest in America's Future -- USAction's bold plan to jumpstart the economy and create opportunity for working families.
- Social Networking Online, resources from AFL-CIO & Aug 20 session
- August Maryland Policy Report MBTPI
- How Can We Prevent Long Lines from Disenfranchising Voters? SaveOurVotes
- No Small Change: Unitemized Contributions Add Little to Campaign Coffers, Institute on Money in Politics
- Opportunity for National Health Reform in 2009, PowerPoint; Community Catalyst
- Maryland Policy Reports (monthly), MBTPI
- All Over the Map, how public funding reduces big-money's clout; Public Campaign
- How the Internet Has Affected Citizen Engagement,Congressional Management Fdn.
- The Union Wage Advantage for Low-Wage Workers from CEPR
- Two great radio shows: Dan Rodricks Show (WYPR) & Marc Steiner Show (WEAA)
- Union City! daily e-zine of labor news and events from Metro DC AFL-CIO.
- Maryland Politics Watch blog
Great Videos & Humor
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