The Nation’s Washington, D.C. Editor Christopher Hayes was on countdown Thursday explaining why bipartisan overtures from Democrats failed to win GOP support for Obama’s stimulus bill. Are Republicans now outright obstructionists?
The Nation’s Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today to debate the potential impact of President Obama’s stimulus package. Vanden Heuvel blasted Republican proposals for tax cuts as “failed ideas of the past” and argued that the stimulus package passed by Congress is a significant shot in the arm for states and municipalities facing layoffs and cuts in social services.
The Nation’s National Correspondent William Greider appeared on Democracy Now this morning to give his perspective on House passage of the $819 billion bailout in Congress yesterday. We’ll have video up shortly but you can listen to an MP3 of the full program here. Greider is the first guest on the program, just after the headlines. The video, in three parts, is below.
As the “Daily Newsmaker” on GRIT TV, Nation Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel spoke with Laura Flanders about Obama’s first 100 days, the repeal of the global gag rule, the best way out of the economic crisis, the defense budget and more. The (short and quick!) video is below.
The Nation’s Net Movement correspondent Ari Melber takes on Conn Carroll of The Heritage Foundation in a new episode of bloggingheads.tv. (Video below) Melber and Conn tackle the inauguration, Obama’s foreign policy rhetoric, closing Guantanamo and Rush Limbaugh’s hopes that Obama fails.
Nation columnist Patricia Williams joined Princeton politics and African American studies professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell on Bill Moyers Journal Friday to discuss the significance of Obama’s inauguration and what it means for the future, particularly of race and racism. Watch video of the conversation or read the transcript here.
Monday at noon, Nation Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel joins Air America’s Mark Green and Andrea Batista Schlesinger of Drum Major Institute on GritTV with Laura Flanders. The topic: Are we witnessing/creating a new era of progressive governance? Panelists assess Obama’s first week, take stock of some encouraging executive orders and explore the movement for robust public works programs. Streaming live here at TheNation.com.
Nation Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel gives her take on the inaugural and Obama’s first days in office on Friday, January 23rd. First, vanden Heuvel talks with Sasha Rethati on Miami’s WGCU from 12:30-1; listen live or to the archive here. From 1-2PM EST vanden Heuvel joins Air America’s Mark Green and Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington on Air America’s 7 Days in America, streaming live or archived here. (Affiliate lists at that link as well) This week Green, Huffington and vanden Heuvel look back at the inauguration and debate specifics of the forthcoming bailout package.
Commentary blogger and journalist James Kirchick has engaged The Nation in some spirited debate over the years, most recently taking on our publication of Sean Penn’s essay about Raul Castro. Normally we welcome the argument. Today, though, we had to ask ourselves if he’s running out of worthy targets. Kirchick attacked The Nation’s Act Now blog and Associate Publisher Peter Rothberg for a post yesterday suggesting legendary singer Pete Seeger be considered for a Nobel Peace Price. The idea of Seeger taking home a Nobel didn’t sit well with Kirchick, who launched an extensive harangue against Seeger’s past associations, affiliations and communist leanings:
One can understand how the folks over at the Nation would consider membership in the Communist Party … “the best kind of patriotism,” given that publication’s role in trying to redefine “patriotism” so as to include knee-jerk anti-Americanism and support for illiberal thugs and tyrants spanning the past century and up to the present day. Genuine patriotism, however, the kind felt by non-Nation-reading Americans, infers nothing more complicated than a love of one’s country and its fundamental values of liberty and individual rights, something that’s hard to glean in the pages of the Nation.
We thought about a full-throated response to Kirchick. After all, the “knee-jerk anti-Americanism” practiced by The Nation in recent years includes such radical endeavors as winning benefits for veterans wrongly denied medical care; exposing misuse of U.S. military funds in Iraq; demanding enforcement of the Voting Rights Act; and advocating in the Act Now blog for keeping toxins out of children’s toys. Kirchick certainly could have made his point about Seeger without deploying outmoded and unoriginal criticisms of The Nation and our readers, few of which hold true today.
The best criticism, though, may come from one of his own commenters, one of whom wonders why Kirchick is “fixated on fighting 40-year old battles.” We’re a little surprised that Kirchick didn’t have anything more pressing to write about. We hope you’ll weigh in as well, either in the comments at our original Act Now post about Seeger or over at Commentary.
The Nation’s Washington D.C. Editor Christopher Hayes, made the rounds at some of the week’s inaugural balls, drawing the notice of MediaBistro.com at the Huffington Post Ball on Inaugural Eve and then again at the Obama Staff Ball the day after inauguration. Click through for photos.
