WASHINGTON –The country is perched on the edge of an uprising that could go either way — left or right — while significantly affecting the presidential election, author David Sirota says in an intriguing new book in which Missouri and Illinois…

WASHINGTON — When the presidential campaign gets joined in earnest, a good deal of it will revolve around practical economic matters, including the struggles of ordinary Americans to make ends meet, have health care and enjoy the right to organize. The…

WASHINGTON — The unemployment figures announced Friday — a jump from 5 to 5.5 percent, the worst single-month increase in 20 years — were awful.

The Labor Department’s reaction wasn’t much better, at least on the face of it.

Here…

Here’s an interesting Web site I stumbled upon this morning: Global Grind, a social/political/music network founded by hip hop mogul Russell Simmons.

According to Simmons (via the NYT) the web portal’s purpose is to “connect the hip-hop generation — motivate…

Military members are one of the key endorsements courted by candidates in an election year. They will likely be particularly sought-after this year, as either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton face Sen. John McCain and his lauded service record.

And don’t…

This one stirred a firestorm yesterday and is still buzzing on the Internet. It’s already been written about on this blog and many major papers carried the story in this morning’s editions.

I’m adding links for more background and a…

WASHINGTON — Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,  is labor’s most experienced political leader. He was among the first to recognize the potential of a young presidential longshot from Arkansas named Bill Clinton. Four years ago,…

WASHINGTON – The United Steelworkers of America endorsed Barack Obama on Thursday, a helpful move for the Illinois Democrat whose problems drawing blue-collar support have been shown in primary after primary.

The Pittsburgh-based union had initially endorsed John Edwards, but Edwards quickly withdrew from the primaries after…

Meant to put this up earlier.

“So the question is: What am I doing here?”

That’s how former Sen. John Edwards started it all off. Of course, the immediate answer that came to mind: Trying to be a little less irrelevant.…

WASHINGTON — Alone in Missouri, and also among the southern Illinois congressional delegation, Rep. Todd Akin voted against the farm bill on Wednesday.

The Missouri Republican says it was a tough choice, but fiscal considerations demanded it.

The bill amounted to about $300 billion,…