Joanne Bamberger -- Politics Daily

Published: 03/14/11

Can the Girl Scouts Help Balance Georgia's Budget?

If Georgia lawmakers get their way, corporations doing business in the state will get a nice tax cut and the Girl Scouts will be chipping in to help make up the difference in the budget. Yup. As crazy as that sounds, that's what's going on in the Peach State. In an attempt to bring more jobs to Georgia, GOP lawmakers have proposed a cut in corporate tax rates for domestic and foreign corporations, while calling for a tax increase on gasoline and groceries. Like most states, Georgia has a budget problem. A recent task force that studied how to manage the shortfall recommended cutting ...

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Published: 03/1/11

Wisconsin's Fight Against Labor Hurts Women More Than Men

I don't want to see a conspiracy where there isn't one, but as some politicians push to cut reproductive and economic rights for women, it's hard not to view other efforts that would disproportionately impact women through that same lens of attack. So when labor statistics suggest that moves to weaken unions at the state and local level would impact women more than men, it's tough not to judge Gov. Scott Walker's (R-Wis.) apparent union-busting crusade as anything other than the latest swipe at American women. Related Stories Overnight Protesters in Wisconsin ...

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Published: 02/28/11

Natalie Portman's Motherhood Shout-Out Gets Raves From This Feminist

Natalie Portman has been getting flack for her Academy Awards acceptance speech for her role in "Black Swan." Not because of anything she said about the uber-psych-thriller role that won her the award or because of any Oscar night faux pas like forgetting to acknowledge her fellow Best Actress nominees. She's coming under fire for a speech that acknowledged her nascent motherhood as "the most important role" of her life, referring to her ever-growing pregnancy, which I must say was beautifully draped in a luscious plum-colored Rodarte gown that I wouldn't mind owning. Some women are ...

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Published: 02/25/11

Are We Returning to the 'June Cleaver' Era? (And Would June Stand for What's Going On?)

Ever since the 112th Congress was sworn in last month, there's been a seemingly endless barrage of news about lawmakers trying to take away many of women's hard-fought rights, so much so that I feel like Mr. Peabody's WABAC machine has deposited me on June Cleaver's 1950s doorstep. Morning after morning, I hear reports about those who want to cut funds for access to contraception and screenings for breast and cervical cancer that American women of all political persuasions get from Planned Parenthood. Conservatives protest the use of pre-tax dollars for breast pumps, claiming it's an ...

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Published: 02/17/11

Michelle Obama Is Fat? Elementary School Gibes as Political Commentary

Two years into their stay at the White House, the Obamas must be resigned to the fact that no matter what they do, they're going to get blasted by the right. But I have to believe that Michelle Obama thought her call for kids to exercise more and eat healthier would be as plain vanilla and non-controversial as, say, Laura Bush's cause for children's literacy. Sadly, she was wrong. For some conservatives, her effort to make our country's children healthier through her "Let's Move" program is just another socialist stategy to move us toward a nanny state. Taking FLOTUS to task for her ...

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Published: 02/12/11

Gabrielle Giffords for Jon Kyl's Senate Seat? Don't Count Her Out

In today's political climate, a Democrat must assume the chances of winning a Senate seat in Arizona are about the same as an ice cube lasting more than 30 seconds in the Grand Canyon State's famous 100-degree-plus summer heat. There's no doubt Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) has been well aware of that, but apparently, she's had her eye on Republican Sen. Jon Kyl's seat on the chance he would not run again in 2012. Kyl has chosen not to run for re-election. Shortly after the news broke this week, political observers lamented that Giffords, who was shot in the head in a rampage that left ...

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Published: 02/10/11

A Fired-Up Michele Bachmann Tells CPAC: 'Let's Roll!'

In a classic "rally the base" speech for the opening of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) embraced the role of tea party cheerleader to prepare the 11,000 loyalists listening for their march to the 2012 elections. Armed with statistics about conservative victories in 2010 and America's national debt, she fulfilled the obligation of any good opening keynote speaker by firing up the attendees and stoking their enthusiasm for the big political "ask" at the end. After spoofing her own camera malfunction moment in her response to President ...

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Published: 02/1/11

Minnesota Fair Pay Repeal: Fiscal Responsibility in Sheep's Clothing

I've decided I must be living in an alternate universe these days. There's more snow and ice than I've seen in pretty much my whole life, even after growing up in Central Pennsylvania and working for years in notoriously wintry Upstate New York. Parenting critics seem to agree that it's horrible to force feed hot sauce as a form of child discipline, but that it's acceptable parenting to deny water and bathroom breaks for less-than-perfect piano lessons. And now Minnesota, the first state ever to pass an equal pay for equal work law for public employees, may be on the verge of repealing ...

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Published: 01/26/11

Michele Bachmann is a 'Balloon Head' in Chris Matthews' Book

"Balloon Head" isn't the name of the upcoming Seth Rogen movie. But that's really what MSNBC's Chris Matthews called Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for comments in a recent speech about when slavery ended in America. I don't disagree with Matthews' decision to call Bachmann out on her remarks that slavery was ended by the tireless efforts of the Founding Fathers. It's fair game to question elected representatives about whether they have a grasp on our country's history, as well as current events, to decide whether they're really qualified to represent their constituents. Bring on ...

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Published: 01/25/11

Why We'll Never Have Real Wall Street Reform

Remember all that talk of reining in Wall Street and giving the Securities and Exchange Commission more money to do its job? As part of the government's effort to prevent another economic crisis like the one that still has America in its grip, significant and striking regulatory changes were supposed to be on the horizon, thanks to the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation that President Obama signed into law last summer. If you were counting on this sweeping reform to make your investments safer and your economic future a little more sound, you might want to think again. Significantly ...

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