BREAKING: 14 to 20.3 million Americans gaining health insurance may be a good thing Since news broke that enrollments in the Obamacare exchanges had broken 7 million, there has been a steady stream of positive indications for the law. Signups in the exchanges continue at impressive pace as the deadline to complete applications nears. Medicaid expansion is taking off in […]

Speak loudly We are in an epic battle in this country, particularly here in Michigan, to wrest control of our elections and our government back from the corporate giants that are increasingly more powerful. On one side you have a national network of groups coordinated under the State Policy Network which pump massive infusions of cash into groups like the […]

Peters, Totten: Hit your opponents on Obamacare

If you are watching basketball and the play is constantly at one end of the court, you have a pretty good guess who’s winning, right? (HINT: not the team that’s spending all its time defending). The same thing goes for hockey, soccer, football…and communications.

When Chris interviewed me when I started writing here he asked about the mistakes I see progressive communicators make, and I answered that playing defense instead of offense is one of the biggest ones. I see too many candidates and advocates spend their time defending against attacks, trying to justify to the public why their views aren’t wrong, rather than going on the offense against their opponents and forcing them to explain the ways they are out of touch with American values.

Enrollment started April 1 and it’s going gangbusters. There’s no deadline to enroll, but why wait? Experts are standing by. Open enrollment for 2014 coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace ended March 31, but the people and organizations dedicated to helping people get health insurance haven’t slowed down. This is especially true in Michigan, where you might say […]

Will blog for change. I won’t lie, I hate asking people for money. It’s the primary reason I would be reluctant to run for office, in fact. But, the reality is that, if we want to sustain the model we have at Eclectablog where writers are paid for their work, we have to do it. As progressives, we talk a […]

Keep it classy, Nolan Detroit News editorial page editor and columnist Nolan Finley is known for his anti-Democrat, pro-corporate positions. His sharp-elbowed jabs at Democrats and liberals are part of his persona. However, his most recent effort to denigrate Democrats, in this case gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer and his running mate Lisa Brown, is beyond the pale, even for him. […]

And the GOP plan is still repeal After a three month delay that cost Michigan’s taxpayers $630 million, Healthy Michigan has enrolled 85,761 people since April 1, according to Charles Gaba’s ACASignups.net. The program is expected to cover about 500,000 Michiganders. Governor Rick Snyder recognized that turning down health insurance for a half million people that the state would pay […]

Bottom line: You need us and we need you. You know what we’re up against. There’s a giant pile of money being shoveled into Republican campaigns, more than ever since the Supreme Court ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC. But there’s something money can’t buy: The passion and energy of dedicated people who are devoted to making this country a better […]

Refusing to debate fair pay is one more way Republicans are trying to marginalize women — and their votes. It should come as no surprise that Senate Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act for the third time. On Wednesday — the day after Equal Pay Day — they blocked a vote to simply open debate on the bill. Republicans […]

It’s priceless art, not an “asset” The Detroit Free Press is reporting this afternoon that Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. has filed paperwork with the federal bankruptcy court overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy showing that several four separate investors have made bids on the priceless art collection held by the Detroit Institute of Arts worth billions of dollars. A financial insurance giant that […]

Give a little, get a lot Here’s some good news: After months of the Koch brothers’ front Americans for Prosperity spending millions of dollars to spread misinformation about Obamacare in an attempt to smear Gary Peters, Republican Terri Lynn Land now trails Peters by 5 percent. The Senate Majority PAC has played a key role in this comeback with ads […]