Alison R. Parker

Democrats step up to defend transgender students against the Trump administration

The Democratic Party platform put together during the 2016 election was the most progressive in the party’s history, focused on the tenet that “diversity is not our problem — it is our promise” and the belief that we are “stronger together.” In one example, the platform declares that “LGBT rights are human rights” and that […]

By Alison R. Parker - March 03, 2017

Dems hold 80 recess events with voters. All but 18 Republicans hide out.

As members of Congress left Washington, D.C., to head back to their districts, there was a notable contrast arising between how Democrats and Republicans treat their constituents — and between how those constituents feel about their elected officials from each party. For days prior to the recess, Republicans had been confronted with protests and pressure from […]

By Alison R. Parker - February 18, 2017

Donald Trump has dismal approval ratings for an incoming president

Donald Trump may have secured his victory thanks to the Electoral College, but he cannot claim a mandate as he enters office, having lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes. And in furtherance to that statistical fact, a new Quinnipiac poll shows Trump receives absolutely dismal approval ratings for an […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 10, 2017

Clinton’s inspiring message: “You are the heroes and history-makers, the glass-ceiling-breakers of the future.”

Hillary Clinton continues to be an inspiring and admirable voice for the country, and particularly for women and girls. Her first post-inauguration statement, a video recorded for the Makers conference, is a continuation of the uplifting and hopeful messages of her presidential campaign. I’m proud to be a Maker, and to support Makers’ mission to […]

By Alison R. Parker - February 07, 2017

Feinstein grills Sessions on his regressive views on reproductive justice and marriage equality

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), was met almost immediately with strong questioning about his record and views on both reproductive rights and marriage equality during his confirmation hearing today. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, began her questioning by bringing up the Hyde Amendment, […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 10, 2017

National Security pick’s spurning of Trump proves Pelosi was right about Bannon

Following Michael Flynn’s resignation from his very brief stint as National Security Advisor, Donald Trump offered the position to retired Vice Admiral and former Navy SEAL Robert Harward. But Harward turned down the job, reportedly over concerns regarding instability in the White House and other staffing choices made by Trump. CNN’s Jake Tapper flagged a […]

By Alison R. Parker - February 17, 2017

Vets to Trump: “You want to be a legitimate president, sir? Then act like one.”

VoteVets.org, which released a poignant video during the 2016 campaign in support of immigrants and their contributions to the United States, especially through their military service, has released a new ad that goes directly after Donald Trump: President Trump, I hear you watch the morning shows. Here’s what I do every morning. Look, you lost the […]

By Alison R. Parker - February 06, 2017

Nancy Pelosi: “I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump”

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been a crucial voice in calls to investigate interference in our presidential election by the Russians, and the connections and potential collusion between the Russian government and Donald Trump’s campaign and administration. And on Meet the Press, she showed that she is not about to back down: The American […]

By Alison R. Parker - February 05, 2017

MSNBC blatantly advertising Morning Joe’s unethical access to the Trump team

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have faced harsh criticism over the ethical entanglements implicit in their overly-friendly coverage of President-elect Donald Trump, particularly in light of their recent admissions that they have acted as advisors to Trump while reporting out campaign and transition “exclusives” often attributed to unnamed sources. Hadas Gold at Politico noted […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 29, 2016

Democrats grill Energy nominee Rick Perry, who once advised eliminating the department

When Donald Trump announced former Texas Governor Rick Perry as his nominee to run the Department of Energy, it was a baffling choice. One of Perry’s most infamous moments on the national stage, during a Republican primary debate in 2011, was when he attempted to list three departments he would eliminate if he became President […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 19, 2017

Trump’s refusal to disclose his taxes prompts clever legislation in California

It has been customary for decades for presidential candidates to release their tax returns to the public during the campaign. But, as with many other accepted norms, President-elect Donald Trump flouted this tradition, citing the fact that he was being audited. The IRS stated that being under an audit does not prevent anyone from disclosing […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 22, 2016

Obama continues efforts to protect the nation and the land from the incoming Trump administration

President Obama’s time in the White House is rapidly drawing to a close. But while the powers of the presidency still reside with him, he is working hard to forestall at least some of the damage to the nation’s people and land his successor is sure to wreak. Obama has previously announced a series of strong […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 02, 2017

The facts and research you need to arm yourself for the reproductive justice battle ahead

Founded in 1968, the Guttmacher Institute has been a key source of research, information, and explanation on many aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Their stated vision of a “world in which all people are able to exercise their rights and responsibilities regarding sexual behavior and reproduction freely and with dignity,” and their commitment […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 27, 2016

Republicans’ chaotic quest to destroy Obamacare is a disaster in the making

Congressional Republicans have made repealing the Affordable Care Act a pillar of their agenda, fighting against its passage and voting more than 60 times to erase it from the law books. And President-elect Donald Trump put repealing Obamacare front and center in his campaign, stating in his platform, “On day one of the Trump Administration, […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 08, 2017

Senator Kamala Harris’s first act in office is to protect DREAMers from Trump’s deportation forces

In 2012, after years of attempts to get the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act — known as the DREAM Act — through Congress and onto his desk, President Obama announced that his administration would stop deporting certain young undocumented immigrants who met specific criteria, and who would have been protected by the DREAM Act. […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 05, 2017

President Obama reflects on important achievements of the past eight years

It is a new year, and while the country is preparing for its new administration, President Obama took to Twitter to remind us all of what the past eight years under his governance has brought us. As we look ahead to the future, I wanted to take a moment to look back on the remarkable […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 01, 2017

The new Congress is the most diverse in U.S. history, thanks to Democratic women

As the 115th Congress is sworn in, it is important to remember that, while Republicans maintain control over both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they will be joined by twelve new female colleagues who bring a diversity of backgrounds — and a readiness to fight — to the table. Indeed, the Democratic caucus taking […]

By Alison R. Parker - January 04, 2017

Senate Democrats will not be going along quietly under a Trump administration

For any Democrat or liberal voter who may be feeling demoralized and afraid while looking ahead to the new year and the inauguration of Donald Trump, new reporting from Burgess Everett at Politico provides much-needed hope and strength. Senate Democrats, eager to expose the president-elect as a fraud full of broken promises, see the confirmation hearings […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 23, 2016

Obama announces ban on offshore Arctic and Atlantic Seaboard drilling

The New York Times reports that President Obama, in an effort to enshrine new environmental protections before he leaves office next month, has used a little-known act from the 1950s to issue a unilateral ban on certain offshore drilling: Mr. Obama invoked an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 20, 2016

Michelle Obama on the need for resilience and hope

First Lady Michelle Obama has consistently received high approval ratings throughout her husband’s presidency, and, in an interview on CBS with Oprah Winfrey, Obama again radiated the inimitable combination of incisiveness and warmth which has earned her such high regard. The First Lady spoke on a range of topics, from learning what it means to […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 20, 2016

Rep. Jared Huffman introduces One President at a Time Act

Since winning the election, Donald Trump has behaved as though he is already the president, engaging in foolhardy and dangerous foreign policy antics and showing disrespect to still-President Obama while doing so. In an effort to call this out, and to forestall similar behavior from future presidents-elect, California Democratic Representative Jared Huffman recently introduced the […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 30, 2016

Trump offers chilling praise to his “vicious, violent” supporters

At a stop on his “Thank You” tour in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, President-elect Donald Trump brought up the subject of dangerous, hateful behavior among his supporters. They had been, he stated, “vicious” and “violent,” they were “nasty and mean,” and they screamed support for a border wall and for imprisoning Hillary Clinton. But Trump […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 18, 2016

Obama promises action against Russia for interfering in U.S. election

Speaking to NPR, President Obama made it clear that his administration plans to take action against Russia for their unprecedented interference in the U.S. presidential election: In an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep that will air Friday on Morning Edition, Obama said, ‘I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 15, 2016

Trump says he does not need intelligence briefings because he is “a smart person”

It was already clear that President-elect Donald Trump is not overly interested in actually performing the job for which he was elected — and that he is happy to allow his second-in-command, Mike Pence, to take the reins on many major decisions and details. Incredibly, those details include the daily intelligence briefings which all presidents and […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 11, 2016

Trump names billionaire CEO with anti-worker views to head Labor Dept.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Andrew Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, as his Secretary of Labor. Like many of his other staffing decisions, it is hard to imagine a worse candidate for the job. Under his tenure at CKE, Carl’s Jr., one of the company’s brands, put out grossly sexist advertising, and, in his […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 08, 2016

WATCH: California’s incoming AG says he is ready to join the fight against Trump

California is the most populous state in the nation, and the 6th largest economy in the world. It is also often a bellwether and driver of social change nationwide. On her show Wednesday night, Rachel Maddow noted how this “definitely blue” state “has been a real laboratory of progressive social policy for a while, no matter […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 08, 2016

Morning Joe hosts report exclusives on Trump while reportedly advising him

MSNBC’s Morning Joe has generally been a place of friendly, even fawning, coverage for President-elect Donald Trump and his White House transition. Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have repeatedly defended their treatment of Trump in the face of criticism from other media figures, and Scarborough has lashed out angrily at critics, at one point vehemently […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 06, 2016

Rachel Maddow details how Carrier deal reflects the outsize power of Mike Pence

As my colleague Tommy Christopher wrote, President-elect Donald Trump may have made a deal with HVAC manufacturer Carrier to keep some jobs from going to Mexico — but he accomplished this by doing the exact opposite of what he promised as a candidate. And he managed to do it only with the help of his Vice […]

By Alison R. Parker - December 01, 2016

Trump’s latest staffing picks bring the score to Swamp: 10 and Draining the Swamp: 0

Out of 15 cabinet and 4 advisory positions, President-elect Donald Trump has now filled 10 slots. In yet another non-swamp-draining move, Trump is reportedly nominating Steven Mnuchin to be his Treasury Secretary, and nominating Wilbur Ross, the billionaire chairman of W.L. Ross & Co., for Commerce Secretary. Mnuchin, who served as Trump’s campaign finance chairman, […]

By Alison R. Parker - November 29, 2016

House Democrats demand action from GOP on Trump’s conflicts of interest

During the presidential campaign, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, made the bold declaration that he would have the same demands and expectations of disclosure no matter which candidate won the election. But with Donald Trump now the president-elect and every day seemingly bringing a new story about his financial conflicts […]

By Alison R. Parker - November 28, 2016

Alison R. Parker

Editor

Democrats step up to defend transgender students against the Trump administration

Dems hold 80 recess events with voters. All but 18 Republicans hide out.

Donald Trump has dismal approval ratings for an incoming president

Clinton’s inspiring message: “You are the heroes and history-makers, the glass-ceiling-breakers of the future.”

Feinstein grills Sessions on his regressive views on reproductive justice and marriage equality

National Security pick’s spurning of Trump proves Pelosi was right about Bannon

Vets to Trump: “You want to be a legitimate president, sir? Then act like one.”

Nancy Pelosi: “I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump”

MSNBC blatantly advertising Morning Joe’s unethical access to the Trump team

Democrats grill Energy nominee Rick Perry, who once advised eliminating the department

Trump’s refusal to disclose his taxes prompts clever legislation in California

Obama continues efforts to protect the nation and the land from the incoming Trump administration

The facts and research you need to arm yourself for the reproductive justice battle ahead

Republicans’ chaotic quest to destroy Obamacare is a disaster in the making

Senator Kamala Harris’s first act in office is to protect DREAMers from Trump’s deportation forces

President Obama reflects on important achievements of the past eight years

The new Congress is the most diverse in U.S. history, thanks to Democratic women

Senate Democrats will not be going along quietly under a Trump administration

Obama announces ban on offshore Arctic and Atlantic Seaboard drilling

Michelle Obama on the need for resilience and hope

Rep. Jared Huffman introduces One President at a Time Act

Trump offers chilling praise to his “vicious, violent” supporters

Obama promises action against Russia for interfering in U.S. election

Trump says he does not need intelligence briefings because he is “a smart person”

Trump names billionaire CEO with anti-worker views to head Labor Dept.

WATCH: California’s incoming AG says he is ready to join the fight against Trump

Morning Joe hosts report exclusives on Trump while reportedly advising him

Rachel Maddow details how Carrier deal reflects the outsize power of Mike Pence

Trump’s latest staffing picks bring the score to Swamp: 10 and Draining the Swamp: 0

House Democrats demand action from GOP on Trump’s conflicts of interest