While at MSNBC, I’ve also had the opportunity to write for both NBCNews.com and MSNBC.com when not producing my shows. Below is a sampling of the work that has been published on both sites.
Rahm Emanuel’s Rival Hopes to Build Landmark Victory with Latino Supporters / NBCnews.com
The people of Chicago will head to the polls and vote in a historic run-off election next week, pitting embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel against a previous unknown who hopes to mobilize a large swathe of Chicago’s Hispanic community.
Mayor Emanuel has some big name support, including President Obama, who has already cast his absentee ballot in his favor of his former chief of staff. But Emanuel’s rival, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, is hoping to ride a wave of voter discontent and changing demographics all the way to the ballot box.
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The Affordable Care Act Faces its Toughest Test Yet / MSNBC.com
The Obamacare fight has gone from Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court and finally now to the truest test of all: Millenials’ social media apps.
Yes, Creepy Uncle Sam is back – and he’s on your cell phone screen. The conservative Generation Opportunity has launched a new campaign on Snapchat, a smartphone application that allows users to send and recieve videos and pictures that will automatically erase after a preset time, featuring their lead Patriot in a social media blitz designed to convince Millennials of the dangers of the Affordable Care Act.
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20 Years After the Brady Bill, Where Do We Stand on Gun Laws? / MSNBC.com
Twenty years ago this week, President Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act in response to the erratic actions of a disturbed young male that would leave President Ronald Reagan and three others, including his Press Secretary James Brady, critically wounded.
The Brady Bill, as it would be known, required federal background checks and established a seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases across the country.
In a move that would seem anthetical to the current Republican Party, President Reaganendorsed the legislation in a 1991 New York Times op-ed titled “Why I’m For the Brady Bill. He wrote: “This nightmare might never have happened if legislation that is before Congress now – the Brady bill – had been law back in 1981.”
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Majority of Americans Support Immigration Reform / MSNBC.com
With Congress on recess for the holiday season and only 8 days left on the Congressional calendar when they return, the House and Senate don’t have much time to get anything done– certainly not a resurfaced hot button issue like immigration.
A new report released by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 63% of Americans support citizenship for the roughly 11.7 million individuals living in the United States illegally. 73% of Democrats, 60% of Republicans, and 57% of Independents support a legislative pathway to citizenship, provided certain requirements are met.
How a legislative fix to the country’s immigration system is passed, however, is currently at issue.
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The FCC Is Considering Allowing Cellphone Calls Inflight / MSNBC.com
The Federal Communications Commission announced that it will soon take up a proposal to lift a 22 year old cellphone ban, and allow passengers to make in-flight phone calls.
The proposal comes less than a month after the Federal Aviation Administration expandedthe use of electronic devices during all flight phases. Where even glancing at your device would cause panic among the plane’s crew, now one could freely use their phone or tablet on “airplane mode.” The ruling may have paved the way for the recent proposal.
The FCC has said that while phone use would remain restricted during takeoff and landings, the proposed rule change would lift the decades’ old ban, allowing phone calls to be made once the plane reached 10,000 feet.
The telecommunications industry has greeted the proposal with opens arms. In astatement Thursday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules.”
Airline attendants and officials don’t agree.
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With One Foot Out the Door, Congress leaves Bills in Limbo / MSNBC.com
With eight weeks and just 15 in-session days left on the 2013 Congressional calendar, it looks as though members of the House and Senate will cap the year off with very little (if any) legislative accomplishments.
Looking into the House congressional calendar, the committee hearings and floor votes regarding President Obama’s admittedly erroneous statement: “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan,” will take up a great deal of time and attention before the end of the year.
Things look rather different in the Senate where the legislative body recently passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and will continue to hold hearings and floor votes on the President’s appointments, including the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s successor, Janet Yellen.
Stripping out ceremonial bills like naming post offices or authorizing commemorative coins, the Pew Research Center says the 113th Congress is on track to be one of the least productive ever. That title is held by the 112th congress which only passed 208 substantive laws during their term.
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Politically, the year is all but over. The polls have closed. City council members, mayors, governors, and state assembly members have been elected, ballot initiatives voted on, and all that’s left are for the votes to be certified. Now the focus turns to the 2014 midterm elections, where Republicans will seek control of the U.S. Senate and Democrats will work diligently to fight off an all-out assault on their slim majority.
Both parties are facing constituents repulsed by the current political landscape. A recentNBC/WSJ poll shows 60% of voters are resolved in firing every member of Congress. The G.O.P.’s job will be to wrestle away six senate seats and gain a majority, while Democrats are pouring in their resources to protect their vulnerable incumbents and remain in control.
Here are five Senate re-elections to keep an eye on…
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Obama Meets with Independent Regulators, Pressing Wall Street Reform / MSNBC.com
President Obama met with the nation’s top financial regulators last week, to urge for rulings associated with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law passed more than three years ago. It was the first time the president convened a sit down with each regulator since 2011.
According to a White House statement, Obama “stressed the need to expeditiously finish implementing the critical remaining portions of Wall Street Reform to ensure we are able to prevent the type of financial harm that lead to the Great Recession from ever happening again.”
Regulatory agencies have been slow to adopt final rulings since financial reform was passed in 2010. Just 38.9% of regulations, required by Dodd-Frank, have been finalized and 60% of deadlines missed, according to a report compiled by law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP.
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NJ Senate Primary May Be Over, But Contentious Mayoral Election Brews / MSNBC.com
With Cory Booker on the cusp of becoming New Jersey’s first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate, the Democratic Party is a step closer to reclaiming a crucial vote in Congress.
On Tuesday, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly chose the Newark mayor as their Democratic standard bearer in what was anticipated to be a low-turnout primary. National attention has been fixed on the special election to fill the vacant seat caused by the death of long-time Sen. Frank Lautenberg, but little on Newark where would-be candidates are lining up to take the Brick City’s helm.
Despite being ravaged by poverty, with the U.S. Census Bureau revealing that over a quarter of Newark’s population lives below the poverty line, the city has been rebranded by Booker’s political stardom as a city on the verge of transformation. Hotels, supermarkets, a booming downtown and hundreds of millions of dollars have kindled the city’s rebirth.
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