Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Steve Clemons in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | 'Democrats Shore Up National Security Stance'

Communications — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:50:00 -0400

New America in the News:

On a night when the convention’s stated theme was “securing America’s future,” speakers portrayed McCain as an unreconstructed hawk and Bush enabler, an outdated thinker who supported a war that distracted America from fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan, empowered a hostile Iran and left the United States weaker instead of safer...

...The night also was a nod to what one foreign policy analyst, Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation, called “Pentagon-hugging” -- an effort to display a pro-military, pro-veteran Democratic Party. Veterans who spoke Wednesday accused the Bush administration of abandoning veterans after the fighting and touted Obama’s record on veterans aid. LINK

Len Nichols in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | 'Health Care Gains Status as Election Issue'

Communications — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:16:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...[T]he economic slowdown means that more people who now are middle class could find themselves uninsured. It also means that more people are worried that they could lose jobs and their health insurance.

“It is a deep and growing -- and you could say even gnawing -- fear among the middle class,” said Len Nichols, director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a public policy institute. LINK

Steve Clemons in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Obama Trip Abroad Shows How Election’s Being 'Internationalized'

Communications — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:24:00 -0400

New America in the News:

"One of the reasons why the international stage is so important (in this campaign) is there's a sense of real doubt in the rest of the world about America," said Steve Clemons, a foreign policy blogger who writes "The Washington Note" and a policy analyst with the New America Foundation, a D.C. think tank.

Despite their differences over Iraq, Clemons said, both Obama and McCain want to prove to U.S. voters that they would represent a break with Bush style and doctrine and "restore America's prestige and credibility in the world."

One way to do that is to show voters at home that they have credibility abroad.

"I see this dynamic . . . where they're almost trying to reach those foreign audiences. I think that's something new," Clemons said. "You've got to sell the international audience to make yourself look credible."

That political need, along with the globalizing effects of the Web, has created a more visible role for foreign opinion, foreign leaders and foreign media in the U.S. election.

Public opinion has clearly favored Obama abroad, polls show, bolstering his argument that he could help change America's image overseas.

Elite opinion abroad is harder to measure and appears more mixed in many countries.

"When I was in China the last two weeks, my general sense was they want McCain's economic policy and Obama's foreign policy," said Clemons, alluding to McCain's staunch support for global trade agreements, which puts him closer to many foreign governments than Obama is on that issue... LINK

American Strategy Program event with Sen. Feingold in JS Online | 'Feingold: the U.S. Has No Coherent Plan to Fight Terrorism'

Communications — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:10:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Nearly seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has not yet come up with a "coherent plan of action" to fight terrorism, Sen. Russ Feingold said Monday during a speech at the New America Foundation.

"Instead, we remain mired in and distracted politically and financially by Iraq," Feingold told the audience. "As a consequence, many of the same serious problems that made us vulnerable to al Qaeda’s attack -- in strategic planning, institutional readiness and allocation of resources -- still remain."...

Feingold addressed the Washington think tank as the Senate is set to vote on a measure this week that would allow the federal government to tap telephone calls and e-mails between the United States and foreign countries. The bill also would allow federal courts to waive existing lawsuits against third parties that assisted President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program....LINK

Further information and the New America Foundation event video: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/confronting_foreign_intelligence_and_information_gaps

Len Nichols in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Deaths Blamed on Insurance Gap

Jerry Irvine — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:41:00 -0400

New America in the News:

250 State Deaths Yearly Blamed on Insurance Gap

Nearly five people die each week in Wisconsin because they don't have health insurance, according to an estimate released Tuesday by a national group that supports universal coverage.

That figure - roughly 250 people a year - is based on an update of an estimate released in 2002 by the Institute of Medicine, an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences.

...

Len Nichols, a health care economist at the New America Foundation, described the Institute of Medicine estimate as a "statistical guess" at a conference on insurance coverage in December.

But Nichols also said, "I don't think there's anybody who actually treats the uninsured in real life who would argue with the fact that people in our country are dying because they don't have access to health care."

Len Nichols in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | 'Candidates Get Specific on Health Care'

Communications — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:30:00 -0500

New America in the News:

The leading presidential candidates' proposals on health care reform are more detailed - and perhaps more realistic - than those of past elections.

That could bode well for the chances of significant reform in the next four years.

"Both sides of the aisle give me hope that we are going to have an adult conversation," said Len Nichols, a health care economist at the New America Foundation, a research group that focuses on bipartisan approaches to public policy issues.

In the Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois have vowed to make reform a priority, with the stated goal of providing coverage for everyone.

For his part, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican front-runner, has put forth a detailed proposal that could make health insurance more affordable for a large number of the uninsured.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also has outlined how he would reform the health care system - though in far less detail than the other candidates.

All but the most partisan economists would acknowledge that there are good ideas on both sides. "Every single candidate for president, both sides of the aisle, has talked about how to make health insurance more affordable and accessible for all Americans," Nichols said. "There is a common recognition that we have to do something." ...

Huckabee and McCain would allow people to deduct the cost from their taxes, giving them the same tax break now available to people who get insurance from their employer. ...

The two candidates also support subsidies, in the form of tax credits, to help people with low incomes buy health insurance. Huckabee hasn't provided specifics on the size of the subsidies. McCain backs tax credits worth $2,500 for an individual and $5,000 for a family.

"It's the most serious proposal on the Republican side in a presidential election in quite some time, clearly as far back as I go," Nichols said.

Terry Tamminen in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Green Initatives

Communications — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:02:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Energy experts with Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. are busy crafting their first proposal aimed at winning a piece of an ambitious $5 billion plan to reduce global warming by retrofitting energy-wasting buildings in 16 of the world's largest cities.

Step one: Houston, one of the country's most polluted cities, where more than 270 buildings could see upgrades.

Meeting in Milwaukee last week, managers and experts from Johnson Controls offices around the country scoured slides of aging boilers and control systems in buildings they had toured in Houston, including fire stations, libraries and the downtown convention center, where the city once housed 5,000 people who fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Johnson Controls plans to show how energy use in the buildings can be cut 30% to 50%....

"The message to businesses about global warming is 'Jump in, the water's fine.' This is not something anyone has to be afraid of," said Terry Tamminen, former climate adviser to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "When it comes to global warming, what we're asking people to do is to put money in their pockets - to pick $100 bills up off the ground."

Energy efficiency and renewable energy are creating jobs for entrepreneurs who have left other work to become home energy-efficiency consultants and solar panel installers...

Terry Tamminen is Director of New America's Climate Policy Program. For the complete article, please visit JSonline.com.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Quotes Len Nichols on Universal Coverage

Communications — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:43:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Growing sentiment that the nation's health care system is broken beyond repair is moving the once radical idea of universal health coverage closer to the political mainstream...

Few would argue with the goal. More than a few would question whether it's realistic...

The three proposals - the Wisconsin Health Security Act, the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan and the Wisconsin Health Plan - have each been introduced at least once in previous legislative sessions.

Their supporters now are working to come up with one bill that would stand a chance of being passed by the state Senate this year. They don't expect it to become law. But Newby said that getting a bill for universal coverage passed by even one house of the Legislature would be historic...

Many economists, however, contend that providing health care to the uninsured will cost money, at least initially.

"From the economist's perspective, we are taught from a very early age that there ain't any free lunch," said Len Nichols, director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a policy research organization that focuses on bipartisan solutions.

With the right reform, the country or a state could provide health care coverage for the uninsured for the same amount of money now spent on health care, Nichols said. But he questions whether it can be done from the start.

"It is going to take time to get those savings out of the system," he said...

For the complete article, please visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.

Steven Clemons on Democrats and Iraq in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Communications — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:29:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Washington - Vying for support in an anti-war party, the Democratic presidential candidates are with each passing week embracing new and tougher measures to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, adopting ideas they once shunned.

In June, Barack Obama voted against a deadline for withdrawal, saying an "arbitrary" date could make things worse, "plunging Iraq into an even deeper and, perhaps, irreparable crisis."

But a few weeks ago, the Illinois senator proposed a withdrawal date (March 2008), saying, "Too many lives have been lost, and too many billions have been spent."

Hillary Rodham Clinton, a longtime critic of timetables, now says troop reductions should start within 90 days.

John Edwards suggested this month that Congress should reduce funding for the war to force the administration to start withdrawing troops.

And Delaware Sen. Joe Biden is crafting a bill that would reportedly revoke the 2002 authorization for force in Iraq in favor of a narrower military mission and withdrawal of combat forces by early next year...

Steve Clemons of the non-partisan [New America Foundation] said it was noteworthy that, while Democratic candidates are churning out a variety of sometimes novel ideas for reshaping U.S. policy, most of them are still shying away from "get out now."

"It's an interesting thing that they're not going all the way," said Clemons, who also writes The Washington Note blog. "They all have a bit of a chip on their shoulder that Americans don't think Democrats can be trusted to manage their security, and all of them are running scared on that..."

For the complete article, please visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.

Len Nichols on States and Health Care in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Communications — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 16:36:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, one of the most liberal members of Congress, and Rep. Tom Price, one of the most conservative, seldom agree on political issues.... But the two agree on one thing: Significant health care reform stands little chance of getting through Congress.

That political reality is unlikely to change with the recent election. And it has made Baldwin and Price improbable allies.

The two are backing an approach designed to get around Washington's deadlock on health care reform. They are part of a group of lawmakers and policy analysts -- one that includes Democratic U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin -- that would use states as laboratories to test different approaches for expanding insurance coverage, improving quality and controlling costs...

Len Nichols, director of the health policy program at the New America Foundation, a policy research organization that focused on bipartisan solutions, agreed that states will need an incentive.

"You've got to have federal resources," Nichols said. "But you've got to have state ingenuity. And that's what this proposal calls for..."

For the complete article, please visit The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.