Democratic Party

Labor Watch
Creation of the Labor-Progressive Alliance: Defining the Workforce
Aiding Gompers’s shift from Marxist-influenced radicalism to the capital-P Progressive mainstream of the early 20th century was a debate within organized labor that continues to the present day. Should the…
by Michael Watson on July 7, 2023

Labor Watch
Creation of the Labor-Progressive Alliance: Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste
The story of organized labor’s development and rise to prominence from the end of the Civil War through the elections of 1946 is complicated. That the difficult, poorly paid, and…
by Michael Watson on July 7, 2023

Philanthropy
Donors in Hell to Pay
In politics, “[a]long with upscale, educated, hyper-ideological primary voters, the selectorate of each party includes affluent party donors,” according to Michael Lind in his important new book Hell to Pay:…
by Michael E. Hartmann on May 23, 2023

Labor Watch
A Mandate for Labor Error: Statism from the Right
For almost 80 years, the conservative movement and the Republican Party that has served as its imperfect electoral vehicle have sought to advance three goals related to labor relations. But…
by Michael Watson on May 22, 2023

Labor Watch
A Mandate for Labor Error: Big Labor Radicalizes
As conservatives advanced their moderate aims in the post–New Deal era, Big Labor started radicalizing. As workers’ freedom not to join unions thrived under right-to-work laws led to stalled growth…
by Michael Watson on May 22, 2023

Labor Watch
A Mandate for Labor Error: Strange Bedfellows
A Mandate for Labor Error Statism from the Right | Big Labor Radicalizes Strange Bedfellows | Coming to Policy at Last…
by Michael Watson on May 22, 2023

Labor Watch
A Mandate for Labor Error: Coming to Policy at Last
Project 2025 did not fully abandon the policies of the Taft-Hartley consensus. The document rejects the Biden administration–Big Labor approach to expanding union power and membership. But the worst proposal…
by Michael Watson on May 22, 2023

Labor Watch
A Mandate for Labor Error: Conclusion
The Taft-Hartley consensus—making union membership voluntary, subjecting unions to government oversight, and protecting consumers and the economy from labor strife—worked. It apparently worked so well that conservatives forgot why they…
by Michael Watson on May 22, 2023

Labor Watch
Bad Labor Policy Starts with Bad Labor History
While the labor-Democratic alliance is generations old, the depth of that alliance has grown over time. As the old Southern Democrats passed from the scene, the Democratic scrutiny of organized…
by Michael Watson on April 3, 2023

Organization Trends
The Little-Known Lawsuit Lobby
CRC’s Robert Stilson talks about the Lawsuit Lobby on Freedom and Prosperity Radio with Joe Thomas. Trial lawyers play a prominent role in political debates and lobbying, primarily through American…
by Robert Stilson on February 28, 2023