Big Featured Discussions 729 items | updated Jan 26 2012

Mitt Romney isn't the only GOP candidate in the 1 percent. But Newt Gingrich has been emphasizing Romney's elite status and polls have shown that support for Romney increases with income. As Salon notes, although Romney is not the only GOP candidate in the weathly elite, he exudes privilege in a way other candidates don't.

How badly will Romney's elite status hurt him in the race? Will he be able to win over voters in the 99 percent?

President Obama delivered the State of the Union address Tuesday night and he packed as much into the speech as he could. From jobs to taxes to defense to energy, there was something for everyone.

But are there places you wish he had been more specific? Which issues do you think got left out of the speech?

The State of the Union address happens on Tuesday, and Current TV will be airing the speech as part of a special episode of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" beginning at 9/8c, with commentary from Keith Olbermann following Obama's remarks.

The Republican campaign is in full swing already, meanwhile President Obama is facing criticism from Democrats unhappy with his performance in the White House.

What will President Obama need to say to win you over?

In the midst of a public debate over copyright and piracy, the Federal government shut down file sharing site MegaUpload on a number of charges including copyright infringement. Anonymous jumped to the defense of MegaUpload, launching a distributed denial-of-service attack on several sites, including the Department of Justice, the FBI, the MPAA and the RIAA.

In their efforts, Anonymous has turned to new tactics, including tweeting a link that automatically launches a DDoS attack when clicked. Since engaging in such an attack is a crime, this could provide an excuse for hackers who could claim the unsuspectingly clicked a link. But it could also lead to those who don't intend to participate becoming involved.

Do tools like this go too far? Does the fact that some participants may be unwitting take away from the message?

Now that Rick Perry is out of the race and we can all rest easy knowing he won't be president, it's possible to reflect on the entertainment he's offered as he campaigned for the GOP nomination. The Houston Chronicle has rounded up its picks for the top 10 "Oops" moments, but we want to know your favorite.

What was the most memorable gaffe from Rick Perry's campaign?

Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites went dark to protest anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA. Already, three co-sponsors of the bills have withdrawn support.

But what's the best way to measure the effectiveness of the blackout? Was it an effective method of demonstrating opposition to the bills?

SOPA has been shelved indefinitely, but the Senate Protect IP bill is still in play. The Internet has proved to be a powerful force speaking out against SOPA and PIPA. Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites still plan to go dark on Wednesday to protest the proposals, which legislators had tried to push through before the public outcry began.

The current.com community has been tracking updates on SOPA and PIPA. Should the Internet make an effort to keep pressure on Congress in anticipation of future moves like this? With sites like Reddit becoming activist in nature, what other causes could this activism be channeled toward?

Edit: As of Tuesday afternoon, TechCrunch is reporting that SOPA is not, in fact, shelved indefinitely but according to remarks from Rep. Lamar Smith, expected to resume in February.

Tune into "The Young Turks" tonight at 7/6c to hear Reddit general manager Erik Martin talk about SOPA/PIPA. "The Young Turks" re-airs at 10/9c.

The New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane came under fire for his blog post entitled, "Should the Times be a truth vigilante?"

Cenk Uygur questioned the entire premise of the piece, saying the state of journalism is in trouble when the question needs to be asked whether news reporters should be in the business of fact checking claims made people newsmakers.

Brisbane later updated his piece (the update included a rebuttal from NYT executive editor Jill Abramson), saying the question was misunderstood -- then went ahead and essentially reiterated the same question, writing, "My inquiry related to whether The Times, in the text of news columns, should more aggressively rebut “facts” that are offered by newsmakers when those “facts” are in question. I consider this a difficult question, not an obvious one."

What do you think? Do The New York Times' reporters have an obligation to "more aggressively rebut 'facts' that are offered by newsmakers when those facts are in question?"

Should The New York Times call out politicians on blatantly false claims?

Photo: Getty Images

President Obama has called on businesses to bring jobs home for the sake of the economy during an "Insourcing American Jobs" forum:

 

"I'm calling on those businesses that haven't brought jobs back to take this opportunity to get the American people back to work," Obama said in prepared remarks. "That's how we'll rebuild an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded -- and a nation where those values live on."

But outsourcing continues to be attractive to companies that can hire labor more cheaply and offers the ability to shelter profits made overseas from U.S. taxes.

What steps should the U.S. take to get companies to bring jobs back to America and curb outsourcing?

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney rolled to an easy victory, as expected, in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday night. And, as "Epic Politics Man" Michael Shure noted during our "Politically Direct 2012" coverage, Romney holds a large lead in South Carolina, the next primary state, and South Carolina has picked the eventual GOP winner since the primary's inception in 1980.

Is Romney the lock for the GOP nomination? What does this mean for the general election and President Obama's chances for re-election, and how could a third-party candidacy from Ron Paul effect things?

(Photo: Getty Images)

Romney was in the lead at the end of the Iowa Caucuses, but Ron Paul is still in the mix and Jon Huntsman has been generating some buzz in the lead up to the New Hampshire primary.

Who do you think will come out ahead?

Writing for Salon, David Sirota looks at the rise of lying in politics. Though there's more evidence than ever of a candidate's statements -- see the video of Santorum's recent "blah people" remark -- politicians still manage to get away with lies.

What will it take for the media and public to hold public figures accountable for false statements?

Thursday night, Cenk Uygur introduced a new feature on "The Young Turks" called "Media Watch." He took CNN to task for failing to mention the National Defense Authorization Act even once in prime time while it's been debated in Congress, threatened with a veto by President Obama and ultimately signed into law. Cenk also noted NDAA has been mentioned just five times during daytime hours -- on a network that claims to cover news 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Why won't the mainstream media report on significant news, such as NDAA?

President Obama announced that he's making a recess appointment, tapping Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Republicans in the Senate had previously blocked Cordray's appointment, crippling the CFPB, which can't regulate products from non-banks or mortgage originators without a director.

Is this recess appointment a sign that Obama is ready to stand up to an obstructionist Congress?

In the wake of the Iowa Caucus, Michele Bachmann has announced that she is out of the race. With the GOP field heading to New Hampshire for the nation's first primary, who do you think will be the next candidate to bow out?

Tonight will see the results of the Iowa Caucus. Cenk and crew made their predictions last night, but what do you think? What would surprise you from tonight's results?

The end of an old year and the start of the new is  a time to make resolutions for what you want to accomplish. But instead of just making same resolutions about going to the gym or quitting those bad habits, we want to know what you think our politicians in Washington should resolve to do.

What do you suggest as a resolution for Washington in 2012?

We've rounded up our top political stories of 2011, and now it's time to look ahead. Some things are obvious -- the elections will of course be a major news event for the year.

But what other political stories do you think will make headlines in 2012? What issues will we -- or should we -- be talking about?

Looking back on 2011, the Occupy movement went from a small group of protesters in Zuccotti Park to a global movement. Now that the year is drawing to a close, we rounded up some of the most compelling images from the protests.

With a new year coming, what should Occupy focus on?