The beauty of our democracy lies in the American value of equality: if you vote, you have a seat at the table. If you speak, you have a chance to persuade others. A billionaire and a minimum wage earner have the same power at the ballot box.

Tax what you burn not what you earn.

After President Obama's election, efforts at othering Obama quickly became about smearing his non-partisan allies and ambassadors.

We should go forward in courts and Congress with investigations into post-9/11 interrogations and the decisions leading to them.

The last time I saw Ted Kennedy was a generation after my first meeting, at the Senate subway below the Capitol on Obama's Inauguration Day. He was his usual gregarious and gracious self - with beaming smile and booming voice wishing my husband and me good luck with our pregnancy and expressing his excitement about the new president.

When we talk about feminism - equality without apology for ALL - we can't be talking about for all white women or all highly educated women but all women, regardless of color, class, creed, sexual orientation or identity.

When women vote, Progressives can win. When women organize and bring some common sense to the conversation, it becomes more authentic.