What really happened this year? The news the main stream media failed to print is in DMI’s Year in Review

Sarah Solon

What really happened this year? The news the main stream media failed to print is in DMI’s Year in Review

If you're like me, you've gotten tired of waiting for the media to report the news. When it came to discussing politics and policy in 2006, the major media outlets spent the bulk of their time covering fluff like pundit wars or the racist ramblings of has-been entertainers. Not to mention election coverage that read like a report on a horse race - all who's up and who's down rather than new and needed analysis on the impact the elections have on the average American. What got too little page space this year was the war brewing between those invested in policy and government that break down barriers to the American Dream and those working to skew policy in the favor of powerful corporate interests.

Sure, some serious stories broke through. But there is so much more that everyone really needs to know. That's why the Drum Major Institute wrote a whole report devoted to covering and giving context to the policies that left their mark in 2006.

And without further ado, I present to you The Drum Major Institute's 2006 Year in Review.....

This was the year of Systems Failure. Most Americans were tired of the status quo - on the war, on the economy, on the lapsed ethics of those entrusted to represent our interests. The result: on Election Day, they rebooted, ready to try again.

We'd reached a Breaking Point. And now we're ready for something new.

From the President's broken-record refrain that "the Economy is strong" to an immigration system that simply isn't working, it was clear to many Americans in 2006 that the status quo was shot. But it will take more than an election to dig America out of this hole, and those who look to government to do what we desperately need it to do--raise the minimum wage and make prescription drugs more affordable, for starters--are waiting with baited breath to see if the incoming congressional majority will deliver on the policies it has promised.

Join the Drum Major Institute as we take a look back at:

Executive Summary 2006 in Review On major policies ranging from immigration reform to college loans, government overwhelmingly failed to deliver on what was asked of it in 2006.

The Best of Public Policy in 2006 From a measure aimed at making college more affordable for low-income students to a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act that protects access to the polls for those still in the process of learning English, a summary of the best and brightest policy in 2006.

The Worst of Public Policy in 2006 From an insanely expensive fence-industrial complex along the southern United States border to new welfare rules that make it harder for people receiving public assistance to access the education that will lift them out of poverty, a look at the short-sighted and unjust measures that left their mark in 2006.

The State of the States From a plan in Illinois to expand pre-school programs to a measure in Wisconsin to lower greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs, progressive policy on the state level is stepping up where the federal government has failed. Produced with Progressive States.

The DMI 2006 Injustice Index Skyrocketing CEO pay only makes the sad state of the minimum wage more blatant.

Eye on the Right A hawk's eye view of how the well-funded think tanks on the right have been spending their time in 2006.

DMI Interviews 8 People Advancing Progressive Public Policy in 2006 From a student activist working with union members in Miami to a Senator proposing comprehensive solutions to our immigration problems, DMI talks with 8 people impacting progressive public policy.

Hot List: The 2006 Required Reading List for Progressives The must-read policy reports, books and articles everyone should know about.

The Year in the Netroots If 2005 was the Year of the Blog, then 2006 was the Year of the Netroots, in which organizing tactics and new media allowed the blogosphere to continue impacting politics, policy, and public opinion. (Ya know, I think you all may have some expert opinions to give on this part, so please comment away here on the blog about this section - and about any other, of course.)

Voices of 2006 The good, the bad, and the memorable quotes from 2006.

For a briefing on the policy behind this year's horserace politics, click here to read DMI's 2006 Year in Review.