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Democrats were trying to get the focus back on the parts of their agenda that could actually get through the lame duck Senate this week--that is, until the latest WikiLeaks documents got out. Now once again, the media's focus has shifted, but that doesn't make the economic situation any less dire.Democratic strategist Karen Finney and Nation contributor and author of Herding Donkeys Ari Berman join Laura to discuss the situation in D.C., the Democratic agenda, and what hope, if any, there is for passing some last bits of legislation before the new Congress sweeps in.

"Wall Street was blackmailing us," says Robert Scheer of the bank bailouts, "And we got nothing in return." It's not news to any viewers of GRITtv that Wall Street's tentacles ran throughout our election, but now that the election is over, we turn again to the running of government.Scheer joined us in the studio recently to discuss his new book, The Great American Stickup, and we asked him to give us some thoughts for after the election as well. Most pressing of all, he asks if either bankers or politicians are capable of thinking in anyone's long-term interests.

"If there was ever a case of voting for something that is going to make the problem worse, this is it," says Thomas Frank of the 2010 midterms. We've gone from voting for Democrats to fix the economy to kicking them out in favor of Republicans calling for more of the policies that created the crisis: deregulation, tax cuts, and nebulously-defined "freedom." With those people in charge of the House, what's going to happen next?Frank joins us in studio to discuss the elections, whether what's wrong with Kansas is wrong with the rest of the country, and if this is the same Wrecking Crew with a new label, heading for more disaster.Was it Obama that caused Democrats' major midterm losses? Racism? The economy? Why was the Democratic base demoralized--failure to take on Wall Street or immigration reform? And which constituencies did come out to vote? These are all questions worth answering the morning after the Republicans take back the House with little more than inchoate rage and promises of "smaller government."Kai Wright and Steve Cobble were both with us for our special live coverage with Free Speech TV, Democracy Now! and more, and they join us in studio for some morning-after analysis--and a warning for 2012: Obama better keep his eyes on his left flank as well.

Provisions of the much-disputed health care bill go into effect today, just as the Republicans unveil their new "Pledge to America," which includes a promise to repeal the law. But as the most popular bits are the ones that go into effect now, and, David Corn notes, health insurance companies aren't getting any more popular. Will allying themselves with the big insurers help Republicans? Or will people realize that they like the regulations just as Republicans try to pull them back?David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine, joins us via Skype to discuss the Pledge, the health care regulations, and suggest some strategy for Democrats for the midterms. "I'm not a feudal, I'm a writer," says Fatima Bhutto, but nevertheless she is best known as the niece of assassinated Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and as a prominent critic of her aunt's regime. Bhutto is a poet and a journalist, and her new memoir from Nation Books, Songs of Blood and Sword, looks into the long history of the Bhutto dynasty, from the origin of the Pakistani state to the floods that have devastated the country this summer--and the U.S. drone strikes that continue to kill daily.Bhutto joins Laura in studio for a special discussion of her book, her family's past, her relationship to Pakistani politics--and to the U.S.Finally, Charles Bowden and Molly Molloy both call the war on drugs a war on the poor. With U.S. politicians obsessed with "border security," Laura has some thoughts on what it all means.