The Commentariat -- August 30, 2014

Internal links, photo & related text removed.

Erik Eckholm & Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Austin, Tex., blocked a stringent new rule on Friday that would have forced more than half of the state's remaining abortion clinics to close, the latest in a string of court decisions that have at least temporarily kept abortion clinics across the South from being shuttered. The Texas rule, requiring all abortion clinics to meet the building, equipment and staffing standards of hospital-style surgery centers, had been set to take effect on Monday. But in his opinion, Judge Lee Yeakel of the United States District Court in Austin said that the mandate placed unjustified obstacles on women's access to abortion without providing significant medical benefits.... Texas officials immediately vowed to appeal the decision, while abortion-rights advocates were elated." The AG is Greg Abbott, the GOP gubernatorial nominee. Yeakel is a George W. Bush appointee.

Carol Anderson, in a Washington Post op-ed, argues that unrest is Ferguson was really the result of "white rage," not "black rage." ...

... CW: I'd quibble with Anderson's terminology, except as it applies to police overreaction, but her overall point is well-taken. As she demonstrates, most of what she calls white rage is contained, redirected at blacks in socially-acceptable formats. Once in awhile, of course, politicians slip up, as with Rick Santorum's blah-people half-gaffe, but usually they manage to contain their repressive agendas within race-neutral frames. And I do think for many conservatives, these policies are race-neutral. But not class-neutral. Their goal is to maintain the status-quo, to perpetuate an aristocracy in which they & their progeny, of course, remain on top. That certain ethnic groups will be forever overrepresented in the underclass is a by-product of their class-perpetuating objective, not a principal purpose.

Dana Milbank proves his Very-Serious-People creds by going full-on deficit hawk. Apparently, it is unpossible for Milbank to imagine that a future Congress would raise taxes & Social Security contributions & close corporate tax loopholes. He is right, of course, to suppose that any Congress controlled by Republicans would not act to responsibly pass legislation to improve the economy & thus reduce the deficit (& need for government borrowing) during good times. The long-term projections do look grim under current law, which is of course the basis for the CBO projections.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Alice Ollstein of Think Progress: "Just a few hours after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) went public with accounts of sexual harassment from her fellow lawmakers, a cadre of mostly male reporters took to the airwaves and Internet to question her credibility. Politico's senior congressional reporter, John Bresnahan, posted 'I challenge this story. I don't believe it' on Twitter in response to Gillibrand's interview. Bresnehan later deleted the tweet and called it 'moronic.'" ...

... CW: Really, Bresnahan? I'd like to see your reporting on that. See, when an actual journalist calls a public official a liar, he does so when he has produced some, um, evidence for his charge. Who's your source? Harry Reid? David Vitter? Oh well, Bresnahan, you're as good a reporter as that person who trolled Reality Chex the other day. Congratulations. You moron. ...

... Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: GOP operatives Frank Luntz & Rick Wilson tweet that Gillibrand has not named her accusers because ... obviously they're Democrats. ...

... Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "... to anyone who has spent more than a few minutes on Capitol Hill, none of [Gillibrand's encounters] should seem surprising." CW: I guess that means Bresnahan, Politico's senior congressional reporter, just phones in his work. Probably does all of his reporting off of C-SPAN. I'd suggest the Politico editors pop for a Metro card for Bresnahan, so he can get over to the Capitol from time to time & actually see the ole boys in action.

Amy Chozick of the New York Times: "Less than three years after she embarked on a new and lucrative career as an NBC News special correspondent, Chelsea Clinton said on Friday that she would leave that position. In a letter posted on her Facebook page, Ms. Clinton said she had decided to depart NBC News to focus on philanthropic work at the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. She and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, are also expecting their first child this fall."

Beyond the Beltway

Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "Lawyers on both sides [in the Bob & Maureen McDonnell corruption trial] Friday made their closing arguments in a case that has generated soap-opera buzz since the former first couple of Virginia pinned their defense largely on a brutal self-dissection of their own failed relationship."

Tom Wilemon of the Tennessean: "In a move that could mean health coverage for thousands of Tennesseans, Gov. Bill Haslam [R] said Thursday that the state may soon submit a proposal to Washington to expand Tennessee's Medicaid program but did not release any new details on how it might work. This would be the first time for the governor to actually submit a plan. If approved by federal officials and the state legislature, the plan would help Tennesseans caught in the coverage gap of the Affordable Care Act, which has left 162,000 Tennesseans without health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation."

Stephanie Nebehay of Reuters: "The U.N. racism watchdog urged the United States on Friday to halt the excessive use of force by police after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman touched off riots in Ferguson, Missouri. Minorities, particularly African Americans, are victims of disparities, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said after examining the U.S. record." CW: Another fine example of why the right considers the U.N. an enemy.

Joel Currier of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Two police officers are no longer working at their departments due to their actions during the protests in Ferguson. A Glendale police officer suspended last Friday after commenting on Facebook that he thought Ferguson protesters should be 'put down like rabid dogs,' has been fired, officials say. Meanwhile, a St. Ann police lieutenant resigned Thursday after he pointed an assault rifle at protesters and cursed at them, officials said. Lt. Ray Albers had worked for the department for 20 years. Glendale Officer Matthew Pappert, suspended with pay last week, was fired Thursday after an internal investigation wrapped up Wednesday...."

Joaquin Palomino of the AP: "The California State Senate gave final legislative approval on Thursday to a bill that would require certain replica guns to be painted bright colors or made transparent to prevent police from confusing toy guns for real weapons. The bill, which passed the Democratic-led chamber by 22-12, was introduced by Democratic state Senator Kevin De Leon after Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies fatally shot 13-year-old Andy Lopez Cruz in October after mistaking an imitation pellet rifle for the real thing.... The bill narrowly passed the Democratic-controlled State Assembly earlier this week. A bloc of Republicans and Democrats opposed it, saying toy guns were already painted bright colors, and that the law would make it easier for criminals to conceal weapons by painting them." ...

... CW: The bill covers "toy, imitation or 'copycat' guns & "all BB, pellet and airsoft guns."

Senate Races

Hmmm. Elizabeth Titus of Politico: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign manager, Jesse Benton, announced his resignation late Friday, citing potential distractions over renewed attention to a scandal from the Iowa 2012 caucuses. A longtime associate of Ron Paul and his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Benton was the surprise choice to run the McConnell campaign in Sept. 2012 -- even before the current election cycle began. Benton's departure comes days after a former Iowa GOP state lawmaker pleaded guilty to charges of accepting money to change his endorsement in 2012 from Michele Bachmann to Ron Paul. Benton was the chairman of Paul's 2012 campaign and has been mentioned in documents surrounding the case. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case.... A source familiar with the situation said the Paul case has been all over the local press and McConnell officials were concerned it could become a serious distraction during the final months of the campaign." ...

... Sam Youngman of the Lexington Herald-Leader: "Benton's name has surfaced in connection to a bribery scandal dating to his time as former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's political director during the 2012 presidential election. On Wednesday, former Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson pleaded guilty to accepting $73,000 from Paul's campaign in exchange for his endorsement and to obstruction of justice for lying about his involvement. Sorenson's guilty plea included two sealed documents, which could threaten to involve Benton." ...

... Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "A top [Ron] Paul campaign official, Dimitri Kesari, was involved in efforts to pay Sorenson for his support, according a state independent counsel investigation. Benton, who is married to Paul's granddaughter, served as chairman of the campaign. It is unclear if he knew about payments made to Sorenson, but emails published last year indicate he was involved in efforts to get him to defect from the Bachmann campaign."

Katie Glueck of Politico: "A Mississippi judge on Friday dismissed state Sen. Chris McDaniel's challenge of longtime Sen. Thad Cochran's June Republican primary runoff victory." ...

... Goeff Pender of the Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger: "Judge Hollis McGehee ... agreed with Cochran's lawyers that a 1959 state Supreme Court ruling imposed a 20-day deadline for McDaniel to file a challenge, first with the state Republican Party. McDaniel didn't file his challenge of the June 24 GOP runoff until 41 days after the election."

Presidential Race

"This Is Mighty White of You." Charles Pierce: "Hillary Clinton finally about recent events in Ferguson, Missouri. What she said appears to have been written by nine consultants, eight people from marketing, seven lawyers, six ESL valedictorians, and Mark Penn. She feels very bad about the stuff that happened, as stuff sometimes will happen, because it is stuff, and it happens. Or something." After this fair summary, Pierce reproduces the full text (or what I hope is the full text), with commentary. CW: To those who complain President Obama is "too deliberative," wait for President Hillary. And wait. And wait.

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Since Monday, more than 200 Ukrainian volunteer soldiers have been trapped in the southeastern town of Ilyovaisk, surrounded by separatists they say have been freshly supplied with troops and high-tech weapons from Russia. Food and ammunition have dwindled, and the death toll is mounting.... Russian President Vladimir Putin focused international attention on the trapped soldiers Friday by calling in a statement for a protected route to allow them to retreat, even as evidence mounted of a broad incursion into Ukraine by Russian troops and military vehicles." ...

... Guardian: "... Vladimir Putin, has hit back at accusations that he has effectively invaded Ukraine, accusing Kiev's forces of behaving like Nazis in the conflict in the east and ominously threatening to take his standoff with the west into the disputed Arctic."

Guardian: "America's newest war in Iraq has cost over half a billion dollars so far, according to Pentagon estimates, all before President Barack Obama decides upon a strategy against Islamic State (Isis) militants. Rear Adm John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on Friday that daily military operations in Iraq since 16 June, when the White House informed Congress it had ordered up to 275 US troops to bolster embassy security in Baghdad, have cost on average $7.5m."

New York Times: "An experimental drug has shown a striking efficacy in prolonging the lives of people with heart failure and could replace what has been the bedrock treatment for more than 20 years, researchers said Saturday. The drug, which is being developed by the Swiss company Novartis, reduced both the risk of dying from cardiovascular causes and the risk of being hospitalized for worsening heart failure by about 20 percent in a large clinical trial."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Well, well. So Jowly Boy, Mitch McConnell's campaign to be re-elected as chief ball-licker of the Koch brothers may have hit an ice patch. Too bad, Mitchy.

Of course, you know that Jowly Boy and his entire team will throw their hands up in stunned disbelief (boy, those Republicans sure know how to play-act. No wonder they love Reagan) at the fact that the teabagger sachem he chose to run his campaign has had to resign under a cloud of acid rain falling down from his disreputable past.

Let's see if we can answer the following questions. First, does anyone think that Ron Paul hired Jesse Benton because he was a decent, by the book guy? Okay, never mind that. There's no way $73,000 leaves the Paul campaign coffers without Libertarian Ron knowing about it, or at the very least, suspecting that something was rotten in Iowa.

Second, does anyone think that a lifelong nest-feathering, ass-covering, slime-bag politico like Mitch McConnell would hire someone he didn't think could reproduce the same kind of maneuver Benton pulled off by getting a local pol to flip allegiance at a vital juncture of an election? Of course not. Besides, he needed Benton to assuage the teabagging droolers and convince them that he was as committed a brain damaged wingnut as they were.

So when you hear this bullshit about Benton resigning so as not to cause a "distraction" you know that what that means is "resigning so as not to let voters know that the candidate has sold his nuts (his soul, if it exists, is long gone) to a couple of anti-American pig fuckers".

Will the loss of one of the more reprehensible slithering snakes in the Republican snake hole matter to Jowly Boy?

Probably not. Fox will make sure it all looks like another Liberal Lynching, à la Rick (Bribes 'R Us) Perry.

[MAG]

Read this somewhere: "He (Jesse Benton) is married to Ron Paul's granddaughter." Life in politics is all about connections, and, oh yeah, conniving. He's got nowhere to fall, but up. Huh?

Wonder what interesting things he did for McConnell's campaign that we haven't heard about. Yet!

[James Singer]

My kinda news: Border control agents shooting at self-appointed border-guarder persons.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/1780/article/p2p-81225898/