Wednesday
Nov072012
The Commentariat -- Nov. 8, 2012
Jonathan Weisman & Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "The House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, striking a conciliatory tone..., said on Wednesday that he was ready to accept a budget deal that raises federal revenue as long as it is linked to an overhaul of entitlements and a reform of the tax code that closes loopholes, curtails or eliminates deductions and lowers income tax rates. Mr. Boehner's gesture was the most explicit offer he has made to avert the 'fiscal cliff' in January, when billions of dollars in tax increases and automatic spending cuts go into force. And it came hours after Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, offered his own olive branch, saying 'it's better to dance than to fight.'" ...
... CW: oh, for Pete's sake. Boehner isn't making a "conciliatory" move; they're positioning ploys. Boehner knows perfectly well the impending automatic expiration of the Bush tax cuts & the so-called "sequester" have him at a great disadvantage. This report by Wyatt Andrews of CBS News is more realistic:
... Gail Collins gets it right, and hilariously so: "by the end, it sounded as if the only cliff-avoidance Boehner was really interested in was one that raised new revenue through 'fewer loopholes, and lower rates for all.' We have already seen that plan. It was proposed by a man who, on Tuesday, lost the state in which he was born, the state in which he was governor, and the three states in which he owns houses.... The only candidate for president who lost his home state by a larger margin than Mitt Romney was John Frémont in 1856. And Frémont was coming out of a campaign in which the opposition accused him of being a cannibal." ...
... David Dayen: Democrats should sit tight & do nothing about the "fiscal cliff" this year but wait instead for the new, more liberal Congress to be seated. ...
... Bill Keller isn't as smart as Dayen, and he doesn't favor progressive fiscal policy, but he does see reason to hope the status quo -- which is what Americans voted for -- can still lead to change, especially if Obama has learned to schmooze and play hardball. ...
... New York Times Editors: "A newly energized Obama administration and Senate could have the effect of isolating the supply-side dead-enders in the House. John Boehner ... announced Wednesday that nothing had changed; he and his caucus still oppose higher tax rates for the rich and still want to pursue Mr. Romney's defeated goal of raising revenue by lowering rates and cutting unspecified loopholes.... The president's victory was decisive.... He now needs to use the power that voters have given to him to enhance and broaden his agenda."
Jon Chait of New York: "The [Republican] gamble was that by denying Obama any support, they would render his presidency wholly partisan at best, and a dysfunctional failure at worst. They would increase their own chances of denying him a second term, and that their return to power would allow them to claim a full and absolute break with the past. They shoved all their chips onto tonight's election. When the networks called it at 11:15 p.m., the totality of the right's failure was clear."
Adam Serwer of Mother Jones: "To the extent that we are looking at a new Democratic governing majority, Obama didn't build that -- not by himself. He had a great deal of help from Republicans whose refusal to acknowledge a changing American electorate narrowed their political coalition. Because Republican intolerance played such a decisive role in the electorate that emerged Tuesday, it's hard to draw a broad conclusion about a long-term ideological shift in the United States, or to see Obama's coalition as a lasting one."
Jon Chait: "... the moderate wing [of the Republican party] won the nomination without winning an argument. Romney won essentially by default, and to the extent his pitiful opposition mounted any challenge, Romney positioned himself to their right. The moderates' best chance would have been to give the right wing the full run of the place for the cycle."
"The Defeat of the One Percent." Dana Milbank: "On election night in 2000, George W. Bush hosted an outdoor rally for thousands in Austin. In 2008, Barack Obama addressed a mass of humanity in Chicago's Grant Park. Then there was Romney's [election-night] fete -- for which reporters were charged $1,000 a seat. The very location set the candidate and his well-heeled supporters apart from the masses: The gleaming [Boston] convention center, built with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, is on a peninsula in the Boston harbor that was turned into an election-night fortress, with helicopters overhead, metal barricades and authorities searching vehicles." ...
... Nicholas Confessore & Jess Bidgood catch some of these same fatcats at the private air terminal of Boston's Logan Airport. "... on Wednesday, at least, the nation's megadonors returned home with lighter wallets and few victories." ...
... This report by Philip Rucker of the Washington Post on Willard's Wednesday was informative. Not surprisingly, those rich guys were pissed. Also, Romney told them he felt he would win. ...
... In fact, here are screenshots of his transition Website, now defunct. ...
... Julie Bykowicz & Alison Fitsgerald of Bloomberg News: "Rove, through his two political groups, American Crossroads and Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, backed ... Mitt Romney with $127 million on more than 82,000 television spots.... Ten of the 12 Senate candidates and four of the nine House candidates they supported also lost their races.... The Election Day results showed Rove's strategy of bringing in huge donations from a few wealthy benefactors and spending that money almost completely on television advertising failed."
... CW: for anyone feeling really, really sorry for Sheldon Adelson & the Koch boys, et al., let me assure you that the Republican leadership in Washington & in the states will do their very best to give the biggest losers some very nice consolation prizes. ...
... John Judis of The New Republic: Democrats may have the majority of the electorate on their side, but Republicans have by far the better influence-peddling constituency.
This Pew Research report on the demographic makeup of the electorate is fascinating. For instance, "Fully 89% of Romney's [voters] were white non-Hispanics, compared with just 56% of Obama's supporters. Romney managed to better McCain's showing among whites by four percentage points -- and still lost the election."
** Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times report on some of the deliberations & concerns that went on inside each presidential campaign.
Peter Beinart of Newsweek: "Four years ago, it looked possible that Barack Obama's election heralded a new era of Democratic dominance. Now it looks almost certain. In the early 20th century, the face of America changed, and only one party changed with it. In the early 21st century, that story has played itself out again. From the beginning, Obama has said he wants to be a transformational figure, a president who reshapes American politics for decades, another Reagan or FDR. He may just have achieved that Tuesday night." ...
... CW: one thing that is glaringly obvious -- Democrats need to get their "occasional voters" to come out for midterm elections. As long as Romney's 89-percenters are deciding midterm elections, Republicans will win. If you remember, Obama did almost no campaigning for Congressional candidates in 2010. Let's see if he does a better job in 2014.
How "the Rape Thing" Might Reform the Filibuster. Steve Benen: "It may seem hyperbolic, but the truth is, we'll have a more Democratic Senate because the GOP's far-right base elected unhinged and unelectable conservatives who said ridiculous things about rape." Sen. Claire McCaskill, "The year's most vulnerable Democratic incumbent, ended up winning by 16 points." With a more liberal Senate, "the likelihood of filibuster reform is real, and with Democrats expanding their majority, the party has a new motivation to help repair the dysfunctional chamber."
David Firestone of the New York Times fantasizes about how a more liberal Senate might actually lead to more liberal legislation that could be forced down the throats of the GOP House. CW: the only way to do this is to sell every single "big idea" to the public first. Teabagging Reps have to fear for their jobs before they'll reluctantly do the people's will.
Dan Friedman of the National Journal: "Maine Senate electee, Angus King, an independent former governor, looks likely to announce within weeks that he will caucus will Senate Democrats.... At a news conference Wednesday in Maine, King said he may make a decision on caucusing by the end of next week.... Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in his own news conference Wednesday, said he had 'several conversations in the last 24 hours' with King. Reid said he expected King would reach a decision soon."
Jay Weaver & David Ovalle of the Miami Herald: "... Miami-Dade County's ... beleaguered elections supervisor told reporters Wednesday night that her employees, still processing thousands of absentee ballots, won't finish until Thursday.... With the presidential race settled -- but Florida still too close to call -- Miami-Dade's lack of final results have left a much-mocked blank spot on the long-decided electoral map.... Obama won't lose the lead in Miami-Dade, where his campaign had a massive grass-roots operation. But how the final batch of ballots affects the overall number in Florida remains to be seen -- Obama leads by just over 46,000, according to the state election department's most recent numbers. The race could still be close enough to trigger a recount in Florida, unless it is waived by Romney...." ...
... Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times: "... in the end Obama probably will again win Florida, though his slim 237,000-vote margin in 2008 will be even slimmer, around 50,000 votes."
... Jon Stewart comments on, among other things, Florida's voter suppression campaign:
Separate but Equal, Still Legal. Benjy Sarlin of TPM: "A Hart Research study sponsored by the AFL-CIO found wait times were disproportionately longer for Democrats and Democratic-leaning demographics by huge margins in 2012. For example, 16 percent of Obama voters reporter lines longer than 30 minutes, versus just 9 percent of Romney voters.... An MIT survey of 10,000 voters in 2008 found that waits for African Americans were more than twice as long as those for white voters for both early and election day voting." CW: "Same difference," as we say in the South for Hispanics:
Paul Krugman: the attacks on pollsters by the outraged right only makes some kind of psychological sense if you consider that "the modern right-wing psyche ... is obsessed -- more than anything else -- with power.... They can't separate the two: they perceive anyone suggesting that maybe they aren't going to smash their opponents as a threat." ...
... ** Jon Stewart comments:
A Bad Day for Benjy. Jodi Rudoran of the New York Times: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "facing his own re-election fight on Jan. 22, did not directly acknowledge any missteps, but he rushed to repair the relationship [with President Obama]. He called the American ambassador to his office for a ceremonial hug. He issued a damage-control statement declaring the bond between the two nations 'rock solid.' He put out word to leaders of his Likud Party whose congratulatory messages had included criticism of Mr. Obama that they should stop."
@P. D. Pepe: because I can't see the difference between Charlie Rose & this:
News Ledes
New York Times: "Iranian warplanes fired at an unmanned American military surveillance drone in international airspace over the Persian Gulf last week, Pentagon officials disclosed Thursday, saying that while the aircraft was not hit, Washington made a strong protest to Tehran. The shooting, which the Pentagon said occurred Nov. 1 ... was the first known instance of Iranian warplanes firing on an American surveillance drone. George Little, the top Pentagon spokesman, attributed the weeklong silence on the incident to restrictions on discussing classified surveillance missions. But it doubtless will raise questions about whether that silence had been meant to forestall an international controversy before the election."
New York Times: "With gas lines in New York City still stubbornly long and no relief for gas shortages in sight, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg imposed an odd-even gas rationing rule Thursday that goes into effect at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Identical rules are going into effect in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island at 5 a.m. tomorrow."
ABC News: "Bradley Manning, the Army soldier accused of leaking more than a half million confidential U.S. documents to whistleblower website WikiLeaks, has offered to plead guilty to some charges during his ongoing pre-trial hearing. Pfc. Manning's civilian defense attorney, David Coombs, presented the plea in the preliminary hearing on Wednesday in Fort Meade, Md. No public copy of the plea offer is available yet."
AP: "The nor'easter that interrupted recovery efforts from Superstorm Sandy pulled away from New York and New Jersey Thursday morning, leaving a blanket of thick, wet snow that snapped storm-weakened trees and downed power lines. Households from Brooklyn to storm-battered sections of the Jersey shore and Connecticut that had waited for days without power because of Sandy were plunged back into darkness in temperatures near freezing."
AP: Jared Lee Loughner, "the man who pleaded guilty in the Arizona shooting rampage, will be sentenced Thursday for the attack that left six people dead and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others." ...
... Arizona Republic Update: "U.S. District Judge Larry Burns on Thursday sentenced Tucson shooter Jared Loughner to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years, calling the sentence 'astronomical' and 'justified' because Loughner 'knew what he was doing' when he killed six and wounded 13 at a congressional event sponsored by then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. 'The facts show he traveled there with the purpose of shooting Ms. Giffords,' Burns said. Burns imposed the sentence after a long and dramatic hearing that included testimony from Loughner's victims." New York Times story here.
New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the man behind 'Innocence of Muslims,' the anti-Islam YouTube video that ignited bloody protests in the Muslim world, to one year in prison for violating parole."
New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo< has dismissed [Steven Kuhr,] his chief of emergency management, after learning that he deployed government workers to clear a tree at his Long Island home during Hurricane Sandy."
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Reader Comments (30)
Yes, Boehner is posturing. McConnell was posturing even more when he wrote/said: "To the extent he [Obama] wants to move to the political center, which is where the work gets done in a divided government, we’ll be there to meet him half way. " Obama is already in the center. The bubble that told them the polls were wrong is the same bubble that tells them Obama is a commie socialist... The sooner the MSM points this out the better we will all be. Since the MSM won't point this out, we have our citizen work cut out for us.
I think Florida should HAVE a recount, Marie! Then we can sit back and chuckle as Goofy Rick Scott tries to make it seem like a big deal, when it will actually make him look more like the the dumbfuck he is.
It occurred to me, in thinking about Lord SB's concession speech last night, that he did not appear gracious, as much as confused. I think he was standing up there wondering how in hell he could have lost, when he knew he should have won. It probably has not dawned on him yet. Head/gut problem--among sooooo many others!
Hate to pester you, but have you made a decision yet about the future of RealityChex, or are you willing to wait for a "Don't Go" petition from your fans? Tee hee!
I have not commented for many months, because I am worn out. I believe that there is still much that a conservative perspective on politics has to offer, but the Romney-Ryan candidacy has left me completely at a loss for words: anti-gay, anti-choice, and every bit as pro-Wall Street and bankster as Obama. Nothing there for me.
Still, @Marie, you are perhaps the most interesting aggregator of Progressive news and commentary out here.
So I have been looking in regularly for interesting links, and have never failed to find 'em. As I have said before, you have provided me with an interesting education even at my late age.
I would be saddened to see Reality Chex disappear from the scene, but I wish you well whatever you decide to do.
And in case this is truly the end, I also wish the best to those commenters with whom I have traded barbs--or commiserated with--over the past couple of years: JJG, Marvin Schwalb, Akhilleus, PD Pepe, Calyban, Kate Madison and many others.
If Reality Chex continues, I will still be out here, looking in and learning.
Marie: I always thought that you must have an editor and three researchers to cover all the ground you do. I am self centered and thinking of my own need when I say " Please Stay on Line." I check this site several times every day and will really miss your guidance.
On election night I decided to indulge my sense of schadenfreud and tuned into Foxnews. Instant overdose. The most delicious time was watching Karl Rove strut his hour upon the stage. From omniscient guru dressed in gleaming white robes on a mountain top to filthy old man dressed in rags on a pile of rubble as his personal gut feeling theory of vote prediction crumbled to dust before an audience of 7 million(Foxnews) was not to be missed. No matter, this morning all gurus received their next day pass; yesterday is wiped from memory. The horror of the slowly dawning realization that Romney was going down was palpable. No matter, it is all rationalized by this afternoon. The newsroom spent some time trying to understand what is wrong with the republican platform to no avail (abortion is an issue? Who knew?). No matter, today the trouble is a deaf audience not the message. The problem is apparently 40+ million(Foxnews) Americans addicted to socialism by government entitlements. Republicans do seem dimly aware that America is changing faster than their message leaving fewer people open to their arguments. One fix is fortress America. The other is increased white immigration. Unfortunately caucasians normally come already indoctrinated with socialism and their numbers are limited by the following view. WWW.spiegel.de/international/world/divided-states-of-america-notes-on-the-decline-of-a-great-nation-a-865265.html
Some here feel there has been real progress made. I feel that what has been accomplished is analogous to a couple with a troubled marriage who tried to resolve their problems by spending 4.2 billion dollars (CNNMoney) to repaint the bedroom and then climbed back into the same bed to fight over the same blankets. The same characters are facing off with the same battle lines and the same minimum demands. The deficit remains, the sequestration cliff is still there. Boehner is willing, apparently, to discuss closing tax breaks but not tax increases. As I showed a few days ago closing all reasonable personal tax breaks is still $600 billion short of balancing the budget let alone addressing the deficit. Stalemate.
Re: The Fiscal Cliff. It's not a cliff. That's just rhetoric along the lines of "Be afraid, be very afraid." In other words, just one of the Repug's usual tactics which for decades they have used alternately with the if you don't let me do what I want, I'll tell everyone you're a gay Commie from Kenya ploy.
Letting the Bush tax cuts expire, at least initially, would be good for the country, good for the budget shortfall and good for the President, as long as he makes a convincing case that he tried everything, except putting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, programs the Dems have promised to and must protect, on the chopping block. Doing so would in fact provide a fine bargaining chip; once the cuts have expired, a deal to keep those cuts permanent only for the poor and middle class citizens would be far more attractive to the the Repug extorters in the House and Senate once it was clear they were willing to increase taxes on the 98% to protect the top 2%. And the Repugs should have not trouble recognizing the technique. They invented it.
On Social Security: Two things. Stop calling it an entitlement. Along with Medicare, it an Earned Benefit. And simply Scrap the Cap. Such as there is one, problem solved 'til long past the time when most of us boomers will have found our eternal rest (wonder if there are elections in the Hereafter? Kinda hope so.) And the Repugs, who always bring up means testing as as way to put the program on a sounder financial footing and to make benefit distribution more "fair," should eat it up. Scrapping the Cap is just means testing up front. Paying it forward, as it were. I've always found it interesting that the Repugs are happy to go all Marx and Engley ("to each according to his need...") when it comes to distributing government benefits but handily forget the other half of the equation ("from each according to his ability..."). Wonder why?
The election: The most telling statistics were the increase between 2008 and 2012, contrary to predictions, in the voter participation of blacks, Hispanics and the young. Those numbers, more than the final popular and electoral tally for the President, have the Repugs who can read shuddering.
Finally, yes, I'm tired ,too, relieved and happy that the election is over, but if the Constant Weader goes off line, I will feel the loss greatly. You have all become great friends, even if you all don't, like one of you apparently does, live, I'm guessing just up the road, in my Congressional district.
So...could we compromise, Marie? You hold all the cards because you do all the work and we're just along for the glorious ride, but I'd settle for a truncated schedule, twice a week maybe, instead of extended black, miserable and loud silence. I admit I not bargaining, just begging, and not too proud to do so.
Oh, and I forgot to thank the billionaire Righties and Karl Rove himself for providing the second economic stimulus the President requested and the Congressional Repugs failed to act on. Further making the case that what government can't do, private enterprise can. Think of all the good done by the hundreds of millions, even billions, the Kochs, the Adelsons, Wall Street hedge funders and bond merchants whose feelings the President hurt by almost saying something true, once maybe, about the financial sector, contributed to the economy.
And all for almost nothing in return. What good guys they all must be!
Could this be a loooonnnnng goodbye? A really long goodbye—if a parting is necessary at all. I'm ready to sign Kate M's petition. Just a few minutes ago I came downstairs to check on the snowfall and read 'tomorrow's' articles & OpEd pieces on various Web sites. With trepidation I clicked my CW bookmark...Whew, there was new, rich material with a dateline of November 8th...hot linked for readership and Marie's quick riposte for most.
Marie, I surely would/will miss Reality Chex if you wrap it up, and am completely in agreement with everyone who has previously commented over these past days. Deeply appreciate the vast efforts and extraordinary insights of your daily, constant, and intense passion for 'telling it like it is" and waking the rest of us up. Thank you! ...but, I'll keep checking back until I hear just a last, lonely echo.
@Marie: Have you considered some alternatives to going off-line completely? For example, instead of finding and displaying all the news stories and links (which is an enormous amount of work), just running a daily forum where the commentators can do some of the work by providing links to articles they want to comment on.
Marie, you, Reality Chex and your brilliant commenters have been my lifeline to sanity throughout the campaign. Before I discovered your web site, my first priority of the day was to look for your comments in the NYT. You have brought great light into my dark little world and give me hope that not all was or ever would be lost so long so you were there to speak truth to the multitude of lies spewing forth from so many media domains.
I cannot thank you enough for all the intensive time and labor you have put into this web site. I will be heart broken if you decide it's time to move on. But please know I will be forever grateful for the hours of education and fun you have given me.
Most sincerely, Maggy Holman
More on the Rape 'thing: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/us/politics/womens-issues-were-a-problem-for-gop.html?hp
From the article: “What was really frustrating is that there was this myth manufactured by Democrats in Washington that the Republican Party as a whole is against women,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who said she watched with disappointment as her friend Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts was tarred by the broader fight and lost his bid for re-election, to a *woman. “There is no doubt we need to do a better job as a party in reaching out to women, recruiting strong women candidates and sending a more positive message,” Ms. Collins said.
Either way, Republicans said their party had work to do. “It has never made sense that my party, the party of individual freedom and personal responsibility, thinks the government should be involved in issues” like abortion, Ms. Collins said. “We are the party that trusts individuals to make their own decisions. That is one of the defining issues of the differences between Republicans and Democrats. So this is just bewildering to me.”
Well, I'm not bewildered at all. Scottie-boy did nothing to object to those Republicans. Nor do I recall Susan Collins being outspoken on the topic. I voted for Collins in the past. But not anymore.
When looking at Charles Blow's op-ed showing comments from the right like O'Reilly and Limbaugh it certainly shows the real truth. The entire issue for these scumbags is race, race, and race. Of course they seem to forget that when their ancestors arrived, they were treated the same way. You know those worthless immigrants and slaves.
@MAG: "Scottie-boy did nothing to object to those Republicans." Not true. Yes, he did. In fact, he was the first big-name Republican to call out Akin.
Collins also objected to Akin's statement, but as one of the few pro-choice Republican leaders, she should have done a lot more, & not just in response to the likes of Akin. If she were an actual leader instead of an opportunist, she would have spoken out against Romney's selection of Paul Ryan. Instead, she praised Ryan. (Brown made a much more "cautious" endorsement of Ryan, pointing out that he had voted twice to block the Ryan budget from Senate consideration.)
Facts, people. Puh-leze.
Marie
Doris Kearns Goodwin, that down to earth, cheerful, –– always delighting us with interesting tidbits from Presidents past–– historian was on good ole Charlie Rose* last night. She went on about LBJ's ability to get things done by hanging out with the fellas a lot––inviting them for barbecue–-having them drop in the oval for a shot or two–-maybe they schmooze while he sits on the can taking a dump. This is what Obama needs to do they both agree. Oh, but wait, Obama has a family that he wants to be with––he has, one certainly hopes, a PRIVATE LIFE outside of his regular job. But hey, why wouldn't he want to, after hours, instead of being with his wife and children go have a beer with Cantor, or Ryan or Mr. Orange and Mr. Turtle––I mean what a barrel of laughs they'd have and at the end Obama would have talked them into whatever he wanted to talk them into. What Doris neglects to tell us and Charlie is just laughing now at one of those funny LBJ tidbits, is that as Senate majority leader Lyndon was the master, but once he became president he found it much more difficult to get things passed his way. And we don't, of course, hear about how truly badly he treated Lady Bird and how he busied himself with his pussy pools. Well, they ended by agreeing that Obama just needs to be more, "Hey, John, wanna join me for a bit of bourbon in the blue room?" kind of guy. Makes me want to barf.
*@Marie–-A few of us wanted to know your assessment of Charlie after you referred to him in a rather unflattering way––we still would like to know.
unbelievable :
like that movie Ground Hog Day!
"Ole Miss students start racist protest after election result"
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/07/ole_miss_students_start_racist
_protest_after_election_result/
Nina Simone is still right, "Mississippi Goddamed"
mae finch
PS, CW? Your intellectual muscle, broad knowledge of issues, passion, ability to harness the online world, and writing skills are towering.
A hearty thank you for this site.
More than once, I have sent an article I found here to fence sitters, and some wingers.
And the commenters are grand.
I will miss the site yet understand this must be a ton of work.
mae finch
Morning again in America.
Oh, wait. Not THAT morning; I meant a good morning in the real world.
Unfortunately, Republicans are waking up in the same fantasy world they’ve inhabited for decades; but not all, apparently. I’ve been scanning some of the sites for conservatives who can read without moving their lips. There are some. But even these few are still mired in the World That Reagan Imagined. The conclusion of one such review of the election decided that Republicans needed to go back to the wonderful world created by Reagan and Gingrich and the economic genius of Arthur Laffer, and in the meantime, give the GOP a makeover so they seem more Main Street friendly and don’t look so much like Wall Street underwear sniffers. Mind you, the plan was not to make any substantive changes, just make it look that way.
They just don’t get it.
But the Romney Lessons are already taking effect. This morning on NPR, Oklahoma congressman Tom Cole, a member of the Republican House leadership, demonstrated how quickly he’s been able to adapt Romney’s technique for lying through his teeth in the face of a plethora of incontrovertible evidence. Although he was constitutionally unable to utter the word “taxes” in conjunction with the word “new”, he claimed, when asked about the Looming Financial Cliff (maybe we can start giving names to each new Republican initiated chaos event. They’re starting to name winter storms. We should do the same so we can keep track of all the damage created by these manufactured crises. I vote that we name this Republican storm Anal Cyst I—there’ll be plenty more...), that Obama needs to listen to the will of the American people who returned all those nice, rational, right-thinking Republicans to the House. He also needs to start compromising because, in another burst of laugh out loud mendacity, Cole claimed that Republicans have ALWAYS compromised. Speaker Boehner has ALWAYS been ready to sit down and make nice. Sure, sure, sure. That’s why you guys stopped the country dead in its tracks and threatened to hold your breath until you all turned….well, I guess it wouldn’t have been blue, would it? But that little stunt led to a reduction in the country’s credit rating. Is that the kind of compromises Republicans have ALWAYS been making?
See, the thing is that these people are still living in their own bubble world. If you’ve been reading their rationale for their humiliating pummeling at the polls, it’s never their fault. It was Romney. He was a jerk. Not conservative enough. It was that traitor Christie, it was the hurricane, it was too many black people allowed to vote, it was the liberal media, it was not enough ads calling for Obama to be put in chains and sent back to Africa, it was chunky peanut butter instead of smooth on campaign workers’ sandwiches.
Everything but Republican policies and ideology. So, I’m with Marie. Let ‘em keep riding as far right as they can go. You know, if you’re in a car and you keep turning the wheel in one direction, you end up going in a circle. Forever. So knock yourselves out, boys.
But expect newer and bigger and more ferocious lies about who they are and what they want to do. They’re already trying to present themselves as the party of nice guys who are always ready to work things out. And as the country changes around them and leaves them behind, they’ll continue to wake up in Ronald Reagan’s America that never was.
Pass the Brylcreem.
Loved the Jon Stewart clips!
Tweet from Alec Baldwin: "You know your party is in trouble when people ask Did the Rape Guy Win, and you have to ask Which One?"
And had to laugh at this post on my Facebook: photo of Big Bird looking directly at audience accompanied by the following "Who's unemployed NOW Bitch?!?!?"
PD,
Ms. Kearns Goodwin, when she was still Ms. Kearns, visited a history class I took in college. She regaled us with stories about LBJ, most memorably, a story he passed on to her about nightmares he had been having at the peak of Vietnam about being paralyzed. Very engaging stuff.
And after reading a number of her books one would expect that an experienced researcher and historian of her stature would recognize by now that there are many paths to power and equally many ways of wielding power.
Obama has never been and will likely never be a "Hail fellow, well met", sort of guy. He seems much more introspective and cerebral. He can call up the emotion when necessary but as for talking to staffers and members of congress while sitting on the can, I think he'd rather join a crossdressing kickline in a drag revue.
He is what he is. Plato, Machiavelli, Marcus Aurelius, Joseph de Maistre, Montesquieu, Washington, Montaigne, all have their own ideas of how leaders should behave. Both Roosevelts were successful leaders but both handled power in distinct ways.
I might have to send Doris an old copy of Marcus' Meditations. I don't recall anywhere that he recommends beers with the boys.
Reagan was a "beer with the boys" guy. Look where that got us.
Let's not forget to congratulate Senator Patty Murray for selecting and supporting the women Democrat candidates who provided a needed increase to the senate. I look forward to the day when women are 50% of the senators. I would encourage every reader on this site to write a letter to these newly elected women, asking that they push their male colleagues to enact full reform of the filibuster rule and not just some little tweeting along the lines Harry Reid is talking about. It's time for male senators to grow a pair of balls, and, if nothing else start believing in the new reality that they now have a winning coalition that can produce a real majority in the senate for the Democrats in the next election cycle, and beyond ...if they can get the energy to resist the intimidation and BS of Mitch et al.
Yea, to New Hampshire where women are in complete control of state government!! I'm not foolish enough to think that gender is the controlling factor, you know I mean Democrat women.
Thanks, Marie for the view between two ferns––wow, you sure are tough on that wilted Rose.
Here we are two days after the election and what do I find awaiting me in my emails from that brother of mine but a supposed–––I say supposed because I think it is bogus––snippets from Ronald Kessler's book, "In the President's Secret Service." Pictures of past presidents and their wives starting with JFK and Jackie and ending with Obama. Here's a taste: (by the way the Democratic presidents get all the salacious snippets).
"RONALD & NANCY REAGAN
The real deal — moral, honest, respectful, and dignified. They treated Secret Service and everyone else with respect and honor. Thanked everyone all the time. He took the time to know everyone on a personal level. One “favorite” story that has circulated among the Secret Service personnel was an incident early in his Presidency, when he came out of his room with a pistol tucked on his hip. The agent in charge asked: “Why the pistol, Mr. President” He replied, “In case you boys can’t get the job done, I can help.” It was common for him to carry a pistol. When he met with Gorbachev, he had a pistol in his briefcase. Upon learning that Gary Hart was caught with Donna Rice, Reagan said, “Boys will be boys, but boys will not be Presidents.” [He obviously either did not know or forgot JFK's and LBJ's sexcapades!]
She was very nice but very protective of the President; and the Secret Service was often caught in the middle. She tried hard to control what the President ate, and he would say to the agent, “Come on, you gotta help me out.” The Reagans drank wine during State dinners and special occasions only; otherwise, they shunned alcohol; the Secret Service could count on one hand the times they were served wine during their “family dinner”. For all the fake bluster of the Carters, the Reagans were the ones who lived life as genuinely moral people."
Now here's the one of Obama:
BARACK & MICHELLE OBAMA
” Clinton all over again” – hates the military and looks down on the Secret Service. He is egotistical and cunning; looks you in the eye and appears to agree with you, but turns around and does the opposite — untrustworthy. He has temper tantrums.
She is a complete bitch, who basically hates anybody who is not black; hates the military; and looks at the Secret Service as servants.
A taxpayer voting for Obama is like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders."
And Karl Rove is the nicest to all those secret service guys.
Tried to find information about this book, but it's slim pickings. And Akhilleus, please take note: We few, we happy few are evidently so wrong about that moral Morning in America cowboy with a holster full of buckshot. The Hollywood film he was always playing in didn't include people like us,I guess. Yes, pass the Brylcreem along with the Burma shave and black dye.
@ P. D. Pepe: please send this to your brother and tell him for me he needs to cultivate a better class of correspondents -- ones who are not unhinged from reality and/or who don't forward anonymous e-mails which make "grossly false & misleading claims."
Marie
@Akhilleus. Doris Kearns "regaled" you with stories about LBJ, including the nightmare story, no doubt because when he woke up from the bad dream, she was in bed with him -- or so the story goes.
Marie
@Marie: Many thanks–––I have just sent your link to my brother and prior to that did say pretty much what you advised. But then, like Kate, these words go in and out of our brother's ears like a slight breeze blowing over Lake Michigan.
RE: DKG: No wonder she has that slight blush when she recalls her conversations with LBJ that took place in his bedroom. Such a busy man–– and no wonder he had so many heart attacks.
@Kate and Marie: Remembering the Supremes. The traditional time for Supreme Court Justices to resign is April, so their successors can be picked and confirmed in time to join the Court's October term. If it happens that Ginsburg and/or Breyer resign in April, who do you think would have a prayer of selection and confirmation (assuming Reid changes the filibuster rule)? I don't think Hillary wants the Presidential nomination for 2016, but might accept the Court. She's certainly smart and qualified and I think she would make it through confirmation.
Re: Got a rocket in my pocket; I'm disappointed that the slime oozing out of the internet crazyland has befouled RECHEX. But I've got gloves, shovels and a strong stomach and steel-toed boots so here goes.
Hey, asswipe, sure helped Raygun to be packing when the little shit shot him, Huh?
Hey shit for brains, Raygun called his wife "Mommy"; she had to cut his veggies up into little pieces so Ronnie wouldn't choke. Poor old fuck thought he was playing the part of the president.
Hey numbnuts, Michele Obama is a black woman in charge. What do you think of that?
Marie,
Ha. That may very well have been the case. I remember wondering, even at that point (this would have been around 1975), how it was that a young staffer got to hear such intimate details from a sitting president, especially a story which seemed to intimate a sense of fear and vulnerability; not something you'd expect to get in a series of straightforward interviews for a book.
But Johnson could be a pretty paranoid, manipulative guy so who knows?
I guess we'll give her extra points for going the distance for "in depth" research, if that was the case.
On the LBJ Goodwin book. I'm what you would call naive about affairs and such, but what I took away from the book was a sense that Johnson was a profoundly sad man later in life and always felt intellectually inadequate to most of his colleagues. I think his method of negotiation was the only pathway open to him. His district was neither important nor demanding of pork, so his voting support was his bargaining tool. He exploited the over-the-top bluster and crudeness while collecting markers. That time is gone, whether you see it as good or bad.
It is naive to think that LBJ's method is a winning strategy now since being learned and well educated is a less desirable trait than being loud and crazy. Everyone that talks about schmoozing and "personal" relationships as a viable method to moving an agenda forward is more interested in their personal status ( i.e. reelection or a lobbying job) than that of their constituencies.
I am a neophyte here, but I feel like I have found many kindred spirits. Marie has a gift not only of intelligence and wit but of providing a satisfying forum for good discussion. Obviously, I'd love to continue to participate in such a community. Thank-you for the opportunity.
Doris Kearns Goodwin's BS book about Lincoln's cabinet screwed up Obama's mind for the first two years in office. Nice work for a plagiarist.
It's interesting how pundits, prognosticators, and scum-sucking pricks from the MSM are tut-tutting about how the president has such a tough row to hoe and should be making nice with the Republicans. The same Republicans who, through hubris, stupidity, misogyny, racism, and, oh, did I mention stupidity, lost an historic election. An intellectually and morally bereft party whose policies and ideology reflect a prehistoric worldview, and who lost seats in the Senate and the House.
Seriously?
The fact is that Republicans are the ones who need to be coming to the president on their knees. In fact, after all the blowjobs they've been handing out to Karl Rove and his Crossroads losers, they should be used to being on their knees servicing those in power. And those in power now are Democrats. The DEMOCRATIC PARTY. NOT the democrat party, as Fox and just about every single jerk-off, brain-dead, pig-fucking right-wing douchebag refers to it.
Sorry, pig-fuckers, you need to start recognizing that you are not able to call the shots anymore. You've tied yourself to scorched-earth teabagging imbeciles and cannot now pretend to be the party of rational compromise.
At this point, if he wanted to, the president could declare every single one of you tarted-up freaks non compos mentis, and a substantial number of Americans would have to agree.
Sorry you haven't been keeping up with the times, but all of you have shit the bed. And you still think it's chocolate.
Morons.
Marie: You can't leave us alone in the dark, at least until the mid-term
elections. What would we do without your input? What would we do
without your take on everything that is going on in the country? I know I don't contribute a lot, but I work, like 10 hours a day, so in
between, this is where I get the best of the best info. Should all of
us help out with $ 'cause I have some under my mattress?! And, I
know where you live, so will knock on your door and say Thanks
for all you have done ( I spent a lot time in Ft. Myers Beach in the
fiftys and sixties and finally found Mr. Wonderful there). Ciao.