The Commentariat -- February 1, 2016

Cristina Marcos & Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The House is slated to take up repealing ObamaCare on Groundhog Day.... The House has voted more than 60 times since Republicans took over the majority in 2011 to undo the healthcare law. Tuesday's vote, however, will be the first attempt to override President Obama's veto of a measure to overturn his signature legislative accomplishment.... Republicans are not expected to secure the necessary two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto. And once the veto override attempt fails in the House, the Senate won’t be able to consider it."

Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "The Koch brothers' donor network spent close to $400 million last year, and is on its way to spending an unprecedented $889 million supporting right-wing politics and causes during the 2016 cycle. On Saturday afternoon, the Koch network assembled 500 wealthy conservatives -- its largest gathering ever -- at a luxury resort near the foothills of Palm Springs' Coachella Valley.... The network is now the most powerful force in right-wing politics, with a budget and technological infrastructure that rivals that of the Republican Party." ...

... Paul Krugman: "So what's really at stake in this year's election? Well, among other things, the fate of the planet." ...

... CW: For almost all of their lives, the Koch boys knew the family business was extracting limited resources from the earth. And for the last several decades, they certainly knew that their little business model also was bad for the planet. Yes, I know they've somewhat divested into renewable sources -- they bought Georgia Pacific, for instance -- but the font of their business, as well as their philosophy, centers on raping the earth in one way or another. We may be past the age of rapid technological change, but we're still into rapid cultural change, & the fact that the Koch boys are not innovative enough to keep up by acknowledging & adapting to a culture that demands clean, renewable energy shows that Chuck & Dave are not just greedy bastards; they're also kinda stoopid. ...

... Paul Krugman reviews Robert Gordon's The Rise & Fall of American Growth. "Perhaps the future isn't what it used to be." CW: One thing Krugman doesn't discuss, & perhaps Gordon does, is how technological inventions are now universally available. If you recall, several years ago, Fox "News" pundits were very upset that poor people had refrigerators & coffeemakers. Refrigerators still aren't cheap (though used ones are), but many of the gizmos we think we want get cheaper every year, & that makes them, eventually, available to the vast majority of Americans. Those homes in the South to which Krugman refers have power & plumbing now. ...

... James Koren of the Los Angeles Times: "To the long list of things you can do with your phone -- including watch a movie, buy a latte and hail a ride -- prepare to add one more: get cash. Over the next few months, the nation's three biggest banks [-- Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase & Bank of America --] will start rolling out ATMs that will let customers withdraw currency using their smartphones instead of debit cards -- the latest step toward a future in which phones could replace bank branches and wallets. 'My boys are 5 and 6 -- I don't think they'll carry around plastic when they grow up,' said Michelle Moore, head of digital banking for Bank of America, which plans to make cardless ATMs widely available as early as May."

Joby Warrick of the Washington Post takes another look at "Bundystan," the land in Nevada that Cliven Bundy & his clan have stolen from the people. The standoff between Bundy & the feds isn't over. He now owes the government about $2 million in grazing fees. CW: There are several good reasons not to eat much beef. The Bundys are one of them.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in a New York Times op-ed: "IN Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, 2016 has begun much as 2015 ended -- with unacceptable levels of violence and a polarized public discourse. That polarization showed itself in the halls of the United Nations last week when I pointed out a simple truth: History proves that people will always resist occupation. Some sought to shoot the messenger -- twisting my words into a misguided justification for violence. The stabbings, vehicle rammings and other attacks by Palestinians targeting Israeli civilians are reprehensible. So, too, are the incitement of violence and the glorification of killers.... Keeping another people under indefinite occupation undermines the security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians." ...

... CW: The "some" who "sought to shoot the messanger" include Benjamin Netanyahu. Looks like the only friends Bibi has left in the whole wide world are U.S. Republicans.

W. J. Hennigan & Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times: "President Obama has repeatedly touted the U.S.-led coalition assembled to battle Islamic State militants, but Pentagon officials are expressing growing frustration that some of the 64 partner nations and regional groups are backing the effort in name only. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has been the most vocal, complaining last month that some allies are 'not doing enough or doing nothing at all.'"

The End of a Bromance. Paul Farhi & Manuel Roig-Franzia of the Washington Post on why Jim VandeHei left Politico, the online news source he co-founded. CW: Like everything else in Washington, it was about power & prestige.

Presidential Race

** George Packer of the New Yorker: "Direct primaries -- the selection of candidates by voters instead of by party leaders -- came into existence a hundred years ago. They were the inspiration of reformers who wanted to take power away from political machines and corporate interests, and return it to the people, who were believed to be wiser and more capable than the bosses, because they were less self-interested.... But ... the voters turn out to be more partisan than the bosses." Packer adds an important piece to the puzzle "How'd we get into this mess?"

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "... with the caucuses on Monday hours away, the presidential candidates have switched gears, furiously crisscrossing Iowa and making direct appeals to voters to stand for them in the election's first nominating contest." ...

... Abby Phillip has the Washington Post story of the final Iowa sprint.

If you want to know what's going on in the presidential campaign cash game, Politico currently has a lot of front-page stories. Fer instance, here's one on Donald Trump's lending his campaign $10.8 million; here's another on George Soros' dropping $6MM on a Clinton superPAC. ...

... Fredreka Schouten of USA Today: "Bernie Sanders' campaign announced Sunday that it had raised $20 million this month -- an enormous haul as the Vermont senator seeks to demonstrate he's prepared for a protracted battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination." CW: I think Politico ran this story yesterday.

Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Sunday said it has agreed to sanction more presidential debates after facing criticism over a limited schedule.... ... A person familiar with the discussions said on Sunday that the DNC will sanction the MSNBC debate for this Thursday in New Hampshire once the Democratic candidates all agree on the details."

... Eli Stokols of Politico: Clinton & Trump headlined rallies two miles apart in Council Bluff, Iowa. It was Clinton who delivered the populist speech. ...

... Charles Pierce Blow talked to black Iowans, who make up only 3.7 percent of the state's population, about today's caucuses. Funny, but the only choice Blow mentioned was between Hillary & Bernie. What? No Donald? ...

... Bryce Covert of Think Progress in a New York Times op-ed: "The largest difference [between Clinton & Sanders], and therefore what the Democratic Party is truly grappling with, is not about two different visions of the party. The choice is between two theories of change. It's the difference between working the system and smashing it." ...

... Bill Clinton: Hillary is a change-maker:

... Eliza Collins of Politico: "Hillary Clinton said that all the stories suggesting the FBI inquiry into her email practices is gaining momentum are just 'selective leaking.' 'It means the people are selectively leaking and making comments with no basis,' Clinton said in an interview with CNN's 'New Day' Monday. 'We need to let this inquiry run its course, get it resolved.'" ...

... Lisa Lerer & Ken Thomas of the AP: "Seeking victory in Iowa, Hillary Clinton has begun channeling the economic indignation of her rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose unapologetically liberal campaign has tightened the race ahead of Monday's caucuses and given him a lead in the New Hampshire contest that follows. Making her closing argument to Iowa caucus-goers, Clinton now cloaks her detailed policy plans in Sanders' outraged rhetoric. Pharmaceutical pricing 'burns' her up. Companies that take advantage of the tax loopholes get her 'pretty riled up.' And she promises to 'rail away' at any industry that flouts the law." ...

Her Cheatin' Heart. Ben Smith, et al., of BuzzFeed: "Hillary Clinton's campaign for president is instructing its Iowa caucus leaders to — in certain cases -- throw support to former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, with the goal blocking her main opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, from securing additional delegates. The tactical move is rooted in the complex math of the Iowa caucuses Monday night, where the campaign is looking to defeat Sanders in a state whose caucus-goers have historically backed progressive challengers.... The goal, in the caucuses' complex terms, is to cost Clinton no delegates in the state's 1,681 caucuses while ensuring stray O'Malley supporters don't defect to Sanders." Read on. Clinton isn't the first candidate to use this ploy, & her aides were "outraged" when candidates Obama & Bill Richardson pulled a similar stunt in 2008. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Corey Robin, in Salon: "... the Clintons' national ascendancy was premised on the repudiation of black voters and black interests. This was a move that was both inspired and applauded by a small but influential group of Beltway journalists and party strategists, who believed making the Democrats a white middle-class party was the only path back to the White House after wandering for 12 years in the Republican wilderness." ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "With an Iowa win on Monday within reach, Sanders is suddenly running a gantlet of criticism from Clinton and her allies, many in the media and even President Obama, all of whom seem to have awakened to the looming reality that a 74-year-old self-described democratic socialist could, at the very least, damage the Democratic front-runner and turn her march to the party's nomination into a long, costly slog." ...

... Gabriel Debenedetti of Politico: Bernie Sanders refrains, for the most part, from directly attacking Clinton, even if his surrogates do not. ...

... CW: I saw on the Internets over the weekend that wingers were very upset that Jill Sobule sang this "racist" song at Bernie Sanders' rally at Ames, Iowa. So I figured I'd better give it a listen. The song is racist in the same way that many wingers thought Stephen Colbert's "Colbert Show" character was actually one of them:

... There seems to be a decided lack of self-awareness over there in Right Wing World.

Unpossible. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "A former paid organizer for Donald J. Trump who was fired this month has accused his presidential campaign of sex discrimination. Elizabeth Mae Davidson, 26, who was the Trump campaign's field organizer ... in Davenport, Iowa's third-largest city, said in a discrimination complaint that men doing the same jobs were paid more and were allowed to plan and speak at rallies, while her requests to do so were ignored. She also said that when she and a young female volunteer met Mr. Trump at a rally last summer, he told them, 'You guys could do a lot of damage,' referring to their looks. The complaint was filed on Thursday with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission." ...

... Bradford Richardson of the Hill: Donald Trump "on Sunday pledged to extend healthcare coverage to the lower class, but remained vague on the details of his plan.... When host George Stephenopoulos asked the billionaire businessman how he accomplish that, Trump said he would 'work something out'" with doctors & hospitals. CW: See, everything is easy for a dealmaker who apparently is unaware that the "lower class" is already able to get health care thru Medicaid. ...

... Donald Trump, Nouveau Tenther. Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump criticized the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage and said he would 'strongly consider' appointing judges inclined to overrule it if he is elected president. 'I don't like the way they ruled,' Trump said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'I disagree with the Supreme Court from the standpoint that it should be a states' rights issue and that's the way it should have been ruled on ... I would have much preferred that they ruled at a state level and let the states make those rulings themselves.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Greg Sargent: "I'm hoping that Dems take more seriously the notion that Trump might be tapping into something very real with the larger argument he is making about our political system.... He is not claiming that 'government is the problem.' Rather, he's arguing that the stupid fools running the government are the problem, and that the bought-and-paid-for politicians and corrupt bureaucrats are the problem...." ...

... CW: Sargent is right. Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton would have very different problems in a faceoff with Trump, but both would have problems. Clinton's would be ideological, Sanders' would be personal. It is not unreasonable to think Trump could beat either one of them.

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker: "Ted Cruz's Iowa mailers are more fraudulent than everyone thinks." His campaign appears to have made up the "grades" the recipients & their neighbors received. Iowans like Donna Holstein found Cruz's letters troubling. Holstein was "upset to learn that she had been given a failing grade and that her neighbors might be told whether she participates in the caucus. She told me that she has voted consistently but that she can't this time because of a disability.... 'That's what you call a bully,' she said about Cruz's tactics. 'I wish he would quit.'... On Saturday night, Cruz responded. 'I will apologize to no one for using every tool we can to encourage Iowa voters to come out and vote,' he told reporters during a campaign stop in Sioux City." CW: As we know, sociopaths never apologize. So what if he embarrassed a disabled woman? She's not even going to vote. To hell with her. ...

... CW: I really get this woman's outrage. If I want to tell my neighbors my voting record, I will. But I sure don't want some "government official" -- that would be Senator Cruz -- ratting on me. And I most certainly don't want that government official lying about my record. On paper. In my neighbors' mailboxes. It seems that Ted, like most Republicans, think "government is the problem" except where he's the government. ...

... Chris Wallace Whacks Ted Cruz:

... Sorry, Ted, "the facts have a well-known liberal bias." ...

... digby finds the exchange between Wallace & Cruz amusing: "Oh dear, they really are confused these days aren't they? They hate Trump but nobody can stand Cruz who is lying about Obamacare which they also hate but which is actually working so they're using it against Cruz. It's awesome." ...

... Even Ted's daughter can't stand him:

... Sometimes the littlest campaign props don't cooperate. And for those of you who object to my using the candidate's young child to mock her father, you're right. I should not have done this.

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey are locked in an increasingly bitter fight in New Hampshire. Both men have anchored their presidential campaigns in the state, holding dozens of town hall meetings and spending most of their money in an effort to seize momentum here.... Without a standout performance in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9, it may rapidly become difficult for either governor to pay for the fundamentals of campaigning in the next round of elections in South Carolina and Nevada, and beyond."

Congressional Races

The Party of Pond Scum. Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "The House Republicans' campaign arm is fundraising off of Bernie Sanders's presidential bid by using the images of the communist hammer and sickle." CW: Apparently those lowlifes have forgot its their own top-polling candidate, Donald Trump, who is the only avowed fan of Vladimir Putin in the race.

Beyond the Beltway

Molly Young of the Oregonian: "The four holdouts [at the Maheur Refuge] awoke to discover that many lost phone and Internet service overnight, according to Greg Whalen, a Nevada supporter who said he had been in contact with the armed protesters. They have refused to leave the refuge until they are guaranteed they won't be arrested."

Way Beyond

Anthony Faoila of the Washington Post on the social unrest in Finland that has developed between Muslim asylum-seekers & Finns, much of it apparently stemming from some Muslims' antipathy to Finnish women.

New York Times: In northeastern Nigeria: Boko Haram, the militant Islamic group, went on a brutal rampage that the government said killed "65 people, with twice that number injured. Residents of Dalori, the site of the latest attack, said the death toll was even higher, with as many as 100 dead."

News Lede

New York Times: In northeastern Nigeria: Boko Haram, the militant Islamic group, went on a brutal rampae that the government said killed "65 people, with twice that number injured. Residents of Dalori, the site of the latest attack, said the death toll was even higher, with as many as 100 dead."

The Commentariat -- January 31, 2016

Afternoon Update:

Her Cheatin' Heart. Ben Smith, et al., of BuzzFeed: "Hillary Clinton's campaign for president is instructing its Iowa caucus leaders to -- in certain cases -- throw support to former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, with the goal blocking her main opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, from securing additional delegates. The tactical move is rooted in the complex math of the Iowa caucuses Monday night, where the campaign is looking to defeat Sanders in a state whose caucus-goers have historically backed progressive challengers.... The goal, in the caucuses' complex terms, is to cost Clinton no delegates in the state's 1,681 caucuses while ensuring stray O'Malley supporters don't defect to Sanders." Clinton isn't the first candidate to use this ploy, & her aides were "outraged" when candidates Obama & Bill Richardson pulled a similar stunt in 2008.

Donald Trump, Nouveau Tenther. Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump criticized the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage and said he would 'strongly consider' appointing judges inclined to overrule it if he is elected president. 'I don't like the way they ruled,' Trump said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'I disagree with the Supreme Court from the standpoint that it should be a states' rights issue and that's the way it should have been ruled on ... I would have much preferred that they ruled at a state level and let the states make those rulings themselves.'"

*****

Michelle Boorstein & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "President Obama will make the first visit during his presidency to a U.S. mosque, the White House announced Saturday, part of the administration's push to promote religious tolerance at a time when rhetoric linking Islam with terrorism is growing. On Wednesday, the president will visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore, a sprawling community center in the city's western suburbs that serves thousands of people with a place of worship, a housing complex and schools, according to its website."

Craig Whitlock & Adam Goldman of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter has decided not to impose any further punishment on David H. Petraeus, the former CIA director and retired Army general who was forced to resign in a sex-and-secrets scandal in 2012." CW: Big surprise.

Presidential Race

CNN: "Caucus meetings for Iowa Democrats and Republicans begin at 7 p.m. Central Time, or 8 p.m. for the East Coast [Monday night]. Anyone who shows up on time can take part. But don't be late. Once the doors close, there is no entry for stragglers."

The New York Times editors endorse Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Making her final push before the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton staked out her position as the lone defender of the Affordable Care Act on Saturday night, warning that her Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, would scrap it and start over and that Republicans [--specifically mentioning Ted Cruz's inability to offer an alternative plan (see Katie Zezima's story, linked below) --)] would hand healthcare back to insurers and drug-makers." ...

... CW: Cedar Rapids is Iowa's second largest city. From the photo accompanying the story, it would appear about 150 people showed up for Clinton's rally.

... Rachel Bade of Politico: "Hillary Clinton told NBC she did not generate any of the 22 newly upgraded 'top secret' emails recently withheld by the State Department and is not concerned about the contents of the messages. 'No, I did not,' she told NBC News' Monica Alba when asked whether she personally wrote any of the emails. She waived [sic.] them off as old news, according to excerpts of the conversation distributed by NBC News. 'I'm really not concerned because it's the same story that has been going on for months now, and I just don't think most people are as concerned about that....'" ...

... Evan McMorris-Santoro & Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed: "The campaigns of the two major candidates for the Democratic nomination have agreed to hold four more debates, should they be sanctioned, sources from both the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns tell BuzzFeed News. The details -- where and when -- remain unresolved, and the Democratic National Committee has not yet agreed to the arrangement...."

Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Bernie Sanders held a rally and concert at the University of Iowa tonight with thousands of students, whom he urged to vote for him on Monday and 'make the pundits look dumb.'... Many of the thousands of students also showed up for the musical portion of the evening. (One band sang 'It's nothing to fear, you are a socialist too.') The main attraction, beyond Mr. Sanders, was the indie rock group Vampire Weekend." ...

... Bradford Richardson of the Hill: "... Bernie Sanders will receive protection from Secret Service, according to Fox News' Ed Henry. Sanders joins Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson as the only White House contenders with details from the agency."

Steven Shepard of Politico: "Both parties' races in Monday's Iowa caucuses are coming down to the wire, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton slightly ahead, according to the state's most influential poll. Trump ... has a 5-point lead in the Republican race over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, according to the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is in third place at 15 percent, and retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson is at 10 percent. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is at 5 percent, and no other candidate earns more than 3 percent. In the Democratic race, Clinton is running neck-and-neck with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 45 percent to 42 percent -- though Clinton's support appears more secure. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is at 3 percent and appears unlikely to be viable at most caucus sites on Monday night."

The New York Times editors sort of endorse Ohio Gov. John Kasich for the Republican nomination as the best of a bad lot: "Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, though a distinct underdog, is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race. And Mr. Kasich is no moderate. As governor, he's gone after public-sector unions, fought to limit abortion rights and opposed same-sex marriage."

Maureen Dowd interviews Donald Trump. CW: Why bother, since he can't even tell the truth about himself. ...

... Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "Five myths Donald Trump tells about Donald Trump.... 1. 'I'm, like, a really smart person.'... 2. 'I have the world's greatest memory.'... 3. I'm proud of my net worth. I've done an amazing job.'... 4. 'I'm self-funding my campaign.'... 5. 'I'm probably the least racist person on Earth.'"

Vampire Weekend, Ctd. Shane Goldmacher of Politico: "Iowa's top elections official condemned Ted Cruz's campaign on Saturday for sending mailers to Iowa voters designed to look like official documents that accuse them of a 'VOTING VIOLATION' for failure to turn out in past elections. Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement Cruz's mailers, which has the words 'official public record' printed in red at the top, 'misrepresents the role of my office, and worse, misrepresents Iowa election law.' 'There is no such thing as an election violation related to frequency of voting,' said Paul, who was elected statewide as a Republican in 2014.... The controversial Cruz mailers show the name of the person receiving the mail at the top and then give them a grade on an A to F scale. Below, it shows their neighbors and their voting scores. CW: Ted just likes to frighten people. And shame them, while he's at it. ...

... Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: An Iowa voter, who is a Democrat, challenged Ted Cruz for his attacks on ObamaCare. The voter said his brother-in-law, who was unable to get coverage until he obtained it through the ACA, died shortly thereafter for previously undiagnosed cancer. The voter "said after the exchange that Cruz hadn't answered his question. The answer, he said, was incomplete." CW: No kidding. ...

... ** digby: "Cruz does have a plan. He wants to repeal Obamacare and all the requirement that are in it including the ban on denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Then he will make it so people can buy insurance across state lines (in order to avoid state regulations requiring insurers to treat their customers fairly.) He wants to get rid of employer sponsored health care so everyone can 'own' their own insurance policy. And he wants to 'expand' health savings accounts. In other words, he wants to go back to the way it was before and then make it a hundred times worse. Because freedom. Oh, and he even lies about his own insurance."

About That Iowa Poll. Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "A Bloomberg-sponsored poll, made public in extravagant Bloomberg style amid shrimp and champagne, delivered some sour news about Michael R. Bloomberg himself: Few Iowa voters like him as he weighs a third party White House run. A poll of likely caucusgoers conducted for Bloomberg Politics and The Des Moines Register and released on Saturday night found just 17 percent of Democrats and 9 percent of Republicans had a 'favorable' view of Mr. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.... By comparison, 50 percent of the Republicans polled had a favorable view of another Manhattan billionaire, Donald J. Trump, whose candidacy has offended and baffled Mr. Bloomberg. And 46 percent of the Democrats had a favorable view of Martin O'Malley, who is faring poorly in polls...."

Congressional Race

Worse Than Dick. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Liz Cheney, the older daughter of former vice president Richard B. Cheney, is running for Wyoming's sole seat in the House of Representatives, according to federal campaign documents she filed Friday establishing her candidacy."

Beyond the Beltway

Carissa Wolf & Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Heeding calls for daily protests after Tuesday's shooting death of a man who had been occupying a nearby national wildlife refuge, a 'rolling rally' of dozens of vehicles clogged the streets of this tiny rural town [of Burns, Oregon,] Saturday evening. The cars and trucks, many of them the oversized, rugged models favored in this rough desert terrain, roared around town bearing U.S. flags, Confederate flags and passengers brimming with rage."

Way Beyond

Rick Noack of the Washington Post: "Up to 100 masked men threatened to attack refugee children in central Stockholm on Friday, according to local police accounts. Fredrik Nylén, a spokesman for Stockholm police, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, that several men had been arrested because they may have gathered 'with the purpose of attacking refugee children.'"

The Commentariat -- January 30, 2016

Danielle Paquette & Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "President Obama proposed a new rule Friday that would require every large company in America to report employees' pay based on race and gender, an effort to reduce longstanding pay inequities for women and minorities. The new policy, already drawing criticism from some business leaders, would order companies with at least 100 employees to add salary numbers on a form they already annually submit that reports employees' sex, age and job groups. The new pay information would alert the EEOC to companies with significant wage disparities, which could result in lawsuits." ...

... Lily Ledbetter introduces the President. It was the seventh anniversary of President Obama's signing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, the first bill he signed into law:

CW: Yesterday, in linking Elizabeth Warren's New York Times op-ed, I forgot to link her report on lax enforcement of corporate criminal lawbreaking. Here it is. As Warren wrote in her op-ed, & documents in the report, "In a single year, in case after case, across many sectors of the economy, federal agencies caught big companies breaking the law -- defrauding taxpayers, covering up deadly safety problems, even precipitating the financial collapse in 2008 -- and let them off the hook with barely a slap on the wrist. Often, companies paid meager fines, which some will try to write off as a tax deduction." ...

... David Dayen in the Intercept: "The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders camps -- and their allies in the press -- have been arguing increasingly harshly over who has the most perfect or most attainable policies. But the real issue, as Warren sees it, comes in installing the personnel to carry out the laws on the books that protect public safety and the economy." Dayen calls the report "what might have been [Warren's] closing argument had she been a candidate in the presidential race." ...

... CW: BUT I think Steve M. gets closer to Warren's motivation: "Elizabeth Warren just semi-endorsed Bernie Sanders -- again.... Warren is clearly saying: This, at the very least, is the point of nominating Sanders. This is a power he'll have. Warren also semi-endorsed Sanders in a speech on the Senate floor last week, as Salon's Sean Illing has noted."

We are headed into another presidential election and I speak out today because I'm genuinely alarmed for our democracy ... It is time to fight back against a complete capture of our government by the rich and powerful.... A new presidential election is upon us. The first votes will be cast in Iowa in just eleven days. Anyone who shrugs and claims that change is just too hard has crawled into bed with the billionaires who want to run the country like some private club. -- Elizabeth Warren, speaking on the Senate floor, January 21

CW: I also failed to timely embed President Obama's speech at the Israeli Embassy on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which honored four new inductees into the "Righteous Among Nations": gentiles who protected Jews during the Nazi era. Colbert King of the Washington Post reminds me I was remiss. Read his column. It is lovely. And he rightly takes the opportunity to smack his colleague Jennifer Rubin upside the head. It's not the first time she's deserved it.

... Here's the story of my husband's first wife, the extraordinary Jeanne Daman, who also has been honored as a Righteous Among the Nations. At the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., she is credited with having helped to save 2,000 Belgian children.

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Senator John Cornyn, a former Texas judge and attorney general, is a devoted believer in the criminal justice overhaul awaiting its moment in the Senate. Now, he just has to convert doubting Republican colleagues.... 'John has some work to do, big-time work,' to secure enough support to persuade [Mitch] McConnell to go forward, said one Republican senator...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ian Millhiser of Think Progress writes a perceptive analysis of the Texas solicitor general's "devious plan to silently kill Roe v. Wade.... It's an effort to bypass [Justice Anthony] Kennedy's brain and go straight to his gag reflex." CW: Of course this is, generally speaking, tried-and-true anti-abortion propaganda. Most of us who are not medical professionals are put off or even frightened by bloody things. Invoking horror-movie-type imagery surely has helped persuade many a squeamish gentleman that abortion is evil.

CW: While I'm making up for stuff I missed this week, I wondered yesterday when the slow-mo economic news came in if the Fed hadn't made a mistake in raising interest rates last year. Paul Krugman sez yes, it did.

Matt O'Brien of the Washington Post: "The only question now is whether Venezuela's government or economy will completely collapse first.... Both are well into their death throes. Indeed, Venezuela's ruling party just lost congressional elections that gave the opposition a veto-proof majority, and it's hard to see that getting any better for them any time soon -- or ever.... According to the International Monetary Fund, their economy shrinks 10 percent one year, an additional 6 percent the next, and inflation explodes to 720 percent. It's no wonder, then, that markets expect Venezuela to default on its debt in the very near future. The country is basically bankrupt." O'Brien explains why.

Presidential Race

Steven Myers of the New York Times: "The State Department on Friday said for the first time that 'top secret' material had been sent through Hillary Clinton's private computer server, and that it would not make public 22 of her emails because they contained highly classified information. The department announced that 18 emails exchanged between Mrs. Clinton and President Obama would also be withheld, citing the longstanding practice of preserving presidential communications for future release.... The disclosure of the top secret emails ... is certain to fuel the political debate over the unclassified computer server that Mrs. Clinton ... kept in her home. The State Department released another set of her emails on Friday night in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.... The State Department said it had 'upgraded' the classification of the emails at the request of the nation's intelligence agencies. [State Department spokesman John] Kirby said that none of the emails had been marked at any level of classification at the time they were sent through Mrs. Clinton's computer server." ...

... Paul Krugman, who is precluded from endorsing candidates because of NYT rules, implied on explicit, stands up for Hillary again, citing first-hand experience that the feds over-classify stuff. Krugman says he was a serial offender when it came to mishandling these so-called secret docs.

Feeling the Bern:

.@kasie goes inside @BernieSanders' campaign, Sanders says: Don't underestimate me https://t.co/EgSDnysWtH

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) January 29, 2016

... Greg Sargent: "The Sanders phenomenon raises possible warning signs for Clinton's chances in a general election. His ability to engage, excite and involve younger voters -- his ability to make them feel invested in politics -- throws into sharp relief Clinton's relative failure, at least for now, to do the same." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Bernie Sanders, long-distance runner. Sanders was a high-school track star at Brooklyn's Madison High when distance running was a big deal. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... CW: When you think about it, Bernie Sanders has a better argument against Donald Trump & Ted Cruz, a/k/a Mr. Goldman-Sachs, than does Hillary Clinton. As Bernie says, "Don't underestimate me."

Paul Krugman points out that the GOP's Iowa race is down to this:

... Gail Collins is looking for a miracle in Iowa. Barring that, she'd be happy if Iowans would knock Ted out of the race. Oh, & Marco, whom she compares to the "Leave It to Beaver" character Eddie Haskell. CW: To me, most or all of the GOP candidates are Eddie Haskells -- smooth-talking, ingratiating & obvious phonies. And let me just add, as Gail implies by citing Marco's debate remark, that any candidate for public office who declares as fact that his faith is the true faith has automatically disqualified himself. A person who makes such statements cannot be president or city councilmember to all the people, as their oaths of office require.

Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Donald Trump slammed Ted Cruz as a Canadian 'anchor baby' during a Friday rally in New Hampshire as he continues to ratchet up the attacks against his closest polling rival days before the Iowa caucuses. 'Ted Cruz may not be a U.S. citizen,' Trump said at a town hall in New Hampshire.... Trump also threw punches on Cruz's Thursday night debate performance in the event he chose to skip in response to a spat with Fox News. 'I'm glad I wasn't there, he got pummeled,' Trump said at a town hall in New Hampshire Friday. 'And they didn't even mention that he was born in Canada. When you were born in Canada you aren't supposed to be running for president of the United States.'" ...

... CW: On a rational level, I know Trump is a fascistic scumbag who poses a danger to our nation & the world, but on another level, he can seem like a harmless late-night comic. I can't help but laugh when he says outrageous things about his Republican opponents. ...

... Since today's theme seems to be "Stuff I Missed This Week," here's one more item. Watch to the bitter end, which is uncanny:

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: Union leaders worry that Donald Trump will appeal to some of their members.

Contra much of the punditocracy, Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker says Roger Ailes won the battle with Donald Trump. CW: A happy day for journalism? ...

... If you're wondering about the Nielsen ratings for the debate (and the Trump event), Claire Landsbaum of New York has 'em.

Jonathan Cohn of the Huffington Post: Thursday night, debate moderator Bret Baier asked Ted Cruz what he would do about health care. Cruz "knows it sounds cruel to say he'd take away Obamacare without a replacement. And so he did what every other Republican does when pressed on his alternative: He dodged the question entirely." CW: The crowd cheered, according to Cohn, when Cruz "promised to 'repeal every word of ObamaCare.'" What is it exactly these people are applauding? Haven't they noticed they and/or their friends, neighbors & relatives are making themselves vulnerable all over again? Haven't they noticed that Republicans have no plan at all to cover them? As Donald Trump would ask, "How stupid are the people of Iowa?" ...

... Amy Davidson of the New Yorker: Possibly the only genuine moment in Thursday's GOP debate came when Sens. Rand Paul & Marco Rubio demonstrated how much they loathed Ted Cruz. Both accused him of lying; in fact, Rubio said Cruz's campaign is built on a lie. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... "Pastor-in-Chief." Benjamin Landy of Vanity Fair summarizes Marco's evolving campaign theme, which is now Jesus-centric. ...

... Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian takes a longer look at Rubio's changing messages. CW: Since he's a master at double-speak, he claims not to be changing his message at all. I'm struck by Marco's lame answer to every argument against his own positions & proposals: "People have a right to believe...." It's another way of saying, "Vote for me even if you disagree with everything I would do as president." It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Putin is a one-horse country: oil & energy. -- Ben Carson, at Thursday's debate

** Paul Waldman, in the Week: "Earlier this week, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ... said of the debate between Republican presidential candidates, 'The level of dialogue on national security issues would embarrass a middle schooler.' In Thursday night's GOP debate, those candidates set out to prove his point -- and they didn't even need Donald Trump in order to do it." Waldman runs down & "annotates" some of the candidates' remarks: funny, maddening, frightening, stupid.

Beyond the Beltway

Abby Goodnough of the New York Times: "Of all the concerns raised by the contamination of Flint's water supply, and the failure of the state and federal governments to promptly address the crisis after it began nearly two years ago, none is more chilling than the possibility that children in this tattered city may have suffered irreversible damage to their developing brains and nervous systems from exposure to lead." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian: "A federal judge Friday denied release for five of 10 defendants accused of conspiring in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge -- Ammon Bundy, brother Ryan Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jason Patrick and Dylan Anderson. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman found they were among the key players who took over the federal property in Harney County with a show of force, breaking the law from 'day one,' and then ignored orders to leave the refuge for nearly a month." The story includes details of related developments. ...

... The Confederacy Lives. Fedor Zarkhin of the Oregonian: "The 154-year-old law under which Ammon Bundy and others were arrested this week was created to deal with ... Confederate sympathizers ... plotting to overthrow the government or impeding the work of federal officers.... The new anti-conspiracy law [which President Lincoln signed] also explicitly barred people from taking control of federal property, which state forces and armed groups in the seceded states had done."

My Emily Litella Moment. CW : This Oregonian headline confused me: "Black customer accuses Lake Oswego Safeway worker of lobbing racial slurs in $100K suit." How can a Safeway worker afford a $100K suit?, I wondered. Does anybody own a $100K suit? And if you did own a $100K suit, would you bother insulting Safeway customers? Doesn't a person who parades around in a $100K suit have better things to do?

The Princess Melania Story:

News Ledes

Los Angeles Times: "The two Orange County jail escapees who remained at large after a daring escape eight days ago were arrested in San Francisco after a citizen noticed a van matching the description of the one they had allegedly stolen parked in a lot near a Whole Foods Market, officials said Saturday.... A third escapee, Bac Duong, surrendered to authorities in Santa Ana on Friday, a week after the three broke out of the Santa Ana lockup. The arrests ended a massive manhunt for the men, who all were charged with violent crimes."

New York Times: "China on Saturday accused the United States Navy of violating its laws by sending a warship within the 12-mile territorial zone of an island it claims in the South China Sea after the Pentagon said a Navy vessel had conducted a freedom of navigation operation. The United States vessel, the missile destroyer Curtis Wilbur, entered the waters off Triton Island in the Paracel Islands chain on Saturday without giving China notice in an exercise intended to challenge 'excessive maritime claims' by China and two other countries, said ... a Pentagon spokesman. Vietnam and Taiwan also claim Triton Island, though the Navy operation appeared to be aimed at China."