The Commentariat -- August 19
I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square.
New York Times Editors: "... leaders on both sides of the Atlantic seem determined to handcuff fiscal policies — the main tools that can increase jobs, consumer demand and economic growth — with an unquestioning devotion to rigid austerity.... But Europe’s broad downward trajectory can only be turned around if governments — both those of lenders and debtors — spend more in the near term to put people back to work and get consumers back to spending.... Voters on both sides of the Atlantic need to demand more from their leaders than continued austerity on autopilot." CW: why are the editors of the New York Times smarter than the leaders of the free world? ...
... What Obama Should Propose. Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic: "The ideal jobs package would inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy as quickly as possible – but in a way that paid for itself over the long run and, ideally, diminished automatically once a strong recovery is under way. The administration could do a portion of this on its own.... The Fed could obviously lend a hand, maybe a big hand, as well. But ... Congress would have to take some action. Is there a chance Congress would do that? Not right now. Among the proposals circulating on Capitol Hill, the initiative from progressive House Democrats comes closest."
... Cohn: "... the unemployment rate in Michigan ... is up to 10.9 percent, the third consecutive month that it's risen. The story seems to be the same across the Great Lakes region.... The precipitous drop in unemployment in this part of the country has been one of the better, if under-appreciated, economic stories of the last year -- testimony to a rebound in the manufacturing sector bolstered, in part, by the government's rescue of General Motors and Chrysler.... The situation is still markedly better than a year ago, when unemployment in Michigan was 12.4 percent. But this is obviously sobering news -- and a reminder that the economy needs a lot of help." ...
... Michael Cohen, in Time: "It’s not that [President Obama] necessarily believes that deficits should be the country’s top priority, but rather that without fiscal responsibility Americans will continue to view government in an unsavory light. Relying on class warfare attacks or strident defenses of entitlements might provide a short-term political boost for Democrats. It might even win them the 2012 election. But the larger challenge for liberalism is restoring faith in government and making the case to a skeptical electorate for greater public sector activism.
Digby states the obvious: "I would never have thought that Democrats would greet a major economic downturn with promises to cut [social safety-net] programs. It increases people's anxiety about their personal future and takes away the most important rationale for trusting Democrats. It's extremely odd to see this happening." CW: at least obvious to everybody but President Obama & his Administration. ...
... BUT Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "... since the showdown over raising the debt ceiling, Democrats have been unusually eager to embrace tax increases, gambling that voters will see the Republican refusal to consider higher taxes for the wealthy as recalcitrant and out-of-touch.... Democrats dubbed their efforts 'Accountability August,' targeting vulnerable Republicans through radio ads, billboards and phone banks in an effort to convince voters that the GOP wants to save tax breaks for millionaires and subsidies for oil companies at the expense of Medicare."
Paul Krugman: "Finally, Someone to Run Against Wall Street. One of the truly amazing things about American politics in the Lesser Depression is that nobody in political life has been willing to run as the champion of ordinary Americans against the financial wheeler-dealers who brought this disaster on us.... So I’m glad to hear that Elizabeth Warren will apparently run for Senate.... She’s got the best credentials on the financial crisis of any prominent figure in American life."
Right Wing World
Tax the Poor! Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal: The "2012 election campaign ... has produced the ... critique that too many Americans pay no income tax at all, a point made by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann in July and more recently by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.... Pressed on how they would bring more people into the tax system, none of the top three campaigns offered details." CW: if you want to a good summary of why half of American households pay no federal income tax, this is it. ...
... OR, you could settle for Jon Stewart's explanation. The second segment is right on point, but the first is a swell lead-in:
NEW. Karen Garcia: if you like carbon dioxide (it's completely natural!), you'll love the Republican slate of presidential candidates and their Big Business/Big Polluter backers. President Obama, too, has caved, delaying once again the imposition of stricter "jobs-killing" EPA ozone standards.
Bachmann Staff Plays Beat the Press. Literally. Ben Smith & Jonathan Martin of Politico: "In less than two months since entering the 2012 race, [Rep. Michele] Bachmann’s campaign staff has become embroiled in at least five unusually hostile encounters with the traveling media marked by pushing, shoving and, in one instance, the allegation of a threat of violence to a reporter. Some of it has unfolded in full public view..." as this video illustrates: ...
... Steve Stromberg of the Washington Post: Bachmann promises to bring gas prices down to less than $2/gallon, evidently by decimating the economy again. CW: and you thought her refusal to raise the debt ceiling was nuts? No, no. It was probably part of her master plan to reduce gas prices. Or something. CW: Read Stromberg; this woman is nuts, stupid or both.
Alex Seitz-Wald of Think Progress: Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for going on vacation to Martha's Vineyard. Romney noted there were "a lot of Democrats in Martha's Vineyard." Apparently, there are a lot of well-heeled Republicans, too. Romney will hold a fundraiser on the Vineyard while the Obamas are there. Funny thing -- Romney didn't mention his own Vineyard turn when he criticized Obama.
... George Condon of the National Journal: "In the two centuries since John Adams was the first president to seek solace outside Washington and the 109 years since Theodore Roosevelt invented the modern presidential vacation, the critics have always been there to attack. Now, it's Obama’s turn to weather the storm."
Dave Mann of the Texas Observer in a New Republic post: "... it’s no secret that some of [Texas's] conservatives and libertarians dispute [Gov. Rick Perry's] conservative credentials.... The closer you look at Perry’s record in Texas, the harder it is to discern any coherent ideology at all." Mann provides examples of Perry's "conservative heresy.... When Perry does involve himself in policy debates, the most consistent thread is that he has sided with big business — that is to say, with industries big enough, or fortuitous enough, to have strong connections with the state government.... If there’s one phrase that best describes Perry’s governing ideology, it isn’t 'conservative.' It’s crony capitalism." ...
... NEW. AND Ben Adler of The Nation: "Perry turned Texas into a corporate welfare agency. What did Texas get in return? Not much...."
... Matt Latimer in the Daily Beast: "For years, [Karl] Rove has made it a hobby of sorts to deflate conservatives more popular with the base than he is....Now he and his henchmen are undertaking their most serious gamble. Rick Perry managed to shine in Texas without Rove's permission, and now threatens to become the current Republican frontrunner without Rove’s blessing. This, Rove has decreed, must be stopped, even if his party is destroyed in the process." CW: frankly, I do enjoy watching Republicans squabble. ...
... Jake Tapper of ABC News: Hecklers & protesters confront Perry in New Hampshire. At one point, Perry opts for ...
... The Popover Defense. CW: One thing about the Republican primary: a good percentage of the stories make you laugh out loud. Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: Rick Perry, when confronted with a question about his position that Social Security is unconstitutional, stuffed a popover in his mouth and said he couldn't answer because he had "a big mouthful." ...
Your mom is asking about evolution. You know, that’s a theory that’s out there; it’s got some gaps in it. In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools — because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right. -- Gov. Rick Perry, to a New Hampshire boy ...
... Steve Benen: "... if they’re teaching 'both creationism and evolution,' they’re violating the law. It’s not even a gray area — the Supreme Court has already struck down a law that called for 'balanced treatment for creation-science and evolution-science in public school instruction,' concluding that the law violated the separation of church and state." As to letting students "figure out which one is right," Benen says, "Reality is not multiple choice. Public school curricula are not supposed to present fact and fiction, only to leave it ambiguous which is which." ...
Via Salon.... Justin Elliot of Salon: Robert Morrow, "an Austin Ron Paul supporter, has taken out a full-page ad in the local alt weekly newspaper seeking any 'stripper ... escort ... or "young hottie'" who has slept with Rick Perry, part of his single-minded jihad against the presidential candidate.... At the bottom of the ad is a nod to the longtime (and equally unsubstantiated) rumors that Perry, who has pursued sundry anti-gay policies, is himself gay. "Note to gay people: If you know the truth about Rick, please QUIT covering for him," it reads.... Back in 2008, [Morrow] paid for (and personally voiced) an anti-Hillary robocall in South Carolina that made the unsubstantiated claim that 'Hillary knew about and helped cover up Bill's rape of Juanita Broaddrick.'"
Jim Newell of Gawker: "Sen. Tom Coburn [R-Okla.] Has Lost His Mind." In one townhall meeting, Coburn said (1) medical treatment of the elderly was better before Medicare though "doctors and hospitals often went unpaid for their efforts, or accepted baked goods or chickens in partial payment"; (2) he wants to shoot up the Senate which is "a class of career elitists" and "cowards," but he isn't allowed to "pack a gun on the Senate floor"; and (3) and Obama favors safety-net programs because "As an African-American male... [Obama received] tremendous advantage from a lot of these programs." O-Kaaay. ...
... Jonathan Chait of The New Republic: "Keep in mind that the only area where Obama has attempted to create a new entitlement is health care, which is the same goal pursued by Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, and other non-black politicians."
Chait: Rick Santorum says gay marriage, abortion & eliminating school prayer are "the root causes" of the financial crisis; i.e., general social "immorality" begets (the biblical verb is so appropriate here) Wall Street immorality. CW: so I guess we can see how President Santorum would handle the recession. "Get thee to a nunnery, Lloyd Blankfein."
Local News
Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A week after launching a listening tour of Massachusetts, former White House official Elizabeth Warren has filed an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission as she prepares to challenge Sen. Scott Brown in 2012." The Website of the exploratory committee is http://elizabethforma.com
Laura Clawson of Daily Kos: We Are Ohio, a group campaigning to repeal a law eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employees, yesterday rejected Ohio Gov. John Kasich's (R) offer to compromise with him. The group said they could talk once the bill was repealed.
News Ledes
Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) says he won't run for Senate in 2012 or run against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (RTP) in a 2012 recall election. He also says, "I will be working to re-elect [President Obama] and hope to play a significant role in that effort."
New York Times: "Stock markets in Europe opened sharply lower Friday, a second day of brutal losses, as investors once again took fright at the debt and economic woes that are roiling Europe and the United States."
AP: "White House budget chief Jacob Lew has ordered agency heads to submit spending plans for the upcoming budget at least 5 percent below this year's levels. He also wants them to propose ways to trim a total of at least 10 percent of their spending."
New York Times: "The United States and several of its major allies on Thursday called on ’s president, , to give up power.... Almost simultaneously, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany issued a joint statement urging Mr. Assad 'to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people.' Canada made a similar appeal, as did the European Union. The United Nations human rights office in Geneva issued a damning, 22-page report that concluded that Syrian government forces might have committed crimes against humanity...."
Reuters: "U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday said China had 'nothing to worry about' concerning the safety of its vast holdings of Treasury debt, while China's Premier Wen Jiabao gave a ringing endorsement of the resilience of the debt-ridden U.S. economy. The exchange came on the second day of Biden's five-day visit to China where he is seeking to reduce distrust between the world's two largest economies and build relations with Chinese leaders."
AP: "A bomb exploded in a mosque in a Pakistani tribal region as hundreds were gathered for prayers Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 85 others in the first major attack in the country during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan."
AP: "Suicide attackers stormed a British compound in the Afghan capital on Friday, killing at least 10 people in a five-hour gunfight on the anniversary of the country's independence from Britain. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack on the British Council in the western part of Kabul."
Al Jazeera: "Israeli aircraft have struck Hamas security installations in Gaza, killing at least six Palestinians, in further retaliation for attacks along the Egyptian border in which eight Israelis died." CW: ... because the best way to handle an atrocity is to commit another atrocity.
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