The Commentariat -- Feb. 14, 2013
Arma-fucking-geddon! Hunter of Daily Kos translates the latest Wayne LaPierre rant: "... someday, and real soon now, all of government might collapse, and when that happens all the true patriots are going to have to start shooting people.... When the next hurricane comes and knocks out your electricity, you need to be able to shoot your neighbors. When the government collapses because something-something 'stimulus' and American towns don't have police departments anymore, you need to be able to shoot even more people. And when the Latin American gun cartels turn your neighborhood into a lawless, terrifying hellscape like Phoenix, Arizona, you're going to need to start shooting pretty much everyone." Thanks to contributor Barbarossa for the link.
E. J. Dionne: "... the liberated Obama is not some new, leftist tribune. He's the moderately progressive Obama who started running for president before there was a financial crisis or a tea party. In his 2006 book 'The Audacity of Hope,' he proposed to end polarization by organizing a 'broad majority of Americans' who would be 're-engaged in the project of national renewal' and would 'see their own self-interest as inextricably linked to the interests of others.' On Tuesday night, creating this majority was what he still had in mind."
Steve Benen puts the recent history of jobless claims in chart form, noting that -- with the caveat that weather conditions may be a factor in last week's low claims -- "... the seasonally adjusted 341,000 claims is the second-best total we've seen in the U.S. in the last five years":
James Downie of the Washington Post on why President Obama was right to push for a hike in the minimum wage: "It will help the economy.It will help the economy.... It reduces poverty and inequality.... It reduces in the 'wage gap' for women and minorities.... Indexing the minimum wage is, well, common sense.... It's consistent with American values." ...
... CW P.S.: the majority of the public favors the minimum wage hike. ...
... EXCEPT Congressional Republicans, who claim -- inaccurately -- that raising the minimum wage will raise unemployment. David Jackson of USA Today: "Republicans such as House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said an increase in the minimum wage will translate into a decrease of jobs. 'When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens?' Boehner said. "'You get less of it. At a time when the American people are still asking the question, where are the jobs?'" ...
... Pat Garofalo of Think Progress finds more GOP boneheads blowing smoke on imaginary downsides of paying people closer to a decent wage. Paul Ryan says it's "inflationary." Marco there says history tells us businesses will hire 
, another in Marco's continuing series, "Fractured History." ...
... Greg Sargent finds plenty of data to show Boehner, et al., are wrong: "The left-leaning Center for American Progress recently surveyed a raft of academic studies on the impact of the minimum wage and found that they showed that minimum wage hikes boost workers' wages but don't materially hike unemployment -- even amid bad economic times." Sargent adds, "... this is a good fight for Democrats to have."
Andrew Sullivan on Marco Rubio's speech, which, he says, "... represents the intellectual bankruptcy of contemporary Republicanism. It was a series of Reaganite truisms.... If reciting these platitudes in Spanish is what the GOP thinks will bring it back to anything faintly resembling political or intellectual relevance, they are more deluded than even I imagined." Sullivan calls out a few of Rubio's outright lies, too. ...
... "Marco Rubio [Is] Still Not a Scientist, Man." Jon Chait of New York: "If there's a single line that encapsulates the mindless anti-government doggerel that characterized Marco Rubio's response to the State of the Union address it was his flip dismissal of any government response to climate change, because 'our government can't control the weather.'" ...
... Brian Beutler of TPM: throughout his speech, Rubio expressed "views that have marginalized the GOP over the past four years. But rethinking the agenda that attends to them has turned out to be too tall an order for the GOP. Easier to foist Rubio into the spotlight to propound it more gently than Mitt Romney did, and then hope his youth, ethnicity, and support for immigration reform will be the talismans that reverse the party's hemorrhaging of minority and immigrant voters." ...
... Greg Sargent explains why the GOP's change-nothing strategy makes sense to them. CW: Sargent doesn't put it quite this way, but the plan boils down to this: (1) with Obama out of the picture, black people won't vote, & (2) as long as the GOP keeps obstructing his policy initiatives, they can argue that they his policies haven't worked (because they were never implemented), & they have a (secret) better plan.
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) filed a motion Wednesday afternoon to begin the confirmation debate of Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, setting up a vote by at least Friday morning that would require 60 votes to cut off a potential filibuster by conservative Republicans.... Reid, in filing the anti-filibuster motion, lamented the unusual step of needing 60 votes to win confirmation of a cabinet-level nominee." ...
... Steve Kornacki of Salon: "There are some potentially serious short- and long-term consequences to all of this, which should worry both parties. If Republicans are actually able to derail Hagel with a filibuster, it would shatter tradition and might lead to similar filibusters in the future -- both for Obama's nominees and for nominees of future presidents from both parties. It could also spur Reid to rethink his resistance to major Senate rules changes and to reopen the idea of using the nuclear option. And even if the filibuster is broken, a mostly party-line vote on Hagel's confirmation could set a bad example too.... What happens if party-line votes for Cabinet picks become the norm and, sometime in the not-so-distant future, the White House's party is in the minority in the Senate?" ...
... In a rare move, my Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) calls out Sen. Ted Cruz (RTP-Texas) for impugning the motives of Chuck Hagel. Sen. John McCain lends his support to Nelson's remarks:
... Brent Budowski in The Hill: "... the shameful performance by Cruz, who acted like Joe McCarthy in short pants with his insults of war hero Hagel, illustrates why Republicans keep losing elections, why the Republican and Tea Party brands are in such disrepute, and why the so-called Republican reboot (which I have called the Republican retoot) is still not close to credible."
... CW: Ted Cruz's evidence-free charges, as Steve Benen pointed out in a post I linked the other day, are pure McCarthyism. When we have an entire political party that runs fact-free all the time, as we do now, we have to expect that party to institutionalize McCarthyism, as they are doing now -- making accusations, absent facts, & occasionally -- as Cruz did -- making wholly unfounded accusations impugning not just the character but the loyalty of their targets.
Annie Lowrey of the New York Times: "Jacob J. Lew, President Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary, faced some fierce questioning on Wednesday from the Senate Finance Committee on his tenure at the bailed-out Citigroup and on an investment based in the Cayman Islands. But the even-tempered, bookish Mr. Lew parried the blows and appeared likely to win the committee's approval and Senate confirmation." ...
... Dana Milbank: party roll reversals emerge at Jack Lew confirmation hearing. "... it's a bit, well, rich that Obama chose as his new Treasury secretary a man who received a big corporate payout for dubious work and who socked away money in the Cayman Islands." CW: in Washington, Hypocrisy is a two-way street.
Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times: "Despite opposition from nearly all Senate Republicans, President Obama asked the Senate on Wednesday to confirm two Democrats whose recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court last month. The two, Sharon Block, a former labor counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Richard Griffin, former general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, have been serving on the board since January 2012, appointed by the president during a Senate break after Republicans blocked their confirmations."
Stephen Ohlemacher of the AP: "Outgoing Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue has some parting shots for Congress, the White House and advocates for seniors. They have all 'really walked away from Social Security,' he says, leaving the program 'fraying because of inattention to its problems.' Instead of making the hard choices to fix Social Security's financial problems, policymakers 'use it as a tool of political rhetoric,' Astrue said."
Motoko Rich of the New York Times: "In details that emerged early Thursday, the administration proposed that the federal government work with states to provide preschool for every 4-year-old from low- and moderate-income families. The president's plan also calls for expanding Early Head Start, the federal program designed to prepare children from low-income families for school, to broaden quality childcare for infants and toddlers."
New York Times Editors endorse a no-brainer: judicial review before the U.S. engages in targeted killings.
AND Washington Post Editors are fairly outraged by the fact Cardinal Roger Mahony, who shielded & enabled pedophile priests for decades, remains a powerful member of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. CW Newsflash: I don't think every single cardinal covered up rampant child abuse because not every single cardinal has administrative responsibilities, but it is only somewhat hyperbolic to say that the reason Mahony gets to stay on is that "they all did it." The fact is that Benedict himself, along with dozens of other church high officials, engaged in years of protecting priests & exposing children to abuse. The miscreant cardinals get to vote for the next pope, & one can credibly speculate they hold enough of a majority to choose a man who will protect them.
This poster is the original work of contributor MAG:
News Ledes
Reuters: "Remains recovered from a burned-out California mountain cabin following a standoff between police and a gunman this week have been positively identified as those of [Christopher Dorner,] a fugitive ex-Los Angeles policeman accused of a grudge-fueled killing spree."
AP: "The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System as the first treatment for an inherited disorder that causes the breakdown of cells in the retina, a membrane inside the eye."
Market Watch: "The number of Americans who applied last week for new jobless benefits fell sharply, though it's unclear whether part of the drop stemmed from the huge snowstorm that battered the Northeast. Applications for initial unemployment benefits sank 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 341,000 in the week ended Feb. 9...."
Washington Post: "Bankrupt American Airlines and its dogged suitor, US Airways, announced a merger Thursday that would create the world's largest air carrier and put 86 percent of domestic air travel in the hands of four big airlines. The merger was approved by the boards of both airlines, ending months of negotiation that began with American giving a frosty response to the initial overture from US Airways."
Live Science: "Climate scientist James Hansen was arrested today outside the White House while protesting the proposed construction of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.... Some 48 activists, including Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah, executive director of the Sierra Club Michael Brune, Bill McKibben, co-founder of the grassroots climate group 350.org, and civil rights activist Julian Bond, practiced civil disobedience in front of the White House. They are demanding the president deny the pipeline construction and address the climate crisis."
Reuters: "The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it had again failed to clinch a deal in talks with Iran this week on investigating suspected atom bomb research by the Islamic state. The lack of a breakthrough in Wednesday's meeting in Tehran, though expected by Western diplomats, represented a new setback for international efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over Iran's disputed nuclear program." ...
... Reuters: "U.N. nuclear inspectors have seen a small number of advanced centrifuges at an uranium enrichment plant where Iran has said it will install and operate them, a diplomatic source said on Thursday. On Wednesday, Iran's atomic energy chief said it had started installing a new generation of machines for refining uranium at the Natanz plant, an announcement likely to annoy the West and complicate efforts to resolve a dispute over its nuclear work."
ABC News: "Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic and Paralympic athlete known as the 'blade runner,' was taken into custody in South Africa today and charged with the murder of his girlfriend [Reeva Steenkamp], who was fatally shot at his home."
AP: "Pope Benedict XVI hit his head during his March 2012 trip to Mexico, The Vatican said Thursday, but denied the accident had any 'relevant' role in his resignation. It was the latest revelation of a hidden health issue to emerge from the Holy See since the pope's shock announcement, and adds to questions about the gravity of the pontiff's condition."
NBC News: Karen & Jim Reynolds tell of coming upon suspected multiple murderer Christopher Dorner in their Big Bear cabin. Dorner tied them up & left in their vehicle, but the couple wriggled free & called 911. Video & story. ...
... AP: "... while Christopher Dorner left no doubt he could be unforgivingly violent, when it came to keeping ahead of the law during his deadly rampage, he made one gaffe after another."
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Reader Comments (15)
The only thing Reid should be lamenting is his own cowardice in paving the way for this to happen.
@James Singer: exactly right. We'll see how this plays out, but it sure looks as if Harry had this coming -- and is in for a whole lot more of the same as the term unfolds.
Those NLRB nominations should go well. Ha!
Marie
Dear Harry-
I refer you to the following comment from WaPo--in Marie Burns' Reality Chex Blog:
...."Reid, in filing the anti-filibuster motion, lamented the unusual step of needing 60 votes to win confirmation of a cabinet-level nominee."
Really! What did you THINK would happen when you wussed out on effectively championing and seeking votes to change back the filibuster to the intention of its originators? Surely you did not think the crazies would play fair and not use it to harass a cabinet appointment by the President?
I suspect you did (and do) not give a shit. You did this for your own political purposes--which I hope are short in number. After all you are 70 years old, and not likely to win another term. Perhaps the next opponent you get will not be Sharron Angle, but will actually be a viable Democrat in the primaries.
You are a disappointment, a coward and an asswipe, Harry. Go back to Searchlight and give it a rest. We would like to have as our Majority Leader in the Senate someone who gives a shit. That would not be you.
Yours Untruly-
Michelle Obama
How is it that so many feckless cowards and imbeciles infest the Senate (the House is filled with other forms of vermin).
I do like Forrest's suggestion yesterday that the Violence Against Women Act should have been renamed to include protection for violence against rich white men. He's right. It would have passed in an instant with decorous speeches about the need to protect old conservative pieces of shit against unseen foes who might abuse them terribly.
That sort of thing actually works. Years ago a friend of mine working in the public sector needed to go before an elected body to request certain pieces of equipment. He was asked to explain what they did, and like the political naif that he was in those days, he gave them the precise technical explanation. They turned him down flat both times. The next year he came before them again and now he needed twice as many units. When asked what this equipment did he simply told them "They make you all look better." They told him to double the order.
True story.
"... you (Senator Reid) are 70 years old, and not likely to win another term. "
I believe Sen Reid has already said, at the beginning of the previous congress, that he does not intend to run again. Whatever his motives in considering the rule changes at the beginning of this congress, his re-election prospects were probably not a factor.
I find it difficult to believe that he would move for cloture on Hagel if he did not know that he had 55+5 votes to gain cloture. He's pretty good at counting, and has been around long enough to know you don't make such a move without being certain of the outcome.
On the other hand, stuff happens, which would mean "xin loi, Chuck."
Re: That Patrick; Anybody besides me notice that Patrick the commentator doesn't write often but when he does it's usually right on target? Wicked; one might say if one was from the Northeast Kingdom.
Me? I write too often and say too little.
@Patrick. I think you're right, at least in the long run. I'm not certain Reid will get cloture on the first round. The GOP senators, to embarrass Hagel & Obama, have taken to demanding "more information," & they may be able to get 41 votes in the first round on the excuse they need "more info," like Hagel's checkbook stubs from 1977 or something. Several GOP senators, however, have said they would not -- ultimately -- filibuster Hagel; I do think they might vote en masse once against bringing a confirmation vote, just to show they are big boys with big-boy pants.
In any event, we'll find out tomorrow.
Marie
Update: in one of his entertaining rants, Charles Pierce shares my view that Hagel's nomination may be in trouble in the short run: "The Republicans have shown no sign that they believe their public dysfunction hurts them. They wallow in it.... They have shown no sign that they regard making the national-security policy of the country hostage to the ranting incoherence of Jim Inhofe, or the wounded self-regard of John McCain, or the electoral night-sweats of Lindsey Graham, as anything less than the fullest exercise of their responsibility." Read the whole post.
One of the most idiotic opponents of Hagel is his new Senator from Nebraska, Deb Fisher. She is a Tea Party Proponent and intellectually bancrupt! She will probably support a fillibuster against his nomination. At least she voted for the violence against women act while our other Senator Johanns did not. They are both an embarassment to this hopelessly red state!
@fromtheheartland: one would think a new Senator would show a bit of humility. As far as I can tell, Fischer has never showed a particular interest in foreign policy. She is from the same state & the same party as Hagel (even if Hagel did endorse her Democratic opponent in 2012), so you might think she would demonstrate some dignity & local pride: if she truly opposed Hagel, she might have at least abstained from voting, rather than voting against him.
The bottom line is that the opposition should be expected to disagree with many of the policy positions members of the President's Cabinet take. They're the opposition, for Pete's sake! "Advice & consent" is not supposed to be an ideological purity test; it is supposed to be a process of vetting the qualifications of a candidate, not her/his particular views unless those views are so radically different from the President's that they would affect her/his ability to do the job. By any measure, Hagel is qualified to be Secretary of Defense, whether or not Deb Fischer agrees with every statement he ever made.
I hope Fischer's vote hurts her re-election chances, but that's a long way off, so I suppose all will be forgiven.
Marie
Lock and load. Get ready to shoot your neighors! Which means "Buy assault rifles and lots and lots of cartridges."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/13/1186956/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-The-NRA-s-Wayne-LaPierre-unhinged-and-unchained
Ooooh! I was unaware that Phoenix, AZ is rife with drug cartels. LaPierre's arguments don't make sense. It's easy to buy guns in Arizona.
Hieronymus Bosch paintings are some of my favorite, being perfectly at home in the modern movements of visionary and outsider art. For me the depictions of Hell and its occupants capture perversity, degradation and evil like no other. If you look closely, Ted Cruz, Wayne LaPierre and their ilk are lurking in the shadows. In my mind, their grandiose view of self that fuels their twisted view of people belongs in a setting more conducive to their lack of soul. One can only hope that their malignancy will be the end of them. It feels like they are meeting no meaningful resistance.
Hagel will be filibustered - the Republicans have long since moved beyond any semblance of acceptable behavior. The crusade for power and the hate for this President drive everything they do. Mob mentality. When Cruz is allowed to spew his slanderous bile as a Senator - there are no more boundaries.
I continually wonder why it is that publications such as Esquire and Rolling Stone are the ones with guts enough to offer us a look at the horrific outrages perpetrated on us by the 'good guys.' And whenever anyone is prosecuted, it's usually some low level schlub (and, frequently someone foreign-born and laboring in a sub-sub-department who is charged with crimes). As always and ever, the top tier skates blithely away with profits intact.
Have just finished reading Matt Taibbi's latest story.
"Gangster Bankers: Too Big to Jail / How HSBC hooked up with drug traffickers and terrorists. And got away with it"
Taibbi: "People may have outrage fatigue about Wall Street, and more stories about billionaire greedheads getting away with more stealing often cease to amaze. But the HSBC case went miles beyond the usual paper-pushing, keypad-punching sort-of crime, committed by geeks in ties, normally associated with Wall Street."
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/gangster-bankers-too-big-to-jail-20130214
...Anyone suffering outrage fatigue, might get a second wind upon reading it.
I'm with you Kate. Regardless of whether Harry will run again-he gave away the farm to McConnell. I understand that there is a fear of turnabout should the Democrats regain a majority. However the hole is getting deeper and deeper while our panties are in a knot.The President is plowing the way, pick up your balls and follow - quickly, the window will close soon. The fear of what will happen in a Democratic controlled Senate is pretty much like obsessing on the deficit right now.
I had to write Mr Bera again too. When I saw Ryan sportin' the "problem solver" button Tuesday night it dawned on me that this was likely a pretty smart Republican idea designed to neutralize the newbies and the naive Democrats. Who would belong to a group that had a racist, misogynist goober like Ryan as a member. I nearly asked for a refund on my Bera campaign donations.
The party of Raygun is reaching deeper into it's past each day as it devolves into the party of McCarthy. The answer to the question "Have they no shame?" is yes.
Unfortunately, most of these sycophants know no other way to make a living as their psychotic personalities make them un-fit for most kinds of employment.
Sadly, their pandering to plutocrats pays off at election time.
@Roger Henry
It's not just the pandering that's getting them elected. It's also the dark overlords.