The Commentariat -- February 4, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Laura Koran of CNN: "President Barack Obama addressed the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, speaking about the need to overcome fear through faith, just one day after making a historic visit to a Baltimore mosque where he delivered a message of religious inclusivity.... Ben Carson ... attended the event but did not address the crowd." CW: I listened to the end of President Obama's speech. It was very moving:
Andrew Pollack of the New York Times: "In a testy exchange with lawmakers, Martin Shkreli declined to testify before a House committee on Thursday about his actions in increasing the price of a decades-old drug fiftyfold overnight. Mr. Shkreli, who left Turing Pharmaceuticals, the drug company he started, after being indicted on federal securities fraud charges in December, repeatedly exercised his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination, angering various members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 'I don't think I've ever seen the committee treated with such contempt,' Representative John Mica, a Florida Republican, said after Mr. Shkreli was excused and left the room.... The theatrics surrounding Mr. Shkreli's appearance, which included his smirking at some remarks by committee members and calling them 'imbeciles' on Twitter after he left the hearing, overshadowed some of the more substantial discussion about huge overnight price increases in the prices of old drugs by Turing and another company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International."
CW: By my count, that's two lowlifes who got something right today. (1) Cruz: "Trumpertantrum"; (2) Shkreli: "imbeciles."
Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said late Wednesday that partisan extremism is damaging the public's perception of the role of the Supreme Court, recasting the justices as players in the political process rather than its referees.... Roberts said he thought the public skepticism concerning the court starts with the Senate confirmation process."
James Hohmann of the Washington Post on Hillary Clinton's "flip" answer to Anderson Cooper's question about her well-paid Wall Street speeches. "The most problematic part of her answer came when she insisted something that is demonstrably untrue: 'They're not giving me very much money now, I can tell you that much. Fine with me.'... The latest FEC reports reveal that Hillary reached a major milestone during the fourth quarter of 2015: Donors in the financial sector have now given more to support her campaigns than Bill's."
*****
Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: " is being pressed by some of his top national security aides to approve the use of American military power in Libya to open up another front against the Islamic State. But Mr. Obama, wary of embarking on an intervention in another strife-torn country, has told his aides to redouble their efforts to help form a unity government in Libya at the same time the Pentagon refines its options.... The use of large numbers of American ground troops is not being considered." CW: Hmm, these aides aren't helping Hillary's campaign.
Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "President Obama reached out to Muslims in the United States on Wednesday in an impassioned speech, embracing them as part of 'one American family,' implicitly criticizing the Republican presidential candidates and warning citizens not to be 'bystanders to bigotry'":
Joe Davidson of the Washington Post: "President Obama will include an average 1.6 percent pay raise for federal employees in his fiscal 2017 budget proposal. This year, the average raise is 1.3 percent. The 2017 pay increase was announced in a conference call with administration and union officials."
Andrew Pollack of the New York Times: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing this morning on soaring drug prices. "While the focus of the hearing is the price of drugs, it is expected to zero in on the actions of two companies -- Valeant [Pharmaceuticals] and Turing Pharmaceuticals -- in acquiring the rights to decades-old drugs and increasing their prices by huge amounts overnight."
Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "A key congressional committee on Wednesday launched its investigation into the Flint, Mich., water crisis with its Republican chairman issuing subpoenas to force depositions from two officials, while Democrats complained the state's governor has not been called to testify for political reasons. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) accused the two officials of not being cooperative and was particularly critical of Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley, whose lawyer declined to accept an earlier subpoena seeking his testimony before the panel. 'We're calling on the U.S. marshals to hunt him down and give him that subpoena,' [Chaffetz] said at a hearing, sparking a round of applause." ...
... CW: Earley is a Democrat -- and he's black. Just thought you'd want to know. Hunt him down, Jason. Maybe you'll want to call out a pack of bloodhounds. But of course you're not a racist. ...
... Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press: "A lawyer for former Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley says if his client is again subpoenaed by a congressional committee looking that the Flint water crisis, he'll accept it.... [Attorney Scott] Bolden had told the Free Press on Tuesday night that he refused the subpoena because neither he nor Earley had time to prepare but said he would accept another subpoena as long as it isn't issued on such short notice." ...
... Oliver Milman & Ryan Felton of the Guardian: "The Environmental Protection Agency warned of an unfolding toxic water crisis in Flint but was 'met with resistance' by Michigan authorities, a fiery congressional hearing into the city's public health disaster has heard.... Congress was also told that flawed water testing practices, now eliminated in Flint, are happening unchecked across the US, risking a much wider public health crisis in other cities." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Todd Spangler & Maureen Groppe of the Detroit Free Press & USA Today: "Calling the situation in Flint 'a failing at every level' of government, U.S. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, directed most of his criticism at the Environmental Protection Agency, saying there have been 'festering' problems there for years and disputing Deputy Assistant Administrator Joel Beauvais' contention that responding to the Flint water crisis was the agency's highest priority."
Newt Gingrich & Tom Daschle write a Washington Post op-ed in which they propose "a step toward bipartisan health-care reform." It involves pretty much allowing the states to set up their own programs via a provision of the ACA. CW: I'll bet the Southern states, in particular, would do a great job.
Take Care. Linda Greenhouse: "... the court's action two weeks ago in accepting the Obama administration's appeal in a major immigration case was startling. The surprise was not that the court agreed to hear the case, United States v. Texas, an appeal from a ruling that the president lacked authority under the immigration laws to defer deporting undocumented immigrants whose children are American citizens or lawful permanent residents. It was rather the blockbuster constitutional question that the justices added to the case, a question the court had not been asked, and one that neither of the lower federal courts had even addressed when they ruled on purely statutory grounds against the administration. This is what the court said in its Jan. 19 order: 'In addition to the questions presented by the petition, the parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: "Whether the Guidance violates the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, Art. II, §3.' Wow." Read on.
Presidential Race
This is the headline: "Clinton blasts Wall Street, but still draws millions in contributions." Matea Gold, et al., of the Washington Post: "Even as Hillary Clinton has stepped up her rhetorical assault on Wall Street, her campaign and allied super PACs have continued to rake in millions from the financial sector, a sign of her deep and lasting relationships with banking and investment titans. Through the end of December, donors at hedge funds, banks, insurance companies and other financial-services firms had given at least $21.4 million to support Clinton's 2016 presidential run -- more than one of every 10 dollars of the $157.8 million contributed to back her bid, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings by The Washington Post."
They're not giving me that much money now. -- Hillary Clinton, at the town hall last night, in response to Anderson Cooper's question about Wall Street contributions to her campaign
I guess it depends on the meaning of "that much." -- Constant Weader
This is the headline: "Something smells in the Democratic party." Des Moines Register Editors: "What happened Monday night at the Democratic caucuses was a debacle, period. Democracy, particularly at the local party level, can be slow, messy and obscure. But the refusal to undergo scrutiny or allow for an appeal reeks of autocracy. The Iowa Democratic Party must act quickly to assure the accuracy of the caucus results, beyond a shadow of a doubt. First of all, the results were too close not to do a complete audit of results. Two-tenths of 1 percent separated Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.... Second, too many questions have been raised.... Too many of us, including members of the Register editorial board who were observing caucuses, saw opportunities for error amid Monday night's chaos.... Dr. Andy McGuire, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, dug in her heels and said no [to the Sanders campaign's request for a comparison with its own tabulations]. We need answers to what happened Monday night. The future of the first-in-the-nation caucuses demands it." ...
... CW: The Register, if you recall, endorsed Clinton.
M.J. Lee of CNN: "Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders traded barbs Wednesday night over who best embodies progressive values. At a CNN town hall in Derry, New Hampshire, ahead of next Tuesday's first-in-the-nation primary, Sanders slammed Clinton, arguing that she's out of step with the party's base on issues ranging from campaign finance to climate change, trade and the Iraq War.... The race, however, isn't nearly as negative as the Republican primary contest, which was dominated on Wednesday by personal attacks between Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson." ...
... Video of the full town-hall event is here.
Greg Sargent: "The campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have agreed on a rough schedule for four new debates over the next few months, according to various sources, a move that shows the Democratic primary is now set to shift into a higher gear and signals we may be headed for a long, drawn-out battle. The four debates will be sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee, a spokesman for the DNC, Luis Miranda, confirms to me." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The National Archives is fighting a lawsuit trying to force disclosure of several draft indictments of Hillary Clinton prepared by a Whitewater prosecutor in the 1990s. In a brief filed late Tuesday, Justice Department lawyers and the Archives argue that disclosure of the draft indictments would lead to an unwarranted invasion of Clinton's privacy and violate a court rule protecting grand jury secrecy."
You know, I get accused of being kind of moderate and center. I plead guilty. -- Hillary Clinton, ca. September 10, 2015, at an Ohio event ...
... Amber Jamieson of the Guardian: "At a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire on Wednesday, [Hillary] Clinton accused [Bernie] Sanders of a 'low blow' for saying that the former secretary of state was only a progressive on 'some days'. 'I hope we keep it on the issues,' Clinton said, 'because if it's about our records, hey, I'm going to win by a landslide.' A reporter had questioned the Vermont senator on Tuesday about whether his Democratic opponent was a truly progressive liberal. 'Some days, yes. Except when she announces that she is a proud moderate, and then I guess she is not a progressive,' replied Sanders." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
** Brent Budowsky of the Hill: "The message that Clinton needs to hear -- and needs to understand -- is that despite her overpowering and overwhelming advantages of money and power and the virtually unanimous support from the Democratic establishment, it was Sanders who won the most important battle of the Iowa caucuses by fighting her to a draw. Instead of attacking Sanders for having dreams too great, the former first lady should share with the nation the dreams she has, without fear or favor about which interest group might be offended. She should speak of her dreams with passion, principle, courage and authenticity with her voice, as Sanders does with his." Read the whole column. ...
... CW: Sorry, Brent, but as David Axelrod suggested as late caucus result were dribbling in (see Tuesday's Commentariat), Hillary's "dreams" are all about Hillary. Hillary & Bill were the stars of the "Me generation," & their personalities & goals haven't changed much. It's difficult to speak with "passion & authenticity" about matters that are only ancillary to your objective.
Hanna Trudo of Politico: "Elizabeth Warren defended Bernie Sanders on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said the Vermont senator's anti-Wall Street rhetoric could be 'dangerous.'... 'When Blankfein says that criticizing those who break the rules is dangerous to the economy, then he's just repeating another variation of "too big to fail," "too big to jail," "too big even to prosecute,"' she said."
Stephanie Condon of CBS News: "Former President Jimmy Carter told the British Parliament on Wednesday that if he had to choose between Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, he'd prefer to see Trump win the White House.... '... the reason is Trump has proven already that he's completely malleable. I don't think he has any fixed opinions that he would really go to the White House and fight for.' By contrast, Mr. Carter said, 'Ted Cruz is not malleable. He has far right-wing policies, in my opinion, that would be pursued aggressively if and when he would become president'":
Charles Pierce: "For all the Scripture he spouts, and for all of his devotion to our God-kissed Constitution, Cruz has the soul of a true ratfcker.... At least Nixon's ratfcking stemmed from his human weaknesses and his inbred paranoia. Cruz believes he is commanded to his by the Lord. This scares me much more.... Anyway, this is a guy with an awful lot of money, almost no conscience, and a demonstrated proclivity for using both in a way destructive to a national election. I don't particularly want him to get his hands on the FBI." ...
... Nick Gass of Politico: Ted "Cruz reacted to [Donald] Trump's accusations [that Cruz had stolen the Iowa caucuses] with amusement, and ridiculed the real estate mogul as an unstable person throwing a 'Tempertrantrum.' [sic.; s/b 'Trumpertantrum'] 'I wake up every day and laugh at the latest thing Donald has tweeted because he's losing it,' Cruz told reporters in Goffstown, New Hampshire. 'We need a commander-in-chief, not a Twitterer-in-chief. We need someone with judgment and the temperament to keep this country safe. I don't know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button,' Cruz continued. 'I mean, we're liable to wake up one morning and Donald, if he were president, would have nuked Denmark.'" ...
... Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday chided President Obama for visiting a mosque, a move the president made in part as a counter to Trump's controversial comments on Muslims. '... I don't know, maybe he feels comfortable there,' Trump said Wednesday on Fox News' 'On the Record with Greta Van Susteren' 'There are a lot of places he can go, and he chose a mosque.'" ...
... Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "In the lead-up to Donald Trump's loss in Iowa, staffers sought additional funding for campaign infrastructure and were denied. Now, six days from the New Hampshire primary and looking for his first win, Trump is still refusing to shake up his ground game. He has added just one paid organizer in the state, a move that came a month ago. Instead, he is pushing ahead with plans to campaign outside of the state in the final week of voting and will count on the glamour of famous surrogates, including his sons, who plan to tour New Hampshire beginning this weekend." ...
... Charles Pierce: "... it's time to lay to rest the idea that Trump is a brilliant campaign strategist. Save for the fact that this guy has managed to co-opt more free media than the Pope, Trump's run a campaign that would embarrass a candidate for seventh grade class treasurer." ...
... CW: It's not about politics, Charles. Politics is boring. It's about fawning fans.
Jonathan Chait: President Obama's visit to a Baltimore mosque Wednesday "offended Marco Rubio, who called it yet another example of Obama's 'constant pitting people against each other. I can't stand that.'... Obama and Rubio follow very different theories of the proper treatment of social minorities. One of those men is president of the United States, and the other has no business holding that position." CW: Chait does a great job of explaining why Marco is offended, but I just want to box Marco's Dr. Spock ears. Why isn't it offensive when Obama attends a Christian religious service (as opposed to addressing people of faith)? Why isn't that pitting Christians against everybody else? ...
... "'The Boy in the Bubble,' Running Scared." Dana Milbank: Marco Rubio "is stumping through New Hampshire as if he's campaigning to win the Cautious Caucus. He gives the same speech everywhere. The most tightly managed candidate in the race, he shuns risk and appears to live in mortal terror of mentioning the man who dominates the race.... Rubio's strong Iowa finish has brought new attention -- and over-capacity crowds -- in New Hampshire. But the would-be supporters are greeted by a robot." ...
... That's funny, because Gail Collins notes that even if Marco has been giving the same speech since 2010, he's still "growing" on some issues, especially where "growth" = "flipflop."
Daniel Strauss of Politico: "Sen. Marco Rubio locked up a handful of congressional endorsements on Wednesday.... The endorsements are the latest in a rapidly increasing list of congressional backers who have thrown their support behind Rubio, who has now vaulted ahead of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the so-called 'endorsement primary.'" ...
... Michael Barbaro & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "... Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is embarking on a scalding effort over the next week to discredit Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, the man he blames for undermining his campaign and whose ascendancy he deeply resents. And Mr. Christie has a secret ally: Jeb Bush.... The shared concern has even prompted the opening of a back channel: Members of the Bush and Christie campaigns have communicated about their mutual desire to halt Mr. Rubio's rise in the polls...." ...
... Jonathan Martin & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: Jeb! "is facing growing pressure to either demonstrate his appeal to voters or leave the race. Specifically, many Republicans -- including some of his supporters and donors -- said Tuesday that Mr. Bush must finish ahead of Mr. Rubio in the primary [in New Hampshire] on Tuesday to justify continuing his campaign into South Carolina.... Yet there are signs Mr. Bush may still have some work to do to finish in the top tier here. Speaking to a crowd at the Hanover Inn near the Vermont border during his final stop of the day, Mr. Bush finished a fiery riff about protecting the country as commander in chief -- 'I won't be out here blowharding, talking a big game without backing it up,' he said -- and was met with total silence. 'Please clap,' he said, sounding defeated. The crowd laughed -- and then, finally, clapped." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Akhilleus comments, near the end of yesterday's thread, on poor ole Jeb! ...
... Scott Lemieux: "I'm almost tempted to feel bad for the guy, but then I remember the 2000 African-American voter purge and Terri Schiavo." ...
... Kerry Eleveld of Daily Kos: "... the last thing establishment Republicans want is for Jeb! Bush and Marco Rubio to continue tearing each other to shreds with a little Kasich and Christie on the side. They need to coalesce against the enemy -- Crump!... There's one problem, the establishment built a hideous financial beast that they might not be able to control: FrankenBush."
Ashley Parker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania plans two major announcements on Wednesday night about his candidacy amid speculation that he is pulling out of the race." CW: Darn! I was sure Santorum was going to win. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. Daniel Strauss: "Rick Santorum on Wednesday dropped out of the Republican primary race, and immediately threw his support behind Florida Sen. Marco Rubio." CW: Yes, because they both would ban abortion and limit contraception for every woman excepting their wives & any occasional lovers they might have. ...
... Update: With repeated prodding, Rick Santorum can't name a single accomplishment Marco Rubio achieved in the Senate:
Post Mortem for the Most Interesting Man in Politics. Jamelle Bouie: Rand Paul's attempts to embrace minorities was no match for Donald Trump's racism. "As a vehicle for [his] message [of inclusion], the Kentucky senator wasn't perfect.... Still, unique among the GOP's presidential aspirants, Paul tried.... Whereas Paul wanted to appeal to minority voters, Trump aimed to antagonize them, sharing racist and anti-black memes on Twitter and warning voters of a dangerous, brown-skinned menace.... Republican voters have flocked to this, and in response, mainstream Republican candidates have aped the approach.... After almost eight years of Obama, what Republican voters want is strength and aggression. And in Trump and his imitators, that's what they have."
Beyond the Beltway
Graham Bowley, et al., of the New York Times: "The sexual assault case against Bill Cosby can proceed, a judge ruled Wednesday, saying that prosecutors are not bound by a predecessor's decision 11 years ago to not prosecute Mr. Cosby in the case of a young Temple University staff member who said the entertainer had drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home."
Way Beyond
Nick Cumming-Bruce & Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "The United Nations on Wednesday temporarily suspended the fledgling talks aimed at ending the war in Syria and called on the countries fueling the conflict to do more to yield results, as Syrian government forces sharply escalated an offensive on a strategic rebel-held city."
Simon Romero of the New York Times: "The surging medical reports of babies being born with unusually small heads during the Zika epidemic in Brazil are igniting a fierce debate over the country's abortion laws, which make the procedure illegal under most circumstances. Prominent legal scholars in Brasília, the capital, are preparing a case to go before Brazil's highest court, arguing that pregnant women should be permitted to have abortions when their fetuses are found to have abnormally small heads, a condition known as microcephaly that Brazilian researchers say is linked to the virus. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Liam Stack of the New York Times: "Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, said on Thursday that he would turn himself in to the British police if a United Nations panel ruled that the years he has spent in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, did not constitute a de facto form of illegal imprisonment." ...
... Update. Matt Siegel and Guy Faulconbridge of Reuters: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's three-and-a-half-year stay in the Ecuadorian embassy in London amounts to 'unlawful detention', a United Nations panel examining his appeal will rule on Friday, the BBC reported.... The British police said Assange would face arrest if he leaves the embassy."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Pregnant women whose male sexual partners have spent time in a country with confirmed transmissions of the Zika virus should either abstain from sex or use condoms during intercourse for the duration of their pregnancy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced.'
New York Times: "Maurice White, the founder and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire, whose genre-defying music made it one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, has died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 74."
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Reader Comments (22)
Scream it from the mountain tops, and repeat (maybe somebody's listening...? I'm being optimistic):
"I consider this important enough that Ryan should insist on principle and resign if he own caucus can’t live with it. It’s really a moral issue for me more than a political question. Ten years ago, it wasn’t even a partisan subject, but ten years ago we didn’t have a black president and a raging Tea Party revolt against the Republican Establishment.
Basically, I think Paul Ryan is a coward. He’s a political coward, but more importantly, he’s a moral coward."
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2016_02/speaker_ryan_cant_reauthorize059505.php
"Why Bernie Sanders is the person best qualified to be the next President of the United States."
Interesting endorsement of Bernie in The Globalist.
http://www.theglobalist.com/bernie-sanders-for-president/
We all know that whatever it is that Obama does or says someone, somewhere and sometimes many, will find fault. But once in awhile you can be genuinely surprised. Last night I came into the middle of a rather intense argument between Jonathan Alter and an Aza ––didn't get her last name (from Daily Beast). Aza, a Muslim (sans head gear) was criticizing Obama for visiting the Mosque because, she said, this house of worship bars women from entering and being part of the main part of the Mosque and relegates them to a balcony area. Alter, who is Jewish, said in orthodox temples women, too, are separated to which Aza shot back–-"And that makes it alright?" Alter then tried to explain that Obama was giving a message to those that needed prodding, encouraging them to embrace Muslims as citizens of this country, etc. Aza would have none of it––by going to that Mosque Obama was supporting discrimination of women––he should have picked a more liberal Mosque. I must say––this was one back and forthing I enjoyed immensely.
Thinking yesterday about Bernie arriving in N.H. during the early morning hours, tired and spent after coming back from Iowa and lo and behold a vast crowd of well wishers are there to greet him. This, to me, is the stuff of the old black and white films––drama at five in the morning ––in the snow, in the cold, bundled up crusaders greeting their hero. If Bernie never becomes President, and I don't think he will, he will have given this country a taste of what we COULD have––his backers are mostly young people––the next generation. He has also pushed Hillary to the left side of her center and as a senator he and Warren will keep a giblet eye out.
Don't you love the way these candidates start out like star crossed lovers and within a short period of time start picking at each other––finding faults so egregious that it's a wonder they can even be on the same stage. It must be like being pecked to death by ducks.
I think what David Axelrod was trying to say about Hillary was not that her campaign is "all about her" but that, in ceaselessly highlighting her experience and accomplishments as making her most qualified to be president, she is running an uninspiring campaign. She is pitting a "resume" (Axelrod's word) against a stirring populist message. According to John Cassidy, these were Axelrod's words: ".... it is often easier to inspire people, particularly young people, with an uplifting theme than with a résumé."
I don't think it was a knock on Hillary for being in it for herself, but rather for using an approach much less likely to attract a certain segment of voters, or to stir much excitement.
From yesterday's discussion on Sander's supporters not voting for Hillary if she beats Bernie: Then Bernie MUST try and convince his supporters to still vote for a Democrat and extoll some of Hillary's virtues , remind them of the Supreme Court, and I think, being the kind of man he is, he will do that. If not, there will be a whole lot of nails being bitten off and we may just get what we said could never happen.
And that might just be Cruz whose profile is truly quite remarkable–-that long hooked nose straight out of Richard III. It struck me that he could be another "Prince of Darkness" taking his place among the long list: this name was first given to Rudolf Diels, chief of the German Gestapo; Robert Novak, the journalist who wrote a political column and had a T.V. show with Roland Evans, wrote a biography with that title; finally Dick Cheney was given that honor. Let's pass the mantle on to one who certainly has earned it.
"There was never a chance for major Socialist victory in this society, this culture, because american culture is driven by Protestant myths of individuality and providence, while Socialism is communal and fraternal."
Irving Howe
PD,
Here's the list as I think it corresponds to Cruz:
Ted Cruz
Kim Jong-Il
Muammar Qaddafi
Sadam Hussein
Osama bin Laden
Idi Amin
Dick Cheney
@Victoria D.: Point well taken. I should have written "suggested to me" or something on that order.
In fairness to Hillary, I have resented her for a long time, partly because she is "better than I am" & partly because she has been saying so ever since her "I could have stayed home & baked cookies" remark in 1992 (followed by the "I'm no little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette" assertion). If she talked less about herself, she might make it possible for me to forget for a moment that she has been rubbing her success & superiority in our faces for decades.
Marie
New favorite political neologism, from a Daily Kos link, above:
Crump
The hideous and likely unholy combination of the two biggest boogiemen/assholes (and that's saying something with the current crop) among Confederate candidates.
So does this thing eat Crump-ets? Should the back and forth insults between them be known as recrumpinations? Do they wake up in the morning and do crumpinjacks? Will they plead the Fifth in some future trial for high treason in order to avoid self-incrumpination?
Inquiring minds don't want to know.
It's all Obama's, er, libruls's, fault.
From this morning's paper.
The EPA is responsible for the Flint water crisis because their reaction to the emerging situation, wasn't hysterical enough to prompt action.
And from a letter to the editor by a "reasonable" gun owner, we don't have adequate gun laws because the Left's over-the-top hysteria frightens people and thus plays into the NRA's hands.
Pretty much all the proof we need, I'd say.
Read the Greenhouse piece Marie has linked above. It's pretty chilling, even by the degraded and often dastardly standards of the present court of Little Johnny and the Dwarfs, and should increase any residual shudders exponentially if you pause a moment to imagine how much dramatically worse this hyper-partisan court could be under a President Rubio/Cruz/Trump.
Rather than wait for a constitutional challenge to be brought before it, standard operating procedure since the Marshall court, the Roberts court has decided to bring their own challenge by basically amending cases it has agreed to hear, appending constitutional questions that are not there in order, purely, to stick it to the black guy and reinforce hard right ideological interpretations of the law.
And as if it couldn't be clearer, this court, the Confederate majority anyway, is getting ready, it appears, to wring out a finding against President Obama referencing the same "Take Care" clause of the Constitution Scalia once used to give Ronald Reagan a green light and a great big attaboy.
One interpretation of the Constitution for the wingers, another for black Democrats. Has there been a more obviously tendentious Supreme Court in American history?
Citizens United should taint this court just as Plessy and Dred Scott have dishonored the Fuller and Taney courts down through history. But Little Johnny and the Dwarfs aren't through by a long shot. Just imagine these desperadoes with a couple more Alitos and Scalias aboard.
I too caught last night's "Altercation" between Alter and the young Muslim woman. It WAS interesting, and nothing I knew about or had factored in about Muslims of all stripes, at least the more liberal Muslims. It was an angle we should worry about and fits in with all women's rights. Poor Mr. Alter looked gobsmacked and I wondered if Lawrence knew that was what she wanted to talk about-- I'm guessing not! Several nights ago someone had to be told to shut off the filibuster, so I think Lawrence has witnessed loss of control of his guests a number of times-- which is amusing in this age of everyone being thoroughly vetted-- or not-- Re Marie's dislike of HRC: I think that HRC's forgiveness of Bill enters in to the queasiness, and that is not entirely fair, as we seem to have forgiven Bill entirely-- he's "our" scalawag. HRC has learned her political lessons and her being able to make money also makes us queasy, but hey, Trump makes unearned money every day, and those that like him don't care about that at all. Double standards, and we all have them, don't we? I am not a big fan of HRC but I am firmly in her court if/when Bernie is defeated. As others on this blog remind us: the alternative is unimaginable.
AK,
You left out "Trumpertantrum".
Also, re Ken's comment about the right blaming the EPA for Flint's difficulties: someone on another blog said that this is like blaming the fire department for not responding fast enough to an arson fire. That idiot committee seems to have mastered and elevated that sort of blame game to a high art. Those really ARE the mole people, as Charlie says--
So nice of Rick (man on dog) Savonarola to give us his opinion on Marco Rubio, and quite an EX-cellent endorsement to boot. Mighty white of him.
He says Rubio will bring people together! Wow. Great! We can use that.
And here's some of the ways Marco, Marco, Marco, will bring people together:
He believes children should not be allowed to exist in families without a father and mother. So ixnay on single parent households and same sex households. AND he has stated categorically that there is no constitutional right to same sex marriage. I'm sure all those people will be elbowing each other to climb on his bandwagon, toot sweet, baby.
Marco wants to bomb Iran. Yesterday. Why? Why not? Well that right there'll get him millions of supporters!
Says the earth is 5,000 years old but not sure. Could be 5,003 years old. Who knows? Anyone who passed 5th grade science might disagree. Count them in though. They'll love them some Science for the Rube-ios.
Climate change? Sure. It was 20 degrees yesterday and 25 degrees today. Isn't that climate change? Few million more followers right there.
All problems are Obama's fault. We need another bandwagon. This one is too small.
And Jesus is his running mate because the country was founded by Jesus and the Constitution written in his blood. Anyone who is not a fundie Christian fanatic is sure to be comforted by those assertions.
This candidate from the 9th century wants everyone to know that if he's nominated, Republicans will be the Party of the Future. Meaning, I guess, the 10th century. Joy. Count me in too. Always wanted to go to work on a donkey cart.
But hey, he'll bring everyone together. Rick (full of) Santorum assures us (see Marie's link above). When asked about Rubio's accomplishments as a senator, his response was "something, something, something, gridlock, Obama" meaning, I guess, no accomplishments because Democrats. And Obama. When informed that Democrats haven't been in charge of the senate for over a year, his answer was.....er......yeah, okay. No accomplishments.
Great endorsement, Rick! And here's to Marco, Marco, Marco, the bringer-together guy.
How-ever did we get so lucky?
Forrest,
Oh man, I forgot that one.
Can we add Trumper-mental too?
Two Time-Warped Replies:
To Forrest Morris -
What a fun handle to speak: "Forrest Morris, Forrest Morris, Forrest Morris". :) I'm touched that you enjoyed my humor, 'though I'm unaware of it being emblematic of New York. While I have lived most of my life in Manhattan, I self-propelled from across the river in New Jersey (Land of The Boss & Traffic Czar Christie) and I have this at my Mother's word: A gentle pioneer of her time, she instructed the obstetric staff to position a full-length mirror in order not to miss a moment of my birth. I "shot out", she told me, *and* was already wailing - - clearly devoid of any sense of humor at that juncture.
To Akhilleus -
How nice that "Herr Comb-Over" gave you a smile. Your writings & wit boomerang back to me in like fashion.
RE Last Night With Anderson Cooper -
Always dapper on camera, especially so last night (even in his casuals, should we pass on the sidewalk: The man - sorry, but my sexism compels me to convey this - is one heckuva good looking dude!), when the words of Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector came rushing toward me: "Nice Suit"! LOL Anyhow . . .
I'm almost (almost) reluctant to voice my impressions of Hillary, as they sound - even to myself - rather odd and unexpected:
I did wonder if my senses might have been distorted, having recently
returned from hours of Retinal testing and puddles of dilating eyedrops, turning my hazel-greens into enormous, black, junkie-looking discs. And the Retina, after all, is a next door neighbor of the Brain. Anyhow . . .
While watching -"eyes wide open" - and listening to Hillary, I was (startled?) to find myself invoking Sarah Pailin. Of course - HRC is mega-articulate, intelligent, direct, does not shout-out to Russia from her backyard, etc etc etc. Yet I experienced a spacey, scattered & non-sequitur-ed dynamic from her - - regarding her responses to questions, as well as her self-generated speaking.
Was she off her game? (Was I off my own?!?). Whichever, I was left feeling that she was "making stuff up", deflecting, rambling and talking *around* the issues, rather than directly (honestly?) discussing/responding to them. Anyhow . . .
While there is much about Hillary that I dislike, and with which I have disagreed - and still do disagree - I will vote for her if she is (and likely will be) the Dem's Nominee. Which leads me - -
To PD Pepe -
My instincts suggest to me that Sanders will energetically support Clinton and, just as energetically, rally the imbecilic faction of his supporters who promise to boycott the election if they can't (wah,wah,wah) have him . . .
So many assholes.
So few cures.
So I was wondering how the coagulated mental processes on the right have been handling the president's visit to a mosque in Baltimore.
Not well.
He's promoting terrorism, they're screaming on Fox and from hundreds of other Confederate caves. Well, sure. Why not? Didn't you hear those calls for jihad in between saying things like "Let's all live peacefully together"? I'm pretty sure they were somewhere in there.
Oh, there are lots of 'em. Do a search for wingnut reaction to Obama's mosque visit.
But my favorite, if you can call it that, comes from Bubble Boy hisself.
According to Marco, Marco, Marco, the president's trip to a mosque to express his concern that we all live together peacefully was really a call for division. And he's tired of it, y'all. Really fuckin' tired of it.
Is this guy for real? I can't wait to see him have to debate Hillary or Bernie without a script in front of him. And no water either! We've already seen how badly that went.
Schmuck.
Dear Shitheads:
They call it "Planned" Parenthood for a reason.
Well, well. Who'da thunk it? The Great Confederate State of Texas shuts down Planned Parenthood clinics and guess what? Texas women are having more babies. Unplanned babies. Oh, not oil wealthy grand dames in Houston and Dallas, not Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Not upper middle class belles of the ball. No. POOR Texas women. Women who may have a difficult time raising these babies. Especially difficult because right-wing ideology only cares for babies from conception to delivery. Then, as Barney Frank once observed, those kids are on their own.
The New England Journal of Medicine published their study, yesterday, on the "Effect of Removal of Planned Parenthood from the Texas Women’s Health Program"
"The researchers calculated that the relative increase in births was 27% for women who lost access to Planned Parenthood. Many of these births were probably unplanned, since the increase was only seen in counties where women faced new hurdles in access to contraception, the study authors wrote."
And leave us not forget all the other possible medical complications awaiting these people and their kids who now have no easy access to reliable healthcare for women.
All based on the desire to force everyone to abide by fundamentalist religious beliefs and aided by the lies of people who are now under indictment for fraud against Planned Parenthood.
Good work, wingnuts! More Democratic voters.
I wonder how many of the outraged members of the House Committee voted for the 2003 law specifically preventing Medicare from directly negotiating drug prices? The CBO has estimated that "...Medicare could save over $116 billion over 10 years if it negotiated drug prices and rebates the way Medicaid does."
http://www.marketplace.org/2015/08/03/health-care/what-if-medicare-could-bargain-over-drug-prices.
For readers who might want to find out about the reliability this website, as I did, click on Menu in the upper right corner and you will find an "about us" link.
The irony of the "imbeciles" ire at Shkreli is priceless given the unregulated free market practices (read the Mitt Method, screw anybody in the way of yours) that are a constant drumbeat on the right. When it makes them look bad to voters, they have no memory of their previous intransigent policies. Dickheads, with a side of asswipes.
I do agree with Jeanne P's comments on HRC. The criticisms of her can be magnified 100 times and applied to the Confederates. She is too hawkish for me, but no choice between her, the Crumps and the Rubes.
"$750/ pill - vote R"