The Commentariat -- July 30
I've posted an Open Thread for today's Off Times Square.
The President's weekly address:
... The transcript is here. ...
... Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "Mr. Obama ... laid the blame for the impasse squarely on House Republicans in his weekly address, which largely repeated his remarks on Friday as the stalemate gripped Washington."
... Republican senators say "compromise." This video was produced by Senate Democrats:
... "The Tea Fragger Party." Conservative Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post: "Fragging: 'To intentionally kill or wound (one’s superior officer, etc.), esp. with a hand grenade.' The behavior of certain Republicans who call themselves Tea Party conservatives makes them the most destructive posse of misguided 'patriots' we’ve seen in recent memory.... The Tea Party was a movement that changed the conversation in Washington, but it has steeped too long and has become toxic. It’s time to toss it out." ...
... Steve Benen: "... Boehner has spent at least two weeks tending to the self-esteem of right-wing lawmakers, telling them how great and important they are, and reinforcing their belief that they’ll never have to compromise with anyone on anything. And today, instead of slowly trying to acclimate his caucus to reality, Boehner will lead them into yet another chest-thumping tantrum. Boehner, at this point, seems principally concerned with his political survival, no matter the consequences for the rest of us." ...
... Ezra Klein: "Boehner has spent the past two days wasting his political capital assembling an irrelevant coalition of conservatives.... Boehner has not been governing. What should have happened Friday is obvious: Having failed to pass a conservative resolution to the debt crisis without Democratic votes, he should have begun cutting the deals and making the concessions necessary to gain Democratic votes." ...
... AND Klein reviews opinions on the Constitutional option. ...
... Jonathan Chait of The New Republic reviews how we got in this mess, & he seems to make Washington pundits the fall guys. Obama initially wanted a clean bill but the punditocracy talked him into linking the debt limit to deficit reduction: "... the deficit hawks who represent the center of Washington establishment thought badly underestimated the danger entailed by tying high stakes negotiations involving the Republican Party to a cataclysmic event. Happy visions of Bob Dole and Tip O'Neill danced in their heads, oblivious to the reality of what they were facing." CW: but hasn't Obama repeatedly asserted that he "never listens" to the bobbleheads? Well, at least Obama didn't listen to me; I've said all along he should insist on a clean bill.
... Tara Bernard of the New York Times: Whatever deficit deal emerges, the parties have all agreed Social Security is "on the table" (CW: make that the operating table, surrounded by doctors wielding dull scalpels), even though it has not contributed to to the deficit. CW: in fact, the Congress has routinely borrowed Social Security funds to reduce the deficits in annual budgets. That's why Social Security, though technically in the black, is actually out of money. It's got nothng but monthly receipts & a fistful of IOUs from Treasury.
Actually, No.John Judis of The New Republic: Barack Obama twists Abraham Lincoln's words & deeds 180 degrees to fit a narrative that grievously mischaracterizes the former President. See also Ta-Nahisi Coates column here, and John Farrish's comment (#3) here. I hope somebody buys Obama an accurate biography of Lincoln for his (Obama's) birthday, which is this coming week. ...
... Last December historian Eric Foner contrasted Obama's & Lincoln's reactions to their mid-term election "shellackings":
Charles Blow writes a very affecting column about his grandfather Fred Rhodes who was recommended for a Silver Star for bravery in action during World War II, but certainly because he was black, did not receive one.
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A New York Times reporter need not testify in court about who gave him details on a top-secret CIA program targeting Iran, a federal judge has ruled. In May, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Times reporter James Risen to testify against former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who's accused of revealing top-secret details about a CIA effort to undermine Iran's nuclear program. Prosecutors allege that Sterling was a source for Risen...."
CW: I linked an item on this earlier in the week, but it bears repeating. Steve Benen: "... an unexpected religious coalition [is] trying to influence the outcome of the debt-ceiling fight on Capitol Hill. This coalition, made up of several different Christian denominations [is] looking out for those [poor people] likely to be hurt the most by the Republican crisis.... Congressional Republicans, who traditionally present themselves as allied with religious morality, continue to believe cutting public investments is paramount, whether Jesus would pursue a similar course or not."
News Ledes
New York Times: "The top two Republicans in Congress said Saturday that they had begun new talks with and their fellow Congressional leaders to try to find a way to end the fight that is threatening to throw the federal government into default in just a few days.... Senator Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.]... said during a news conference ... that he expected a deal soon." The Reid bill won't pass the Senate because 43 Republicans will vote against it, which means the vote on cloture will come up short. ...
... Update. The story has a new lede: "New budget talks between top Congressional Republicans and made progress late Saturday, suddenly stirring optimism that a last-minute deal could be reached to avert a potential federal default that threatened significant economic and political consequences." Majority Leader Reid delayed the vote on his compromise bill until 1:00 pm ET Sunday.
... At 6:05 pm ET, Harry Reid said McConnell's assertion that there would be "a deal soon" is not true; Reid said no progress has been made today. No link. ...
... At 3:12 pm ET, the House voted down the Reid bill. Big surprise. Majority Leader Eric Cantor is making a speech; says there are no planned votes tomorrow, but warns that could change. New York Times item here. ...
... The Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has revised his plan to raise the debt limit in a last-ditch bid to attract Republican support. The biggest change is that Reid would give the president almost unilateral power to raise the debt limit, borrowing an idea introduced by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)."
Washington Post on the upcoming Senate votes on a debt limit bill. Reuters on the same.
New York Times: "The leadership of the Libyan rebels acknowledged late Friday that a group of their own soldiers had killed their top military commander, contradicting statements made a day earlier as the rebels scrambled to avoid tribal revenge attacks that could divide their ranks. The death of the commander, Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, has shaken both the rebel leaders trying to oust Col. and their Western supporters by revealing divisions and intrigue within the rebel forces. The shifting and elliptical accounts of General Younes’s death have raised new questions about the rebel leaders’ credibility."
New York Times: "Employees of The New York Post, ’s irreverent and hard-charging city tabloid, were told Friday to keep any documents that may pertain to the kind of illegal activity that has led to arrests and a widening investigation at the News Corporation’s British newspapers.... The directive was the clearest sign yet that the company’s lawyers believe the scope of two early-stage investigations in the United States ... could broaden."
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