The Commentariat -- June 2, 2013
Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "While the White House publicly backed [U.S. Attorney General Eric] Holder as he tried to smooth over the latest uproar amid new speculation about his future, some in the West Wing privately tell associates they wish he would step down, viewing him as politically maladroit. But the latest attacks may stiffen the administration's resistance in the near term to a change for fear of emboldening critics." ...
... CW: while the thrust of this long piece is a sort of post-modern "story about nothing," I'm struck by the assertions from friends or associates of Holder's that he is staying in the job for personal reasons. Cabinet members are supposed to serve the president. Instead, Holder wants to stay on to burnish his record, doesn't like private practice (which made him a multi-millionaire), wants to be AG when he attends an important commemoration, etc.
Cashing In. Juliet Eilperin & Tom Hamburger: "Keystone XL is just one of several upcoming administration decisions providing lucrative work for former Obama advisers on issues ranging from gun control to mining to legalized gambling. Just this week, three of Obama's top former political advisers -- Robert Gibbs, Jim Messina and David Plouffe -- were given five-figure checks to deliver remarks at a forum in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, which is in the midst of a campaign to burnish its image in Washington."
Immigrants, Keep Out! (My Friends Excepted.) Josh Israel of Think Progress: "Some members of Congress are taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to keep a select few in the US, even as they oppose broader efforts to reform immigration.... Any U.S. Senator or Representative may file a 'private bill,' proposing relief for a person who has been denied asylum, but still wants to live in the United States.... [For instance,] Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA), [who] has proposed eliminating the constitutional guarantee that all humans born in the United States will be citizens and vocally opposed deferred action for DREAM Act-eligible young people whose parents brought them to the U.S. illegally," has filed a private bill for a Colombian family that was denied asylum.
Nice to see local papers putting Republican scandalmania in context. Paul Barton of the Tennessean: "Although they denounced the Obama Administration's recent seizure of reporters' records, some Tennessee members of Congress have supported even more powerful tools for snooping on the news media and other Americans, privacy advocates contend.... Among current members of the Tennessee congressional delegation, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander joined Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, and Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, in voting for the 2006 reauthorization of the Patriot Act, including its NSL provisions, ['National Security Letters,' [which] ... allow the FBI to order third parties to release information on their customers]." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.
** Elisabeth Rosenthal in the New York Times: "While the United States medical system is famous for drugs costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and heroic care at the end of life, it turns out that a more significant factor in the nation's $2.7 trillion annual health care bill may not be the use of extraordinary services, but the high price tag of ordinary ones."
Richard Thaler, in the New York Times: "... an interesting new paper by Marianne Bertrand, Emir Kamenica and Jessica Pan, three economists who are colleagues of mine at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business..., found that traditional views of gender identity, particularly the view that the right and proper role of the husband is to make more money than the wife, are affecting choices of whom to marry, how much to work, and even whether to stay married." ...
... Stephanie Coontz, in the New York Times: "At all income levels, stay-at-home mothers report more sadness, anger, and episodes of diagnosed depression than their employed counterparts.... Back in the 1960s and '70s, a wife taking a job raised the risk of divorce. Today, however, a wife's employment lowers the couple's risk of divorce.... The United States... [has] fallen to last place among developed nations in supports for working families.... Shouldn't we stop debating whether we want mothers to work and start implementing the social policies and working conditions that will allow families to take full advantage of the benefits of women's employment and to minimize its stresses?"
A Catered Affair. CW: I missed Gail Collins yesterday, but she does a pretty nice job on Virginia's Gov. Bob McDonnell & its recidivist attorney general Ken Cuccinelli.
Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald: "Congressman Joe Garcia's chief of staff abruptly resigned Friday after being implicated in a sophisticated scheme to manipulate last year's primary elections by submitting hundreds of fraudulent absentee-ballot requests. Friday afternoon, Garcia said he had asked Jeffrey Garcia, no relation, for his resignation after the chief of staff -- also the congressman's top political strategist -- took responsibility for the plot." The Congressman is a Democrat.
Congressional Race
Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog has a good post on why prognosticator Charlie Cook was indulging in wishful thinking when he moved the Massachusetts Senatorial race from "leans Democratic" to "toss-up."
Nuns on the Bus. Rebecca Leber of Think Progress: "The same group of Catholic nuns that traveled across the country to protest Republican budget cuts has now turned their attention to immigration reform. Led by Sister Simone Campbell, Nuns on the Bus kicks off their 15-state tour this week at Ellis Island. 'Immigration is at the heart of our Catholic faith,' Campbell said. 'It's about community. We need to welcome the stranger, and treat the stranger as yourself.'"
Huffington Post: "Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin was elected Bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Church in America (ELCA), [Lutheran] on May 31st, 2013 during the synod's assembly in Woodland Hills, California. He is the first openly gay clergy person elected to serve as one of the 65 synodical bishops in the denomination." Via Steve Benen.
James P. Marsh, Jr., a minister, explains in a Washington Post op-ed why he sits out the singing of "God Bless America" at ball games.
... This, also via Benen, is pretty good. Jane Lynch & Jordan Peele perform:
Is religion the kind of right can only be exercised by a natural person? Well, the question nearly answers itself. ... It's not a purely personal right. -- Kyle Duncan, attorney for Hobby Lobby, which is suing "for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill ...
... If "corporations are people, my friend," then surely corporations can have religious preferences, too! Kristen Wyatt of the AP reports.
Calvin Trillin has been trying -- unsuccessfully -- for years to popularize the phrase "Sabbath gasbags" to describe Sunday morning talking heads. I see two problems with his ambition: (1) as he mentions, it is judgmental, so no self-respecting gasbag will so describe himself, & (2) the Sabbath is, um, Saturday (e.g., Italian sabato = sabbath = Saturday). Thanks to James S. for the link.
News Ledes
New York Times: "Three men who made careers on television as 'storm chasers,' videotaping the path of severe tornadoes, were among the nine people killed in Friday's storms and flash floods in Oklahoma. Tim Samaras, 55, who had founded the organization Twistex to track severe storms and record their effects, along with his partner Carl Young, 45, and Mr. Samaras's son Paul, 24, were all reported as victims of the tornado that struck El Reno, Okla., on Friday."
AP: "Firefighting teams in California and New Mexico are battling early season wildfires that have blackened thousands of acres and threatened homes and building, spurring numerous evacuations. Residents of more than 1,000 homes were ordered to leave as erratic winds pushed a wildfire closer to two foothill communities, where officials said five structures, possibly homes, were destroyed Saturday."
AP: "A violent weather system that claimed 12 lives in Oklahoma and Arkansas amid tornadoes and flash floods gave way to clearing skies as the storms trekked toward the East Coast on Sunday. A tornado killed nine people as it charged down Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City's western suburbs on Friday night, twisting billboards and scattering cars and tractor-trailers along a roadway clogged with rush-hour motorists leaving work or fleeing the storm's path. Flash floods in Arkansas killed three early Friday, including a sheriff attempting a water rescue."
AP: "Egypt's highest court ruled on Sunday that the nation's Islamist-dominated legislature and constitutional panel were illegally elected, dealing a serious blow to the legal basis of the Islamists' hold on power."
Reuters: "Shopkeepers and municipal workers began cleaning the streets of Istanbul and Ankara on Sunday after the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years. Pockets of die-hard demonstrators lit bonfires and scuffled with police overnight but the streets were much quieter after two days of clashes in which almost a thousand people were arrested and hundreds were injured."
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/sabbath-gasbags-speak-up.html?hp
..."The home of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson regards itself as someplace special. But the rules on campaign contributions are pretty much the same as in Texas." (Gail Collins)
That would be Virginia. Yuk. I lived in McLean (two doors down from Kenny Cuccinelli, as many of you know), and I say it is a place to avoid. A few good people, sure, but sooo many right wingers and often just plain mean peeps. I think the comparison with Texas is apt. I.E., I flew my "Peace Flag" on Memorial Day back in the late 80s, and was approached by a group of neighbors who asked me to take it down "because it was unpatriotic and would negatively affect property values." HUH? I did take it down, but only because my wussy husband wanted to keep the peace--not the flag. One of my neighbors at the time was Ken Starr, although he was not in the group. Yes, the comparison with Texas is apt.
Should Kenny be elected guvner, I have several friends who plan to move. Enough is enough. The problems started when Dubya was in office and got lottsa Jesus-freaks in his administration. And they all apparently moved to Virginia. Obama's people seem to shun Northern VA--good idea--choose the more librul suburbs of Maryland and D.C. instead.
To this day, I find it difficult to admit that I lived in Virginia. I usually say "the D.C. metropolitan area" when asked. How sad that such a lovely landscape has been so thoroughly (white) trashed!
Jean Stapelton, a wonderfully skilled actress, will always be associated as the wife of Archie Bunker. I loved how her character evolved, albeit slowly, into a woman with a backbone. It seems that Norman Lear never dreamed that the racist, know-nothing father and husband that he created to be the butt of all the jokes would be embraced as a hero by the very same people the show was meant to lampoon. Who woulda thunk?
I like James' idea of giving Congresscritters nicknames like the kings of yore. John the Surly. Probably have to go with surnames, since so many have same first name. McCain the Surly. Cruz the Despicable. I like it. The possibilities are endless.
We have a winner! The Michele Bachmann runner-up is: Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who said on Sunday that women "don't want" equal pay laws.
I suggest that the congresswoman's annual pay is immediately reduced to $140,766 since she is fine with women earning 80.9% less than men!
I came away from the NYT piece with quite a positive opinion of Holder. He is almost a doppelganger for the President - both in his achievements (1st black AG/ 1st black US Attorney for DC) and his positions on the issues. I really don't see him with a personal agenda contrary to that of Obama. He may exercise a more free expression -see Darrell Issa committee hearing. He is often painted with the same brush of racism (he's arrogant) that is used with Obama. They are both successful, intelligent and competent black men with no sleazy personal baggage. Lord, can't have that.
To me, wanting to be AG at the 50th commemoration of integration at the University of Alabama is perfectly appropriate. The juxtaposition of Vivian Malone Jones standing up for integration and 50 years later her brother-in-law standing in the same place as the United States AG is personally meaningful not only to Holder but I'm sure, it is significant to many others.
Like the President, he is under constant attack. Not enough on prosecution of Wall Street thievery? No question. Playing too fast and loose with the press's 1st Amendment rights? In some measure probably. However, he has been on the right side of big issues many times and I believe one of his most important tasks has been and will continue to be the protection of voting rights, which is very high on my list of liberties.
I sincerely hope he doesn't resign and I do think he has the same persistence as the President. The Republican buzzards would see his exit as nearly as good as getting rid of the President. More importantly, the symbolism would fuel the mob even further toward impeaching Obama. It would play into the covert and overt racism that is in constant play for the Obama presidency. In my opinion, if Holder left, the result would be far more destructive than a personal loss to Holder. Its not worth sacrificing him in the short term for the optics. Whoever "some" and "aides" are in the WH, who want to get rid of Holder, they should be thinking more long term. Thank goodness long term thinking is a characteristic of the President.
@Diane-
Many thanks for your thoughts and opinions on Holder. I have not been a fan, but I appreciate having you point out his strengths, willingness to speak his mind on occasion, and ability to think long term. I guess I just keep being angry at him for his refusal to prosecute the banksters--but maybe he woulda if Obama had wanted to.
Also, I agree with you that getting rid of him now would get the Republivultures screaming even louder about impeaching Obama. I am so sick of these psychopathic creeps. 2014 cannot come soon enough, she said hopefully.