The Commentariat -- October 4

Today's Off Times Square asks, "Should the federal government be irrelevant?"

Yes. -- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, in response to a reporter's question, "The $447 billion jobs package as a package: dead?" ...

... Republican Bruce Bartlett in the New York Times: "People are increasingly concerned about unemployment, but Republicans have nothing to offer them. The G.O.P. opposes additional government spending for jobs programs and, in fact, favors big cuts in spending that would be likely to lead to further layoffs at all levels of government. Republicans favor tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, but" these have no stimulative effect. So Republicans have embraced "the idea that government regulation is the principal factor holding back employment.... No hard evidence is offered for this claim; it is simply asserted as self-evident.... Regulatory uncertainty is a canard invented by Republicans that ... is a simple case of political opportunism, not a serious effort to deal with high unemployment."

Prof. Lawrence Lessig in a Bloomberg News opinion piece, suggests a complicated campaign finance reform law. CW: generally speaking, Lessig has a lot to say about campaign finance reform & has encouraged formation of a Constitutional Convention to get to the heart of it -- here, for instance). For me, here's the main takeaway from Lessig's column, which is adapted from a forthcoming book:

The threat to the republic is an economy of influence that draws our democracy away from the will of the people. Congress has allowed an engine of influence to evolve that seeks simply to enrich those connected to it. The rich secure their wealth through the manipulation of government and politicians.

Elisabeth Rosenthal of the New York Times: "E-mails released Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the environmental group Friends of the Earth paint a picture of a sometimes warm and collaborative relationship between the lobbyist for the pipeline company, Trans-Canada, and officials in the State Department, the agency responsible for evaluating and approving the billion-dollar project. The exchanges provide a rare glimpse into how Washington works and the access familiarity can bring." ...

... Bill McKibben, in a New York Times op-ed: E-mails obtained via an FIOA request show that in the Obama/Clinton State Department, cronyism has been far more important than professional expertise in "evaluating" the TransCanada project, the Keystone XL pipeline that will carry tar sands from Canada across the center of the continent. Oh yeah, and so much for President Obama's vow of transparency.

Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Bank of America announced last week that it will soon start charging most of its customers $5 per month for using their debit card — a move intended to recoup the revenue that the bank will lose under new federal regulations that went into effect Oct. 1. Those rules, authored by [Sen. Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.], capped the amount of swipe fees — what banks can charge retailers for processing debit cards. Other banks are likely to follow Bank of America’s lead.... Over the past few days, critics of the Durbin amendment blamed the Illinois Democrat for the debit fee hike. The Chicago Tribune, in an Oct. 1 editorial, dubbed the new charge the 'Durbin Fee' and blasted the senator for pushing the swipe fee change." Here's Durbin's response, from the Senate floor:

Adam Liptak of the New York Times interviews retired Justice John Paul Stevens, who has written a book on five Chief Justices under whom he served in one capacity or another.

John Mayard Keynes speaks, & Krugman hears him, seemingly for the first time:

There Are No Fat Women in Politics. Ruth Marcus: "Sure, [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie’s weight will be a topic if he decides to run. If he were a woman, though, it would have been the end of the discussion. That’s not a complaint, just a simple observation of reality when it comes to gender politics."

Right Wing World *

Adam Serwer of Mother Jones: "As Texas Gov. Rick Perry deals with the fallout from the revelation that his family leases a hunting camp called 'Niggerhead,' Herman Cain is facing his own backlash — for suggesting that the Perrys' conduct was 'insensitive.' ... You might have anticipated that Perry would face a firestorm for being associated with the property [CW: yes, you might], but it's Cain whose remarks are drawing the most criticism from the right." ...

... Dan Amira of New York Magazine: "So among Republicans, the widespread response to the Post story was ... 'the liberal media is smearing another Republican as a racist!' It's in this context that the backlash has occurred. Cain wasn't expressing reasonable grievances — he was 'piling on' and legitimizing a sleazy political attack.... Ladies and gentlemen, your modern-day GOP." Amira reproduces some tweets from prominent wingers.

L.A. Times reporter Michael Hiltzik, in a Washington Post op-ed: Rick Perry's campaign & his book Fed Up! center around attacks on the New Deal. But he repeatedly "employ[s] misconception, misrepresentation and misquotation" to make his points.

Keach Hagey of Politico: after Hank Williams, Jr., compared President Obama to Hitler on a Fox "News" segment, ESPN had the good sense to cut Williams' famous musical intro from its "Monday Night Football" broadcast. Thanks to Doug R. for the link.

* Uh, where black is white & white is black??

News Ledes

New York Times: "Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., who transformed the company his father founded in 1923 into an international leader in market research, helping to make its name synonymous with television ratings, died on Monday in Winnetka, Ill., where he lived most of his life. He was 92."

New York Times: "Months of wrangling at the Security Council over a resolution condemning Syria failed on Tuesday after Russia and China vetoed a resolution that contained a weak reference to the possibility of sanctions against Damascus."

AP: "Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned Congress on Tuesday of what most of America has sensed for some time: The economic recovery, such as it is, 'is close to faltering.'" ...

... AP: "Stocks made up much of their morning losses Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is prepared to take more steps to stimulate the economy. The pullback left the S&P 500 index down 20 percent from its April peak, a drop that is widely considered the start of a bear market."

President Obama spoke about the American Jobs Act in Dallas Mesquite, Texas, this afternoon.

TPM: "Seeking to consolidate party support for President Obama's jobs bill, Senate Democrats are considering a proposal to impose a five percent surtax on millionaires to pay for the legislation, according to two party aides."

New York Times: "With limited discussion and zero fanfare, the House on Tuesday approved and sent to President Obama a measure to keep the government operating through mid-November, ending for now the threat of any shutdown. By a vote of 352 to 66, the House approved the measure, passed by the Senate just a week ago, closing another anguished chapter in the fiscal war between Republicans and Democrats that continues to dominate Congress."

New York Times: "After a kinetic month in which some of the biggest names in American industry and Republican politics urged him to run for president, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey spent a quiet weekend at home, coming to a sobering conclusion on Tuesday: 'Now is not my time.'”

AP: "Stocks slid again Tuesday as Europe’s debt crisis showed few signs of being solved any time soon and officials said Greece will have to wait until November to get its hands on much-needed bailout cash."

AP: "Three U.S.-born scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for their studies of exploding stars that revealed that the expansion of the universe is accelerating." American Saul Perlmutter will "share the 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award with U.S.-Australian Brian Schmidt and U.S. scientist Adam Riess."

New York Times: "House Republicans are laying the groundwork for another battle with President Obama over spending and domestic policy with a bill that would cut some of his favorite health and education programs, tie the hands of the National Labor Relations Board and eliminate federal grants for Planned Parenthood clinics."

AP: "Protests against Wall Street entered their 18th day Tuesday as demonstrators across the country showed their anger over the wobbly economy and what they see as corporate greed by marching on Federal Reserve banks and camping out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine." Washington Post story here.

Democracy Now!: "A final settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit challenging the police crackdown on journalists reporting on the 2008 Republican National Convention and protests in St. Paul, Minnesota. Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman, along with former producers Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous ... were among dozens of journalists arrested that week in St. Paul. The settlement includes $100,000 in compensation paid by the St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments and the Secret Service."

AP: "The owners of two Southern California firms were among 55 people indicted by a federal grand jury in a $250 million income-tax fraud scheme claiming refunds were available through a secret government account, prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.... Hundreds of false tax returns were filed with the IRS seeking refunds. Refund checks for $5 million went out in error, IRS Special Agent Felicia McCain said Monday."

AP: "To the dismay of consumer groups and the discomfort of Democrats, President Barack Obama wants Congress to make it easier for private debt collectors to call the cellphones of consumers delinquent on student loans and other billions owed the federal government." CW: oh, debt collectors have lobbyists, too.

New York Times: "Elizabeth Warren ... will face off against her lesser-known Democratic opponents Tuesday in a debate that will be an important early test of her skills as a candidate." Boston Herald: "The Democratic candidates for U. S. Senate debate is scheduled for 7 tonight, at Durgin Hall on the UMass — Lowell campus. The debate is free and open to the public."

AP: "Palestinian officials said Monday that the U.S. has suspended West Bank development projects worth tens of millions of dollars after Congress froze funding to dissuade the Palestinians from seeking U.N. recognition of an independent state. It's the first concrete sign of repercussions for the Palestinians' decision to defy Washington on the issue."