The Commentariat -- Oct. 21, 2013

Justin Sink of the Hill: "President Obama 'will directly address the technical problems' with the ObamaCare website during a Rose Garden event Monday morning, according to a White House official.... The official said the president will be joined by 'consumers, small business owners, and pharmacists,' including individuals who have already enrolled in ObamaCare online." ...

... Louise Radnofsky of the Wall Street Journal: "The Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday it was bringing in outside help to resolve some of the technical woes that have beset the federally run insurance exchanges...." ...

... Department of Health & Human Service: "Unfortunately, the experience on HealthCare.gov has been frustrating for many Americans.... The initial consumer experience of HealthCare.gov has not lived up to the expectations of the American people. We are committed to doing better." ...

... Sharon LaFraniere, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal contractors have identified most of the main problems crippling President Obama's online health insurance marketplace, but the administration has been slow to issue orders for fixing those flaws, and some contractors worry that the system may be weeks away from operating smoothly...." ...

... Fox "News": Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) "said Sunday that Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will testify before Congress about the problem-plagued ObamaCare website, amid a growing call for her to accept requests to testify.... Sebelius and the entire Obama administration has declined requests to testify on Capitol Hill about the site, which has been plagued by crashes, slow responses and other glitches since it went online Oct. 1." ...

... Paul Krugman: "... the technical problems, while infuriating — heads should roll -- will not, in the end, be the big story. The real threat remains the effort of conservative groups to sabotage reform, especially by blocking the expansion of Medicaid. This effort relies heavily on lobbying, lavishly bankrolled by the usual suspects, including the omnipresent Koch brothers." And other lice! ...

... Garance Franke-Ruta of the Atlantic: "... people do not turn to government programs because they believe in them. They turn to them because they need them, and the market is not meeting their needs.... That's going to save the Obamacare rollout.... People who have experience with programs for the needy will recognize a familiar bureaucratic incompetence in the rollout.... Obamacare ... also has also suffered from what Johns Hopkins University political scientist Steven Teles calls 'kludgeocracy' -- the tendency of interest groups, lobbyists, bureaucracy, and bad management to combine to create highly complex legislation and giant public-administration kludges, a term defined as 'an ill-assorted collection of poorly-matching parts, forming a distressing whole.'" (Emphasis added.) ...

... Ross Douthat: "Like the Bush administration in Iraq, the White House seems to have invaded the health insurance marketplace with woefully inadequate postinvasion planning, and let the occupation turn into a disaster of hack work and incompetence." ...

... Digby: "Yes, except for all the actual human carnage, torture and death, it's exactly the same. Good insight. Once again, I'm struck by how the right sees Obamacare in such violent terms. I thought I was immune to how weird these people are, but I still have things to learn. These are people who valorize our out of control gun violence and cheer on any war the nation decides to join. But affordable health care is a fundamental threat to life and liberty. Ok." ...

... Douthat: "The Obamacare exchanges… are actually closer to the right-of-center vision for health care reform...." ...

... Brad DeLong of U.C.-Berkeley: "For five years Ross Douthat has been claiming Obamacare ≠ RomneyCare, and that the marketplaces-exchanges are not the Heritage Foundation's intellectual child. But now, apparently, it is finally time to strip of the mask and acknowledge what he has been pretending for five years is not so.... Could you have made a difference, Ross, if you had spent the last five years telling your copains of the right that ObamaCare = RomneyCare?" ...

... Max Ehrenfreund in the Washington Monthly: "... if we hadn't been so concerned about protecting hospitals and insurers, we might have found our way to a simpler system with a better chance of success.... It's far too early to give up on the exchanges, but if they do fail, it seems most likely that they will fail because of their conservatism -- because Congress and the president weren't willing to go far enough in 2010 in expanding the government presence in the health care system." ...

... Jeb 2 Ted: STFU. Justin Sink: "Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said in an interview airing Sunday that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) needs to 'have a little bit of self-restraint' if the Republican Party is to succeed in repealing ObamaCare.... 'Tactically, it was a mistake to focus on something that couldn't be achieved,' Bush said, complaining that the controversy over the shutdown had 'crowded out' how 'dysfunctional' the implementation of ObamaCare had been." CW: Huh. Sounds like me telling my stray mouser to quit dropping dead (or half-dead) rodents at my feet. Neither Ted nor the cat can comprehend the message. ...

... Ted 2 Jeb, et al.: STFU. Ashley Killough of CNN: Cruz "was unapologetic for fighting to defund President Obama's health care law in the face of outsized odds, saying he doesn't work for the 'party bosses' in Washington." CW: Toljaso. ...

... Everything Is Obama's Fault. Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) suggested on Sunday that President Obama's refusal to compromise with Republicans on Obamacare to re-open the government and raise the nation's debt ceiling has jeopardized the chances of passing comprehensive immigration reform." CW Translation: Obama refused to kowtow to us nullifiers & insurrectionists who refused to do our jobs, so we're never going to do our jobs. ...

Illustration by Donkey Hotey.Paul Steinhauser of CNN: "Just more than half the public says that it's bad for the country that the GOP controls the House of Representatives, according to a new national poll conducted after the end of the partial government shutdown. And the CNN/ORC International survey also indicates that more than six in 10 Americans say that Speaker of the House John Boehner should be replaced.... 54% say it's a bad thing that the GOP controls the House, up 11 points from last December.... Only 38% say it's a good thing the GOP controls the House, a 13-point dive from the end of last year." ...

... AND Treasury Secretary Jack Lew writes a "can't we all just get along" op-ed for the New York Times: "It is time to put an end to governing by crisis and focus on accelerating economic growth and job creation. If we are open to what we can achieve together rather than simply setting our sights on our divisions, there is a lot we can do to support America's workers and businesses. This is what the American people expect from their leaders in Washington."

A lot of times, though, when people say the president should lead, what they want him to do is adopt Republican positions and then push for those. That's not leadership, that's capitulation. -- E.J. Dionne on "Press the Meat," via Digby, who may have mentioned this herself

Zach Carter of the Huffington Post: Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 man in the Senate told Chris Wallace of Fox "News" "that Republicans had to put tax revenue on the table to get entitlement cuts. 'Social Security is gonna run out of money in 20 years," Durbin said. "The Baby Boom generation is gonna blow away our future. We don't wanna see that happen.' [CW: gonna, wanna?] Social Security will not run out of money in 20 years. The program currently enjoys a surplus of more than $2 trillion. Social Security will, however, be unable to pay all benefits at current levels if nothing is changed. If a 25 percent benefit cut were implemented in 20 years, the program would be solvent into the 2080s." ...

... Really, Dick? Really, Zach? Phoenix Woman in Firedoglake: "The only 'reforms' Social Security might possibly require, besides keeping the hedge fund CEOs away from it, are as follows: 1. Remove the cap, and 2. Subject *all* income to FICA. Doing this keeps Social Security safe forever." CW: When even HuffPost writers, not to mention Durbin, can't get with the obvious, we're in trouble. ...

... Digby: "Gee, Dick, way to stoke generational warfare there. Thanks a lot. Pete Peterson's wrecking crew couldn't have said it better." ...

... As Peter Nicholas & Colleen Nelson of the Wall Street Journal report, at least some actual Democrats -- and Bernie Sanders -- will fight Durbin & Obama on this.

Humor Break. Mark Sanford's fiancee Maria Chapur, speaking on the Argentine news site InfobaeTV to which she occasionally contributes, "acknowledged that there are 'extremists' among Republican lawmakers, but 'just because there are extremists that doesn't mean they aren't fundamentally right.' ... Her latest [contribution to the site], published on Oct. 8, addressed the topic of why a U.S. debt default is 'unthinkable.'" Via Daniel Politi of McClatchy News. CW: Evidently Chapur's soulmate doesn't agree. He voted "no" on the bill to reauthorize the government & prevent debt default. So are extremists fundamentally right -- or not?

Jens Glusing of Spiegel Online & others: "The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years. It hacked into the president's public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system. The news is likely to hurt ties between the US and Mexico.... This operation ... is described in a document leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden...." CW: Thanks for sharing, Ed. I really needed to know this. ...

... AFP: "France and Mexico have angrily demanded prompt explanations from Washington following fresh, 'shocking' spying allegations leaked by former US security contractor Edward Snowden. The reports in French daily Le Monde and German weekly Der Spiegel revealed that the National Security Agency secretly recorded tens of millions of phone calls in France and hacked into former Mexican President Felipe Calderon's email account." CW: Thanks again, Ed.

Ben Protess & Jessica Silver-Greenberg of the New York Times: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon & Attorney General Eric Holder personally negotiated the settlement deal -- which has not yet been signed -- in the government's civil case against the bank -- the nation's largest.

More Nullification. New York Times Editors: "In August, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the Defense Department would begin offering full spousal and family benefits, including health care coverage, housing allowances and survivor benefits, to the same-sex spouses of military personnel" in compliance with the Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA. "National Guard units in four states -- Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Oklahoma -- have, however, refused to process applications by same-sex couples in a convenient and respectful manner.... The guard units say they are merely adhering to state constitutions that ban same-sex marriages and do not recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed in other states. But state bans cannot pre-empt a lawful Defense Department order based on a Supreme Court ruling. Under the Constitution's supremacy clause, federal law takes precedence."

Gubernatorial Race

Artwork by Richmond Times-Dispatch.

"None of the Above." Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch Editors: "The major-party candidates have earned the citizenry's derision. The third-party alternative has run a more exemplary race yet does not qualify as a suitable option. We cannot in good conscience endorse a candidate for governor.

The Commentariat -- Oct. 20, 2013

** Freeeeedom! Garry Wills in the New York Review of Books on "Back Door Secession." CW: As I wrote some while back, President Obama is fighting the same civil war that President Lincoln fought. Wills makes this abundantly clear. A very fine piece. BTW, every time I write that Lincoln made a terrible -- if understandable -- mistake in prosecuting the Civil War, I get great howls of objection. Here's the thing: people want self-governance. That was ostensibly the purpose of the American Revolution, after all. The North has been forcing its laws on the South for 150 years. Southerners keep resisting. It is reasonable to hate white Southern values. I don't think it is reasonable to hate white Southerners for wanting home rule, no matter how terrible that rule is. Let 'em secede. Please. ...

... Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: Meanwhile, Republicans are engaged in their own internal civil war. "The budget fight that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years did not just set off a round of recriminations among Republicans over who was to blame for the politically disastrous standoff. It also heralded a very public escalation of a far more consequential battle for control of the Republican Party, a confrontation between Tea Party conservatives and establishment Republicans that will play out in the coming Congressional and presidential primaries in 2014 and 2016 but has been simmering since President George W. Bush’s administration, if not before."

Maureen Dowd: "The paradox of Obama is that he believes in his own magical powers, but then he doesn't turn up to use them." I liked this line: "(We have met the enemy and they are ... bloggers?)" Nothing Dowd hasn't written before. ...

... AND this from Dana Milbank: "These 'extremes' who 'don't like the word "compromise" were the obvious target of Obama's demand that we all 'stop focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists who profit from conflict.' (He did not mention newspaper columnists, so you are free to continue reading.) The gloating was a bit unseemly, but the president is entitled to savor a victory lap. The more important thing is that Obama now maintain the forceful leadership that won him the budget and debt fights. In that sense, the rest of Obama's speech had some worrisome indications that he was returning to his familiar position in the rear."...

Every day, I jump out of bed with a smile on my face, because it is a joy to have the opportunity to stand with the American people and work to help restore people's faith and optimism in our nation. It's an incredible honor to play a small role in expanding the American dream. -- Sen. Ted Cruz

Apparently Ted figures the American dream is to die of a treatable illness for want of affordable health care. Also, the image of Ted jumping out of bed with a diabolical smile on his face is ultra-creepy. -- Constant Weader ...

... Tailgunner Ted Is Still Shooting. Robert Costa of National Review: "According to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, it's his [Republican] colleagues, more than anyone, who should be blamed for the failure of the defund-Obamacare campaign -- and he expects conservatives to remember come primary season."

I am excited about being a member of the budget conference committee and I look forward to working with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to end the absurdity of sequestration and to develop a budget which works for all Americans. In my view, it is imperative that this new budget helps us create the millions of jobs we desperately need and does not balance the budget on the backs of working people, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ...

... Jason Easley of Politics USA: "Majority Leader Harry Reid has shattered Paul Ryan's dreams of killing Social Security and Medicare by putting Sen. Bernie Sanders on the budget conference committee." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link. ...

... "The Biggest Victim of the Debt Ceiling Deal -- Your Retirement." Adam Levin of ABC News: "Congressional leaders are playing a dangerous game with their constituents' money, their livelihoods and their retirement savings. On Wednesday, all Congress did was flip over the hourglass on a game of chicken that cost our economy $24 billion and left America's future up in the air -- and, by doing so, may cause some of our hard-earned retirement savings to disappear into it."

Julie Pace of the AP: "Last week, President Barack Obama gathered some of his top advisers in the Oval Office to discuss the problem-plagued rollout of his health care legislation. He told his team the administration had to own up to the fact that there were no excuses for not having the health care website ready to operate on Day One. The admonition from a frustrated president came amid the embarrassing start to sign-ups for the health care insurance exchanges. The president is expected to address the cascade of computer problems Monday during an event at the White House."

John Whitesides of Reuters: "Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail on Saturday to endorse old friend Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race.... At her first overtly political appearance since leaving her post as secretary of state in February..., [Clinton] said the outcome of the bitter governor's battle would show whether voters were ready to choose common sense over ideology. She received a hero's welcome from the packed crowd in a theater in Falls Church, a Washington suburb, during an appearance certain to heighten speculation about a possible 2016 presidential bid."

Ben Protess & Jessica Silver-Greenberg of the New York Times: "JPMorgan Chase and the Justice Department are moving closer to a $13 billion settlement over the bank's mortgage practices, a record penalty that would cap weeks of heated negotiating and underscore the extent of the bank's legal woes, people briefed on the talks said. To resolve an array of federal and state investigations into the bank's sale of troubled mortgage securities to investors in the lead up to the financial crisis, the bank would be expected to pay about $9 billion in fines.... JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, is also likely to spend $4 billion in relief for struggling homeowners, another person briefed on the talks said." (Emphasis added.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Mother Antonia Brenner, who left a comfortable life in Beverly Hills to minister to inmates in a notorious Mexican prison, eventually becoming a nun and spending more than 30 years living in a cell to be closer to those she served, died on Thursday in Tijuana, Mexico. She was 86."

The Commentariat -- Oct. 19, 2013

The President's Weekly Address:

Adam Clymer of the New York Times: "Thomas S. Foley, a courtly congressman from Washington State who as speaker of the House sought to still the chamber's rising tide of partisan combat before it swept the Democratic majority, and Mr. Foley himself, out of office in 1994, died on Friday at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 84." CW: In case you are hazy on what a horrible excuse for a human being Newt Gingrich is, read Speaker Foley's obituary.

AP: "Republican Rep. Bill Young, Florida's longest-serving member of Congress and a defense hawk who was influential on military spending during his 43 years in Washington, died Friday. He was 82." Andrew Meacham writes the Tampa Bay Times' obituary. ...

... Fox "News"'s oracle Gretchen Carlson reported Rep. Young's death yesterday, which was uncanny, inasmuch as Young was still living.

Julia Preston & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: Democrats want to press immigration reform legislation, but it all depends upon whether House Speaker John Boehner thinks President Obama hurt the widdle feewings of crazed hostage-takers.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times: "Americans for Prosperity has spent millions in states around the country, including Arkansas, Florida, Ohio, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania," and Virginia to undermine the Affordable Care Act by lobbying against the Medicaid expansion in these states.

Maggie Haberman & Anna Palmer of Politico: Republican donors are sick of Republicans. ...

... Michael Bender & Kathleen Hunter of Bloomberg News: "A battle for control of the Republican Party has erupted as an emboldened Tea Party moved to oust senators who voted to reopen the government while business groups mobilized to defeat allies of the small-government movement."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: " The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court released a new legal opinion on Friday that reauthorized the once-secret National Security Agency program that keeps records of every American's phone calls. The opinion also sought to plug a hole in a similar ruling made public last month."

Friday afternoon, President Obama announced his nomination of Jeh Johnson as Secretary of Homeland Security:

Heart of Darkness, Ctd. From the Mind of Dick to "Homeland" Script. AP: "Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he once feared that terrorists could use the electrical device that had been implanted near his heart to kill him and had his doctor disable its wireless function.... Years later, Cheney watched an episode of the Showtime series 'Homeland' in which such a scenario was part of the plot."

Local News

California Really Is a "Laboratory of Democracy." Adam Nagourney of the New York Times: Virulent partisanship is on the wane in California. "Lawmakers came into office this year representing districts whoselines were drawn by a nonpartisan commission, rather than under the more calculating eye of political leaders. This is the first Legislature chosen under an election system where the top two finishers in a nonpartisan primary run against each other, regardless of party affiliations, an effort to prod candidates to appeal to a wider ideological swath of the electorate. And California voters approved last year an initiative to ease stringent term limits, which had produced a statehouse filled with inexperienced legislators looking over the horizon to the next election. Lawmakers can now serve 12 years in either the Assembly or the Senate."

Gail Collins: "These days, when you say 'Texas' in the context of heavy-breathing Republican extremism, everybody immediately thinks of Senator Ted Cruz. Which is really unfair when there are so many other members of the state delegation trying to do their part." ...

... Wait, Wait, Gail. You Left Out the Candidates for Lt. Gov.! "Scenes from a Broken Republican Party." In Texas, GOP candidates for lieutenant governor are arguing the merits of repealing the 17th Amendment, which provides for the popular election of U.S. senators. As Jonathan Bernstein writes in theWashington Post, the prominence of this ridiculous "issue" is symptomatic of what's wrong with the Republican party. Thanks to James S. for the link. CW: I'd wouldn't mind if Texas would repeal the whole Constitution & secede. ...

... Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: Texas Republicans still love Ted Cruz. "He's a fighter." "Texas is not America." Etc.

Elizabeth Chuck & Pete Williams of NBC News: "Same-sex marriages will begin Monday in New Jersey after the state Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state must begin granting same-sex marriage licenses, a rebuff to Gov. Chris Christie." ...

... Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "Before Senator-elect Cory Booker comes to Washington, he plans to start the ball rolling on marriage equality in New Jersey by marrying several same-sex couples at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Oct. 21...."