Friday, November 30, 2012

BAD FAITH

So, the GOPers have been complaining that the President has to "lead," and put a proposal on the table first in the deficit negotiations. Obama does that -- and their response is to reject it, then leak it to the press 

Republicans called the proposal outlandish and brushed it aside as unserious. But it’s almost entirely comprised of policies Obama campaigned on and included in his budget for the current fiscal year. . . . 

Maybe someone should tell Boehner that the idea here is for him to make a counter offer. . . .

 




Obama to GOP: I’m done negotiating with myself

[NB: This is the key point about the plan. Unlike the health care debate, where Obama abandoned from the very outset what he really wanted to adopt a Republican LIte plan straight from the notebooks of Mitt Romney and others, in the hopes that carving out a middle ground would hasten agreement (which they still rejected), now he's saying, "Here's my plan - now you give me yours." And the GOPers DO NOT want to do that.]
 
All the wise heads agree on the general shape of a workable agreement -- the question is whether politically the parties can get themelves there


 


“There’s a standoff, and the staff hasn’t gotten anywhere. Rob Nabors [the White House negotiator], has been saying: ‘This is what we want on revenues on the down payment. What’s you guys’ ask on the entitlement side?’ And they keep looking back at us and saying: ‘We want you to come up with that and pitch us.’ That’s not going to happen.”

[Kevin Drum] Well, of course they want the president to make proposals for both sides. Then they can reluctantly agree, and in 2014 run about a billion dollars worth of ads saying that Democrats raised your taxes and cut your Social Security. . . 

The bad faith and dishonesty of the attacks on Susan Rice

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/29/1165680/-Rice-s-Republican-critics-won-t-let-up

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/rachel-maddow-deconstructs-susan-rice-consp

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/jon-stewart-takes-mccain-and-graham-task-h

The GOP wants John Kerry (what they WANT is his Senate seat)

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/11/30/gop_pushing_kerry_for_secretary_of_state.html

Turning the corner on the economy?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/29/1165725/-First-time-jobless-benefit-claims-sharply-down-gross-domestic-product-growth-up-with-caveats

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/29/15540655-economic-growth-improves-significantly
 
Stuart Stevens, Romney advisor, made a total ass of himself in the pages of the Washington Post, as we discussed yesterday. Today he's all over the airwaves trying to back off his own stupid, racist comments. Has there EVER been a losing campaign that has spent so much effort in trying to explain/excuse/deny why they lost?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/stuart-stevens-women-hispanics.php

Bonus item: From the New Yorker (thanks to JT for the link)



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com


I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

Thursday, November 29, 2012

THE GREAT WHITE WAY

The Repubs made a big show of parading female and brown faces at their convention (on the stage, not in the audience) to show how diverse and inclusive they are. Uh-huh. But look at who's chairing 19 of their House committees

http://gawker.com/5963871/gop-assembles-all-white-male-roster-of-house-committee-chairmen-for-upcoming-congress

I'm geting pretty sick and tired of Romney advisors complaining that the only reason he lost is because (code words) "urban voters" or other euphemisms for minorities favored him in large numbers. Romney would have won, should have won, if so many brown people hadn't voted. The implication is that this was some kind of trick or illegitimate way of padding Obama's vote totals. But the last time I looked, EVERY vote counts the same -- the vote of an unemployed black woman the same as a member of the 1%. That's a pretty basic idea of democracy, isn't it? Really, the whole argument is racist at its core --  here's the latest example

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-good-man-the-right-fight/2012/11/28/5338b27a-38e9-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_story.html 
[Stuart Stevens]  On Nov. 6, Romney carried the majority of every economic group except those with less than $50,000 a year in household income. That means he carried the majority of middle-class voters.. . 

There was a time not so long ago when the problems of the Democratic Party revolved around being too liberal and too dependent on minorities. Obama turned those problems into advantages and rode that strategy to victory. But he was a charismatic African American president with a billion dollars, no primary and media that often felt morally conflicted about being critical. . . [read on, if you can stomach it]


More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/stuart-stevens-poor-minority-voters.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/stuart-stevens-washington-post-mitt-romney_n_2206372.html

Don't say "post-mortem," because this effort isn't dead. The Republicans will come back again and again to try to find ways to restrict voting -- they HAVE TO

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_11/war_on_voting_postmortem041450.php
War on Voting Post-Mortem

The GOP war against Susan Rice is getting more and more vicious

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/28/15517301-smear-campaign-against-rice-broadens-intensifies

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/et-tu-susan

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-long-grudge-gop-payback-politics.html
 
Joe! http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/joe-scarborough-calls-gops-attacks-susa
Joe Scarborough Calls GOP's Attacks on Susan Rice a "Clown Show"

Wonkbook: fiscal cliff negotiations stall

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/29/wonkbook-austerity-crisis-negotiations-stall-out/ 

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/29/1165506/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Round-up-Of-fiscal-cliffs-and-cliff-diving 

Reader BD writes to ask, "Is this a joke?" Sadly no -- Tom Friedman, once again trying a little too hard to think outside the box, thinks that this person would make a great Sect'y of State. His main qualification? Having negotiated with the Chicago Teachers Union (hint)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/opinion/friedman-my-secretary-of-state.html

More: http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/guess-who-tom-friedman-thinks-should-be

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/thomas-friedman-secretary-of-state-arne-duncan_n_2205420.html

Bruce Bartlett, former GOP stalwart, gives an inside glimpse of the conservative bubble

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/inside-conservative-bubble

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/27/15489987-the-education-of-bruce-bartlett

Wow, don't quite know if this is a turning point of sorts, but Pat Robertson, of all people, says that it's silly for creationists to say the world is only 6000 years old, when science clearly tells us that rocks and fossils are much older than that. Is the literalist view of biblical creation destined for extinction? 

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/pat-robertson-admits-dinosaurs-earth- 

Bonus item: GQ! 

The Least Influential People of 2012 
Was anyone inspired by Mitt Romney? Did anyone vote enthusiastically for Mitt Romney? Of course not. Voting for Romney is like hooking up with the last single person at the bar at 4 a.m. The only successful thing he did this year was embody every black stand-up comedian's impression of a white person. Thank God the election's over. No more endless photos of Mitt staring winsomely off-camera with that attempted smile on his face. No more glaring campaign mishaps week after week after week. No more labored media efforts to make him look like anything other than Sheldon Adelson's pampered money Dumpster. Good-bye, Mitt. . . . 

‘Romney is Wall Street’s worst bet since the bet on subprime’

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com 

To get PBD by email: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/todays-news 

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

So Susan Rice meets with the New Three Amigos (with Kelly Ayotte taking the Joe Lieberman slot), levels with them, and gets out of it. . . . nothing. Because bashing her is more important to them politically than getting at the truth

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/27/1165071/-McCain-Graham-and-Ayotte-make-clear-they-re-not-done-battling-the-presumed-nomination-of-Susan-Rice
McCain, Graham and Ayotte make clear they're not done battling the presumed nomination of Susan Rice . . .

All three have previously said they don't trust Rice because her comments did not, they say, match classified information available almost immediately after the attack, which tied it to al Qaeda, not a spontaneous protest over a crude anti-Muslim film that turned into a riot and the deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. The problem with their characterization of Rice's comments is that they don't match what she actually said.  

Let's hope Rice brought her own tape recorder to their meeting. . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/yet-more-shameless-attacks-susan-rice
[Kevin Drum] These people are just shameless. By this point, they know perfectly well that Rice never said anything deliberately misleading. On September 15 she passed along the unclassified assessment of the intelligence community as of September 15, and that's it. But they just can't stand to admit that they were wrong. It's like watching a bunch of preening teenagers facing off in the schoolyard. It's all just a big game to them. . . 

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/lindsey-graham-suggests-susan-rice-oppositio
Lindsey Graham Suggests Susan Rice Opposition Is Payback for John Bolton 

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/27/15486025-im-more-disturbed-now-than-i-was-before
[Steve Benen] Graham told reporters, "Bottom line: I'm more disturbed now than I was before." He added, in reference to the intelligence community's talking points written just four days after the attack, "I think it does not do justice to the reality at the time and in hindsight clearly was completely wrong. But here's the key, in real time, it was a statement disconnected from reality."

Let's unpack this a bit, because it's awfully difficult to take Graham's complaining seriously. . . 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/11/stupidest_thing_mccain_ever_said.php 
Stupidest Thing McCain Ever Said?

[NB: By the way, I see Kelly Ayotte being groomed as the inevitable Republican VP in 2016, whoever is the nominee -- especially if they are running against Hillary Clinton.]

Stop, please. Nobody is really defying Grover Norquist on taxes, and I am increasingly skeptical that any Republican will. Slate magazine decodes the buzzwords

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/11/grover_norquist_tax_pledge_are_republicans_breaking_the_taxpayer_protection.html 
Are Republicans Really Breaking with Grover Norquist?

Paul Ryan's dilemma

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/paul-ryans-fiscal-cliff-predicament.php
 
The Repubs continue to whine about oppressive tax rates, and the need to cut them further. But look at the historical patterns


"Proof" that Iran is working on a nuclear bomb?

The dead-enders aren't dead. . .  yet

Teabaggers still see a chance to stop President Obama from being reelected

And now this . . .

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/11/27/1240681/virginia-attorney-general-suggests-obama-stole-the-election/ 
JACOBUS: There needs to be a way for people to be able to report this stuff and have it looked into. I mean, just across the country, we’re hearing so many stories. And people can talk about it, but nothing seems to be done. And, in fact in these states where voter ID is required to vote…

WILSON: Photo ID.

JACOBUS: Photo ID. Voter photo ID. Obama lost every one of those states. He can’t win a state where photo ID is required. So clearly there’s something going on out there and until there’s a way to have something done about it where when you report it, you know it’s going to be looked into, the other side just says “Oh, well, you’re just poor losers,” and that sort of thing.

[VA. A.G. KEN] CUCCINELLI: Your tone suggests you’re a little upset with me. You’re preaching to the choir. I’m with you completely.


Don't call them "Christians"


Phyllis Schlafly's niece is making a name for herself

[Suzanne Venker] So if men today are slackers, and if they’re retreating from marriage en masse, women should look in the mirror and ask themselves what role they’ve played to bring about this transformation. . . . [read on]

Glenn Beck: comic performance artist, or sick weirdo?

  
Bonus item: Live local news bloopers

http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal-aka-fran/open-thread-452
***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com


I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

NO TAKEBACKS!

Grover Norquist: the no-tax pledge is still binding

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/norquist-pledge-is-for-while-youre-in-congress

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/norquist-some-republicans-having-impure-thou

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/26/1164767/-Eric-Cantor-plays-good-cop-bad-cop-on-Norquist-s-pledge-all-by-himself

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/26/15454314-lindsey-grahams-reasonableness-comes-with-fine-print
 
[NB: Let's be clear that at this stage even the "impure" GOPers aren't talking about breaking the no-tax pledge. They're trying to look flexible, and independent of this unelected, self-appointed kingmaker -- but most of them are still careful to talk only about raising "revenues." That is old news, and could even include further tax CUTS that they think will increase growth, income, and hence, revenues. Nothing has really changed. Old Grover isn't worried about the GOPers, especially in the House, actually voting for tax hikes on the wealthy.] 

Who is Grover Norquist? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/26/who-is-grover-norquist/ 

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/11/26/not_over_for_grover.html

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/thinktanked/wp/2012/11/26/fiscal-cliff-are-conservatives-turning-to-liberals-for-help/ 
‘Fiscal cliff:’ Are conservatives turning to liberals for help?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/26/1164823/-The-GOP-tax-plan-Leave-no-billionaire-behind
 
Can the Dems make entitlement reform into a big win?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/republican-tap-dance-entitlement-reform

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/why-social-security-reform-would-be-good-liberals

The fight over the filibuster: it's an important part of the Senate process, but it has been repeatedly abused by the Repubs, forcing a supermajority vote on nearly everything. That was never the intention. Now the Dems are getting tough in return

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/dems-defend-filibuster-reform-effort-mcconnell-has-broken-the-social-contract.php

Wonkbook: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/27/wonkbook-the-fight-over-the-filibuster
 
I'll bet she charms them

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/wp/2012/11/26/susan-rice-to-meet-tuesday-with-john-mccain-lindsey-graham-kelly-ayotte/
Susan Rice to meet Tuesday with John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/11/heilemann-mccain-changing-his-mind-about-rice.html 

This is what gerrymandering gives you

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/12/03/121203taco_talk_hertzberg
[Hendrik Hertzberg] Actually, “people”—a majority of voters, or even a nontrivial minority—never “intend” divided government. Most people always vote straight Democratic or straight Republican, which means that most people always vote to put one party in charge. They may disagree about which party, and they would rather have their party control part of the government than none of it, but almost all of them prefer undivided government. This year, as usual, “people” wanted one party to run the whole show. That party was the Democrats. Republican House candidates won more seats, but Democratic House candidates won more votes—in the aggregate, about a million more.

For one party to win a majority of House seats with a minority of votes is a relatively rare occurrence. It has now happened five times in the past hundred years.. . .

[NB: And of course, the Republicans never talked about the virtues of divided government when they held the Presidency and majorities in Congress]

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/26/15455607-the-making-of-red-america
Actually, “people”—a majority of voters, or even a nontrivial minority—never “intend” divided government. Most people always vote straight Democratic or straight Republican, which means that most people always vote to put one party in charge. They may disagree about which party, and they would rather have their party control part of the government than none of it, but almost all of them prefer undivided government. This year, as usual, “people” wanted one party to run the whole show. That party was the Democrats. Republican House candidates won more seats, but Democratic House candidates won more votes—in the aggregate, about a million more.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/12/03/121203taco_talk_hertzberg#ixzz2DO1f9FOL
Actually, “people”—a majority of voters, or even a nontrivial minority—never “intend” divided government. Most people always vote straight Democratic or straight Republican, which means that most people always vote to put one party in charge. They may disagree about which party, and they would rather have their party control part of the government than none of it, but almost all of them prefer undivided government. This year, as usual, “people” wanted one party to run the whole show. That party was the Democrats. Republican House candidates won more seats, but Democratic House candidates won more votes—in the aggregate, about a million more.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/12/03/121203taco_talk_hertzberg#ixzz2DO1f9FOL

Was there ever any doubt?

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/former-gop-leaders-florida-law-passed-to-suppress
A Florida law that led to longer lines at polling locations was intentionally designed by Republican staffers and consultants to make things difficult for Democratic voters, two former GOP officials told the Palm Beach Post. . . [read on] 

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/26/1164739/-Ousted-Florida-Republicans-including-ex-Gov-Crist-say-voter-suppression-was-state-GOP-s-goal
  
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/26/15459097-another-peek-behind-the-voter-suppression-curtain

Now this is interesting: the percentage of Asian-Americans who voted for Obama (76%) was even higher than the percentage of Hispanic-Americans (72%). Here's why

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2012/11/why_did_asian_americans_vote_for_president_obama.html  
Why Did Asian Americans Mostly Vote for President Obama?

http://prospect.org/article/how-not-appeal-asian-americans 
How Not to Appeal to Asian Americans

And. . .  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/26/1164780/-Why-the-current-GOP-can-t-win-Latinos
Why the current GOP can't win Latinos

I'm guessing Tom Ricks won't be invited back on Fox News any time soon
 


The creepy, paranoid world of right-wing fundraising

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/why-right-wing-fundraising-so-bizarrely-apocalyptic
[Kevin Drum] I'll grant you that the stuff I get from official outlets like, say, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, tends to be (barely) on the sane side of things. But by far, most of mail is from conservative groups that are just flat-out nuts. The United Nations is going to herd us all into urban concentration camps. George Soros plans to destroy the dollar. Obama is turning America into a slave state. The Army will be deputized to go house-to-house searching for guns as soon as inauguration day is safely past. Under Obamacare people with the wrong political attitudes will be denied the right to see a doctor. This stuff is simply endless. Why? . . . [read on]

More: http://www.thebaffler.com/past/the_long_con 

Bonus item: Only in today's Republican party could someone try to get away with this crap, and still expect to be taken seriously

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/trump-calls-on-gop-to-be-more-appealing
Donald Trump says the Republican Party needs to be more appealing to minorities if it wants to survive into the future. Trump's chief political accomplishment of 2012, sucessfully pressuring President Obama to release his longform birth certificate, was part of his larger dive into race-based Obama conspiracies on the right many saw as contributing to the GOP's terrible performance among African American and other minority voters. . . [read on]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/11/good_times_3.php
[Donald Trump, May 2011] “When it comes to racism and racists. I am the least racist person there is. And I think most people that know me would tell you that. I am the least racist. I’ve had great relationships.”

http://prospect.org/article/donald-trump-continues-troll-everyone
[Jamelle Bouie] Here’s a honest piece of advice for Republicans: If you want to improve your standing with minorities, look at what Donald Trump does, and then do the opposite. [read on]
 
***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com


I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

Monday, November 26, 2012

HOPE AND CHANGE

More and more signs that GOPers may be moving away from their absolute opposition to taxes

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/chambliss-mccain-graham-tax-revenues.php

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/norquist-republicans-reject-anti-tax-pledge.php

"Read my lips"? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/26/the-gops-read-my-lips-moment

Looks like they've also recognized a losing issue in their opposition to Susan Rice

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/mccain-graham-susan-rice-benghazi.php

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/25/1163890/-Susan-Rice-Condi-Rice-and-Republican-hypocrisy
  
Who's afraid of the fiscal cliff?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/fiscal-cliff_b_2189593.html
  
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/krugman-fighting-fiscal-phantoms.html

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/11/26/gop_not_in_position_of_strength_on_fiscal_cliff.html
GOP Not in Position of Strength on Fiscal Cliff

Wonkbook wants to call it the "austerity crisis"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/26/wonkbook-thanksgivings-over-but-the-fiscal-talks-are-just-beginning/
  
Really wonky: does limiting deductions generate as much revenue as higher tax rates?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/11/effect-rich-50000-deduction-cap
 
The fight over the filibuster could go thermonuclear (thanks to DR for the link)

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84195.html
  
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/us/politics/new-senates-first-task-will-likely-be-trying-to-fix-itself.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-filibuster-reform-20121125,0,741658.story
  
Obama admin to draft rules of engagement for the use of drones. Is this a sign of progress, or not?




How "liberal" became a bad word


Interesting numbers to sift through -- state by state voting, 1992-2012

  
Fox News hacks bemoan "liberal media bias" in the Obama/Romney campaign

What they failed to discuss was the fact that the study from Pew also stated that "The final week of the campaign marked only the second time in which positive stories about Obama outnumbered negative dating back to late August," or the fact that most of that positive coverage was due to his handling of the response to Hurricane Sandy. Mitt Romney was running around still campaigning and pretending to hold a "storm relief event," while President Obama was just doing his job. . . . [read on]

Bonus item: Barney Frank shows how a simple question can expose the "concern trolls"

  

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com


I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***