The Commentariat -- Sept. 29, 2015
Internal links removed.
Afternoon Update:
Sandhya Somashekhar of the Washington Post: "Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards on Tuesday for the first time directly addressed members of Congress about undercover videos purporting to show that the women's health organization illegally sells fetal tissue for profit, telling members of the House Oversight committee that the allegations are 'offensive and categorically untrue.' At a hearing centering on whether federal funding should continue for the group, Richards forcefully defended her organization, calling it a critical source for cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, contraception care and other services for millions of women, particularly those who are low-income." ...
.... Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico: "House Republicans during a combative hearing on Tuesday said that Planned Parenthood doesn't deserve federal funding, citing the group's political activities, travel expenses and salaries. [Planned Parenthood President Cecile] Richards defended the organization's federal support, pointing out that federal funds are not spent on abortion. She also strongly rejected accusations that her organization illegally profits from fetal tissue and organ donation, as alleged by the undercover videos."
New York Times Editors: "In the days he has left, [John Boehner] can revive immigration reform. He can pass the large-scale, comprehensive overhaul that lawmakers had worked on for years, a bill that passed the Senate in 2013 with strong bipartisan support and could have been sent to President Obama's desk but for the obduracy of the nativist right in the House and Mr. Boehner's unwillingness to call a vote."
*****
Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin emerged from a rare face-to-face meeting with Barack Obama on Monday night, saying Russia and the US could find a way to work together on Syria, despite deep differences over the country's leadership. The US-Russian summit lasted 94 minutes, more than half an hour longer than planned, on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly where the two leaders had traded barbs only hours before, particularly over the future of the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad." ...
... Michael Gordon & Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "After circling each other for the past year,
... Julie Pace & Vladimir Isachenkov of the AP: "U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin clashed Monday over their competing visions for Syria, with Obama urging a political transition to replace the Syrian president but Putin warning it would be a mistake to abandon the current government." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Everett Rosenfeld of CNBC: "Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday admonished those who supported democratic revolutions in the Middle East, telling the United Nations they led to the rise of a globally ambitious Islamic State." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Jane Perlez of the New York Times: "In one of the more surprising announcements during his visit to the United States, President Xi Jinping of China announced on Monday during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly that his country would offer more money and more troops to aid United Nations peacekeeping efforts. China, he said, planned to set up a United Nations permanent peacekeeping force of 8,000 troops and would provide $100 million to the African Union to create an immediate response unit capable of responding to emergencies."
Clifford Krauss & Stanley Reed of the New York Times: "On Monday, Royal Dutch Shell ended its expensive and fruitless nine-year effort to explore for oil in the Alaskan Arctic -- a $7 billion investment -- in another sign that the entire industry is trimming its ambitions in the wake of collapsing oil prices. The announcement was hailed as a major victory by environmentalists, who had fought the project for years, only to be stymied by pressure inside and outside the industry to increase domestic oil production."
U.S. Senate Will Not Shut Down Government over Fake Videos Targeting an Organization that Receives 20 Cents/$1,000 of Federal Funding. Infidels! Kelsey Snell & Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "A stop-gap spending bill that would fund the government at current levels through Dec. 11 cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate Monday on a 77 to 19 vote -- and the upper chamber is expected to pass the measure as soon as Tuesday. If all goes according to the plan hatched by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the House could clear the stop-gap funding bill on Wednesday, averting a shutdown with hours to spare before the Oct. 1 deadline. The only potential speed bump standing in the way of quick consideration of the bill in the Senate was Sen. Ted Cruz, but Senate leaders took procedural steps to limit the Texas Republican's options." ...
... Burgess Everett of Politico: "On Monday night, [Sen. Ted] Cruz's colleagues ignored his attempt to disrupt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's efforts to fund the government without attacking Planned Parenthood. In an unusual rebuke, even fellow Republicans denied him a 'sufficient second' that would have allowed him a roll call vote. Then, his Republican colleagues loudly bellowed 'no' when Cruz sought a voice vote, a second repudiation that showed how little support Cruz has: Just one other GOP senator -- Utah's Mike Lee -- joined with Cruz as he was overruled by McConnell and his deputies. It was the second time that Cruz had been denied a procedural courtesy that's routinely granted to senators in both parties. The first came after he called McConnell a liar this summer." ...
... Day of the Jackass. Margaret Hartmann: After John Boehner surreptitiously called Ted Cruz a jackass Sunday on "Face the Nation," Ted Cruz, on the Senate floor, accused Boehner of conspiring with Nancy Pelosi to keep the government running. Fellow senators from both parties were remarkably unimpressed. "Despite his losses in the Senate on Monday, Cruz still sees a shutdown over Planned Parenthood as a winning issue. The continuing resolution will only push off the shutdown issue to December, and Boehner's replacement may not be as willing or able to reach a resolution."
Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "Republicans on the House Oversight Committee did not [CW: refused to] invite the creator of the secretly recorded Planned Parenthood videos to testify at Tuesday's hearing, ignoring repeated calls from Democrats. The House Oversight Committee will hold its first hearing on Planned Parenthood Tuesday, marking the first time that an official from Planned Parenthood will testify since it was hurled into the national spotlight in July."
Benghaazi! Forever. Julian Hattem of the Hill: "The House's committee investigating the 2012 terror attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, has been running longer than any other special congressional inquiry in the nation's history. As of Monday, the committee has been in existence for a total of 72 weeks, surpassing the 1970s effort to investigate the Watergate scandal -- the previous longest special investigatory committee, which ran for just less than one year and five months." CW: Expect it to run right up to November 8, 2016, if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic presidential nominee. One teeny difference between the two longest-running committee trips: in Watergate, there was plenty to investigate; in Benghaazi!, the usefulness of the investigation is long-past; in fact, it was an independent committee appointed by the State Department -- that effected changes in the department's security operations.
Jake Sherman of Politico: "Speaker John Boehner resigned less than a week ago, but frenzied campaigns have broken out already to replace him and fill the party's other top leadership slots. Four positions could open up, and the House Republican Conference is filled with courtship, intrigue and one-upmanship."
Ryan Cooper of the Week: "The GOP is the true party of 'free stuff.'... Overall, welfare benefits for the top income quintile -- largely a result of conservative policymaking -- cost roughly $355 billion yearly. Meanwhile, what passes for new policy in Republican circles -- a child tax credit -- is a government benefit for middle- and upper-class parents that carefully and deliberately excludes the poor.... the problem with [Jeb] Bush's logrolling -- and Republican policy in general -- is mainly that it directs almost all the benefits to people who don't need it."
Remember the Supremes! -- Kate Madison
... Rick Hasen, in TPM: "The future composition of the Supreme Court is the most important civil rights cause of our time. It is more important than racial justice, marriage equality, voting rights, money in politics, abortion rights, gun rights, or managing climate change. It matters more because the ability to move forward in these other civil rights struggles depends first and foremost upon control of the Court.... Constitutional change can come only from Supreme Court personnel change."
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Sen. Robert Menendez scored a modest victory in his battle against federal corruption charges Monday as a federal judge tossed out two bribery counts against the New Jersey Democrat. However, U.S. District Judge William Walls rejected a flurry of defense challenges to the other 12 felony counts against Menendez, leaving enough of the indictment in place that the senator could draw a substantial prison term if he is convicted on some or all of the remaining charges. No trial is expected in the case until next fall."
Rachel Feltman of the Washington Post: "NASA on Monday announced the strongest evidence yet for liquid water on [Mars], increasing the possibility that astronauts journeying to Mars could someday rely on the planet's own water for their drinking needs." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Media Matters: "After NASA announces it found water on Mars, Rush Limbaugh says it's part of a climate change conspiracy." CW: Finally, we have some clarity: scientists are tools of left-wing conspirators. ...
... Steve M. OR, it's part of an anti-Putin conspiracy. OR it was all part of a ploy by filmmaker Ridley Scott to generate interest in his movie "The Martian" opened Friday. CW: Because capitalism is awesome. I guess Matt Damon won't have to make water, after all. ...
Presidential Race
Mark Leibovich profiles Donald Trump for the New York Times Magazine. ...
... Flim-Flam Man. Nick Gass of Politico: "Under a President Donald Trump, some Americans will pay no income tax and the corporate income tax will fall to 15 percent, while the Treasury Department will maintain or even increase current revenue. And while Trump emphasized the hit the rich would take under his tax plan unveiled Monday, he pairs the closing of loopholes and deductions with such a large rate reduction that it would likely add up to a substantial tax cut for many of the well-to-do. The tax plan 'is going to cost me a fortune,' the billionaire candidate told a gathering of reporters at Trump Tower on Monday morning.... And it has the endorsement of [anti-tax Nazi] Grover Norquist." CW: Actually, no, it won't, Donald. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Who'd have guessed -- the rich Republican who inherited an enormous real-estate empire from his father wants to cut taxes for rich people in general and wealthy heirs in particular! -- Jonathan Chait, on Donald Trump's "populist" tax plan ...
... Chait: "Donald Trump has spent weeks talking like a populist, promising to make the rich pay their fair share and attacking his opponents as puppets of the party's wealthy donor base.... Trump's proposal is extremely similar to all the other Republican plans. He would cut the top tax rate to 25 percent, even lower than the 28 percent rate proposed by Jeb Bush. While Trump would not eliminate taxes on investment income, as Marco Rubio proposes, he likewise plans to eliminate the estate tax, which currently applies only to inheritances over $10 million. Trump says he will pay for all this by eliminating 'loopholes,' but fails to identify these loopholes. Even if he cleaned out every deduction in the tax code, there is not enough revenue to make up for the enormous tax cuts he would supply to the rich." ...
... Josh Barro of the New York Times: "... his plan calls for major tax cuts not just for the middle class but also for the richest Americans -- even the dreaded hedge fund managers. And despite his campaign's assurances that the plan is 'fiscally responsible,' it would grow budget deficits by trillions of dollars over a decade. You could call Mr. Trump's plan a higher-energy version of the tax plan Jeb Bush announced earlier this month: similar in structure, but with lower rates and wider tax brackets, meaning individual taxpayers would pay even less than under Mr. Bush, and the government would lose even more tax revenue...." ...
... Joe Nocera: "Like almost everything else about the Trump campaign, his tax plan is hard to take seriously. (To be fair, most of the tax plans put forth by his Republican rivals are hard to take seriously.) During the '60 Minutes' interview, Trump told [Scott] Pelley that he would force the Chinese to 'do something' about North Korea's nuclear program -- while also preventing them from devaluing their currency! -- that he would get rid of Obamacare -- while instituting universal coverage! -- and that he was on more magazine covers than 'almost any supermodel.'... I wonder, in fact, whether even now Trump is a serious candidate, or whether this is all a giant publicity ploy. Once a real developer, Trump is largely a licenser today.... He'll be out before Iowa. You read it here first." ...
... Washington Post Editors: "Mr. Trump ... proved once again that he's all talk. His tax plan, far from being a courageous departure from Republican orthodoxy, relies on many familiar Republican tricks to justify massive tax cuts in an age in which the government's burdens are increasing, not shrinking -- and with even less than usual honest arithmetic.... It seemed as though Mr. Trump's real strategy for avoiding a massive hole in the budget is wishful thinking. Mr. Trump touted the economic growth his administration would spur, and he fell back on the hoary promise to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.... What's remarkable about Mr. Trump's plan is not how different it is from what other Republicans favor, but how similar it is in its fudges, excuses and pandering." ...
It's going to cost me a fortune. -- Donald Trump, on his tax plan, Sept. 28, 2015
No matter how we slice it, we do not see how Trump can justify his claim that his tax plan would cost him 'a fortune.' On the contrary, it appears it would significantly reduce his taxes -- and the taxes of his heirs. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post
... Margaret Hartmann: "Donald Trump is the boy who cried 'I'm boycotting Fox News.' Just five days after Donald Trump announced, for the third time, that he would stop doing interviews with Fox News because they're 'treating me very unfairly,' the network said the GOP front-runner would appear on Tuesday's O'Reilly Factor."
The Case of the Absent-minded Neurosurgeon. Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Dr. Ben Carson says he would run outside the Republican Party, but doesn't think it's necessary and says he has no intention of doing so this election." ...
... Margaret Hartmann: "Earlier this month the Republican Party made every one of its candidates sign a loyalty oath in an effort to rein in Donald Trump, but so far the pledge has only caused problems for his rivals.... When asked during a 99.3 FM interview on Monday if he'd be willing to run outside the Republican party, Ben Carson said, 'If I had to, I would, but I don't think it's necessary.' Host Keith Larson noted that Carson didn't raise his hand when asked in the first debate if he'd run as an independent, and asked two more times if he was really saying he'd run outside of the GOP.... 'So if you're not the nominee, you'll run outside the party?' Larson asked, for the fourth time. 'No, I didn't say that at all,' Carson replied, suddenly realizing that he'd made a written promise not to do so. 'That's not what I'm saying. I have no intention of running an outside campaign. Zero.'"
Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News: "Positioning herself as a steely advocate of aggressive counterterrorism programs, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina offered a vigorous defense of CIA waterboarding as a tactic that helped 'keep our nation safe' in the aftermath of 9/11." ...
... Steve M.: "You might think that she'd have a lot of company, but on this subject, many of her fellow candidates are hedging or opposed (at least nominally).... So Fiorina wins the ¿Quien es mas macho? contest again, just as she did by forcefully taking on Donald Trump in the CNN debate earlier this month.... She's already the loudest voice on the Planned Parenthood videos, and with this embrace of Bush-era foreign policy lawlessness she need only add a staggeringly regressive tax plan (I mean more staggeringly regressive than her competitors' plans) to have all the legs of the three-legged stool of wingnuttery. Oh, and did I also mention that in that Yahoo story Fiorina also boasted of her cooperation with NSA surveillance excesses?"
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Jeb Bush plans to present an energy plan Tuesday that will call for lifting restrictions on producing and exporting oil and gas as part of his larger pitch for achieving 4 percent economic growth, a figure he talks about frequently as a candidate for president. The former Florida Republican governor will outline a plan with four general components that are in line with the Republican orthodoxy: lifting restrictions on exporting oil and gas; approving construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline; stripping away some environmental regulations; and urging the federal government to yield to the energy desires of state and tribes."
The Most Interesting Man in Politics is taking time out from his presidential race to fundraise for his Senate race. Jonathan Easley of the Hill reports.
The Also-Ran at Home. Charles Pierce: "Last week, Scott Walker ... gave up his job as a meathead presidential candidate and returned to his more comfortable employment as a ruinous governor. The Republic was saved, but there are still parts of Wisconsin that Walker hasn't yet poisoned, so he went right back to work at it."
Beyond the Beltway
AP: "Virginia's governor, Terry McAuliffe, on Monday denied a last-minute attempt to delay the execution of a convicted serial killer who says his life should be spared because he is intellectually disabled. Unless the US supreme court steps in this week, Alfredo Prieto will be the first Virginia inmate to be executed in nearly three years on Thursday."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Doug Kendall, a liberal lawyer and co-author of dozens of United States Supreme Court briefs challenging the prevailing conservative vision that the Constitution defines the federal government's jurisdiction narrowly, died on Saturday at his home in Washington. He was 51."
New York Times: "Afghanistan was plunged deeper into crisis a day after the Taliban seized the northern city of Kunduz, as the insurgents on Tuesday kept assaulting the reeling Afghan security forces and the government struggled to mount a credible response. Not only did a promised government counteroffensive on Kunduz not make headway during heavy fighting on Tuesday, but the day ended with yet another aggressive Taliban advance, with insurgents surrounding the airport to which hundreds of Afghan forces and at least as many civilians had retreated, thinking it would be safe." ...
... Washington Post: "Afghan forces massed near the besieged northern city of Kunduz on Tuesday, preparing for expected street-by-street battles against the Taliban a day after militants overran the city in a humiliating blow to Afghanistan's government. The counteroffensive started shortly before dawn as Afghan army reinforcements poured into the area after the U.S.-led coalition launched an airstrike to help clear the way." ...
... New York Times: "A day after the Taliban took their first major city in 14 years, a counterattack was underway Tuesday, but ground forces sent from other provinces to recapture the northern city, Kunduz, were delayed by ambushes and roadside bombs, officials said."
Guardian: "Journalist and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is among a diverse group of artists, advocates and scientists that make up this year's recipients of MacArthur fellow 'genius' grants, announced on Tuesday. Coates joins 23 other MacArthur fellows who will receive a no-strings-attached stipend of $625,000, paid out over five years in quarterly installments. Other 2015 recipients include puppeteer Basil Twist, photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier and sociologist Matthew Desmond."