The Commentariat -- Jan. 31, 2015

Internal links, defunct video, discarded photo removed.

White House: "In this week's address, the President described the progress our economy has made, laying a foundation for a future that prioritizes middle-class economics":

Presidential Race

Mitt Loses Billionaires' Bowl. Ashley Parker & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "In a talk with his eldest son, Tagg, between runs down the mountain on Monday, [Mitt] Romney, 67, said he had all but decided against a third bid for the White House. The conversation, according to a person familiar with it, came after days of increasingly gloomy news reached the Romney family. Donors who supported him last time refused to commit to his campaign. Key operatives were signing up with former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida. The Republican establishment that lifted Mr. Romney to the nomination in 2012 in the face of scrappy opposition had moved on."

This lovely woman will not be deciding the presidential election. And neither will you.... CW: So it wasn't Romney who "decided" against running. It was the moneybags. If you don't think this country is run by millionaires & billionaires, contemplate just who chooses the major party presidential candidates. The excitement over Obama in 2008 was partly about him, partly about his race, & partly that he was challenging the big-bucks candidate. I recall Hillary's telling some teevee interviewer in January 2008 that she would win the nomination. The source of her confidence wasn't chutzpah; it was her donor base.

Nate Cohn of the New York Times: "In renouncing a new run for president Friday, Mitt Romney becomes the first big casualty of the invisible primary -- the behind-the-scenes competition for donors, endorsements and campaign operatives. Many candidates, including Mr. Romney, are plausible candidates on paper. But party elites winnow the field of prospective nominees by bestowing and withholding the resources and credibility necessary to run a presidential campaign.... [Mitt's "decision"] is also a reflection of the relative strength of the field, and perhaps especially Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who launched an aggressive, even pre-emptive campaign to recruit support in early December."

The text of Romney's statement, as prepared, is here.

A Sad Day for Gail Collins: "For all his faults, there are a lot of candidates in the Republican scrimmage who would make far worse presidents than Mitt Romney. Still, it's sort of a relief to see him go. Although I will miss that dog story." You will want to read Collins for her take on Mitt's announcement.

D. S. Wright of Firedoglake: "... both Bloomberg and The Daily Beast reported that Romney was getting ready to announce that his candidacy for president. Both outlets were forced to update their stories to show that the opposite of what they reported was true providing a sad commentary both on those organizations and the numerous wrong 'breaking' news stories that will come in the 2016 cycle." ...

... CW: That Bloomberg story, BTW, was by consumate "insider" & thoroughly obnoxious prick Mark Halperin. So there was a mini-silver lining to the billionaires' dismissal of Romney. Benjamin Mullin of Poynter has the screen grabs. ...

... The Horseshit Whisperer. Steve M. "All that happy talk, in Halperin's story and others, was Mitt's way of stroking the press so he'd be able to read that he absolutely should have won in 2012 and could certainly win in 2016, and in any event would be far and away the best person for the job. He believes that and he wanted to have that message reflected back to him -- and, obviously, he hoped he could persuade enough other people of his greatness to be a credible candidate again. These weeks of generating speculation were Mitt's Sunset Boulevard -- he's still big, it's the elections that got small! He's ready for his close-up, Mr. Murdoch!" ...

... CW: It wasn't all happy talk, Steve. Prior to Romney's conference call, Ed Kilgore cited bits from Halperin's piece which claimed to characterize Romney's view of rivals Jeb & Chris. Romney sees Jeb as "a small-time businessman..., weighed down .... [by] his family name." As for Crisco, Romney's vetting produced dirt that "would mushroom so broadly that Christie soon would be eliminated from consideration by voters and donors." ...

... Charles Pierce: "Ah, the Lady Ann has had enough of You People who think you should be president rather than Willard, whom god and a trust fund selected at birth. Notice that Willard and Lady Ann are publicly great friends of Jeb (!), but they free up anonymous People Who Are Familiar With Romney's Thinking to slip in the shiv."

Jon Swaine of the Guardian: "After announcing that he would not, after all, be mounting a third campaign for the US presidency, Mitt Romney signalled on Friday that he may forge a reconciliation with Chris Christie to stop Jeb Bush's bid for the Republican nomination next year.... Immediately after Romney's call to supporters, the New York Times reported that he would be having dinner with Christie on Friday evening." ...

... CW: Um, also Mitt & Ann had lunch with Chelsea Clinton Mezvinsky yesterday. So maybe he's preparing to back Chelsea's mom. Never mind that Mitt called former Secretary of State Mom "clueless" just a few days ago. Mitt thinks everyone who is Not-Mitt is "clueless." "We talked about disease. Brain disease." -- Ann Romney said of their lunch with Chelsea.

The thing that really struck me about Jeb more than anyone I ever met, is he understood that he was from the world that really counted and the rest of us weren't. It really was quite a waste of his time to engage us. This was kind of his family high school. There wasn't anything he could do to be kicked out so he was relaxed about rules, doing the work. This was just his family's place. -- Phil Sylvester, a classmate of Jeb's at Phillips Academy ...

... "Magic Carpet Ride." Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe on Jeb's schoolboy days at the toney Phillips Academy: "Classmates said he smoked a notable amount of pot -- as many did -- and sometimes bullied smaller students.... He had completed ninth grade in Houston, but he was advised to repeat it at Andover. Still, he barely got grades high enough to avoid being expelled, he said...." CW: Kranish is one of two Globe reporters who broke the dog-on-the-roof-of-the-car story. Americans, and Gail Collins in particular, have a deep debt to Michael Kranish.

CW: While we've had a lot of fun at the expense of risible GOP candidates, as contributor P. D. Pepe reminded us the other day, we won't be having so much fun when the GOP starts bringing up Bill Clinton's flying in planes with underage call girls, etc.

Frank Rich on "American Sniper," Presidents Koch & candidate Hillary: The lede of the Rich chat is buried in its very last paragraph: "The lead of the Politico article [about Hillary's candidacy] is buried in its very last paragraph, where it's noted that the 'next critical task' for the Clinton campaign is 'developing her message.' Indeed! What Hillary Clinton actually stands for beyond party boilerplate -- and, more pointedly, what she would actually want to do as president -- is the question that remains unanswered. Until it is, it doesn't matter who is put in charge of communicating it."

** Dana Milbank on Bernie Sanders' populism. CW: I think both Sanders & Milbank get it just right. Unfortunately.

Molly Ball of the Atlantic: "... the combined convulsions of the House and Senate stand in stark contrast to the GOP's election promises about putting Congress back to work and ending gridlock on Capitol Hill.... The new dawn they promised isn't looking very different from last year's gridlock."

Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times: "Halting President Obama's deportation amnesty will end up hurting Uncle Sam's bottom line, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday in a new report that is bound to cause more problems for Republicans trying to block the White House's executive action. While keeping illegal immigrants in the shadows would save the government billions on spending, it would also mean billions in taxes that never get paid, leaving the federal budget a total of $7.5 billion worse over the next decade than it would be if Mr. Obama's amnesties take effect as scheduled, the CBO said." ...

     ... CW: Oddly, this story is only being reported in the Right Wing News, as far as I can tell.

Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "A trio of Republican committee chairmen will immediately get to work on drafting the party's ObamaCare backup plan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Friday. The working group is forming one day after McCarthy announced the House would vote next week to fully repeal ObamaCare, marking the first repeal vote of the GOP-controlled Congress.... The group, which includes Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), will also be charged with creating a 'contingency plan' to prepare for a looming Supreme Court decision that could undo Obamacare subsidies in 34 states." ...

... Ryan, BTW, is one of those slimy lawmakers who used to acknowledge that the ACA covered residents of all states, not just those who live in states which set up their own insurance exchanges. Howevah, Ryan has changed his mind now that it's convenient to pretend the ACA only covers people obtaining coverage through state exchanges. ...

... Ian Millhiser: "In 2011, one of the most influential conservative organizations in Washington D.C. flatly contradicted the central claim in a lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act. Though Heritage later reversed its previously stated views on how to read Obamacare after it became advantageous for conservatives to publicly agree with the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, Heritage's 2011 paper adds to the wealth of evidence showing that the misreading of the law offered by the plaintiffs in this lawsuit was widely rejected by the law's supporters and by its opponents until the lawsuit itself gave conservatives an incentive to lend credibility to its central claim."

Jonathan Chait: "[Thursday], the Huffington Post was gracious enough to publish an item contributed by once-promising author turned mediocre blogger Barack Obama. That same day, Barack Obama told House Democrats to 'get informed, not by reading the Huffington Post.' This raises not only the question of why Obama does not want Congress to read his own work, but why the Huffington Post continues to employ him at all.... Fire this hack." Includes sample of classic hackery.

Michael Moore confirms that ten years ago, Clint Eastwood threatened to kill him.

I don't feel sorry for shooting the guy at all. -- Adam Torres, a Fairfax, Virginia, County police officer who shot dead an unarmed man with his hands raised

... Tom Jackman of the Washington Post on the August 2013 police-shooting death of John Geer. Other police officers, who were at the scene to cope with a domestic argument between Geer & his partner, & civilian witnesses all agree that Geer had his hands up & was unarmed. "... documents also show that Torres[, the shooter,] was involved in an argument with his wife in the 16 minutes leading up to his arrival at Geer's home...."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Charles Pierce takes several stabs at the New Republic & its lovely editors & contributors past. ...

... CW: I read the New Republic cover story the other day & meant to link it but forgot. Canadian journalist Jeet Heer on the New Republic's long history of racism & jingoism & elitism & some other bad. I guess Heer had to be polite because he wrote his report on TNR's dime, but the content, however nicely put, is a condemnation of a supposedly-liberal magazine. To me, that "supposedly-liberal" is the worst part. If you're a liberal reading what is sold as a liberal magazine, you have a bias to believe the content. Thus, you may come away thinking black people are too dumb to be reporters, too lazy to do honest work, & that these & other negative stereotypes are backed up by scientific proofs that the Negro is a genetically-inferior subspecies of the Great White Man. Because you read it in the the Great White New Republic.

News Ledes

New York Times: "The Islamic State claimed to have beheaded a Japanese journalist in a video released Saturday night, the culmination of a two-week-long drama that appears to have cost the lives of two Japanese men. The video of the killing of the journalist, Kenji Goto, came two days after a deadline set by the extremist group expired, and the Jordanian government did not give in to its demand that a convicted would-be suicide bomber be exchanged for Mr. Goto's life."

New York Times: "Carl Djerassi, an eminent chemist who 63 years ago synthesized a hormone that changed the world by creating the key ingredient for the oral contraceptive known as 'the pill,' died at his home in San Francisco on Friday. He was 91."

New York Times: "... as officials in 14 states grapple to contain a spreading measles outbreak that began near here at Disneyland, the parents at the heart of America's anti-vaccine movement are being blamed for incubating an otherwise preventable public-health crisis."

Guardian: "Angela Merkel has ruled out the prospect of Greece securing further debt cuts from its creditor nations, potentially putting the country's new leftist government on a collision course with Brussels."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 21-year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston, was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub Saturday morning and was rushed to the hospital, Roswell authorities said. TMZ is reporting that sources close to the family say she's been place in a medically induced coma to address swelling. An AJC reporter was told to leave hospital property Saturday and no hospital representatives were available for official comment."

The Commentariat -- Jan. 30, 2015

Internal links, discarded photo removed.

NEW. Philip Rucker & Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Mitt Romney told supporters Friday that he would not run for president in 2016, ending three weeks of public speculation and sparing the Republican Party a potentially bruising nominating battle between its past nominee and its rising stars." Ah, well, now he can go out & help the poor. Or maybe he's over that concern, too. Thanks to Akhilleus for the heads-up.

Steven Mufson, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Obama will present a federal budget proposal on Monday that would exceed restrictive spending caps mandated by Congress four years ago and propose new capital gains and bank taxes, an effort that will likely get bogged down in congressional opposition to taxes and big budget deficits."

Justin Sink of the Hill: "President Obama on Thursday will call on congressional Republicans to approve a 'clean' funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that preserves his executive actions on limiting deportations. During a visit to the House Democratic retreat, the president is expected to seize on a suggestion from some Republicans that they allow funding for the department to lapse if they are unable to secure concessions."

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to force approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.... The White House promptly declared that Mr. Obama would veto the measure -- which would force the approval of a proposed 1,179-mile oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico -- in a stroke of the pen that is expected to be the opening shot in a series of vetoes of Republican measures."

Seung Min Kim of Politico: "Loretta Lynch has enough votes to clear a key committee on her confirmation as the nation's next attorney general, as two Senate Republicans said Thursday that they'll back her and another one indicated his potential support. Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Jeff Flake of Arizona both said after Lynch testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that they would vote to confirm the federal prosecutor, believing she is qualified to succeed Eric Holder.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, said he was 'inclined' to back Lynch.... Four of the committee's Republicans -- Jeff Sessions of Alabama, David Vitter of Louisiana, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah -- are expected to oppose her nomination." Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) & other Republicans on the committee have not signaled their decisions. "Though they were split on whether they would support Lynch, Senate Republicans had a clear strategy on Day Two of her confirmation hearing: Make it all about Holder...." ...

... Tracy Walsh of TPM: "Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) accused his Republican colleagues on Thursday of turning the confirmation hearings for the next attorney general into 'a soundbite factory for Fox News and conspiracy theorists everywhere.' Whitehouse criticized GOP lawmakers for 'launch[ing] a series of unanswerable attacks' on outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder instead of focusing on the candidate under consideration, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. 'There are plenty of forums where the attorney general would have an opportunity to defend himself,' Whitehouse said. 'This is not one.'" Watch the video. Whitehouse, as usual, is terrific:

... Charles Pierce: "Unless the Senate starts listening to Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-Twelve Oaks), Loretta Lynch is going to be the new Attorney General.... The way you know what they're really about is that, [Thursday], the Republicans turned the Senate Judiciary Committee into an impromptu episode of Fox And Friends." Pierce, with some serious help from Sen. Whitehouse (above), goes on to relate pretty much what you need to know about Thursday's Hearing for Aggrieved Wingnuts & their Legal Aide(r & Abettor) Jonathan Turley. ...

... But Yet. Let's Give Sharyl Attkisson Her Moment. Tim Devaney of the Hill: "The Obama administration treats investigative journalists and their sources like 'enemies of the state,' a former CBS News reporter who accuses the government of spying on her told a Senate panel Thursday. 'The job of getting at the truth has never been more difficult,' Sheryl Attkisson testified at the Senate confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch. She said the DOJ's surveillance of journalists could do 'long-term damage to a supposedly free press' and urged Lynch to chart a new course." ...

... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "Many of the allegations made by former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson regarding alleged computer intrusions by the U.S. government are disputed in a report by the Justice Department's inspector general. 'The OIG's investigation was not able to substantiate the allegations that Attkisson's computers were subject to remote intrusion by the FBI, other government personnel, or otherwise,' reads the inspector general's report.... The ... report was entered into the Senate record as part of the Lynch hearings.... In testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee..., Attkisson complained that a document request from Justice's inspector general office yielded only a 'partial' look at the report, which didn't include forensic details." ...

... Oh, enough with the whining. Let's have some snarling. ...

... In a Another Senate Committee Room.... Tom LeGro & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) confronted anti-war Code Pink protesters at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, saying 'Get out of here, you low-life scum.'"

Sahil Kapur of TPM: "Many Republicans would view it as a dream come true if the Supreme Court were to slash a centerpiece of Obamacare by the end of June. But that dream could fade into a nightmare as the spotlight turns to the Republican Congress to fix the mayhem that could ensue. 'It's an opportunity that we've failed at for two decades. We've not been particularly close to being on the same page on this subject for two decades,' said a congressional Republican health policy aide who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. 'So this idea -- we're ready to go? Actually no, we're not.'" ...

     ... CW: In a story I linked yesterday, Sarah Ferris of the Hill reported, "Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter Wednesday to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), demanding the administration show its hand in case the court rules against ObamaCare this summer." I doubt Republicans see anything ironic, hypocritical or galling about this demand. ...

... Of course, as Ed Kilgore reminds us, "It's not that there's anything inherently complicated about the 'fix.' Congress could resolve the problem in about a day with a one- or two-sentence amendment to ACA that made plain what the bill's sponsors clearly intended all along: the subsidies are available in all 50 states. The problem, of course, is that Republicans cannot support a simple 'fix' after years of treating Obamacare as a socialistic abomination unto the Lord." ...

... This morning Greg Sargent rips to pieces the final shred of the Republican charade that they will "fix" ObamaCare should the Supremes strike down tax credits to residents of states which have not established their own exchanges. ...

... CW: Just to be clear, should the Supremes rule for King, I believe the Obama administration can "fix" the problem for many (but not all) states, simply by having each state in jeopardy create its very own state-created link -- with the state seal & all -- to the federally-created exchange for that state. Or by some similar stunt. This will NOT help residents of confederate states who want to make sure their middle-class residents don't get the ACA tax breaks they would otherwise receive under the law. We'll have to wait & see how the overtaxed in those states react to their legislators/governors' decisions to screw them.

... Worse than Blackbeard. Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post: Archaeologists discover that even the ruthless Blackbeard had a universal healthcare system for his crew of pirates.

Lauren French of Politico: "President Barack Obama broadly took swipes at Republicans on Thursday night ... and he took a thinly veiled swipe at ... [Mitt Romney]. 'Even though their policies haven't quite caught up yet, their rhetoric is starting to sound pretty Democratic,' Obama said of the Republicans during a House Democratic retreat. 'We have a former presidential candidate on the other side and [who is] suddenly deeply concerned about poverty.That's great, let's go. Let's do something about it.'"

Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center: "President Obama's latest tax package, which he'll unveil in detail next week along with his new budget, would lower taxes for low-income households and significantly raise taxes for the highest income 1 percent -- those making $663,000 or more, according to new Tax Policy Center estimates. Middle-income households would see relatively modest changes in their tax bills." The chart Gleckman provides does not reflect the recent "changes in flexible savings accounts for child care and Sec. 529 [college savings] plans."

What a Coincidence. Sarah Posner: "Rachel Maddow broke the news last night that Bryan Fischer, the American Family Association's Director of Issue Analysis, has been fired, following media coverage and pressure from watchdog groups highlighting Fischer's racist and homophobic views in advance of an AFA-funded trip to Israel for members of the Republican National Committee.... The Southern Poverty Law Center ... urged RNC members to boycott the trip. (None have.)... Getting rid of Fischer, though, does not get rid of the AFA's problem. Not only did the AFA tolerate Fischer's outrageous statements for years, in 2010 former employees told me his views were actively and enthusiastically shared and supported within the organization." ...

... Southern Poverty Law Center: "In a letter to SPLC officials, the American Family Association (AFA) has disavowed a series of racist and bigoted statements made by its chief spokesman in recent years. The repudiation of Bryan Fischer's statements came just two days before members of the Republican National Committee (RNC) are scheduled to embark on a trip to Israel sponsored by the AFA. Last week, the SPLC wrote to all 168 members of the RNC urging them not to accompany the AFA on the trip.... The SPLC has named the AFA as a hate group due to its history of making false, demonizing statements about the LGBT community, including Fischer's contention that gay men were responsible for the Holocaust.... Fischer has claimed ... that black people 'rut like rabbits'; that the First Amendment applies only to Christians; that Hispanics are 'socialists by nature' and come to the U.S. to 'plunder' the country; that Muslims should not be permitted to build mosques in the United States; that an underground railroad is needed to protect children from gay parents; and more." ...

... Miranda Blue of Right Wing Watch: "[Wednesday], the American Family Association announced that it was stripping Bryan Fischer of his position as a spokesman for the group. The AFA's move to distance itself from Fischer's regular barrages of bigotry apparently came in response pressure from its allies in the Republican National Committee, who are preparing to go on a tour of Israel on AFA's dime. (Though the fact that the group is retaining Fischer as a radio personality on its American Family Radio network makes the whole thing somewhat less convincing.)... One statement in the letter [to the SPLC] stands out: 'AFA rejects the policy advocated by Bryan Fischer that homosexual conduct should be illegal.' Really? Is AFA renouncing its support for criminal sodomy laws? We look forward to seeing the AFA issue a full retraction of its previous support for criminalizing 'homosexual conduct.' But we aren't holding our breath." ...

... Kyle Mantyla of Right Wing Watch: "Bryan Fischer kicked off his radio program [Thursday] by refuting reports that he had been fired by the American Family Association, explaining that he has simply given up his role as an official AFA spokesman while retaining his role as a daily radio host for AFA's radio outlet, American Family Radio. As we noted earlier today, this supposed change is utterly meaningless and does nothing to absolve the AFA of its responsibility for giving Fischer a national platform from which to spread his hate."

Carl Hulse & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been reaching out to leading Capitol Hill Democrats to try to ease criticism over his coming address to Congress, but has made little progress.... [Senate Minority Leader Harry] "Reid said that Mr. Netanyahu promised he would make the speech as nonpartisan as possible. 'He proceeded to tell me how distrustful he is of Iran and that is kind of an understatement,' Mr. Reid said." ...

... Patricia Zengerle of Reuters: "The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted 18-4 on Thursday to advance a bill that would toughen sanctions on Iran if international negotiators fail to reach an agreement on Tehran's nuclear program by the end of June. However, the bill is not expected to come up for a vote in the full Senate until at least March 24. Ten Democrats, including the measure's co-author, Senator Robert Menendez, announced an agreement earlier this week to hold off for two months to allow time to reach a diplomatic solution.... In the committee, only four Democrats voted against the bill...."

Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Two weeks after the Secret Service forced out four of its top officials, lawmakers are questioning whether the agency should have ousted one more -- its influential second-in-command. Members of Congress from both parties are concerned that by keeping in place Alvin 'A.T.' Smith, the Secret Service stopped short of fully reforming upper management following a string of embarrassing security lapses, according to government officials familiar with the discussions.... 'I'm worried that A.T. Smith is part of the problem, not part of the solution,' said the committee's chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). 'He seems to be in the middle of most of these really bad decisions.'"

Vice President Biden in a New York Times op-ed: "... on Monday, President Obama will request from Congress $1 billion to help Central America's leaders make the difficult reforms and investments required to address the region's interlocking security, governance and economic challenges.... The cost of investing now in a secure and prosperous Central America is modest compared with the costs of letting violence and poverty fester.... For the first time, we can envision and work toward having the Americas be overwhelmingly middle class, democratic and secure."

Paul Krugman is trying to convince Germans to get real about Greece & stop with their moralizing demands. ...

... George Packer's profile of Angela Merkel, published late last year in the New Yorker, may help to explain Germany's stance toward Greece. Here's one clue: "Volker Schlöndorff, the director of 'The Tin Drum' and other films, got to know Merkel in the years just after reunification. 'Before you contradict her, you would think twice -- she has the authority of somebody who knows that she's right,' he said. 'Once she has an opinion, it seems to be founded, whereas I tend to have opinions that I have to revise frequently.'"

Presidential Race

Uh-Oh. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "David Kochel, a Republican strategist based in Iowa who worked on both of Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns, is joining Jeb Bush's political action committee as a senior strategist and is in line to serve as Mr. Bush's national campaign manager.... The move to tap Mr. Kochel, who advised Mr. Romney for over six years, represents a shot across the bow of the 2012 Republican nominee, who is now considering a third bid for the White House."

The Candidate from the Past. Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: Wisconsin Gov. Scott "Walker's rise is a reminder that among Republican primary voters, and especially Iowa-caucus goers, the market for ideological or even stylistic innovation, may be smaller than the media assumes. Because the most striking thing about Scott Walker's speech at the Freedom Summit, and his emerging campaign message more generally, is how retro it is. Walker concedes nothing to the conventional wisdom about what the GOP must do to compete in a more culturally tolerant, ethnically diverse and economically insecure America. And the GOP faithful love it."

Sean Sullivan: "Sen. Marco Rubio this week may be sending the clearest signals yet that he intends to run for president rather than seek reelection to a second term in 2016. In a week when the Senate was consumed with a bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, Rubio (R-Fla.) was in California raising money for his political action committee and reelection campaign. He was the only Republican senator who did not vote on final passage of the Keystone bill Thursday.

Here's a fake "secret tape" Rand Paul released. I think you're supposed to be smart enough to know that's not really Hillary & Jeb on the phone:

Beyond the Beltway

After a while, you can't even tell what's a pre-shock or an after-shock. The ground just keeps moving. -- Rep. Jason Murphey, Guthrie, Oklahoma ...

... Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: In a state "founded on oil wealth," Oklahoma lawmakers, Gov. Mary Fallin & other state officials are having a right hard time deciding what to do about all them earthquakes caused by oil & gas deep-drilling. "Meanwhile, the state seismologist, Austin Holland, readily acknowledged that the industry has tried to influence his work -- even as he and his colleague ... are pelted with 'hate e-mail' from quake victims."

Reeve Hamilton & Alexa Ura of the Texas Tribune: "Freshman state Rep. Molly White, R-Belton, is not in Austin today to celebrate Texas Muslim Capitol Day. But she left instructions for the staff in her Capitol office on how to handle visitors who are, including asking them to declare allegiance to the United States. 'I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws,' she posted on Facebook. 'We will see how long they stay in my office.'" ...

... Jay Hathaway of Gawker: "I guess she wants American Muslims to renounce terrorism (of which they aren't actually a part) and pledge allegiance to the United States (the country where they already live) by taking a solemn oath in front of that very American icon, the flag of Israel*? Cool. Good. Neither crazy nor bigoted. Definitely what you want to hear from your elected representatives. Earlier in the day, White had shared a scaremongering story, originating from Breitbart, about a Texas 'Sharia court.'... Another victory for cultural understanding. Another proud day for Texas." ...

... John Amato of Crooks & Liars: "Texas Muslim Capitol Day is a good thing and has been going on since 2003. Its function is to have Muslims in the community meet lawmakers and learn about the political process. That's a surprisingly progressive thing to do in Texas, but as usual it turned ugly when conservative Christian protesters showed up and yelled Islamophobic rants at those participating in the event." ...

... When Nullification Leads to State-Sponsored Killing. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "Texas has executed an intellectually disabled prisoner despite a high court ban on putting mentally impaired prisoners to death, the second such violation of constitutional protections to occur in the US this week. Robert Ladd, 57, died by lethal injection on Thursday evening. Under Texas's unique -- and widely ridiculed -- definition of intellectual disability, he was deemed capable of being executed because he did not match the degree of mental impairment depicted in a character in a John Steinbeck novel.... [The Supreme Court has] "banned executions of people with 'mental retardation' on the grounds that they were a form of cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the eighth amendment. It also said that the death penalty states had to conform to standards set by medical science.... Yet this week two prisoners who were categorically found to be mentally impaired by numerous medical experts have been put to death. The first was in Georgia where Warren Hill, 54, was judicially killed on Tuesday." ...

... CW: Here's what I don't get: "The Supreme Court rejected both appeals to stop Robert Ladd's execution." Approval of a writ of certiori requires only four justices. Are the Supremes as smart as Lennie Small? ...

... Carimah Townes of Think Progress: "If Texas state Rep. Dan Flynn (R) gets his way, teachers will have the right to use deadly force against students in Texas classrooms, in the near future. The Lone Star State already permits teachers to have firearms in the classroom, but H.B. 868, also known as the Teacher's Protection Act, would authorize instructors to use 'force or deadly force on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored event in defense of the educator's person or in defense of students of the school that employs the educator.' Instructors would also have the right to use deadly force 'in defense of property of the school that employs the educator.' Moreover, civil immunity would be granted to those who use deadly force, meaning they would not be liable for the injury or death of student." ...

... Hunter of Daily Kos: "This also stands to make turn-in-your-textbooks day considerably more exciting. Better hope I don't see any penned-in mustaches in your history book, you little snots."

The Commentariat -- Jan. 29, 2015

Internal links removed.

Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "During an all-day confirmation hearing that highlighted Republican anger with the administration, [attorney general nominee Loretta] Lynch declined repeated opportunities to disavow actions taken by the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Instead, the first African American woman nominated to be attorney general cast herself as a career federal prosecutor determined to uphold the rule of law and willing to provide honest counsel to the president even when he might disagree." ...

... Lynch's opening remarks:

... Dana Milbank: Republicans "who figured they could take out their frustrations on Lynch had misjudged her: The nominee has a long and impressive résumé as a no-nonsense prosecutor, and she managed at Wednesday's hearing to be both assertive and anodyne in her testimony, expert in the law but opaque about controversial legal matters. As important, Lynch, with the help of committee Democrats, painted an unassailable biography: This daughter of a fourth-generation minister and a segregation-fighting mother from the South would be the first African American woman to be the nation's top law enforcement official.... Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) toned down his prepared statement as he read it.... Even the dyspeptic Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) acknowledged that his legal friends in New York describe her as 'a U.S. attorney who honored and respected the law.'" ...

... Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post: "Why is Sharyl Attkisson testifying at Loretta Lynch's confirmation hearing? Henderson lists some of the other witnesses Republicans have called: they all have zip to do with Lynch. Zip. These twisted old farts are going to pass Lynch out of committee. They don't give a whup about her. Their purpose is to hammer Holder & Obama.

Dana Milbank: "'Yes, there have been a couple of stumbles,' John Boehner acknowledged Tuesday.... What has happened since Republicans took full control of Congress three weeks ago has been less a stumble than a pratfall involving the legislative equivalent of a banana peel, flailing arms, an upended bookcase, torn drapes and a slide across a laden banquet table into a wedding cake.... Chaos could be found around every corner of the Capitol on Tuesday morning." ...

... CW: When all else fails, Dana, there is but one answer: vote to repeal ObamaCare. Ergo, that's exactly what Boehner has scheduled for next week. Hey, it passed the first 50 times, so there's little reason to think there will be a snafu this time.

The Bibi Bonus. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "The decision by the Israeli prime minister to accept an unusual invitation from House Republicans to address a joint session of Congress has had the unintended effect of helping the [President Obama] rally Democrats as his administration negotiates a delicate nuclear deal with Iran. For months, the issue of imposing sanctions on Iran has split many Democrats from the president.... But Mr. Netanyahu's planned speech -- a provocation of the president that many Democrats found distasteful and undiplomatic -- has helped shift the political dynamic." ...

... Julie Davis of the New York Times provides some background on Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., who was born in the U.S. & who began his political career as a GOP operative. Dermer arranged Netanyahu's speech before Congress & kept it secret from Secretary of State John Kerry, with whom Dermer met the day before John Boehner announced the speech. ...

... Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) this week warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his coming speech before Congress threatens to sink the nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, the Democratic leader said Wednesday. 'I think that such a presentation could send the wrong message,' Pelosi told reporters during the Democrats' annual issues retreat in Philadelphia. 'That's my view, and I shared that with the prime minister today.'" ...

** Juan Cole: "The audacity of Speaker of the House John Boehner colluding with the prime minister of a foreign country to undermine a sitting president is, I think, still not entirely appreciated. And the whole point of the plot with Binyamin Netanyahu is to stop a sitting president from successfully making an opening to a former enemy, reducing the likelihood of war.... And frankly I don't think a Speaker would have dared try to treat a white president that way." Read the whole post on how "Israel went from being a Democratic to a Republican project."

Law professor Eric Segall looks at the alternate history created by the instigators of King v. Burwell, the case claiming that residents of states which have not established their own health insurance exchanges are not entitled to subsidies: "... as of this moment, there is not a shred of evidence that, in 2010, when the law was passed, any member of Congress or the Administration believed federal subsidies would be unavailable on federal exchanges. If anyone can demonstrate otherwise, then we can have the argument. So far, no one has come close." ...

     ... Via Paul Waldman: "It's going to take a titanic act of disingenuousness for the Supreme Court to accept the plaintiffs' absurd argument in this case. But worry not: there are at least four justices, and maybe even five, who are up to the task." ...

... Brian Beutler: "It's not sufficient -- at least for political purposes, and probably for legal purposes -- for conservatives hoping to gut Obamacare to argue that 'the plain text of the ACA reflects poor statutory draftsmanship....' So they have concocted a theory of intent, wherein a few in-the-know Democrats drafted the law this way on purpose, and confusion reigned until a handful of conservative lawyers swooped in to inform the world.... King v. Burwell now rests on an argument that has crossed the fuzzy line dividing revisionist history from X-Files-style conspiracy theory." ...

... Steve Benen: "The rationale behind the King v. Burwell case at the Supreme Court -- the final Republican effort to destroy the Affordable Care Act -- has slowly unraveled in recent weeks, but just over the last couple of days, the entire anti-ACA argument has effectively become gibberish.... Left with no evidence or connection to reality, the people supporting this lawsuit -- which is to say, the people who pretend to believe the lawsuit has merit -- have resorted to an alternative-universe theory in which they see a reality no one else can see." ...

... Sam Baker of the National Journal: "Health insurance companies and hospitals mounted an aggressive defense of Obamacare's insurance subsidies Wednesday, warning the Supreme Court that eliminating the payments would be 'grossly inequitable' to millions of Americans. Both industries have a lot on the line as the court prepares to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit that aims to cut off the Affordable Care Act's premium subsidies in most of the country. In an amicus brief filed Wednesday, health insurers said a ruling against the subsidies would have widespread and severe ripple effects, potentially throwing states' entire insurance markets into chaos." ...

     ... CW: I doubt the confederate Supremes will carefully read (much less heed) briefs filed by Democratic legislators (you know, the people who wrote the law) & governors (who administer it), but surely they will care what captains of the insurance industry have to say. It seems to me these briefs could matter. ...

... AND This Is Rich. Sarah Ferris of the Hill: "Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter Wednesday to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), demanding the administration show its hand in case the court rules against ObamaCare this summer.... [HHS Secretary Sylvia] Burwell has repeatedly said she remains confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the subsidies. When asked about how the administration is preparing states for the worst-case scenario, Burwell has flatly declined to discuss the plan." CW: Republicans in Congress has been promising for, what, five years?, to develop a plan to replace ObamaCare, & they still don't have anything you couldn't scribble on a cocktail napkin. But they want the administration to immediately devise a contingency plan in case the Supremes rule in favor of the plaintiffs in a GOP-endorsed nonsense lawsuit to undermine the ACA. ...

... Oh, Excuuuuse Me. Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner: "House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said on Wednesday night that after nearly five years of opposing President Obama's healthcare law, Republicans were preparing to release an alternative in this Congress. 'There will be an alternative and you'll get to see it,' Boehner told Fox News' Brett Baier. This is a worthy goal that's long overdue, but one that's easier said than done. As I detail in my new book, Overcoming Obamacare, the problem isn't that Republicans haven't released any healthcare plans, but that they've had trouble rallying around a single one due to some fundamental differences."

Gail Collins on drone control. Here's a part about Congressional oversight: "Take Representative Sean Patrick Maloney [D] of New York, whose wedding photographer had a drone taking pictures during the happy occasion. When critics accused him of violating F.A.A. rules[, which prohibit commercial uses], Maloney said he 'wasn't up-to-date on the lack of regulations around the emerging technology.' The same thing was true, the congressman argued, of 'most people who are about to get married.' Excellent point! Although most people who are about to get married are not serving on the House transportation subcommittee on aviation.... 'They better beware, because I've got a shotgun,' said Senator Rand Paul [R], when asked about drones after the White House incident." ...

... CW: If I'm not mistaken, both parties disqualify potential candidates who do too well on party-tailored intelligence tests. Sample question on both: Which of these people is least like the others? (a) Oil company lobbyist, (b) Eccentric billionaire, (c) SuperPac CEO, (d) Ordinary citizen. (See comment threads from yesterday & the day before for context.)

It Depends upon What the Meaning of "Rich" Is. Josh Barro of the New York Times on why President Obama's proposal to end tax benefits for college tuition accounts was doomed. ...

     ... CW: This also explains one of the major reasons ObamaCare remains unpopular despite all the people it has helped. Americans who are paying for the ACA -- both in insurance premiums & in taxes -- are those whom Barro labels the "merely affluent." ACA opponents are not just ignorant Tea party wahoos who actually benefit from the ACA; they are people whose incomes are -- not coincidentally -- in the range of many members of Congress, their staffs & professional political activists.

Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: Wingers are so over Sarah Palin. Tumulty runs down what some of the more influential confederates are saying now about Palin, & contrasting their comments today with their over-the-moon hype of 2008. CW Note: Poor Palin is so dumb that she has bought into the media myth that here teleprompter failed during her coherent 2008 convention speech. She told Sean Hannity that whopper just this week. And it is a whopper. ...

... Confederate Matt Lewis in the Daily Beast has had a teeny crisis of conscience: "... it does feel like we have finally reached a tipping point where criticizing Palin isn't only acceptable for conservative opinion leaders, it's now almost expected.)... Before most Americans had ever heard of her, I was among the few suggesting she'd make a fine veep pick. My intern at the time even started the Draft Sarah Palin movement. A few years later, I edited a book of Palin quotes, titled The Quotable Rogue.... It's probably time to concede that the early critics of Sarah Palin had a point, and that they shouldn't have been tarred and feathered and (in some cases) nearly purged from the conservative movement." ...

... CW: Here's what I really don't get. How is it possible for anyone who can write a newspaper column not to have realized Sarah Palin was a dimwit? How about, as a ferinstance, comparing Loretta Lynch's opening remarks with Palin's Iowa Freedom Summit speech, one for which "interested" presidential candidate Palin had months to prepare. Which of these women seems qualified for high public office? ...

... Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Charlies Pierce: "That a man under criminal indictment [-- Rick Perry --] can zip around the country, selling T-shirts off his own alleged wrongdoing, and do so full in the knowledge that his criminal indictment is treated in the coverage as less important than the fact that he wears glasses now, is a dreadful verdict on journalistic malpractice. The fact that Scott Walker is under investigation (again) for crimes in (another) office really ought to count more than the fact that he's learned how to yell at people on the stump."

Charles Pierce finds a few flaws in a Politico report on Joni Ernst. CW: I'm curious to see how long reporters give Ernst the Palin benefit-of-the-doubt pardon. Will it be long enough for Ernst to remake herself into a sane person? Or will she remain "unavailable for comment" forevah? Or must we wait five or six years for the MSM to start writing stories that put "Ernst" & "unhinged" in close proximity?

The Accidental Journalist. Catherine Thompson of TPM: In a Fox "News" interview, host Megan Kelly sort of called out the fellow she accidentally called "Fuckabee" on-air for saying that New York women -- presumably Fox "News" employees -- were "trashy." "'Well I do have some news for you before I let you go,' Kelly ribbed her former colleague. 'We're not only swearing. We're drinking, we're smoking, we're having premarital sex with birth control before we go to work, and sometimes boss around a bunch of men.' 'Oh, I just don't want to hear that,' Huckabee responded."

Steve M.: Over at Breitbart News, the folks are outraged that fundamentalist American Muslims resolve intrafaith conflicts pretty much the same way fundamentalist American Jews & Christians do. CW: Now all the confederate ladies will worry they'll soon be forced to wear burkas over their splendid Gone with the Wind hairdos, even if Michelle Obama doesn't have to. ...

... Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) praised Michelle Obama on Twitter Wednesday for not wearing a head covering while visiting Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. 'Kudos to @FLOTUS for standing up for women & refusing to wear Sharia-mandated head-scarf in Saudi Arabia. Nicely done'."

Elias Isquith of Salon: "The long game [the Koch brothers are playing] is a House of Representatives that is, thanks in part to Citizens United and the 2010 census, almost guaranteed to stay Republican for the foreseeable future. The long game is a GOP establishment that knows it can only diverge from the Tea Party in style (and not substance) if it wants to survive a primary challenge from a Koch-funded opponent. The long game is a new era of almost unprecedented dominance on the part of the GOP when it comes to politics on the state level. And the long game is a feeder system that sends those far-right state-level conservatives to Congress -- while threatening to replace them with someone else if their time in D.C. weakens their devotion to the cause." ...

Presidential Election

Marco Wins Billionaires' Bowl. Ken Vogel & Tarini Parti of Politico: "In an informal straw poll of some conference donors, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida came out ahead of four other would-be GOP presidential candidates who had been invited, according to an attendee familiar with the results. The poll was conducted by Frank Luntz, a veteran GOP pollster [& Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer's former boss], during a break-out session of the conference, which wrapped up Tuesday after a long weekend of presentations and discussions at the Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage, Calif." Rand Paul came in last." CW: Maybe it was a beauty pageant. Hair matters. ...

... Steve M.: "These people are rich, influential CEOs, but they watch Fox News just like every other wingnut. If you want their money, before you open your mouth in their presence, ask yourself: Would Sean Hannity say this? If the answer is no, shut up."

The Many Mansions of Mitt. Matt Visor of the Boston Globe: "Two years ago, Mitt Romney didn't think he would run for political office again. And in the aftermath of his bitter defeat in the presidential campaign, he embarked on something of a real estate spree. He simultaneously began building two multimillion-dollar homes, one [in La Jolla, California,] and another outside Salt Lake City. He also bought a third, a slopeside ski chalet in Park City, Utah.... Romney ... may recognize the trouble his real estate holdings could cause in another campaign. He is taking steps to shed some of his property, including retaining a broker who is currently showing the La Jolla home to potential buyers...." Entertaining reading. ...

... Daniel Strauss of TPM: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will attack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the economy and foreign policy during a speech at Mississippi State University on Wednesday night. According to speech excerpts obtained by NBC, Romney, who has indicated if he decides to run for president again one of the pillars of his campaign would be inequality, will ask 'How can Secretary Clinton provide opportunity for all if she doesn't know where jobs come from in the first place?'" ...

     ... Update: Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: Mitt "Romney ... made clear that his prospective 2016 bid would focus squarely on foreign affairs and poverty -- and that [HIllary] Clinton ... was in his sights."

The reason I'm Republican is because I want to help the poor, the middle class. The rich in America, by the way, are fine. -- Mitt Romney, 2015

I'm not concerned about the very poor -- we have a safety net there.... I'm not concerned about the very rich -- they're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling. -- Mitt Romney, 2012

Most of former Gov. Flip-Flop's flipflops are not true flipflops. His underlying political philosophy is consistent; only his rhetoric changes. And much of that rhetoric is disingenuous. The poor & middle-class he's so "concerned" about would definitely get the shaft if we all lived in RomneyWorld. -- Constant Weader

Ali Elkin of Bloomberg Politics: "With few other presidential prospects emerging in her party, Hillary Clinton is considering waiting until July to announce her candidacy, Politico reported Thursday, citing top Democrats."

Beyond the Beltway

Reuters: "The US supreme court on Wednesday agreed to temporarily block the execution of three Oklahoma prisoners who are challenging the state’s lethal injection procedure. The court's action means that convicted killers Richard Glossip, John Grant and Benjamin Cole will not be put to death using the sedative they object to until after the supreme court decides whether the procedure violates the US constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The court's brief order leaves open the possibility that the state could try to proceed with the executions using a different combination of drugs."

Steve Barnes of Reuters: "A bid to end Arkansas' practice of honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate General Robert E. Lee on the same day failed in a state legislative committee on Wednesday.... [The] legislation was criticized by Confederate legacy organizations that saw it as a slight to an important figure in the South's history." CW: Once again, confederates carry the day. I think you'll agree it is right hard to see any difference between Confederates & confederates.

Alan Blinder & Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times: After court proceedings reveal lurid details about a brutal campus rape committed by school football players, Vanderbilt students react with indifference: "In interviews, reactions mostly clustered around two poles: This is not the sort of place where such things happen, or they happen everywhere -- and either way, no one should point a finger at Vanderbilt.

Charles Pierce writes quite a good assessment of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo & seems not at all upset that U.S. Attorney Preet Bhahara is hot on Cuomo's heels.

Chris Fitzsimon of N.C. [North Carolina] Policy Watch on the abrupt firing of popular U.N.C. President Tom Ross: "There is a conspiracy here all right, a carefully orchestrated plan by right-wing political interests to complete their takeover of the state by firing the head of the university system, a public institution that they have been seeking to dismantle for years. It's not clear what happens next, though a search committee will be formed." ...

... Via Charles Pierce: "The empire building in places like Wisconsin and North Carolina by local oligarchs like Art Pope, abetted by the useful idiots they install in office, is the basic foundation for the politics of the new Gilded Age. Rarely, however, are things as blatant as this attempt to bring one of the country's finest systems of higher education forcibly into the theocracy of The Market. There are only two actual Koch Brothers, but there are dozens of distant cousins doing the same kind of damage." ...

... MEANWHILE, in Wisconsin. Lucy McCalmont of Politico: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, defending proposed budget cuts for higher education, took a swipe at university professors who he said could be 'teaching more classes and doing more work.'"

News Ledes

New York Times: "... Greece backed away from strong statements denouncing sanctions [against Russia] and joined other countries in the 28-member [European] bloc in a unanimous vote in favor of expanding a list of sanctioned individuals, mostly Russians, and of work to prepare 'any further action' to pressure combatants to respect a stillborn truce agreement from last year."

CNN: "The U.S. military and intelligence community now suspect that one of the five Taliban detainees released from Guantanamo Bay in return for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in May of last year has attempted to return to militant activity from his current location in Qatar by making contact with suspected Taliban associates in Afghanistan, multiple officials tell CNN."

Washington Post: Three American contractors and an Afghan national were killed in a shooting at a military base at Kabul's airport Thursday...."

Los Angeles Times: "Rod McKuen, a prolific songwriter and poet whose compositions include the Academy Award-nominated song 'Jean' for the 1969 film 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,' has died. He was 81."

New York Times: "Colleen McCullough, a former neurophysiological researcher at Yale who, deciding to write novels in her spare time, produced 'The Thorn Birds,' a multigenerational Australian romance that became an international best seller and inspired a hugely popular television mini-series, died on Thursday on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific, where she had made her home for more than 30 years. She was 77."