The Commentariat -- January 8, 2015

Internal links removed.

Did I miss anything? -- Constant Weader

McConnell Takes Credit for Improved Economy. Daniel Strauss: "The way Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sees it, recent good news on the American economy is directly linked to the fact that there's a new Republican majority in Congress.... [In response,] the Democratic National Committee emailed out a statement with the subject line 'DNC to McConnell: Hahahahahahahahahahaha.'" ...

... Dana Milbank: "McConnell, when he wasn't taking credit for things that preceded his ascent, gave a remarkably angry and ungracious first speech to the body he now leads. It was an 18-minute snarl, dripping with contempt and packed with campaign-style barbs for the president.... It's apparently McConnell's job to chide and to taunt -- and to make the next two years as bitter and unproductive as the last four." ...

... After running through a few of the new Congress's wrong-headed legislative goals, E. J. Dionne writes, "How far have the goal posts been moved in the GOP? Just because [Speaker John] Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) say they want to avoid government shutdowns and debt-ceiling hostage-taking, they are to be regarded as heroes of sane policymaking. But if we've sunk so low that this is now the test of 'governance,' we are still a long way from the real thing." ...

... Among the new Congress's plans which Dionne mentions, is of course the schemes to reject ObamaCare. Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times takes on Paul Ryan's newly-repeated misstatements about the ACA, including a GOP proposal that likely would have the effect of cutting back work hours of millions of now-fulltime employees: "Obviously, when Ryan and his GOP colleagues talk about 'fixing' the ACA, they're using the term in the same sense one talks about 'fixing' a cat. They're plotting a handout to employers, at their employees' expense."

... CW: Broadly speaking there are three types of conservatives: (1) Decent but uninformed: (2) Greedy, nasty & uninformed; (3) Greedy, nasty & well-informed. We can put Ryan in Box 3.

From Tuesday's & Wednesday's news:

The Short-Lived Dreams of Speaker Gohmert: Jake Sherman & John Bresnahan of Politico: "John Boehner was elected Tuesday to serve another two years as speaker of the House, beating back opposition from a surprisingly large group of conservatives who wanted a fresh face atop the Republican Conference. The Ohio Republican got 216 votes out of 408 cast, while 25 dissenting Republicans voted for candidates as varied as Reps. Daniel Webster of Florida, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jeff Sessions of Alabama." ...

... Scott Wong of the Hill: "A day after winning his third term as Speaker, John Boehner (R-Ohio) said his conference had begun a 'family conversation' about how to respond to the 25 conservatives who revolted and voted against him on the floor. Boehner confirmed that the Rules Committee agreed hours after the Tuesday vote to boot two of the defectors off the committee: Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), who challenged Boehner for Speaker, and Rep. Richard Nugent (R-Fla.), who voted for his fellow Florida Republican. But the Speaker said no final decisions had been made, suggesting Webster and Nugent could rejoin the committee, even as some rank-and-file members complained bitterly about leadership's retribution in a closed-door GOP conference meeting on Wednesday.... Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), who also broke from Boehner, said late Tuesday that Webster and Nugent's removal is something that would happen in a 'communist country.'" ...

... CW: So everyone who doesn't belong to or support the Krazy Kaukus is or behaves like a "communist." At the same time, wingers admire Vladimir Putin, once a prominent communist, for his "leadership." Would Putin have been a great Speaker? This is so confusing. ...

... AND, oddly enough, it seems to be A-Okay right-wing groups plan or take retributive actions.

Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal judge sentenced former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell to two years in prison Tuesday -- an unexpectedly lenient punishment for a man who was convicted of selling the influence of his office to a wealthy benefactor for sweetheart loans, luxury vacations and even a Rolex watch. Unless his case is overturned on appeal, McDonnell (R), who once was mentioned as a presidential contender, will become the first Virginia governor to go to prison." ...

... Evan Osnos of the New Yorker: "American sentencing today rests on a mix of improvisation, unthinking bureaucracy, power, and cruelty. To see it in the round, you need not leave Virginia."

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times on today's Republican party, which, among other things, has create a new Mike Huckabee, crazier & meaner than the old Mike Huckabee. (Martin doesn't use the pejorative terms, of course.)

You have other cases. You had Bob Byrd, who was the majority leader, who was a Klan leader. You had Hugo Black, who was a justice who was a Klan leader, but they were Democrats. So being in the Klan was OK. -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), on CBS's "Face the Nation," Jan. 4, 2015

... Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "Gingrich errs in suggesting that Byrd's and Black's connection to the KKK was somehow okay and shrugged off at the time. Both men faced tremendous criticism and pressure to resign, but hung tough and eventually survived -- much as Scalise appears to be doing. Moreover, Gingrich suggests they received special treatment because they were Democrats, which is certainly a partisan way of looking at it. After all, at the time, there were virtually only Democrats in the South, as Gingrich well knows.

Everybody Is Somebody's Hero. Linda Greenhouse: "It sounds discordant to suggest that a Supreme Court justice has a base, but Sam Alito has one. One of several recent hagiographic articles in the right-wing press was one in the American Spectator back in May, describing Samuel Alito as 'one of the noblest men in American public life today.'"

CW: Of all of the discussion surrounding the Charlie Hebdo attack, the most important one I heard came from some talk-radio guy (seemed to be the host, not a listener) I heard for a few seconds while my radio was running through scan: the person-with-his-own-radio-show was upset that John Kerry had said something about the attack -- in French. Pass the freedom fries, please.

News Ledes

New York Times: "One of the two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at a satirical newspaper in Paris traveled to Yemen in 2011 and received terrorist training from Al Qaeda's affiliate there before returning to France, a senior American official said Thursday. The suspect, Saïd Kouachi, 34, spent 'a few months' training in small arms combat, marksmanship and other skills that appeared to be on display in videos of the military-style attack on Wednesday carried out by at least two gunmen on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper."

Washington Post: "The massive hunt after France's worst terrorist attack in generations broadened on two fronts Thursday: Chasing reports the heavily armed suspects were spotted on the move, and arresting others for questioning others amid fears more attacks could be planned. A day after massacre of a dozen people at a satirical newspaper, France's capital was a mix of mourning, anger and hair-trigger tensions -- raised even further after the slaying of a policewoman in a Paris suburb. Authorities said there was no immediate information to link the police shooting with Wednesday's attack at the newspaper Charlie Hebdo, whose well-known editor was among those slain in apparent retribution for the weekly's provocative cartoons and content on Islam." ...

... The New York Times story is here. The Times' liveblog is here. The Guardian is liveblogging developments here.

The Commentariat -- January 6, 2015

Internal links, photo removed.

David Goodman & Al Baker of the New York Times: "For a second straight week, New York City police officers sharply cut back on their actions in the street, arresting less than half as many people and writing more than 90 percent fewer summonses than in the same period a year ago. The slowdown built on a drastic drop in activity that began shortly after the murder of two uniformed patrol officers in Brooklyn on Dec. 20, and continued across all 77 precincts in the city." ...

... Hunter of Daily Kos: "You can arrest only half as many people and still not sacrifice public safety? You can curtail other enforcement actions by 90 percent to no detrimental effect, save to the city's coffers? This sounds like excellent news.... Is this merely an extended period of unofficial pouting by New York City Police officers, or is there a specific something being requested? The closest we've come to an explanation of demands comes not from New York but from the Baltimore police union, which used the December murder of two New York officers to demand law enforcement receive the 'unequivocal support' of national leaders.... If members of the police departments demanding 'unambiguous' fealty ... want to explain how this required cult-like devotion to police authority squares with a national law enforcement framework that is not by definition a police state, they ought to pipe up with that." ...

... Here's One Thing. Liz Goodwin of Yahoo! News: "In the wake of the murder of two New York City police officers and a national debate about policing, the National Fraternal Order of Police is asking for the Congressional hate crimes statute to be expanded to include crimes against police officers.... Asked about the push today, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said ... the task force on policing convened by President Barack Obama would consider the hate crimes idea."

** Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times: "A member of the grand jury that declined to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson has filed a federal lawsuit against the prosecutor handling the case, saying the public has been misled about the grand jury's deliberations. Represented by the Missouri chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the anonymous grand juror – identified only as 'grand juror Doe' -- sued St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch on Monday for the right to speak publicly about the case.... The grand juror hints that he or she may have voted to criminally indict Wilson and wants to advocate for reform as Missouri legislators consider whether to change the state’s grand jury process." ...

... Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "McCulloch has been under increasing fire since admitting that he allowed witnesses he knew were lying to testify before the grand jury." ...

... The complaint is here.

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Speaker John A. Boehner is all but assured of re-election to the top House leadership post when his colleagues vote on Tuesday, but the new term also could serve up the embarrassment of a potentially record number of his own Republican conference voting against him as speaker." ...

... Speaker Gohmert! David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) warned on Monday that there could be dire consequences for the entire country if Republicans in Congress did not oust John Boehner as Speaker of the House and elect him instead." With video. ...

... CW: I hope the Gohmert effort succeeds. As I said two years ago when there were similar rumblings among the nativists, Nancy Pelosi could make a co-governing deal with Boehner if he needs Democratic votes to retain his speakership. There is no way, BTW, that Gohmert (or Yoho!) would be elected speaker, but they can gum up the works. ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Boehner has "more room for error this time around (as opposed to 2012 when the effort to unseat him lost by six votes), after Republicans gained double digits seats in the 2014 election. At least 29 House Republicans would have to desert Boehner in order for him to lose another term as speaker. But it's also becoming evident that he'll probably lose more votes this time around." Blake rounds up the names of Republican MoCs who have said, at one time or another, that they would vote against Boehner: "So, the likely/possible votes against Boehner currently stand at 15, with 29 being the magic number." ...

... Zeke Miller of Time: "A day before the new Congress is to be sworn in, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that [Rep. Steve] Scalise's fate lies with his Republican colleagues after he admitted to speaking to a group linked to Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Scalise maintained that he did not realize it was a hate group at the time and apologized for his mistake. 'Who they choose to serve in their leadership says a lot about who they are and what their values should be,' Earnest said Monday.... Twice repeating Scalise's quote that he is 'David Duke without the baggage,' Earnest said that President Barack Obama believes that 'it's ultimately [House Republicans' decision to make,' whether Scalise serves as whip." ...

... The "Scary" Party. Jamelle Bouie of Slate assesses the GOP Congress's chances of "govern[ing] like a sensible party." See Speaker Gohmert! above.

Justin Sink of the Hill: "The White House isn't yet threatening to veto a Republican bill to authorize construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.... But the administration is playing coy on whether the president plans to veto the package or urge Democrats to vote against the legislation. 'We'll see what the legislation actually includes before we start urging people to vote one way or the other,' White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday, adding that he wanted to 'reserve judgment' until the administration could 'actually see what language is included in that specific piece of legislation.'"

Justin Volz & Kaveh Waddell of the National Journal: "Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein is calling on President Obama to help 'prevent the use future use of torture' by the U.S. government, a move that comes on the heels of her panel's release of its investigation into the CIA's now-defunct "enhanced interrogation" program.... Along with urging a series of executive actions from the president, Feinstein said she will introduce four of her recommendations as legislation at the start of the 114th Congress. Such a bill would largely serve to codify an executive order President Obama issued upon taking office in 2009 that outlawed certain interrogation methods, including waterboarding."

Robert Pear of the New York Times: "For years, Harvard’s experts on health economics and policy have advised presidents and Congress on how to provide health benefits to the nation at a reasonable cost. But those remedies will now be applied to the Harvard faculty, and the professors are in an uproar." ...

     ... CW: I thought this was sort of a "meh" story & didn't link it, but it's hit a chord here on Reality Chex (and elsewhere), so here it is.

... Jonathan Chait with the Elsewhere: "The most recent grist for the machinery of [conservative] doomsaying is a New York Times report that Harvard faculty are up in arms over changes to their health insurance, loosely related to reforms in the Affordable Care Act. The schadenfreude is flowing, from the to Jonathan Adler to Red State to Hot Air.... What makes this response funny, if not unusual, is that the reforms ... show that in some ways, Obamacare has pushed the health-care system moderately in the direction conservatives favor, by encouraging employers to shift more of the cost of care onto employees.... The Harvard story demonstrates two things. First, Obamacare is implementing some versions of conservative ideas. Second, even moderate versions of this reform tend to upset consumers. But neither of these interpretations are capable of penetrating a conservative media apparatus that relentlessly turns all news stories into either non-stories or confirmation of their increasingly discredited hysteria." ...

... Paul Campos in LGM: "According to the AAUP, the average salary for Harvard full professors is currently $207,100, and their average total compensation (including the lousy health care plan) is $262,300.... The school offers some protection against high co-insurance costs to lower-paid employees...." CW: The salaries for assistant & associate professors, especially in the liberal arts, are likely to be considerably less than $200K.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The Obama administration's plan to defuse a First Amendment showdown with a New York Times reporter over his confidential sources was nearly derailed at a court hearing Monday when the journalist rebuffed a series of questions concerning his reporting. But he eventually agreed to answer some of the queries, allowing the at-times tense session to get back on track and avoiding for now a major confrontation over press freedom. Times national security writer James Risen testified for about 45 minutes in a federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, where ex-CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling is set to go on trial next week on charges of leaking top-secret information that Risen published in his 2006 book 'State of War.'" ...

... Here's the New York Times story, by Matt Apuzzo, who sometimes collaborates with Risen on stories. ...

... CW: I'm of the impression Risen is kind of a dick, but a dick can make a damned good reporter. Or not.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Reporter Sues Obama over Stuck Backspace Key. J. K. Trotter of Gawker: "Sharyl Attkisson is the investigative reporter who believes the Obama administration hacked her personal computers because she reported on the 2012 attacks in Benghazi. Today she announced her family's $35 million lawsuit against the federal government for the alleged hacking.... There is zero evidence that federal agents placed Attkisson's family under illegal and retaliatory surveillance, and Attkisson's new complaint does not offer any actual proof that any state-sponsored surveillance took place."

Matt Zapotosky & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Richmond will decide on Tuesday what punishment former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell deserves for trading the influence of his office to a smooth-talking businessman in exchange for sweetheart loans, lavish vacations and a variety of other loot." ...

    ... UPDATE: The Post is liveblogging the sentencing hearing.

Michael Specter of the New Yorker:"One of science's most famous quotes is false ." CW: I generally think it's safe to accept as true stories I read in reputable publications by reputable journalists or scientists or historians (I'm talking facts here, not opinions). Most of the time, I'm right to do so. However, a teeny red flag does go up if a story seems outlandish for some reason. The false quote Specter himself cited numerous times does seem, if not outlandish, at least surprising. Someone shoulda checked it out. And at long last, someone did.

Maybe Obama Isn't Such a Lousy President. Scott Keyes of Think Progress: "In the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, David Siegel, billionaire chief of Florida timeshare company Westgate Resorts, sent an email to all employees" warning them that "re-electing Obama would 'threaten your job' and result in 'less [sic.] benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.' Just over two years after penning that company-wide email, Siegel informed Westgate employees that instead of layoffs, he would boost their minimum wage to $10 per hour beginning in 2015."

Paul Glastris in the Washington Monthly: The current Gilded Age gives progressives a chance to reform government -- and society -- but their inattention to the big picture may cause them to blow it.

This Can't Wait for Our Regular Weekly God News. Ruth Eglash of the Washington Post: Archaeologists working in Jerusalem's Old City "uncovered something extraordinary: the suspected remains of the palace where one of the more famous scenes of the New Testament may have taken place -- the trial of Jesus." ...

     ... CW: Just so you don't get too excited, it's quite possible the archaeologists have discovered an ancient palace or administrative building, one which certainly could have been built by & for Herod the Great. However, the trial of Jesus is almost certainly fictious -- part of a good story to explain to Diaspora Jews why the expected Jewish messiah did not come to lead the his people in victory over their Roman oppressors.

Patricia Mazzei & Steve Rothaus of the Miami Herald: "Crying tears of joy and relief, men and women who had challenged the ban leaped to their feet and shrieked with joy inside downtown Miami's historic courthouse Monday morning when a judge ruled with little fanfare that the couples could marry right away. They would have otherwise had to wait until after midnight Tuesday, when another judge's ruling took effect statewide." See also Presidential Election below. ...

... Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Gay couples began marrying in Miami on Monday, kicking off a pivotal week when the Supreme Court will have a chance to consider whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry or whether states may limit marriage to a man and a woman."

AP: "Two women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual offences decades ago have joined a defamation lawsuit, contending the comedian publicly branded them as liars through statements by his representatives. The amended complaint was filed on Monday in the US district court in Springfield, in western Massachusetts, where Cosby has a home in Shelburne Falls."

The Hazard of Rearing a Ne'er-Do-Well. Jessica Roy of New York: "Man kills wealthy father for reducing allowance. Seems a little extreme." (Quoted from the front-page blurb.) ...

... Taylor Berman of Gawker has more on the story.

Presidential Election

Margaret Hartmann of New York: The long & (very) short of Jeb Bush's evolution on gay marriage. ...

... Andrew Kaczynski & Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed have the full text of Jeb's 1994 "sodomy" op-ed here. Their entire post is worth reading. Here's a gem: "Bush long used the language of victimization to describe LGBT activism. In his 1995 book, Profiles in Character, Bush described the 'gay rights movement,' 'feminist movement,' and 'black empowerment movement' as part of a so-called 'modern victim movements.' These activists, he wrote, 'have attempted to get people to view themselves as part of a smaller group deserving of something from society.'" ...

... CW: Jeb wrote that book 20 years ago, but you can bet his views haven't changed. Unless you're a straight, white man, Jeb Bush doesn't think you should be a fully-recognized person. Three-fifths, maybe. This is the GOP's definition of "moderate."

Matt Lewis of the Daily Beast: "Images are important and memes matter -- which is why the viral screen capture of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hugging Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is worth noting today [Monday]. In case you missed it [CW: you can bet I did], cameras captured Christie (an admitted longtime Cowboys fan) celebrating the Cowboys come-from-behind victory over the Detroit Lions in the owner's box on Sunday night. GIFs were created. Tweets were sent. Jokes were made.... I think Bill Kristol hit the nail on the head with this Tweet: 'Next week, Scott Walker will go to the Packers' game, root for his state's team, & sit in the cheap seats & freeze with the common people.'" Read the whole post. It's entertaining & a good example of the superficiality of politics -- and of Chris Christie. CW BTW: Last time I looked Lewis was a reporter for winger Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller. ...

... Steve M.: "Yes, as we prepare to choose a new president in 22 months here in The Greatest Country on Earth, we're actually having a serious debate about this (which, shamefully, I'm participating in): 'Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug?'" ...

... Matt Arco of New Jersey Advance Media: "Gov. Chris Christie's trips to NFL games to root for the Dallas Cowboys were paid for by the team's owner, Jerry Jones, according to the governor's office.... Christie has now attended three games at the invitation of Jones.... Jones paid for Christie and his family to attend the games, including footing the bill for the private jet that shuttled the Christies to Sunday night's game, Roberts said. As is always the case, New Jersey taxpayers paid for the governor's security detail provided by the New Jersey State Police."

Another Headache for Hillary. Smoking Gun: "Now that [Britain's] Prince Andrew has found himself ensnared in the sleazy sex slave story of wealthy degenerate Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton can't be too far behind.... According to court records, [Bill] Clinton 'frequently flew' with Epstein aboard the investor's private jet from 2002 to 2005, the year news of the police investigation of Epstein was first reported.... While Clinton was never deposed, lawyers obtained Epstein's computerized phone directory which included 'e-mail addresses for [Bill] Clinton along with 21 phone numbers for him, including those for his assistant (Doug Band),' according to a court filing." ...

... CW: Must I really vote to give this guy, with time on his hands, access to a bevy of nubile young White House interns? Isn't this a little more serious than Chris Christie's hugging a rich sports team owner? (BTW, Jones, who is from Little Rock, was a prominent Clinton foe, who once boasted that he had put private detectives on Clinton, who had discovered one of Clinton's extramarital relationships.)

The Commentariat -- January 5, 2015

Internal links removed.

David Goodman of the New York Times: "For the second time in just over a week, a sea of pressed blue uniforms filled some of New York's streets as Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered a eulogy for a police officer killed because of the badge he wore. And for the second time, hundreds of police officers crowded together in the rain turned their backs to television screens showing the the mayor's remarks outside a funeral home in southern Brooklyn." ...

... CW: Since these officers can neither follow orders nor control themselves, they cannot be trusted to keep the peace. The NYPD should dismiss them. ...

It's ironic that they seem to think it's appropriate for them to demonstrate at a funeral but not okay for citizens to demonstrate on public streets. -- Contributor Victoria D., in today's thread

... Why Apologize? The Thin-Skinned Blue Line. Bob Mayo of WTAE Pittsburgh: "In an email to the entire city police bureau, Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay is responding to criticism of his appearance in a photo on Twitter in which he holds a sign challenging racism. The sign read, 'I resolve to challenge racism @ work. #EndWhiteSilence.' The chief's message to the rank and file came after a critical email from the president of the union representing city police. 'It appears my having been photographed with a sign supporting racial justice at work and (opposing) "white silence" has offended some. If any of my PBP (Pittsburgh Bureau of Police) family was offended, I apologize. You are very important to me and I would never hurt you purposefully,' McLay wrote." ...

... Jack Pickell of the Boston Globe: "A veteran Boston police officer was arrested Sunday on charges he assaulted an Uber driver in South Boston.... Officers later arrested Michael Doherty, 40 of South Boston, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, and charged him with assault and battery and using a motor vehicle without authority." Read the whole story for disgusting details of the alleged assault. ...

... Charles Blow wonders why a 45-year-old white woman who was shooting up Chattanooga, shot at police officers & led them on an auto chase was "taken into custody without incident or injury. Then he lists a number of incidents in which black men, whose actions were or seemed much less violent, were shot dead." ...

     ... CW: I'd like to caution that this is anecdotal evidence of discrimination. Blow, who used to be the Times' writer on sociological statistics, should have included statistical data which demonstrated or suggested that police do not treat black suspects the same way they treat deranged white women. Instead, he provides stats of public opinion, attempting to make the point that white people don't get it. But since his anecdotes don't provide an actual counter-argument, his use of the argument-from-anecdote fallacy amounts to sleight-of-hand & demagoguery. The right does this all the time; it's disappointing to see it coming from a New York Times columnist, especially when one is pretty sure there is evidence to back up the important point he is making. ...

... Wesley Lowery & Kimberly Kindy of the Washington Post: "The frustration and defiance of the nation's police officers were on display again Sunday in New York City, where tens of thousands of them gathered for the funeral of the second of two officers who were slain at the height of the ongoing protests and scrutiny after several high-profile deaths of unarmed black males.... Law enforcement officials say morale is flagging among the rank-and-file, who they say feel 'betrayed' by President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in their calls for tough reforms of policing tactics." ...

... Jeff Toobin of the New Yorker presents the cases for & against special prosecutors in cases of fatalities caused by police.

Speaker Gohmert! Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) said Sunday that he will challenge John Boehner (R-Ohio) as Speaker in the new Congress.... Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) on Saturday announced that he would not support Boehner for Speaker." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the lead. ...

... Speaker Yoho! Even Better. Eric Bradner of CNN: "Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, said this weekend that he won't support Boehner as speaker when lawmakers vote Tuesday, and offered himself up as an alternative." ...

... CW: The Orange Man is looking a little better, isn't he?

Megan Wilson of the Hill: "Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Sunday that the GOP agenda will be focused on 'voting on things I know [President Obama is] not going to like.' He said that jobs would be the number one focus, also lumping in the Keystone XL pipeline project and rolling back strict environmental and healthcare regulations. 'We need to do everything we can to try to rein in the regulatory onslaught, which is the principal reason that we haven't had the kind of bounce-back after the 2008 recession that you would expect,' McConnell told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union.'" ...

... Seung Min Kim of Politico: "... the stage is set for a dramatic few months in the GOP-controlled Congress over immigration." ...

... Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "In taking control of Congress on Tuesday, Republicans say they will quickly advance energy and health care legislation that stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate as they try to make good on claims, and address doubts, that they can govern effectively.... Yet a sour note is possible on Tuesday as Speaker John A. Boehner seeks his third term as the House leader. Some disgruntled conservatives have said they will not back Mr. Boehner ... and a coup, while unlikely, would represent a disastrous beginning." ...

... Greg Sargent has a good overview of what to expect of the new Congress. Good governance? Not likely. ...

... AND Charles Pierce, despite reading soothing words in the Washington Post "about how the new Republican-majority Congress, which will open the Reign of the Morons II this coming Tuesday, really understands that it has to govern the country responsibly this time around, and that the grown-ups are in charge again," is not all that convinced. Something about Louie Gohmert & asparagus.

"I'm Not a Scientist" Is ... Progress! Timothy Cama of the Hill: "High-profile Republicans converged this year around a new favorite refrain when it comes to climate change: 'I'm not a scientist.... 'It sounds like one of the most nonsensical GOP talking points in quite some time,' said Ford O'Connell, a GOP strategist who advised Sen. John McCain's (Ariz.) 2008 campaign for president. But O'Connell said 'I'm not a scientist' plays an important, albeit temporary, role in the broader GOP debate.... 'The party's not come to a consensus on how they want to deal with the issue of climate change,' he said.... 'It's a rhetorical shift, obviously. There's no policy behind it,' said Tony Leiserowitz, director of Yale University's project on climate change communication. 'But ... it's definitely a step back from "it's a hoax," it’s definitely a step back from "it's not happening.z''"' ...

... MEANWHILE in Scotland. Juan Cole: "With regard to the [Scotland's] households, i.e. domestic energy consumption, Scotland's wind turbines generated enough to cover 98% of it in 2014. In addition, in some months of the spring and summer, those homes that have solar panels generated all the electricity the household used. Scotland tripled its solar installations in 2014. Scotland is well on its way to getting 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2022." ...

... CW: Keystone Mitch McConnell could learn a lot from his fellow Scots. But he won't. ...

... Lawrence Summers in the Washington Post: "The case for carbon taxes has long been compelling. With the recent steep fall in oil prices and associated declines in other energy prices, it has become overwhelming. There is room for debate about the size of the tax and about how the proceeds should be deployed. But there should be no doubt that, given the current zero tax rate on carbon, increased taxation would be desirable." CW: I'm pretty sure you have Mitch McConnell's ear, Larry.

"Knaves & Fools." Paul Krugman explains the roles of the president and the Federal Reserve in boosting or busting the economy. "So is the president responsible for the accelerating recovery? No. Can we nonetheless say that we're doing better than we would be if the other party held the White House? Yes. Do those who were blaming Mr. Obama for all our economic ills now look like knaves and fools? Yes, they do. And that's because they are."

Bruce Alpert of the Times-Picayune: "House Majority Whip Steve Scalise's 2002 speech to at least some members of a white supremacist group was a hot subject on the Sunday (Jan. 4) talk shows. And while all the Republicans appearing on the shows defended Scalise and asserted their support for his continuing in the No. 3 leadership position in the House, the continued focus on the 13-year-old speech, including a critical editorial Sunday by the conservative Boston Herald, has to be unsettling to the GOP.... [Sen. John] Barrasso was asked by host Chuck Todd whether the Scalise controversy might add 'to the stereotype of the Republican Party that Democrats want to paint.' 'Well, the Democrats do want to a paint this, but I've just gotten back from Wyoming. This has not come up as a discussion in Wyoming,' Barrasso said." ...

... CW: Gee, John, I wonder why. Maybe it's because the percentage of black people living in Wyoming in 2010, according to Census Bureau figures, was .08. As for Jews, who also would be deeply offended by Scalise's speaking to a David Duke group, Wyoming is the least Jewish state in the country, with .02 percent of population identifying as Jews. So, yeah, there could be a reason "this has not come up as a discussion in Wyoming." I don't think Wyoming is the civil rights center of America.

Kristyna Wentz-Graff of the Oregonian: "U.S. Navy veteran Dario Raschio was all smiles Saturday as he awaited a special honor from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who joined him at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus to present the 100-year-old with a handful of medals.... Shortly after Wyden began speaking, though, protesters erupted in the back of the room, shouting 'hands-up, don't shoot!'... Raschio ... grabbed the mic to speak, more shouts came from the back of the room, demanding the military exit from Iraq. The feisty centenarian quickly responded, 'Give me a chance' which brought chuckles from the audience. He further chastised the shouters, saying 'Let's show a little respect for this occasion,' to which the crowd applauded." ...

... Kristyna Wentz-Graff: "However, immediately following the award presentation, the chanting began again. Protesters stated it was 'their town meeting' to which Wyden responded, 'Yes, it's your town meeting, but it's theirs as well' as he gestured toward the audience.... The event, at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus, was canceled after 45 minutes.... We are certainly going to reschedule it,' [Wyden] said. 'It's important to be able to throw open the doors of government to everybody. That's why town hall meetings are so important.'" ...

... CW: Now somebody please explain to me how these protesters were advancing their cause by shutting down a public meeting held by a relatively liberal U.S. senator. See Oprah Winfrey's comments, linked January 3. ...

... Contra Oprah's argument -- sort of -- Jesse McCarthy, in the New Republic, has a very fine piece arguing that "Hollywood loves the great man narrative, but the civil rights movement was never about top-down leadership."

Driftglass takes a well-deserved swipe at Bob Schieffer for choosing Newt Gingrich! to discuss race relations. As a sort of afterthought, he notes that Chuck Todd said something sorta nice about Mario Cuomo, "Proving once again that almost the only Liberals who are permitted anywhere near the Sunday Gasbag Conclave are those who are safely dead."

E. J. Dionne: "There will never be another politician like Mario Cuomo, a man shaped by a different age. Yet he taught lessons about racial reconciliation, the role of religion in politics, the purposes of politics itself and -- oddly for a politician -- humility that will always be fresh." ...

... CW: I think there are other politicians more or less like Mario Cuomo right now. The difference is that today's establishment does not embrace them the way the Democratic party did back in the day. The Party of Nothing thinks it cannot afford to offend all the special interests & ideologues whose policies & preferences Cuomo so effectively rejected.

Presidential Election

Steve M. writes an excellent assessment of Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio & the press, including a nice little dig at Frank Bruni of the New York Times.

Robert Costa & Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "If Mike Huckabee is going to make a serious run for the Republican presidential nomination, he will have to do something he was unable to do in 2008: raise millions of dollars and build a sprawling national campaign to complement the well of support he has among evangelicals and grass-roots activists in early primary states.... Another likely hurdle for Huckabee as he solicits donations: scattered antagonism among the GOP's fiscally conservative donors who find Huckabee's record on taxes and spending to be lacking."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Bess Myerson, a New York favorite daughter who basked in the public eye for decades -- as Miss America 1945, as a television personality, as a force in public affairs and finally, under a harsher light, as a player in a shattering municipal scandal -- died on Dec. 14 at her home in Santa Monica, Calif., her death occurring in the relative obscurity in which she had lived her last years. She was 90."

New York Times: "Oil prices tumbled below $50 a barrel on Monday, spooking global financial markets and signaling that the remarkable 50 percent price drop since June was continuing this year and even quickening. The new drop in American and global benchmarks of more than 5 percent was accompanied by a series of reports of increased Middle Eastern oil exports; continuing increases in American production despite planned exploration cutbacks by many oil companies; and renewed worries about the declining economic fortunes of Europe."

AP: "Seating jurors in the case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was set to begin Monday under tight security at the federal courthouse in Boston and could take several weeks." ...

     ... Boston Globe UPDATE: "Jury selection has begun in the trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, with about 1,200 people being called in over the next the next three days to be considered as jurors in the case. U.S. District Court Judge George O'Toole Jr., the judge overseeing the trial, said it will begin on Jan. 26 and is expected to last three to four months."