The Commentariat -- March 18, 2015
Internal links removed.
William Booth of the Washington Post: "... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party won a clear and decisive victory in Israel's parliamentary elections, paving the way for him to serve a record-breaking fourth term as prime minister, according to an almost complete vote count Wednesday. The count showed Netanyahu and Likud overcame a strong challenge from his main opponent, Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, according to Israel's three largest television news stations." ...
... The Guardian story, by Peter Beaumont, is here. ...
... CW: I now have the same high regard for Israel as I have for Arkansas. The big difference: I never held Arkansas in especially high esteem. In both cases, I resent all the money I send their way. ...
... Joshua Keating of Slate has a helpful analysis. ...
... NEW. Charles Pierce: "... the ghost of Atwaterism rolls back the stone and walks across the Holy Land." ...
... Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his chief challenger, Isaac Herzog of the center-left Zionist Union, appeared to win about the same number of seats in Parliament in Tuesday's election, according to Israeli news media and exit polls, promising a protracted and messy process of forming the next governing coalition. If the major parties remain tied or within a single seat once all the votes are counted, a critical factor will be the so-called blocs -- right-wing parties expected to back Mr. Netanyahu, and left-leaning ones that favor Mr. Herzog. But those tallies remained unclear Tuesday evening." ...
... ** NEW LEDE: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday's elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term, though he offended many voters and alienated allies in the process."
... The Times is liveblogging the elections here. The Haaretz liveblog is here. ...
... The Guardian's liveblog is here:
- Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and rival Isaac Herzog finished in a virtual tie, each with an average 27 seats according to the first exit poll. Netanyahu and his Likud party declared it a 'great victory' and likely have an easier path to creating a right-leaning coalition than Herzog's more liberal Zionist Union party.
- Netanyahu and Herzog immediately began courting potential kingmaker Moshe Kahlon, leader of the centrist Kulanu party, whose estimated 10 seats could prove decisive in giving one man victory. Kulanu told Netanyahu he remains undecided and will wait until all votes are counted, which may take days."
... Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Benjamin Netanyahu was acting as if he was poised to return to power. But there was a cloud over his apparent turnaround, the result of an increasingly shrill campaign that raised questions about his ability to heal Israel's internal wounds or better its standing in the world. He said there would be no Palestinian state. He railed against Israeli Arabs -- because they had gone out to vote.... In a seemingly desperate bid to rally support halfway through the balloting, he went on a tirade against Israel's Arab citizens. He said they were being bused to polling stations in droves by left-wing organizations in an effort that 'distorts the true will of the Israelis in favor of the left, and grants excessive power to the radical Arab list,' referring to the new alliance of Arab parties. Opponents accused him of baldfaced racism."
Jared Bernstein in a Washington Post op-ed: "The policies put forth in [the House Republic budget] suggest that America's main problem is that the poor have too much and the wealthy, too little. The budget plan 'corrects' this perceived imbalance by deeply cutting programs that help low- and middle-income people, and cutting taxes on those with high incomes, capital gains, multinational corporations and 'pass through' business income.... The one area where the Republicans boost spending is defense (though through a gimmick they once called 'a backdoor loophole'...).... Based on demographics alone, the plan departs from reality.... I don't believe you could find majoritarian support for this sort of a budget in America. In fact, I doubt you'll see much support for it even among partisans on Capitol Hill.... This budget is deeply unrealistic not just in economic terms but in political terms. It's going nowhere." ...
... Dana Milbank: "It was altogether fitting that Republicans rolled out their budget during a festival of inebriation in honor of the man who magically (and apocryphally) banished snakes from Ireland. What Republicans have done with their budget is no less fantastic: They have employed lucky charms and mystical pots of gold to make them appear more sober about balancing the budget than they actually are. The budget is a gimmick.
Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times asked Price if he would detail the $1 trillion in mandatory cuts that the budget doesn't identify. 'Take a peek at 'A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America,' [House Budget Committee Chair Tom] Price [R-Ga.] replied, holding up the budget again for the cameras. 'I'm looking at it,' Weisman said. 'It doesn't specify.'" ...
Paul Kane & Reid Wilson of the Washington Post: "If Republicans fail to approve a compromise budget that passes both the House and Senate -- a real possibility, given their deep divisions on fiscal policy -- it will be an ignominious defeat for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Those two leaders have made steady governance with a conservative tilt their main political goal of the year, and without a budget resolution, the funding process would be particularly unsteady and increase the possibility of at least a small-scale shutdown of parts of the federal government in October."
Seung Min Kim & Burgess Everett of Politico: "Senate Republicans are in no hurry to confirm Loretta Lynch as attorney general, meaning a final vote on her nomination could slip into April as a floor fight over abortion continues to drag on and a battle over the budget waits in the wings."
A Downton Folly, USA. Mike DeBonis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), who in a matter of weeks went from a fast track to national prominence to beset by numerous reports of spending misdeeds, announced his resignation from Congress on Tuesday. Schock, 33, had endured weeks of headlines about the manner in which he has spent from his taxpayer-funded account for official expenses. The Office of Congressional Ethics had commenced a review of his spending.... Schock issued his statement before alerting House Republican leaders, according to associates familiar with the timeline of events Tuesday." His resignation is effective March 31." ...
... Politico Reporters Take Credit for Schock's Resignation -- and They Appear to Be Justified. Jake Sherman, et al.: "On Monday evening, Politico began asking questions about tens of thousands of dollars of reimbursements he received from his campaign and federal government for mileage put on his personal car. Records show that Schock personally claimed reimbursement for roughly 170,000 miles driven from January 2010 to July 2014. But the only vehicle he owned during that time was sold with just 80,000 miles on the odometer. Asked for his response to those findings, Schock announced his resignation." ...
... David Graham of the Atlantic retraces the steps of Schock's rapid fall: "Six weeks ago,The Washington Post's Ben Terris revealed that Representative Aaron Schock had redecorated his congressional office in a gaudy style inspired by Downton Abbey.... Schock's communications director tried to keep him from running it -- effectively whetting reporters' appetites. First, there were reports about the spokesman's past racist comments on social media, and the aide resigned. Then reporters started digging into Schock's records -- aided in part by analysis of metadata on his hyperactive Instagram stream. A steady drip-drip of revelations began: questionable real-estate transactions involving donors. Lavish trips for staffers, on the taxpayer dime. Katy Perry tickets for interns, paid by his political action committee. Even, allegedly, a $5,000 podium modeled on the president's. On Monday, it emerged that the Office of Congressional Ethics had begun investigating him. And Politico, which broke news of the resignation, said it had submitted questions to him about tens of thousands of dollars in questionable mileage reimbursement claims he'd submitted to his campaign and the government." ...
... Jake Sherman, et al.: "Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car from January 2010 through July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer, according to public records obtained by POLITICO under Illinois open records laws. The documents, in other words, indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was driven." ...
... CW: Hey, maybe he's just an honest fellow who rolled back his odometer. ...
... OR maybe he's just like another famous Illinois Republican: Abraham Lincoln. Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate: "In what appears to be simply an amazing coincidence, the muckraking site ProPublica posted an entertaining story earlier Tuesday about an 1848 incident in which a number of federal legislators, including an Illinois congressman named Abraham Lincoln, were ... busted for receiving inflated travel reimbursements. The story was broken by Horace Greeley, a newspaper publisher (he's the 'Go west, young man' guy) who'd been appointed to fill a vacated New York congressional seat.... It is the official editorial position ofSlate that Abraham Lincoln should resign from Congress." ...
... Andy Kravetz of the Peoria Journal Star went downtown looking for reactions from Schock's constituents. CW hint to Kravetz: when seeking public opinion on political matters, do not bother to interview people who just "stumbled out of a bar" at midday on St. Patrick's Day. ...
... Election 2015, Legacy Edition. David Jarman of Daily Kos: "IL-18, designed to be a Republican vote sink centered on the Peoria area, went 37 Obama-61 Romney in 2012.... Gov. Bruce Rauner [R-Ill.] must call for an election within 5 days of Schock's resignation (set for March 31), and the election must occur within 115 days of that (so, before the end of July). The potential Republican successor getting the most mention is a familiar name: state Sen. Darin LaHood. He's the son of moderate ex-Rep. Ray LaHood, who served more than a decade in IL-18 before becoming Barack Obama's Transportation Secretary. (Though it's possible his dad's apostasy may come back to haunt the younger LaHood in a primary against a more conservative opponent.)" ...
... Steve M. remembers "President Schock" & bemoans the Democrats' failure to tout their potential stars the way Republicans & their media auxiliary promote even the most callow of fellows. ...
... Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post reports on Schock's remarkable career, which began when he was in the fifth grade. He always was a self-absorbed jerk -- but an amazingly successful one.
NEW. In the Life Is Unfair Department, Charles Pierce compares Aaron Schock's indiscretions with those of certain GOP presidential candidates. CW: It expect Schock could have beat the rap if only he had announced he was "forming an exploratory committee" for a presidential run.
Simon Maloy of Salon: "... one of the defining characteristics of the modern conservative movement ... is [that it is] a lucrative moneymaking machine for scam artists and hucksters. If you're a politically engaged conservative, you're being inundated by radio hosts, right-wing publications, think tanks, and all manner of unscrupulous activists who purchased your email address and want to exploit your love of Ronald Reagan or Ted Cruz to squeeze a few dollars out of you. And there's at least one 2016 presidential candidate who's in on the grift: Mike Huckabee.... The sheer size of the conservative scam machine and the involvement of some of the most prominent names in Republican politics are the consequence of the decades spent transforming conservatism into an insular political movement. Conservatives are explicitly told not to trust anyone or anything that exists outside the movement, and to put their faith in the 'conservative' alternatives."
Benjamin Wallace-Wells of New York suggests that the U.S. (which he calls "America" as if the U.S. were the only country in the Americas) is now the leading liberal nation as European countries & Israel have turned into right-leaning countries with racially-bigoted policies.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz starts a campaign to get customers to talk more about race relations. Luckily, Dick Cheney. doesn't need a jolt of White Mocha Grande to get him talking about race ...
I think they're playing the race card. -- Dick Cheney, on Barack Obama & Eric Holder
... So the whole baristas-as-race-relations-counselors should go pretty well.
Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post: "The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials."
Teresa Tritch of the New York Times highlights the continuing Wall Street bonus & overcompensation scandal.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.
NPR: Where an FOIA Request = Hate Mail. Erik Wemple of the Washington Post demonstrates how an NPR story on climate scientists & deniers is based on flaming false equivalency & how the network's ombudsman enables this baloney. In fact, even the reporter's surreptitious edit disproves his claim.
James O'Keefe Is Still Disgusting. Carl Campanile of the New York Post: James O'Keefe, "a controversial conservative activist, is being accused of trying to incite anti-police protesters by saying, 'I wish I could kill some of these cops,' to provoke them into making outrageous statements. A former top staffer with Project Veritas, Richard Valdes, said the incident occurred in January, when an undercover operative assigned to infiltrate the protest groups was given a script that included the startling comment. Valdes said he was fired by the group's founder, James O'Keefe, for not following through on the bizarre assignment." It's not clear from the report where these incitements were supposed to take place. O'Keefe calls himself an "investigative film journalist."
Presidential Race
NEW. Julie Westfall & Kurtis Lee of the Los Angeles Times: Donald Trump "announced Wednesday he's forming an exploratory committee to help him decide whether he will run for president in 2016. Calling himself 'the only one who can make America truly great again,' Trump joins a growing list of almost a dozen Republicans who are actively exploring 2016 bids for the White House."
Jennifer Jacobs of the Des Moines Register: "Iowa has been a punching bag in online quips by Republican Scott Walker's new strategist for online communications," Liz Mair. Like this: "The sooner we remove Iowa's frontrunning status, the better off American politics and policy will be." Excellent strategy! Shouldn't an "online communications strategist" know that people -- including reporters -- can actually read what you publish online? ...
... Update. Catherine Lucey & Steve Peoples of the AP: "An aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's national political operation resigned late Tuesday after drawing heated criticism from the head of the Iowa Republican Party for questioning the state's early role in the presidential nominating process. Veteran Republican strategist Liz Mair told The Associated Press that she was leaving Walker's team just a day after she had been tapped to lead his online communication efforts, citing the distraction created by a series of recent Twitter posts about Iowa's presidential caucuses." ...
... CW: Outside of Iowa, however, the confederates' beef with Mair was that she was a flaming liberal: pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-"amnesty." One does have to wonder why she would take a job with Scott Walker -- or any GOP presidential candidate -- since they're all anti-choice, anti-gay marriage & anti-immigration reform, with the exception of Jebbie on at least one of those counts.
... Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "The team building out Dr. Ben Carson’s likely presidential campaign includes an operative who has recently deleted an entire Twitter account that often attacked President Obama, other Democrats, some other Republicans, and others with crude language."
Luke Brinker of Salon: "Deriding the push for an increased minimum wage as 'a great soundbite,' likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush told a South Carolina audience on Tuesday that he opposes a federal minimum wage, arguing that the issue should be left to the states or the whims of the private sector." ...
... As Brinker points out in a subsequent post, Bush's opposition to minimum wage laws puts Jebbie to the right of severely-conservative Mitt 47-Percent Romney.
GOP Disappointed It Can't Impeach Clinton Before She Announces Presidential Bid. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The State Department has no record that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a standard form declaring that she surrendered all official records before leaving her post in 2013, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Critics of Clinton, including the Republican National Committee, said she might have committed a crime by signing the form despite having tens of thousands of work-related emails in a personal account.... [State Department spokesperson Jen] Psaki said there also is no record of the form being completed by Clinton's two most recent predecessors, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell."
Beyond the Beltway
Joseph Serna & Lee Romney of the Los Angeles Times: "A slew of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged between San Francisco police in a fellow officer's corruption case has forced prosecutors and defense attorneys to review an estimated 1,000 criminal convictions for potential bias, officials announced Tuesday.... '... My office is conducting an immediate assessment of every prosecution within the past ten years where these [four] officers were involved,' said San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascon in a statement. Public defender Jeff Adachi on Tuesday estimated that could amount to at least 1,000 cases among the five officers." Thanks to safari for the link.
NBC News: "A fraternity at Pennsylvania State University under police investigation was suspended Tuesday by its national headquarters for a secret, members-only Facebook page that allegedly featured pictures of scantily-clad females, drug deals and hazing rituals. A State College Police Department search warrant filed on Jan. 30 said a former member of Penn State's Kappa Delta Rho chapter first notified authorities that the fraternity was operating the private page with the illicit images." ...
... Terrence McCoy elaborates.
Annals of "Justice," Ctd., Part 1. This lying, wife-beating political hack is still serving as a federal judge. Brad Friedman, writing in Salon, provides details & some new evidence against U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller. Fuller is a Bush II appointee.
Annals of "Justice," Ctd., Part 2. Nicole Flatow of Think Progress: "The family of Jason Harrison released video Monday of Dallas police shooting dead their 38-year-old son just seconds after police arrived at the family's front door. Harrison's mother had called the police in June for help getting her mentally ill son to the hospital, as he was off his medication and experiencing a crisis." Harrison approached the police while holding a small screwdriver. His mother reportedly had told police in her 911 call that Jason was "acting violently." "Studies in several cities have found that about half of police shooting victims are mentally ill, and that the mentally ill are disproportionate victims of excessive police force." Includes video.
News Ledes
New York Times: "Gunmen in military uniforms attacked a museum in downtown Tunis[, Tunisia,] around noon on Wednesday, killing 19 people, officials said. Security forces later advanced into the museum and killed two gunmen in a firefight, state television reported. Prime Minister Habib Essid said at a news conference that the dead included 17 tourists and two Tunisians."
Intercept: "An envelope sent to the White House Mail Screening Facility on Monday tested positive for cyanide, according to an internal law enforcement document obtained by The Intercept. The envelope listed a return address for a man who the alert says has a record with the Secret Service dating back to 1995, which includes sending a package covered in urine and feces."