;)
The Commentariat -- Oct. 17, 2013
This victory for common sense is a testament to his profound tenacity, the trust his colleagues have in him and his ability to lead. And it is clear it would not have happened without him. -- Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress, on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
P.S. Nancy Pelosi did some mighty fine cat-wrangling, too. -- Constant Weader
... Erin McClam of NBC News: "President Barack Obama said Thursday, as the federal government blinked back to life, that the 16-day shutdown and threat of national default had inflicted 'completely unnecessary damage on our economy.'" CW: AND he took a shot at me! It's at 5:45 in that the POTUS calls me a piece of dirt. I'm going to have to think about that:
... Tom Cohen, et al., of CNN: "President Barack Obama signed a bill that ends the 16-day partial government shutdown and raises the debt ceiling, the White House said early Thursday morning." ...
... Russell Berman of the Hill: "Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) split with his party's leadership and voted against the Senate fiscal agreement on Wednesday night.... Shortly after the House vote, Boehner announced four Republican appointees to the conference committee: Ryan, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Rep. Tom Price (Ga.) and Rep. Diane Black (Tenn.). Price and Black also voted against the Senate bill." CW: So, one semi-normal ultra-conservative (Cole) and three crazed ideologues. This should work well. ...
... CW: Boehner's continued support for the Tea Party crazies, as evidenced by his budget conference nominees is a terrible sign of times to come. Not only did he not listen to the so-called moderates who urged him to distance himself from the wingnuts, he eschewed advice like this from William Galston, writing in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday: "It's hard to see how the U.S. can govern itself unless corporate America pushes the Republican establishment to fight back against the tea party -- or switches sides." It would be a mistake to think Boehner somehow redeemed himself by consenting to allow Democrats & some Republicans to spare the nation from default & re-start the government. He is just as horrible a hack today as he was on Tuesday. ...
... Alex Altman of Time: "... while the shutdown fight may be the nadir of congressional dysfunction, things aren't getting better anytime soon." ...
... ** Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic on why Democrats prevailed. ...
... While for Republicans, writes Molly Ball of the Atlantic, "it was basically for nothing."
... If you thought things couldn't get more bizarre.... Politico: "A House floor stenographer was abruptly hauled out of the chamber after charging the dais and screaming during Wednesday's late night vote on raising the debt ceiling and funding the federal government. As the bill sailed toward final passage, the presiding lawmaker suddenly began pounding the gavel. Witnesses on the floor said the woman, identified as Dianne Reidy, seized a microphone and began yelling during the vote." ...
... Geoff Earle of the New York Post has more, with video. Thanks to James S. for the link. ...
... David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: "Sixteen days after a federal shutdown began and one day before the United States would have exhausted its ability to borrow money, Congress approved a bill to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. President Obama has promised to sign the legislation immediately, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be back at work Thursday." ...
... CW: The House is now expected to vote tonight. ...
... Update: The house voted on a voice vote; the chair declared the "yeas" won; i.e., the Senate bill passed. There was a call for a recorded vote & a 15-min. vote is ongoing at 9:57 pm ET. ...
... Update 2: The vote has passed the 220 mark, with 60 Republicans voting yea at this point. Final vote: 285 to 144; all 198 Democrats in attendance voted "yea"; 87 Republicans also voted "yea" to 144 "nays." President Obama to speak at 10:30 am Thursday.
... Jonathan Weisman & Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "... the Senate voted overwhelmingly, 81-18, on Wednesday evening to approve a proposal hammered out by Republican and Democratic leaders after the House was unable to move forward with any resolution. The House was expected to follow suit within hours and approve the Senate plan, which would finance the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt limit through Feb. 7. Shortly after the vote, Mr. Obama praised Congress for action and said the vote cleared the way for substantive budget negotiations." ...
... CW: In the Senate the motion to invoke cloture on the bill to re-open the government & raise the debt ceiling passed 83-15 (I think). Update: The bill itself passed 81-18. ...
... Jonathan Weisman & Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Speaker John A. Boehner ... said that the House would not block a bipartisan agreement reached in the Senate that yielded virtually no concessions to the Republicans.... The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday evening, with final passage coming late Wednesday or early Thursday. ...
... David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: "Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Republicans at a closed-door afternoon meeting that they all plan to vote for the deal, said Aaron Schock (R-Ill.).... [Boehner] told conservative radio host Bill Cunningham that he would encourage his caucus to support the Senate measure.... Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has pledged the support of all 200 Democrats, meaning Boehner would have to supply at least 17 votes." ...
... Here's the full text of the bill. ...
... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos has a rundown of the key provisions. As contributor Dave S. points out, "It also includes language allowing President Obama to waive the debt ceiling, which could be overridden by a vote of disapproval by Congress that could then be vetoed by the president." CW: This provision begins on Page 24 of the bill, linked above. As I read it, this presidential privilege expires February 7, 2014. In addition, Rachel Maddow pointed out this evening that the "modification" to the ACA -- verifying income eligibility for ACA subsidies -- is something that's already in the Affordable Care law. So Republicans got nothing, & giving the President the ability to raise the debt ceiling (which I think is an old idea of Mitch McConnell's) is a big plus for the economy. ...
... CW Update: Okay, I read the bill right, but I didn't consider this significant wrinkle: Jack Lew can still use "extraordinary measures" after February 7. Ergo, Lori Montgomery & Rosalind Helderman write in the WashPo: "Enforcement of the debt limit is suspended until Feb. 7, setting up another confrontation over the national debt sometime in March, independent analysts estimated." So whether or not there's another debt ceiling debacle in March could depend upon whether or not House Republicans think it's a good for their re-election. However, since the government is funded only till January 15 under the bill, the Next Big Crisis will likely occur in the dark days of winter, & maybe the debt ceiling issue will be worked out then. Democrats probably will demand it as part of the budget deal. ...
... Pete authorization for spending on construction on the lower Ohio River in Illinois and Kentucky." ...
No one should be surprised that this is the response of the Washington establishment. The American people rose up and spoke with an overwhelming voice and at least at this stage Washington isn't listening to them. The House listened, but the Senate has not.... [I] never had any intention to delay this vote. -- Sen. Ted Cruz (RTP-Texas), who yesterday would not say whether or not he would delay the vote
(The dream of keeping poor people from seeing a doctor must never die. -- Ted Cruz [paraphrase by Andy Borowitz])
For the party, this is a moment of self-evaluation, we are going to assess how we got here. If we continue down this path, we are really going to hurt the Republican Party long term.... This has been a really bad two weeks for the Republican Party. -- Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.)
Let's just say sometimes learning what can't be accomplished is an important long-term thing, and hopefully for some of the members they've learned it's impossible to defund mandatory programs by shutting down the federal government. -- Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
... Jonathan Strong of National Review about the last House Republican conference before the vote. Boehner received a standing O. CW: Maybe because he didn't "disrespect" the kidnappers. Or maybe because that "respect" cost billions of dollars & untold hardship. Whatever. "Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois said the lesson of the episode was that Boehner should cut out the far-right flank and work with centrist Democrats. Most of the top conservatives who pushed the House GOP into an Obamacare fight weren't very introspective, offering positive words about the fight and hope for victories to come." ...
... M. J. Lee of Politico: "Wall Street cheered a long-awaited deal to re-open the government and increase the nation's borrowing cap that emerged Wednesday, as Congress is poised to end a government shutdown now in its third week and squash fears that the United States may default on its financial obligations. The Dow Jones industrial average, which climbed quickly after the opening bell and remained steady throughout the day, closed 205.82 points higher. The Nasdaq also shot up 45.42 points, while the S&P 500 was up 23.48 points." ...
Something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to our American economy is the American Congress. -- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), December 31, 2012, after the fiscal cliff deal
... Annie Lowrey, et al., of the New York Times: "... the cost of Congress's gridlock has already run well into the billions, economists estimate. And the total will continue to grow even after the shutdown ends, partly because of uncertainty about whether lawmakers might reach another deadlock early next year." ...
... Gail Collins: "... it's fair, if you have the urge, to say that this whole ordeal has been for nothing whatsoever." ...
Jeanne B. writes, "Republicans have too many masters":
... Daniel Strauss of TPM: Mike Kibbe, "the President and CEO of the tea party group Freedomworks, predicted that House Republicans who vote in favor of the latest plan to avert a debt default and re-open the federal government, will face primary challengers." ...
... Igor Bobic of TPM: "Heritage Action announced Wednesday that it will include the Senate deal to avert default and reopen government as a key vote in its scorecard, urging members to vote oppose the measure." ...
... Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that it supports the new Senate plan to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, and it will include the measure as a key vote."
David Corn of Mother Jones: "About two weeks ago, as tea partiers in the GOP-controlled House were forcing a government shutdown, some House Democrats sent a private and informal message to House Speaker John Boehner: If you need to break with the die-hard conservatives of your caucus to keep the government running and avoid a debt ceiling crisis, we might be able to try to help you protect your speakership, should far-right Republicans rebel and challenge you."
Thanks to contributor Roger H. for this (see yesterday's thread). Speaking of education, you've educated MAG & me:
... BTW, wingers repeatedly attribute the saying to Joe Biden; also found one kid-you-not claim it came from Keith Ellison (D-Minn.).
Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post reports on her experience shopping for health insurance on Healthcare.gov
** Beth Reinhard of the National Journal: "Twelve states, as well as the House of Representatives, have voted to outlaw abortion after 20 weeks -- the exact moment when some parents are just learning about severe or even fatal defects. Only Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas include exceptions for fetal impairment.... These 20-week bans...predominantly target women who are carrying gravely impaired babies or whose pregnancies are putting their own health at risk.... The overlap between states with tougher abortion restrictions and lower standards of living is rarely mentioned...."
Dylan Byers of Politico: "James Risen, the New York Times investigative reporter who has refused to testify against his alleged CIA source, has pledged to take his case to the Supreme Court following a federal appeals court decision not to reconsider his case."
Senate Race
Jonathan Tamari of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Gov. [Chris] Christie [of New Jersey] has until Nov. 13 to certify the results of the special Senate election, though he doesn't expect to take that long. 'The winner of (Wednesday's) election will be sworn in as quickly as possible after the results have been verified and certified. We fully anticipate this to happen before the Nov. 5th election day,' said a statement from Gov. Christie's office." Cory Booker's win means Democrats pick up another Senate seat, which Christie filled shortly after Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D) death with Republican Jeff Chiesa.
Share Article
Reader Comments (33)
Yes, Senator Cruz, Washington is not listening to the American people. As one of those Americans, I am disappointed that we do not have single-payer health insurance, a liveable minimum wage, affordable pre-school for all, a humane immigration system, and an education system that teaches media literacy so everyone will know when veterans groups are being used as pawns. Please get to work.
Score another one for Harry Reid.
"An increase in the debt ceiling until Feb. 7, but it also continues the ability of the Treasury to use extraordinary measures to extend that period, so that's not a drop dead date. It also includes language allowing President Obama to waive the debt ceiling, which could be overridden by a vote of disapproval by Congress that could then be vetoed by the president;"
Give em Hell Harry!
Dave S! Please explain that part about the President being able to waive the debt ceiling. That seems enormous and I haven't seen it mentioned before.
You're not funnin' me, are ya?
@Haley
Follow the link. That's all I can tell you. I have faith in the man from Searchlight.
If for some reason the hyperlink isn't working: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/16/1248042/-Senate-votes-on-shutdown-debt-ceiling-deal
This is just too easy!
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, told reporters, “Unfortunately, the Washington establishment is failing to listen to the American people.”
No, Teddy-boy"...unfortunately, YOU are failing to listen to the American people."
@Dave S. & Haley Simon: I don't think this is enormous. See my commentary above. As far as I can tell, this is McConnell's way of saving Congress from having to raise the debt ceiling -- the bill puts the onus on the President, not that he would care. Under the terms of the bill, the President's ability to waive the debt ceiling expires on February 7.
To the extent that the bill sets a precedent, it could be a big deal. If Congress agrees to this language in continuing legislation, then Congress could not use potential debt default as a valuable hostage in future budget negotiations with the president.
If my reading of the bill is wrong -- a distinct possibility -- then, well, Emily Litella.
Marie
As Flip Wilson's Reverend Leroy of the "Church of What's Happening Now" would say: Brothers and sisters we have arrived at the "Come to Jesus" moment when those scallywags in Congress have done got their clocks cleaned, but you'all remember what I tell you time and again: the devil is devious and devious do damnable damage and can put all sorts of monkey wrenches in the smooth machinery of life and law so––– best watch your back and guard your front and that's all I have to say for today. Amen
If the House appointees to the budget conference committee are comprised of ultra conservative/tea party ideologues, then I think the Senate appointees should be from among the liberal Democrats. Otherwise, we're sunk. (Please, oh please, not Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Mark Warner, etc.)
Definitely Elizabeth Warren. I'd also suggest Chris Murphy from Connecticut. He was in the House for a number of years before being elected to the Senate last year, and he's very sharp, well spoken, and thoughtful. (He also happens to be the poorest member of the Senate, and is still paying off student loans, so I see him as one of us.)
Other suggestions? (Not that our opinions hold any sway, but we can always engage in wishful thinking . . . .)
@ Janice. Great suggestions. But....
House Democratic leadership appointed Democrats "Budget Committee ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and Appropriation Committee ranking member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)," as Pete Kasperowicz wrote in the story linked above.
Ramsey Cox of the Hill has the Senate members here. A mixed bag of liberal & conservaDems; Republican wackos all. With the exception of Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), who is awful, every Republican is just horrible. Horrible.
Marie
Hello again. So there is a pattern to define the 'tea party'. Here is my take.
"I am a totally worthless pile of crap", but blacks are worse than me.
"I am a totally worthless pile of crap", but it's the Jews fault.
"I am a totally worthless pile of crap", but its the governments fault.
What should we call it? How about 'Antigovernmentalism' (or Peepartyism).
And while not perfect, you will notice that the three issues are shared by many if not most.
Marie, Thanks for running the Animal House clip. I haven't seen the movie for years and kind of forgot what Blutto looked like. OMG it's Ted Cruz. Looking deeper, we may have inadvertently discovered Ted Cruz's role model. Looks ,behavior, attitude and oh yes, in the epilogue of the movie, Blutto moves on in life to become Senator John Blutarski. Life imitating art?
My favorite part of the evening was the loon ranting on the House floor. Comic relief.
http://nypost.com/2013/10/16/house-stenographer-dragged-off-floor-rating-about-jesus-freemasons/
@Roger H: Exactment! Just what I thought when I viewed the Animal House clip re the physical similarities of Cruz & Belushi. It's the mouth! Look at the lips! The behavior, ditto literally and figuratively. There was an interesting blurb about CNN's coverage of McConnell on the Senate floor yesterday when showboater Cruz 'happened' to pass by Dana Bash (he can't resist a camera) and launched into one of his rants. CNN, of course, switched away from the Senate floor to Ted. Mission accomplished. Yep. Good press. Bad press. 'jus spell my name right. I'm afraid that Ted isn't going away soon enough for most of us.
P.S. upon reflection, I appreciate your lovely, tactful compliment from yesterday: "Maybe Animal House was before your time." Nice.
Let me add another piece to the Sen. Ooze comments. It really is difficult to separate the basic characteristics of politicians on the issue of narcissism. Being a pompous ass is a routine part of politics. But Sen. Ooze is special. He is really, really seriously mentally ill. When he says things like “Unfortunately, the Washington establishment is failing to listen to the American people.” he really is medically delusional. If he said something it's the truth. There are no facts, only 'Cruzes'. If polls show he is wrong, the polls are wrong because he is by definition the truth. He didn't lose yesterday because he never loses. And on and on. Extreme NPD and seriously dangerous.
Marvin Schwalb - last night my wife offered her opinion that Cruz is a sociopath.
Check this pop-psych site -- seems like a fit:
http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Someone-Is-a-Sociopath
Well now that the animals are back in their cages, for the nonce, it might be useful to pick through the rubble and see what we can find.
The stress of the Republican Shutdown of Choice shone a bright light on the fractures in the conservative mantle. There are, essentially, three basic types of conservative players at work today. Those who claim to be old style (paleo doesn’t exactly do it, but it’s close) conservatives who want to maintain the status quo, ie, the World Created by Saint Ronnie (McCains, Grahams, et al.). The libertarian, economic laissez faire conservatives, many of whom are nothing but water carriers for the Masters of the Universe (Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Boehner, etc.), and the Authoritarians. These are the teabagging haters who feel victimized by everyone and everything. Their outrage is even more intense because of what they see as the ultimate victory promised them by their religion and their ideology. They have to win. They HAVE TO. This is their historical inevitability.
The other day, in an otherwise brilliant piece on Ted (fucking) Yoho, Charlie Pierce described the rise of the morons as an historical inevitability. I just don’t believe it. Perhaps he was simply expressing his frustration at how we got here in the first place. Very likely that’s the case, but the mention of historical inevitability got me thinking.
The recent teabag shutdown debacle doesn’t signal an end to their machinations but it does show the wear and tear at the fringes of their historical inevitability, it demonstrates the limits of their power.
But consider for a moment teabagger goals: small government, low or no taxes, decimation of the social safety net for the poor and for undeserving minorities, an end to immigration, no regulations on guns. Libertarian minded baggers would add a reduction, to next to nothing, of regulations on businesses and banks (laissez faire), and a night-watchman government.
So if you’re a teabagger, how do you accomplish all this? That is, if you are, in fact, a serious person? (Please hold all guffaws til later.)
First, how achievable are these goals? Second, what’s the plan for putting them in place? There would have to be some kind of transition plan. A century of government programs and infrastructure, most of which were enacted in response to dire social and economic needs, cannot simply be extirpated overnight and cannot be extinguished by fiat. So what’s the plan? Third, what will replace these systems? Nothing? Is that realistic? The libertarian vision of a stripped down night-watchman style government requires some serious proposals and execution, not to mention citizen agreement, in order to make it even marginally possible. Plus we've already seen what the MOTU can do when Mom and Dad are away.
I could go on and on following this train of thought but I’ll stop here. Why?
Because there is no plan, never has been.
And there has to be. One cannot simply say. “Poof! Government be gone. Taxes be gone. Poors, go away. Blahs go to hell. Immigrants, meet my shotgun. Indigent children, here’s some cat food.” And we haven’t even gotten yet to the kind of world envisioned by far-right evangelicals, those most invested in their historical inevitability.
But we can see what it would be like.
The Left Behind series describing the End Times wet dreams of millions of these kooks is notable not for its depiction of salvation and rapture, meeting their god and living in everlasting joy and happiness. Not in the slightest. This is about vicious, bloody vengeance enacted upon anyone considered an enemy (pretty much everyone on RC, that’s for shit sure). Liberals, doctors, gays, lesbians, minorities, most women, the educated, the humanists, shit, even Catholics are painted as devil spawn (what does Newtie have to say about that?). Most of the books expend reams of pages in detailed descriptions of gruesome, horrifying, agonizing torture, dismemberment, and adolescent revenge fantasies. Bodies are torn apart, guts hanging out, whenever Jesus speaks (what if he was just ordering a pizza? Not good...). What kind of Christianity is this? What kind of religion is this? Sounds a bit like the sort of violent visions for infidels held by the craziest Islamic fundamentalists. Sharia law, meet Christian fundamentalism. May the best psychos win.
But I digress.
So, there’s no plan. That doesn’t mean these people aren’t serious about their desires. It does mean that they have no rational way of achieving them. But that ineradicable frustration can cause enormous problems for the rest of us.
And these are the people who have been driving the bus. They are authoritarians. They brook no compromise. And because the unbelievers, the infidels, are hated by god, anything they do to achieve their historical inevitability is not only condoned, but expected. This is where charlatans like Cruz show their true colors (yellow after all). Cruz is not as crazy as the kooks he cultivates. He denounced giving in to any of Obama’s requirements for ending the shutdown as treasonous to the cause when speaking to the Value Voters (sounds a bit like a family size bag of nuts). But he did just that. Not just a liar and a fraud, but a coward too.
No matter how they paint it, how Fox spins it, and the right-wing echo chamber tries to salvage some kind of victory out of this unnecessary debacle, they lost. And everyone knows it. They do too, even if they won’t acknowledge it.
So what do we do with this?
Hopefully, this renewed sense of unity and mission on the Democratic side will carry over into the next election and beyond. The lesson should be, stand together and don’t waver when the country is at stake and it will be tough for the morons to take over again (don’t overlook how unhappy the Masters of the Universe were that teabagging droolers almost cost them another 5 or 6 billion in bonuses). It should also galvanize Democrats at the state and local levels. A small minority of turds almost pushed the country and the world into economic chaos because of electoral finagling, vote rigging, and gerrymandering at the state level.
Conservative forces built their empire over the last 50 years. It will take time to storm those ramparts but we need to start now, build on this victory.
As for historical inevitability, that’s the kind of thinking that propels the far right. They are empowered by the idea that they will win in the end, that they MUST win. But nothing is inevitable. Things can, however, get out of hand if good people stand aside and let the zombies take over. Historical inevitability is another form of determinism, and determinism essentially outlaws human will. It is an amoral, inhumane vision, but one the right treasures and will not give up easily.
The watchword should be “never again”. And no more talk of inevitability.
Patrick- while there is a lot of overlap between sociopathy and NPD, Cruz has two characteristics that are not typically sociopaths. First he is married and has children and second, especially given his public activity he is not in jail. Sociopaths rarely have a personal relationship and their view of the rules are such that they often commit violations of rules and laws.
Just watched that video of the stenographer in the House, grabbing the mic and spouting off. It reminded me of a scene in Godfather II.
Michael Corleone is in Havana considering moving some of the family business there. This is in '59. Batista is in power but Castro's revolutionaries are thronging the streets.
At one point Corleone sees one of Castro's followers blow himself up in order to get some of Batista's cops. I'm a little hazy on the exact details but the point was that this event demonstrated to him how unstable the country was, how determined the revolutionaries were, and put him in mind of getting the hell out of there.
Now, we don't have 'baggers blowing themselves up, but very likely there are plenty of them in positions of power where they could do (are doing) some real damage (Texas textbooks?). Just having someone this unstable working in the halls of power, even as a stenographer, is a little scary. Can you imagine the mischief one of these creeps could get up to working, say, as a city clerk? Hey, just imagine one as a senator or representative! Holy shit!
Speaking of movies, good clip of Belushi doing his schtick. There's a big difference though between him and Cruz.
Belushi is funny.
Akhilleus - I just have to say that your posts on this site are some of the great highlights of my day. You manage to combine pithy insights with just the right amount of outrage, all wrapped up in a writing style that is a joy to read.
Rockygirl,
Kind words, indeed.
For my part, it's an honor and a privilege to indulge in regular back and forth with the smart, engaged, funny, committed people that regularly visit this site, and time, once again, for a tip of the hat to Ms. Burns for so generously creating and maintaining this oasis of information, sanity and civilized discourse.
Thanks again.
Cruz more closely fits the narcissistic personality disorder with anti-social features. I don't believe criminality always accompanies sociopathy. Cruz is quite high functioning for a person who seems to have a serious character disorder. I suspect his wife compliments his disorder and gets some fulfillment out of the relationship. She is pretty low profile given her position at Goldman Sachs - no competition? I still maintain he will self destruct at some point.
Sam Stein cracked me up last night on Last Word "Let me congratulate Congress for boldly agreeing to fund the government...they really came through." at 16:13.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755883/ns/msnbc-the_last_word/vp/53302010/#53301763
Then there was Luke Russert. Holy Bejoly, what a little puke. He's a "personal friend" of Boehner's and he went on about how Boehner has gained strength in this fiasco and is no way damaged. Russert has no- I repeat no business on TV impersonating someone who has anything to add to the conversation. NBC should be embarrassed. I expected the full on Republican love for Boehner from Shays. Russert begins at 7:20, its pretty hard to take.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755883/ns/msnbc-the_last_word/vp/53302010/#53302010
David Corn collects positive tweeter feeds from those that are very happy with the AFC:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/16/1247936/-David-Corn-collecting-Obamacare-stories-on-Twitter-You-should-read-them?detail=email
Diane,
Oh dear. My day was going so well and you had to mention Little Lukie. The textbook example of a nepotistic sinecure. If it weren't for his war loving dad, who at one point at least pretended to be a journalist, Lukie would be lucky to be wearing an apron, a funny hat, and asking customers if they wanted fries with that.
His lack of skill as a journalist, aplomb as a television personality, smarts as a commentator, and general sense of propriety and decency makes one wonder why this scrofulous little scut is on television in the first place. Even a buck and a quarter public access outfit wouldn't want this dickless fraud representing them, so why would NBC put up with such a smarmy weasel?
I guess the answer is, do you replace him with a serious, smart journalist or just continue to let him run around with his pants unzipped. Let's not forget that NBC is owned by Comcast, one of the biggest corporations in the country. Like other media outlets owned by other denizens of the corporate world, their threshold for actual reporting might be pretty low, ergo the obscene number of useless mouthbreathers on the air.
But Luke Russert? Whatever the honchos at NBC felt they owed to dad Tim, was paid up long ago.
Time to send Little Lukie off to cover toddler beauty pageants and school board meetings in one-horse Texas towns. What this guy has to contribute to the national colloquy couldn't be found with an electron microscope.
Marie,
In addition to taking a jab at bloggers, the president jumped back on the "let's talk" horse. Isn't that nag dead? If it isn't, I volunteer to take it out and put it out of its misery.
Right now he should be heating up the biggest poker he can find in the White House and shoving it up the GOP's collective ass.
Fuck this talking shit. They have removed themselves, en masse, from the ranks of rational people who can be reasoned with.
Medication and more hot poker action. That's the trick.
Whenever this president speaks and I read his remarks--not listen to them but read them--and think about them, I always get the feeling that I'm about to be sold down the river.
I had the pleasure of listening to Stephen Pinker talk about "why violence has Declined" on the "Freakonomics" radio program today. He has some interesting things to say about the world wide decline in violence.
I couldn't help wonder if the Tea Bagging, fundamentalist, authoritarians posing as Dixiecrats or Republicans or whatever aren't just simply yesterdays cannon fodder; or are they the dumb parents encouraging their children to join the war to make the peace? Is the ultimate act of dumb, stupidity sacrificing your own children for some sacredly held principle? I can't help but think these Tea Partiers are wistful about war, conflict and nihilist pursuits and just now in history there isn't enough war to thin their ranks or pacify their need for violent confrontation. So we get Ted Cruz & Dick Cheney & and Rumsfeld who all knee jerk before conflict and strife as long as they don't personally get their hands dirty.
These people need to be held accountable by replaying their words and statements to deny them money and power and status. Has anyone ever heard of an app that lets people type in a name of a public person and find out their income sources and social contacts and organizations? Sort of like and Angie's List of douchebaggery. If anyone hears about an app like I've described, please post it so I can give a look.
I'm glad that Barry O and the Democrats didn't cave to the sociopathic GOP, so enjoy the day.
@James: can you elaborate? My own thinking on this is that Presidents in general, when speaking to the masses, tend to placate, please, and promise to the degree that everyone gets a little of what he wants. I tend not to listen or read these speeches or remarks––I like the Iowa literary workshop credo: Show, don't tell. Makes river selling smooth sailing.
Thanks PD. Soothing words and thoughts. But the Iowa workshop didn't foster Simpson-Bowles.
Akhilleus, "Whatever the honchos at NBC felt they owed to dad Tim, was paid up long ago." Exactly. As well, the bill for the style consultant, new clothing, hairstylist and the trip to the fat farm has to be paid off by now.
I'm afraid I can't be very optimistic about the Congress acting in the interests of actual people going forward. I suspect the moron caucus has been further inflamed and will act accordingly. Boehner is still an alcoholic and will continue to act with no particular plan except clinging to the bar stool. The meme last night was Boehner had to "show" the moron caucus the futility of their position. Bullshit, Boehner stumbled around until circumstances forced a decision. Destruction or not isn't much of a decision. Christ, I'm sure he has money in the stock market and he doesn't want to lose it. He has not solidified the Republicans and I think we will see a repeat. Any support that his own moronic caucus demonstrated last night was only to save face in the moment. All the talk about protecting his Speakership seems hollow. The Republicans are too fractious to muster enough support for any one person.
@Akhilleus, I'm with you on the red hot poker action and when we are done with that, let's round them up, put them on a rocket, and blast them into outerspace. I don't even want them on our fucking planet.
"CW: AND he took a shot at me! It's at 5:45 in that the POTUS calls me a piece of dirt. I'm going to have to think about that:"
Marie, I highly doubt he was talking about you. Have you considered he was talking about the nutwing bloggers. And where did he say 'piece of dirt'? You're overthinking this.
@Diane, agree with your comments about Akhilleus and Akhilleus agree with your comment about Marie and this space. And both of you about Luke Russert.