;)
The Commentariat -- Oct. 18, 2013
All of us need to stop focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists who profit from conflict and focus what the majority of Americans sent us here to do.... -- President Obama, speaking Thursday morning ...
The President of the United States has accused me of being worse than useless. He is not attacking my ideas; he is attacking me as a person, suggesting not only that I have negative value but also that I profit from the harm I do to the rest of the American people. He says the same about half the writers whose works I link. I take these charges seriously. I will stop Reality Chex the moment I decide the POTUS is right or likely right. -- Marie Burns
Since Obama doesn't brook bloggers, he would not have read this before he condemned me.
Jonathan Weisman & Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "With the government reopened and a debt default averted for now, Congressional negotiators on Thursday plunged into difficult budget talks to avoid a repeat crisis within months, and quickly agreed to lower their sights from the sort of grand bargain that has eluded the two parties for three years." ...
... Robert Kuttner of the American Prospect, Blogger: "Obama, in this [shutdown/default] crisis, has discovered that a spine is a very useful thing to have. He has discovered that when he hangs tough, the latent schisms in the Republican Party break open. He needs to carry that new toughness into December and January, and beyond. His own worst enemy is both his congenital desire to appease and his on- and-off flirtation with cutting social insurance."
Sixty-two percent of House Republicans voted against their own [budget] number, voted against opening up government and then voted against ending the default of our full faith and credit. What was squandered in that period of time, was not only quantitatively measured in terms of it slowed our GDP growth, jeopardized our credit rating, eroded consumer and investor confidence, it also diminished confidence in government, in governance. Did they know what this irresponsibility cost us? ... Was their tantrum worth $24 billion? [the estimated cost to the economy of the shutdown & debt default threat] I don’t think so. Perhaps they didn’t know how costly it would be…. We knew it was at a cost in addition to the cost to the working families. -- Nancy Pelosi, at a news conference Thursday
An interesting tidbit in this longish piece by Carrie Brown & Jonathan Allen of Politico: It was President Obama, not Leader Reid, who quashed Susan Collins' so-called bipartisan offer. ...
... Greg Sargent, Blogger: Obama's hard line makes Boehner's job easier. ...
... Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not allow another government shutdown as part of a strategy to repeal ObamaCare." CW: Could have something to do with the polling back home. See Senate Race below. ...
... Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Thursday that he would not rule out pushing the federal government to shut down again in order to defund the health care law." ...
It should have been the Senate Republicans that rode like the cavalry to support the courageous stand House Republicans were taking. Instead, they became the Air Force, bombing our own troops, bombing House Republicans, bombing conservatives, and you can't win when one house of Congress turns its cannons on the other half. -- Ted Cruz, further endearing himself to his fellows at the 100 Club
... Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News: "... by the time Cruz’s crusade to defund Obamacare finally crashed to a halt Wednesday, the Texas senator had precious few friends left. The government shutdown alienated colleagues in both parties. It generated fresh animosity toward the tea party and a flurry of recriminations toward Cruz. Voter support for the Republican Party plunged. And the health care law survived unscathed." ...
... Ha Ha. The Houston Chronicle's editors are really, really sorry they endorsed Ted Cruz. Via Blogger Igor Volsky of Think Progress. ...
... "The GOP's Alamo." Dave Weigel, Blogger: "Republicans are wasting no time in rewriting the history of their own defeat." ...
... ** Huff Post Bloggers Sam Stein & Ryan Grim interview Harry Reid, who has a few choice word for David Vitter (R-La.) & Ted Cruz. CW: One thing Vitter & Cruz have succeeded in changing in Washington: those quaint Senate good manners. Nothing from Harry about "the distinguished gentleman...."
Eric Yoder of the Washington Post: "The budget measure that ended the partial government shutdown allows for a 1 percent raise for federal employees in January in addition to providing back pay for those furloughed...."
Jia Lynn Yang & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: The business community still loves John Boehner, and "Boehner’s friends in the business community are getting ready to take sides in a few Republican primary races against tea party candidates in Michigan, Idaho and Alabama who could cause the House speaker more trouble." ...
... Molly Ball of the Atlantic, Blogger: "What was once an uneasy alliance between Tea Partiers and Republican loyalists is increasingly marked by hostility — and many on the right now want a divorce." ...
... CW: Ball's discussion of internal hostility reminds me of Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs' 2010 extended comments derogating the "professional left" who "wouldn't be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president." In reviewing some of Gibbs' complaints, it's kind of obvious that those on the "professional left" (including bloggers!) have been vindicated. Obama has realized the errors inherent in his willingness to negotiate with Republicans -- from rolling over for a grand bargain to the sequester ploy that backfired. He knows that the surge in Afghanistan was a mistake, that Guantanamo remains a festering disaster, & that the NSA should be reined in. The economy -- at least for most of us -- continues to stagnate because the stimulus wasn't big enough & the aid to homeowners (legislated but minimally implemented) continued the drag on the housing market. (But bankers are doing fine!) Obama's decision to throw Elizabeth Warren under the bus had a silver lining that emerged through no fault of his. And the problems ObamaCare is experiencing -- caused in great part by the Supreme Court's allowing states to opt out -- might have been avoided under a single-payer plan. You can probably add to the list.
Alec MacGillis of the New Republic, Blogger: "They’re back! Barely had Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell announced their agreement to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling than zooming in from the leaden skies came our old friends, the fiscal hawks. Fix the Debt, the organization that took flight last year from the very deep pockets of octagenarian Blackstone co-founder Pete Peterson, held an afternoon event at the National Press Club to remind everyone that, crisis averted, the real problem in this country remained our crushing long-term debt.... One by one, the officials offered the usual above-it-all bipartisan bromides, scrupulously avoiding naming the people or even the party that brought the crisis to a head." ...
... Paul Krugman, Blogger: "Fix the Debt didn’t just help create a climate of crisis with its fearmongering over the deficit; the fiscal scolds actively cheered GOP hostage-taking in 2011, and were still lending support to hostage tactics this time around.... Fix the Debt isn’t just ineffectual in its pursuit of a Grand Bargain, it’s an actively malign force in our politics, in effect acting as an ally of the extortionists." ...
... Charles Pierce, Blogger: "This is the real threat to the recovery right here.... It is this permanent class of deficit fetishists and austerian fantasts. These are the people who will wreck lives. These are people who get heard in the White House.... Every time the president mentons the deficit, these guys get their semi-annual woodies and a little bit of actual progressive politics dies again. These are the people whose credentials really should have been revoked last night, if there actually was the kind of Democratic triumph that we're being sold today." ...
... Humor Break. Wonkblog: Fix the Debt hosted a TwitterChat after their dog-and-pony show. "They got trolled." Enjoy.
Ezra Klein, Blogger: Democrats should forget about raising taxes on the wealthy & concentrate on policies that promote economic growth.
Humor Break. John McCain & Louie Gohmert trade jabs about who's smarter.
Obama 2.0. Nedra Pickler of the AP: "President Barack Obama has chosen former Pentagon lawyer Jeh Johnson as the new secretary of the Homeland Security Department. Obama plans to announce Johnson's nomination Friday. He must be confirmed by the Senate before taking over the post most recently held by Janet Napolitano." ...
... Brian Resnick & Matt Berman of the National Journal, Bloggers: "Johnson's legacy at the Defense Department is marked by two high-profile issues: his advocacy of the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell,' and — as chief lawyer at the Pentagon — his legal authority over all drone strikes carried out by the Defense secretary and President Obama." ...
... Obama 2.0. Reuters: Gen. Keith Alexander, "the director of the National Security Agency, and his deputy are expected to depart in the coming months, US officials said on Wednesday, in a development that could give President Obama a chance to reshape the eavesdropping agency. ...
... Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: "... documents provided to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden ... reveal the agency’s extensive involvement in the targeted killing program that has served as a centerpiece of President Obama’s counterterrorism strategy." ...
... James Risen of the New York Times: "Edward J. Snowden ... said in an extensive interview this month that he did not take any secret N.S.A. documents with him to when he fled there in June, assuring that Russian intelligence officials could not get access to them.... He also asserted that he was able to protect the documents from ’s spies because he was familiar with that nation’s intelligence abilities.... 'There’s a zero percent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents,' he said."
Charles Pierce, Blogger: "Everyone in the courtier press, and a good portion of the blogosphere, is making great sport of that poor stenographer who apparently snapped last night and started yelling about the Freemasons and the Constitution.... There is no intellectually honest way to say that what that poor woman started shouting on the House floor last night, and what Michele Bachmann or Ted Cruz say every day as a perfect illustration of how they view the world. Our courtier media doesn't hate crazy. It just hates improv." ...
... Geoff Earle of the New York Post: Dianne Reidy's husband, Dan Reidy, says the long hours she had to work during the shutdown made her snap. Both Reidys are Pentacostals, who believe God can speak through them.
Humor Break. Ben Yakas of Gothamist: "Stephen Colbert was the keynote speaker at the 68th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation charity dinner last night at the Waldorf Astoria — and he spent the full 14 minutes of his speech zinging NYC's rich and powerful. And that motley crew included Christine Quinn, Ray Kelly, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and of course, diminutive Mayor Bloomberg."
Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic, Blogger, reviews the botched ObamaCare rollout, which isn't so botched in most of the states that are running their own exchanges. (Exception: Hawaii, which used the same contractor the feds did.)
Senate Races
Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling: "PPP’s newest Kentucky poll finds voters in the state extremely unhappy about the government shutdown, and taking it out on Mitch McConnell. The Republican Senator Minority Leader now trails Alison Lundergan Grimes 45/43 for reelection." (CW: this doesn't mean too much at this point, but any time a Republican's numbers look squishy in Kentucky, it's news.)
Mississippi GOP Senator Gets Tea Party Challenger. Daniel Strauss of TPM: "Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) jumped into the Senate race for Sen. Thad Cochran's (R-MS) seat on Thursday and was immediately endorsed by two prominent conservative organizations.... Cochran has not officially announced whether he is running for reelection."
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Reader Comments (20)
No Marie - please don't take it personally.
The President is calling out those that "profit" from the conflict and apparently exist only to fire up chaos and worse, propagate outright lies. Your links and CW seem to me to promote thoughtful evaluation. I'm sure the president believes that that is important in a Democracy. The American people just don't seem to take to nuanced presentations, so he has to tread a fine line between sound bites and more explanatory speech.
Please continue doing what you're doing
Best, Linda
Marie, I was sure he meant Drudge, The Daily Caller, and that awful woman at the Washington Post. Not you - not you in a million years.
Linda in Denver is correct. Our POTUS is also correct in the sense that there is too much focus on op-ed and that we need to get all we have learned from said media and get down to rectifying the clown show. And Marie: RealityChex is much more than a blog, it is a priceless source of documentation that no more than the slimmest slice of the blogosphere contributes, and POTUS was not referring to you or any other source that documents. Talk is cheap, but drilling down into sources is work. Keep it up whatever happens. Krugman (your link) had it spot on.
Your link to the Alice Munro story
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2013/10/21/131021fi_fiction_munro?currentPage=all
had a relevant cartoon imbedded in it.
Oh, and Marie: Profit? Where are the ads in your sidebar?
The ALL CAPS (below) are mine.
"...and the BLOGGERS and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists WHO PROFIT..."
Agree with comments above that the President's remarks targeted another element. Though the initial take might be that he was too all encompassing by his remarks, I think that was not his intent. Honorable bloggers (such as CR) provide valid forums—the exchange of ideas, a dialogue and the thoughtful views of others.
...but, I chuckled at your defiant and wicked good stance in calling out great company, i.e.: Charles Pierce, BLOGGER; Paul Krugman, BLOGGER; Dave Weigel, BLOGGER; et al.
What has been very helpful to me here on this site is seeing the way you THINK. There's no implied smirk, no snark, and there's alot of wit. The clarity of mind of you and other posters teaches me alot.
In a way, you hold people's feet to the cognitive fire.
I read your columns (you don't hear the word blog from me) for information and entertainment, of course, but also for education.
From Catch-22
"They're trying to kill me," Yossarian told him calmly.
"No one's trying to kill you," Clevinger cried.
"Then why are they shooting at me?" Yossarian asked.
"They're shooting at everyone," Clevinger answered. "They're trying to kill everyone."
"And what difference does that make?"
p. 25
http://www.upworthy.com/this-guy-just-won-a-nobel-prize-he-has-something-to-say-about-the-usa-that-you-should-hear-5?g=2
Hallelujah.
In CW's listing above in her BLOG, Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News quotes John McCain as follows:
"Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, called the last few weeks an “agonizing odyssey.”
“This has been one of the most shameful chapters I’ve seen here,” he said, lamenting damage to the GOP for little gain. “We’re in a hole. We have to dig out. We weren’t going to defund Obamacare, and we weren’t going to keep the government shut down.” "
So, McCain wants to KEEP DIGGING. The cardinal rule when you find yourself in a hole is to quit digging. Talk about screwing up the metaphor! I hope all the Repugs keep right on digging the hole. Same wish for all the Tea Partiers!
Yesterday I noted, with a moderately high level of annoyance, that the president now seems ready to sit down with the traitors and talk to them as if they aren't enraged, irrational, mendacious, spittle-spewing, ass-showing baboons. I'm sorry but there will be no talking, no "negotiations", which translates to the monkeys as "we get our way". They don't deserve to be treated with the slightest scintilla of politesse. They have proven themselves to be churlish blackguards, fit, in no way, for honorable treatment or respectable company. They shouldn't even be allowed into the house. Keep them out in the yard with the animals.
This isn't merely kicking them while they're down, although I'd wait in line for that, and it isn't poor sportsmanship. These people lit the rule book on fire, along with the Constitution, their oaths of office, and millions of wasted dollars, then pissed on the burning mess and danced around it singing Hallelujah. For fun. For hubris. For rank, noisome, stinking, overweening ego. For nothing. And they ADMIT IT!!
But now he wants to sit down with these criminals, have tea and toast, exchange pleasantries and talk about a new Grand Bargain? I think he's been testing the medical marijuana.
They've already tossed the record of their criminal behavior onto the dung heap John Boehner keeps outside his office to remind himself of better days. They're already pointing fingers at anything that moves, casting aspersion and blame like Johnny Appleseed in an open field, at anyone but themselves. They're the victims. Again. Fuck me, haven't we had more than enough of this self-indulgent, childish twaddle?
Next up is immigration. I say he should push them hard on this. Their little brains will melt thinking of all those people further diminishing White Supremacy. Great. Let it. Fuck them and the horses they rode in on.
He needs to be going into executive session with Democratic leaders to see how to make the most of the Teabag Debacle and kick their sorry baboon asses back into the trees.
As that great statesman and orator, Georgius Bushius once bleated, fool me once, fool me again, something, something.
(Sorry, I know it's not really germane, but it's been too long since I had a chance to take a swipe at that dung beetle, Bush. I've been jonesing...)
And another thing!...
(Did you think I was finished?)
I just had a moment of l'esprit de l'escalier but I'll pretend it's a separate post.
As I was saying...
So anyway, about those baboons. I read once, some years ago, that in Japan, whenever a baseball team's play was particularly atrocious and they lost abysmally, they would be required to come back on the field, all together, remove their caps, bow their heads, admit how much they sucked and ask forgiveness of the fans.
What a great idea. The tea-baboons should have to do this. On live TV. And that stenographer lady too. And all the media mutts who foisted this mess on us.
And I realize that the baboons and the mutts don't understand the essential concepts of shame, disgrace, ignominy, remorse, and stupidity, but they should have to do it anyway.
Just because we say so.
Okay, now I'm done.
@Marie: I don't think the President meant you. How about Breitbart, Erick Erickson, Michelle Malkin, the Faux News crowd, all of whom profit from the misery they create. There may be some on the left, but I doubt it. Profiting from misery is what wingers do.
The Tea Party behavior during the recent debacle reminds me of roving gangs who destroy things just for fun. The contractor who built our house got a contract with the city to install new bathroom fixtures in a housing project. Some of the tenants destroyed the fixtures as fast he put them in. The upgrade was for their benefit, but they destroyed the fixtures anyway.
@Ak: Swipe away. You mean the Air Force deserter? Oh, that was a swipe too wasn't it?
Akhilleus, I love your two comments above and could not agree more. The idea that these treasonous bastards have anything of value to negotiate about is total folly. If the election were held again tomorrow I would still vote for Obama (will never vote for a repug) but I have to say I am sorely disappointed in him. The Dems are not what they used to be.
By the way, I still wish there was a collection of your comments. They are so witty and a joy to read.
And Marie, I agree with everyone else, Obama had the right-wing crazies in mind when he mentioned bloggers.
Tommy,
Thanks. And I'm betting you're not the only one who doesn't regret voting for the Prez (never have had second thoughts about it myself, I mean could we have voted for King Rat??) but who feel more than a little let down. At least he stuck to his guns on this one. Maybe that will prompt more of the same in the future. I mean, why not? If he were lying in the road, unconscious, every one of those assholes would hit the gas and run him over. Then back up and do it again. You don't talk to people like that. You hit them upside the head with ball peen hammer then go home and pour yourself a tall cold one to celebrate a job well done.
Re: JJG, dogger, I'm beginning to think there is a vacuum being created to my right. If so, nature being nature, here comes moderate, urban Republicans. Can anyone name one? Who's not bank-owned, corporate-fed or God fearing. Anyone? My pit bull had those qualifications. But, alack, he's gone to doggie heaven. Blue dog Democrat? No, dead dog Republican.
Here's a round of applause from me for those Republicans who voted for the debt ceiling raise even if it is only till Feb 7. They are the ones who are now the targets of the tea party fanatics. They are the ones to pay a price for their actions.I suppose it would be more satisfying for Democrats to rise every day the Senate or House is in session and insult and mock the Republicans for stupidity and powerlessness for 5 minutes. It will make the negotiations leading up to Feb 7 so much easier than they might be. The main aim I guess would be to demonstrate to the electorate the clear difference between the assholes on the right and the assholes on the left.
Cowichan,
Are you seriously, I mean seriously suggesting that Democrats who take to task the incompetent, ignorant, puerile, dangerous malcontents whose goal was to shove national and world markets down the drain, are ASSHOLES???
Are you high?
So, what, you're suggesting that Democrats are equally to blame, that they are the equal of the assholes on the right, whose goal was to decimate world markets to satisfy their own immature revenge fantasies? Really?
This is the sort of "both sides are to blame" mindset that helped the pukes on the right propel us into this state of unmitigated reprehensibility.
Have you been paying attention?
I'll buy into--to a certain extant--your love affair with Republicans who voted against Armageddon. But, seriously, that's like giving Romans who declared that they were not big fans of Nero the thumbs up. If, in fact, these sterling characters voted against unchecked stupidity, does that mean we should be erecting statues to them? THAT'S THEIR FUCKING JOB! They're supposed to be protecting the Constitution and upholding their oaths.
Are you kidding?
What are suggesting? That we should praise these people for doing their jobs but denounce members of the opposite party for pointing out the outrageous gall, imbecility, and dangerous demagoguery of Republicans who threatened us all with economic annihilation?
You know, contrarianism is useful at times, but only if it is based on rationality, decency, and a finely tuned moral sensibility. Contrarianism just to give people you despise the finger is no better than pissing on the sidewalk.
@Akhilleus -- "...[they] pissed on the burning mess and danced around it singing Hallelujah." As I recall, they gathered in cathedral-choir formation and warbled a verse or two of "Amazing Grace." But that quibble aside, you have nailed, well, everything -- and beautifully expressed, I might add.
Thing is, Obama will gladly "negotiate" with these slugs because the dismantling of the social safety net has always been on his agenda. At this point, those of us who would like to eat during our declining years need to place our hopes on, of all people, Harry Reid. Turns out he has bigger, brassier balls than all the rest of the House and Senate leadership combined (with the possible exception of Nancy Pelosi -- but she's not exactly trustworthy on "entitlement reform").
We all need to become major nuisances for our senators and representatives. Mine are all Democrats, but that means pretty much nothing. Still, if I don't -- if we don't -- make our presence felt via phones and e-mail and whatever other media we're on, the 1% will be the only voices they hear. November 2014 is a long way off; in the meantime, we've got our work cut out for us.
Marie,
I'll add my "ditto" to all of the other commenters on the importance of your work. I don't like the sloppiness of President Obama's words attacking "bloggers" and I understand why you would take it personally. But I can interpret his statement and parse his words in a way that excludes you from his definition, in that, in my opinion, you are a "News Aggregator" and your website is a "Not for Profit" blog. Who knows (perhaps you do but probably prefer not to look at the bottom line) what RC costs you in money out of your pocket to provide this service to we loyal readers. Also, the personal time that you put into producing the daily RC feed must be unbelievable!
In this day of "Both sides do it" journalism, we have turned off the TV and put away our newspapers. I rely on the NYT, The Daily Show, RC and Charles P. Pierce as the principle sources of my news leads.
Again, I thank you for all that you do.
Very good (and amusing) Jonathan Bernstein column:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/10/18/scenes-from-a-broken-republican-party/?hpid=z3