The Commentariat -- March 7, 2014

Internal links removed.

Here's the Guardian's liveblog of events re: the Ukraine crisis. ...

... Steven Myers, et al., of the New York Times: "Leaders of both houses of Russia's Parliament said on Friday that they would support a vote by Crimea to break away from Ukraine and become a new region of the Russian Federation, the first public signal that the Kremlin was backing the secessionist move that Ukraine, the United States and other countries have denounced as a violation of international law." ...

... Carol Morello & Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "Pro-Russian lawmakers in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea sparked a showdown reminiscent of the Cold War on Thursday, accelerating their bid to leave Ukraine and join Russia in a move that President Obama, the new government in Kiev and European leaders described as provocative and illegal. Lawmakers in the autonomous region voted Thursday to join the Russian Federation and hold a referendum March 16 to validate the decision. The regional parliament, now led by Sergei Aksyonov -- a businessman and politician known around Kiev as the 'Goblin' because of his alleged ties to organized crime, vowed to nationalize Ukrainian state industries and begin setting up government ministries separate from Ukraine, which it joined in 1954 when the nation was still a satellite of the Soviet Union." ...

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "President Barack Obama held an hour-long telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday afternoon in an effort to resolve the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, according to the White House. The White House statement indicated no breakthrough or even any progress in the dispute about Russian troop movements into Ukraine's Crimea region and Russia's support for a referendum on making Crimea a part of Russia." Here's the White House readout. ...

... Lidia Kelly & Alissa DeCarbonnel of Reuters: "After an hour-long telephone call, Putin said in a statement that Moscow and Washington were still far apart on the situation in the former Soviet republic, where he said the new authorities had taken 'absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, southeastern and Crimea regions.'" ...

... AFP: "The United States on Thursday sent six additional F-15 fighter jets to step up NATO's air patrols over the Baltic states, mission host Lithuania said as West-Russia tensions simmered over Ukraine." ...

... Natalia Antelava of the New Yorker on the precarious position of Crimean Tatars. ...

... Darlene Superville of the AP: "Russia's intervention in Ukraine has put Obama's [weekend vacation] plans in doubt, making it very likely the family will end up at the White House.... The weekend stay was to be tacked on to a visit by Obama and his wife Friday to Coral Reef High School in Miami, where they are to address students on the importance of education."

Mark Landler of the New York Times: President "Obama has fixed ideas about how best to pursue peace in the Middle East, and a far less solicitous style than his secretary of state, John Kerry, who has drawn close to [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu over many hours of painstaking negotiations. With the deadline nearing for the Israelis and Palestinians to sign on to an American framework accord, Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have fallen into a good-cop, bad-cop routine with Israel -- a strategy that may push through a deal but will bruise feelings along the way."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday rejected a controversial bipartisan bill to remove military commanders from decisions over the prosecution of sexual assault cases in the armed forces, delivering a defeat to advocacy groups who argued that wholesale changes are necessary to combat an epidemic of rapes and sexual assaults in the military. The measure, pushed by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, received 55 votes -- five short of the 60 votes needed for advancement to a floor vote -- after Ms. Gillibrand's fellow Democrat, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, led the charge to block its advancement." ...

... BTW, Here's McCaskill, speaking to Nora Caplan-Bricker of the New Republic immediately before she filibustered Gillibrand's bill:

I can assure you, I am not filibustering Senator Gillibrand's bill. There is a requirement in the Senate that for controversial things and major issues, 60 votes are required. I spent a day on the floor arguing for these votes [to occur on both military sexual assault bills]. I have never stood in the way of these votes going forward. For people supporting Senator Gillibrand to try to make me out as the bad guy on this is unfair.

... CW: McCaskill has taken the political lie to a new level. I cannot imagine what her problem is, but it's pathological. And, yeah, Claire, I'm so unfair. ...

... Chris Carroll & John Vandiver of Stars & Stripes: "The top Army prosecutor for sexual assault cases has been suspended after a lawyer who worked for him recently reported he'd groped her and tried to kiss her at a sexual-assault legal conference more than two years ago."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: On Thursday, President "Obama was appearing at a town hall-style event at the Newseum to encourage the Latino community to sign up for health-insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act. But the hosts, Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo and Enrique Acevedo of Univision, turned their sights on another issue: immigration. 'Your reputation has been tarnished among Latinos over deportations,' Acevedo said, referring to the administration's removal of nearly 2 million immigrants who were in the country illegally. 'How can you ask the Latino community to trust you?' 'I would challenge the premise,' Obama shot back testily as he sat onstage before a live audience of 150."

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "The new health insurance marketplaces appear to be making little headway in signing up Americans who lack insurance, the Affordable Care Act's central goal, according to a pair of new surveys. Only one in 10 uninsured people who qualify for private plans through the new marketplaces enrolled as of last month, one of the surveys shows. The other found that about half of uninsured adults have looked for information on the online exchanges or planned to look."

Jay Newton-Small of Time interviews Bernie Sanders. Bernie says he would be better president than Hillary Clinton. CW: No kidding. ...

... John Nichols of the Nation interviews Sanders. He says he is prepared to run for president.

Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post: "In a strongly worded letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the Congressional Black Caucus lashed out at [Rep. Darrell] Issa [R-Calif.], who on Wednesday halted a hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee without allowing any Democrats to speak.... But Boehner defended Issa's actions during his weekly news briefing, saying that the California congressman was not out of line to cut off Cummings' microphone and walk out.... House Democrats also attempted Thursday to introduce a resolution condemning Issa's behavior at the hearing and have called on him to issue a public apology to [Rep. Elijah] Cummings [D-Md.]. However, in a party-line vote, the House tabled the resolution."

Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "A measured Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, returning to the national political spotlight at a convention of conservative activists on Thursday, chided Washington for its political dysfunction, played up his social conservatism and urged the Republican Party to broaden its electoral appeal.... And he defended the billionaire Koch brothers.... The crowd responded warmly, interrupting Mr. Christie about a half-dozen times with applause and giving him a standing ovation." CW: Sorry, I can't help seeing a parallel between Christie & the new mafioso boss of the Crimea, not to mention the parallel between their respective separatist followers. ...

... Tom Moran of the Star-Ledger: Christie "took his familiar shots at President Obama over his failure to solve the fiscal crisis in Washington. The president is not a real leader, he says. But what about Trenton's fiscal crisis? And what about Christie's leadership? He pushed hard last year for a tax cut, tilted to the advantage of the state's wealthiest families, and claimed against all evidence that the state could afford it. Now he has flip-flopped, and is warning of a looming fiscal crisis that will require tough sacrifices. That is not sturdy leadership. It is the herky-jerky dance of a political opportunist." CW P.S.: I don't think there's a real "fiscal crisis in Washington" anyway. ...

... A Story Paul Ryan Found "Too Good to Check." CW: Glenn Kessler's takedown is fascinating. the origins of the story come from people whose purpose in telling it was to expand school lunch programs:

The left is making a big mistake here. What they're offering people is a full stomach and an empty soul. The American people want more than that. This reminds me of a story I heard from Eloise Anderson. She serves in the cabinet of my buddy, Governor Scott Walker. She once met a young boy from a very poor family, and every day at school, he would get a free lunch from a government program. He told Eloise he didn't want a free lunch. He wanted his own lunch, one in a brown-paper bag just like the other kids. He wanted one, he said, because he knew a kid with a brown-paper bag had someone who cared for him. This is what the left does not understand. -- Paul Ryan, speaking at CPAC

... Speaking of Ryan & his diabolical efforts to starve needy children -- "The Hammock Fallacy." Availing himself a a school lunch program or food stamps, Paul Krugman eats Paul Ryan for lunch. ...

... Robin Abcarian of the Los Angeles Times sums up yesterday's CPAC speeches. "So what were Republican presidential hopefuls telling conservatives Thursday on opening day of the annual CPAC conference? Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: Washington sucks. Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan: Democrats suck. Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: Everyone but governors sucks." Thanks to James S. for the link. ...

... AND Mitch McConnell brandished a rifle at CPAC. ...

... WHICH may make you wonder what Wayne LaPierre of the NRA had to tell the folks at CPAC. Charles Pierce obliges. "The woods are full of monsters."

Public Policy Polling: "PPP's newest Arizona poll finds that John McCain is unpopular with Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike and has now become the least popular Senator in the country."

Elsewhere Beyond the Beltway

"The Gunshine State." Barbara Liston of Reuters: "Every Wednesday afternoon, Doug Varrieur steps into his backyard in the Florida Keys, aims his .380 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and fires shots that ricochet through city halls around the state. Varrieur, 57, discovered a little-noticed part of Florida law which prohibits local governments from restricting gun rights in any way, and in December he set up a personal gun range on his property in a residential subdivision.... Municipal leaders, who were shocked to realize there was nothing they could do about it.... Numerous city and county leaders now trying to regain some control over recreational gunfire in their communities, particularly in dense urban zones. Palm Beach and Broward counties in south Florida have a lawsuit pending to overturn the law, noting that it forced them to rescind restrictions, for example, on taking guns into child care facilities." ...

     ... CW: These loons can pack heat. I am packing my belongings & moving out of Florida.

Margaret Hartmann of New York: "... on Thursday, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill outlawing taking 'up-skirt' photos in public. Just a day earlier, the state's highest court ruled that an accused Peeping Tom didn't violate the law because technically the women he photographed on an MBTA trolley were clothed. Under the new law, which Governor Deval Patrick's aide said he will sign, taking "up-skirt" pics will be punishable by more than two years in prison or a $5,000 fine."

News Ledes

New York Times: "... the Army captain who has accused Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair of sexual assault took the witness stand on Friday on the first day of his closely watched court-martial. During five hours of testimony, the 34-year-old captain chronicled in detail a three-year affair that included casual sex ... but also, she said, violent moments where he forced her to perform oral sex and threatened to kill her if she disclosed their relationship."

AP: "Malaysia Airlines said Saturday it lost contact with a plane carrying 239 people on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and search and rescue teams were trying to locate the aircraft."

Bloomberg News: "Employers added more workers than projected in February, indicating the U.S. economy is starting to bounce back from a weather-induced setback. The jobless rate unexpectedly climbed from a five-year low. The 175,000 gain in employment followed a revised 129,000 increase the prior month that was bigger than initially estimated.... Unemployment rose to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent as more people entered the labor force and couldn't find work."

Guardian: "A Natiional Guardsman and a civilian have been killed in Caracas after a group of men on motorcycles rode into a neighbourhood to remove a street barricade erected by anti-government protesters. The clash that erupted on Thursday in the mixed industrial and residential district of Los Ruices heightened tensions on the same day the Venezuelan government expelled foreign diplomats for the second time in a month."

Reuters: "Western countries voiced concern on Thursday that tensions in Libya could slip out of control in the absence of a functioning political system, and they urged the government and rival factions to start talking. Two-and-a-half years after the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, the oil-rich North African state is struggling to contain violence between rival forces, with Islamist militants gaining an ever-stronger grip on the south of the country."

The Commentariat -- March 6, 2014

Alissa de Carbonnel of Reuters: "Crimea's parliament voted [unanimously] to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.... The vice premier of Crimea ... said a referendum on the status would take place on March 16. He said all state property would be 'nationalized', the Russian ruble could be adopted and Ukrainian troops would be treated as occupiers and be forced to surrender or leave. The announcement, which diplomats said could not have been made without Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval, raised the stakes in the most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War." ...

... Zeke Miller of Time: "President Barack Obama ordered a round of economic sanctions Thursday targeting individuals and corporations that the administration sees as destabilizing Ukraine or involved in the crisis in Crimea.... The broad directive allows for sanctions on an array of individuals, from officials of the former Ukrainian government, to Russian government, military, and business leaders. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney warned that 'depending on how the situation develops, the United States is prepared to consider additional steps and sanctions as necessary.'" ...

Carol Morello & Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "Lawmakers in Ukraine's Crimea region voted Thursday to hold a referendum on March 16 to decide whether Crimea should become part of Russia, according to the Associated Press. The autonomous region's 100-member parliament voted 78 to 0, with eight abstentions, in favor of holding the referendum, which would also give Crimean voters the option of remaining part of Ukraine, but with enhanced local powers, AP reported." ...

... Alan Cowell of the New York Times: "The European Union was meeting in emergency session in Brussels on Thursday to debate the crisis in Ukraine, reinforcing its support for the fledgling government in Kiev even as it punished the Russian-backed former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, with measures to freeze his assets and those of 17 of his closest aides and family members. But pro-Russian forces -- and Moscow itself -- seemed to be pressing ahead undeterred with preparations to tighten their grip on the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, where Ukrainian military installations are under a tight blockade." ...

... Anne Gearan & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration claimed progress Wednesday toward resolving a Cold War-style standoff with Russia over its military incursion in Ukraine, even as the Pentagon moved to reassure nervous NATO allies by positioning fighter jets closer to Russia." ...

... Top Diplomat Gets More Diplomatic. Denver Nicks of Time: "Speaking at an event at UCLA on Wednesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied she drew a parallel between Russia's recent actions in Ukraine and Nazi Germany at a fundraiser on Tuesday. 'I'm not making a comparison, certainly,' Clinton said. 'But I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before.' She also called Putin 'a tough guy with a thin skin.'" ...

     ... Joe Coscarelli of New York: "Except she is comparing them, certainly, in the sense that she's noting the similarities between their actions. Clinton may not be equating the two men or their behavior, but even if the analogy is sloppy, as some have argued, she wouldn't have made it again if she didn't want to seem tough on the issue." ...

     ... Marc Tracy of the New Republic: "No matter which Hitler moment Clinton was referring to, she can't have been making a particularly apt analogy. It makes her seem like an Internet commenter. And even if it were a good analogy, it is not one a prominent American statesperson -- even one currently in the private sector -- should make.... If there is a silver lining [to her unstatesmanlike remark], it is that there isn't likely to be extensive political fallout for Clinton.... Given that no public figure is more associated with the Benghazi debacle than Clinton, [Sen. Lindsey Graham] cannot possibly square a narrative in which she is weak, a narrative in which Putin is like Hitler, and a narrative in which Clinton's saying Putin is like Hitler makes her unfit to lead. (Tune in next week to see how he squares those narratives.)"

... ** Henry Kissinger Is Not Dead Yet: "Russia and the West ... [have] made the situation [in Ukraine] worse. Russia would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one." ...

... ** Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast: Rudy "Giuliani, once a genuinely moderate Republican (go look up his mayoral immigration record) and a man whom aides used to describe a long time ago as the one figure capable of pulling the national GOP back toward the center..., has served for some time now as little more than a right-wing standup comic -- and a staggeringly hypocritical one at that.... A standup comic often serves as his audience's id, and so it is in this case. The neocons, on some emotional level, prefer Putin to Obama." ...

... E. J. Dionne illustrates the difference between principled dissent & extremist partisan assaults.

Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The Obama administration, struggling with continued political fallout over its troubled health care law, said Wednesday that it would allow consumers to renew health insurance policies that do not comply with the law for two more years. The action is a reflection of the difficulties the president has faced as he tries to build support for the Affordable Care Act, and the backlash over his promise -- which he later acknowledged was overstated -- that individuals who liked their insurance plans could keep them, no matter what." CW: Yes, excellent idea. Give the GOP another two years to caterwaul.

Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "Relations between the CIA and the US senators charged with its political oversight were at a nadir on Wednesday after the head of the agency issued a rare public rebuke to lawmakers who accused it of spying on their staff. John Brennan, the director of the CIA, said the claims by members of the Senate intelligence committee were 'spurious' and 'wholly unsupported by the facts', and went as far as suggesting the committee itself may have been guilty of wrongdoing." ...

... Jonathan Landay, et al., of McClatchy News have more on the allegation/suspicion that the C.I.A. spied on Senate aides: "The CIA Inspector General's Office has asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations of malfeasance at the spy agency in connection with a yet-to-be released Senate Intelligence Committee report into the CIA's secret detention and interrogation program, McClatchy has learned." ...

     ... Update. Landay, et al.: "Congressional aides involved in preparing the Senate Intelligence Committee's unreleased study of the CIA’s secret interrogation and detention program walked out of the spy agency's fortress-like headquarters with classified documents that the CIA contended they weren't authorized to have, McClatchy has learned. After the CIA confronted the panel in January about the removal of the material last fall, panel staff concluded that the agency had monitored computers they'd been given to use in a high-security research room at the CIA campus in Langley, Va...." CW: This piece is a key that puts together the earlier pieces.

Jonathan Weisman (Update: & Michael Shear) of the New York Times: "The long shadow of Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose trial for the killing of a Philadelphia police officer became an international cause célèbre, fell over the Senate on Wednesday as lawmakers from both parties rejected President Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's civil rights division. Debo P. Adegbile, who headed the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund when it represented Mr. Abu-Jamal decades after his conviction, could not overcome a concerted campaign by Republicans, conservative activists and law enforcement organizations, still infuriated by the murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner." ...

     ... CW: The New Lede Is Not Like the Old Lede. New: "Senate Democrats on Wednesday rejected President Obama's nominee to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in an embarrassing rebuke of the president on the choice of a key legal adviser and one that left senior White House officials 'furious' with members of their own party.... The president personally appealed to Senate Democrats at a recent caucus meeting and made several calls to Democratic senators in the last week, officials said. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff, continued making calls Tuesday night and Wednesday morning." ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress has more. Plus, he points us to ...

... Adam Serwer of NBC News: "Three months ago, John Errol Ferguson was executed for one of the worst mass murders in Florida's history. After tricking his way into a woman's home, he eventually bound, blindfolded and shot eight people. Six of them died. While under indictment for those crimes, Ferguson murdered two teenagers on their way to church.... What kind of person would defend a butcher with the blood of eight people on his hands? It was Chief Justice John Roberts, who devoted 25 pro bono hours to Ferguson's case when he was working in private practice."

He inserted his office in an effort to turn reality on its head, impugn honorable and selfless law enforcement officers, and glorify an unrepentant cop-killer. This is not required by our legal system. On the contrary, it is noxious to it. -- Mitch McConnell on Debo P. Adegbile

Judge Roberts has an impressive record. He has keen intellect, sterling integrity, and a judicious temperament. Most importantly, Judge Roberts will faithfully interpret the Constitution, not legislate from the bench.... We should not attribute to him the actions of clients he has represented. -- Mitch McConnell, on John Roberts, July 20, 2005

I wonder what the difference is. Oh, yeah. John Roberts is white and murdered teenagers don't have a lobby. -- Charles Pierce

Republicans argued that Adegbile's advocacy on behalf of civil rights disqualified him from running the civil rights division. -- Adam Serwer

... Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: "Some have called Mr. Adegbile a 'cop-killer advocate.' Another word for that might be 'lawyer.' In representing people like John Ferguson and Mumia Abu-Jamal, Chief Justice Roberts and Mr. Adegbile were doing what lawyers everywhere are trained to do. Particularly in death-penalty cases, it is critical to ensure that a defendant has adequate representation and that his trial, conviction and sentence do not violate the Constitution." ...

... Ari Berman of the Nation: "... Adegbile was the victim of a vicious right-wing smear campaign attacking him because LDF defended Mumia Abu Jamal's right to a fair trial. All across the right-wing media echo chamber, on Fox News and conservative blogs, the words Adegbile and 'cop-killer' were plastered in the headlines. The Fraternal Order of Police came out against his nomination, even though a court agreed with LDF that Abu Jamal had not been granted a fair trial -- a basic right in American society regardless of whether he did or did not commit the crime." ...

... Steve M. wonders: "Are Democrats ever going to develop the habit of anticipating attacks of the kind that were made against Adegbile? Are they ever going to recognize the need to neutralize such attacks rather than sticking their fingers in their ears and hoping the attacks will just go away? Is the Democratic Party always going to be a party of Dukakises?" ...

... CW P.S.: Let's give President Obama some credit here. He nominated the right guy for the job, he pushed to get him confirmed, then he condemned his own party members for voting against his nominee.

Gail Collins ponders the definition of oligarchs & who they are here in the U.S.A. So far, her list is limited to Charles & David Koch, Sheldon Adelson & maybe Michael Bloomberg, who bought himself the mayority of the country's largest city.

Absurd Moments in American History
Brought to You by the Republican Party

March 5, 2014 Edition. "Darrell Issa Hits a New Low." Dana Milbank: "Darrell Issa ... found a new way to silence Democratic critics who question his actions: He shut off the microphones." Issa had called IRS official Lois Lerner to testify, even though she had previously invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege & her attorney had said she would not testify Wednesday. Issa forced her to take the Fifth ten times during the brief hearing, and refused to allow any Democrats to speak. Here's the best/worst bit: after repeatedly shutting off the mic of ranking member Elijah Cummings,

Issa and fellow Republicans walked off to cries of 'Shame!' 'Mr. Chairman,' Cummings called after Issa, 'what are you hiding?' Said Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), 'He's taking the Fifth, Elijah.'

Beyond the Beltway

Robert Costa & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "CPAC, which is an event that brings together movement conservatives, libertarian college students, and tea-party leaders for three days of talks, will be an opportunity for [New Jersey Go. Chris] Christie to showcase his displeasure with the president he once considered an ally." Christie is to speak at CPAC today. ...

... Charles Stile of the Bergen Record: The secrecy & duplicity in the way Gov. Christie managed toll hikes for the Hudson River crossings appears to be part of a pattern: "Christie publicly expressed surprise and outrage over the magnitude of the hikes. But a knowledgeable source said Christie met privately with his aides three days earlier to discuss the inflated toll-hike proposal. So far, Christie and Cuomo have said nothing about the reports.... Christie critics will inevitably conclude that if Christie was aware of the toll-hike scheme, then he must have been equally aware of the bridge-lane closings, despite his forceful denials."

Steve Yaccino of the New York Times: "Passing a symbolic resolution Wednesday, Chicago's City Council unanimously opposed naming a federal building in Washington after Eliot Ness, the Prohibition-era agent whose team of lawmen in Chicago inspired 'The Untouchables' book, movie and television series." Here's the backstory, by Yaccino.

The Grayson Family Saga, Ctd.:

News Ledes

New York Times: "An American drone strike killed five Afghan National Army soldiers and wounded eight more Thursday morning, according to Afghan officials. The attack took place at 3:20 a.m. in the Charkh district of Logar Province, an area of intense insurgent activity. 'We believe the strike was the result of poor coordination between the people on the ground and the operators of the drone,' said Din Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the governor of Logar Province, which is in eastern Afghanistan...."

New York: "In the latest inception of the SAT, the second ever change in the exam's 88-year history, the College Board tried to make a test that would be more accessible to more people, for which preparation materials would be widely available, and wealthy students would have a harder time gaming the system by taking expensive classes."

The Commentariat -- March 5, 2014

The Guardian's liveblog of the crisis in Ukraine is here.

Steve Erlanger & Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "A top European Union official said Wednesday that the group is prepared to offer an aid package to Ukraine worth as much as $15 billion over the next two years. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the union's executive arm, said Wednesday it will include 1.6 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in loans and 1.4 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in grants from the E.U. as well as 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in fresh credit from the European Investment Bank." ...

... Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "NATO members held emergency talks about the crisis in Ukraine on Tuesday and pledged their 'solidarity,' but there were signs of division in Europe over how to respond to Russia's intervention in Crimea. Among the biggest obstacles to consensus: Fears dating to the Cold War are running up against the economic clout of the new Russia." ...

... New York Times: "A senior United Nations diplomat who was sent to the Crimea region of southern Ukraine to assess the Russian military takeover there was threatened by armed men at gunpoint on Wednesday, and aborted his visit a day after it had begun. The diplomat, Robert Serry, was confronted by a group of 10 to 15 gunmen as he left a meeting at a naval facility in Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea region, according to an account of the incident provided by ... the United Nations deputy secretary general." ...

... Josh Gerstein & Burgess Everett of Politico: "Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's history as a tough-as-nails leader bent on restoring Russia's sphere of influence, the U.S. intelligence community failed to read the signs when it came to Ukraine. That has members of Congress asking why there was no clear warning that Russia would respond militarily to the abrupt departure of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by sending troops into Crimea -- and what intelligence agencies plan to do about the oversight.... A range of lawmakers and intelligence community experts are puzzled about why U.S. intelligence agencies seem to have misjudged Putin's intentions and whether the lack of warning fits a pattern of other significant intelligence shortcomings in recent years." ...

... Eli Lake of the Daily Beast: "Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told The Daily Beast Tuesday that he was ordering a review of the intelligence analysis that produced what was in retrospect a flawed assessment: that the buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine's border was simply a bluff by Vladimir Putin." ...

... Steve Holland of Reuters: "President Barack Obama spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday about the situation in Ukraine and discussed a potential resolution to the crisis, a senior Obama administration official said. The officials also said Obama would not attend a G8 summit scheduled for Sochi, Russia, in June unless there is a Russian reversal in the Ukraine crisis." ...

... President Obama answered a reporter's question yesterday re: the situation in the Ukraine. (See also the top of yesterday's Commentariat):

... Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday, comparing Russia's decision to issue passports in the Crimean region to the 'population transfers' carried out by Nazi Germany before World War II." ...

... Karen Meeks of the Long Beach Press Telegram: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday compared recent actions by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine to those implemented by Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s." ...

... CW: I think we want to be really careful about electing someone as president who, as the most recent secretary of state, throws around Hitler analogies during an international crisis. I think it's all right for you to make Hitler comparisons, for pundits to do so, for newspaper editors & for academics. But the country's top diplomat? Big Fucking Mistake.

... Kathy Lally & Will Englund of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a vigorous defense Tuesday of Russian intervention in Ukraine, saying the pro-Russian former government in Kiev was illegally overthrown and that the man he regards as Ukraine's legitimate president asked him for military help. But he also asserted that the troops wearing unmarked uniforms in Crimea are local self-defense groups -- not Russian forces, as observers on the scene have said. President Obama and Secretary of State John F. Kerry both rejected Putin's assertions Tuesday, with Kerry charging during a visit to Ukraine that 'Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further.'" ...

... Fox "News": "When informed by a reporter of Putin's claim, Kerry -- who arrived in Kiev on Tuesday -- smiled and said, 'He really denied there were troops in Crimea?'" ...

... Bob Gates to McCain & Co.: STFU. David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "Distilled to its essence, his message would be...: Cool it, especially when it comes to public comments. 'I think considerable care needs to be taken in terms of what is said, so that the rhetoric doesn't threaten what policy can't deliver,' Gates explained.... Russian President Vladimir Putin 'holds most of the high cards' in Crimea and Ukraine as a whole. U.S. policy should work to reinforce the security of neighboring states without fomenting a deeper crisis in which Putin will have the advantage.... Gates said that Obama is correct to avoid loose talk about military options....

I asked Gates what he thought about the criticism of Obama by McCain and Graham. 'They're egging him on' to take actions that may not be effective, Gates warned. He said he 'discounted' their deeper argument that Obama had invited the Ukraine crisis by not taking a firmer stand on Syria or other foreign policy issues. Even if Obama had bombed Syria or kept troops in Iraq or otherwise shown a tougher face, 'he still would have the same options in Ukraine. Putin would have the same high cards.' Gates, a Republican himself, urged the GOP senators to 'tone down' their criticism and 'try to be supportive of the president rather than natter at the president.' ...

... Sorry, Bob. Obama Derangement Syndrome Is Incurable. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday [sic. CW: actually, "Tuesday"] that the United States's failure to hold anyone accountable for the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, contributed to the Russian incursion into Ukraine last week." CW: Got that? Putin would not have wanted to strengthen his hold on the Crimea but for Obama's failure to solve a Libyan murder case. Makes sense. Benghaaaazi! always makes sense to severely-afflicted ODS sufferers. ...

... Elias Isquith of Salon: "With Graham having definitively and unquestionably established that many if not most of the awful things that have happened in the world since Sept. 11, 2012, can be blamed on Benghazi, the good folks on Twitter -- on both the left and the right -- were more than happy to help Graham substantiate his argument further with other examples of the Benghazi attack's expansive repercussions." Isquith posts a slew of tweets blaming Benghazi for other stuff. ...

... MEANWHILE, "America's Mayor" reminds us what a really scary guy he is. It turns out "dictator" is just another word for "leader." Thanks to contributor Julie for the link:

... Brian Beutler of Salon: "... Republicans ... reverse engineered the crisis and miraculously found that its catalysts all happen to substantiate their previously held obsessions and grievances -- and from a handful of journalists #slatepitching or getting taken in by this spin. For Palin it's Obama's moral equivalence, but for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, it's Benghazi, for Rudy Giuliani it's that Obama lacks Putin's impressive testicular fortitude (see Syria), and for much of the GOP, it's Obama's inability to understand geopolitics as well as that foreign policy redoubt Mitt Romney.... To swallow any of this you need to believe that Putin would've begged off but for some unrelated historical curiosity that by pure coincidence happens to be the subject of some long-standing GOP obsession or political attack."

President Obama spoke yesterday about his FY 2015 budget:

... Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "President Obama on Tuesday sent Congress an election-year budget request that reflects Democratic ideals, emphasizing increased spending on domestic initiatives for education, public works and research paid for by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and some corporations, rather than continued budget-cutting. Mr. Obama's budget for the 2015 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is mostly a familiar volume that seeks, for the sixth time, to balance investments to help the economy and spread economic opportunities, against continued spending cuts and tax increases to continue reducing annual deficits. But the theme of this year's budget reflects Mr. Obama's call to have the nation address the growing inequality of incomes and economic opportunity." ...

... Zachary Goldfarb of the Washington Post: "President Obama unveiled an ambitious $3.9 trillion budget blueprint Tuesday that seeks billions of dollars in fresh spending to boost economic growth but also pledges to tame the national debt by raising taxes on the wealthy, slashing payments to health providers and overhauling the nation's immigration laws."

Lyin' Ryan Keeps on Lyin'. Steve Benen on that 204-page report on poverty that the GOP loves because it gives them the "scientific data" they need to slash "entitlement" programs: "The Fiscal Times' Rob Garver ... interviewed some of the same economists cited in [Paul] Ryan's paper in support of his thesis. Many of the experts 'had reactions ranging from bemusement to anger at Ryan's report, claiming that he either misunderstood or misrepresented their research.' ... What he's done is look for a new way to reframe his own plan: he still supports letting struggling families fend for themselves with a weak, shredded safety net, but the Wisconsin Republican wants Americans to perceive this as compassionate.... Ryan also wants to add an intellectual veneer to his plan...." ...

... Despite his misappropriation of academic findings which led Ryan to conclude -- to everyone's surprise -- that federal poverty programs "are not only failing to address the problem. They are also in some significant respects making it worse," Igor Volsky of Think Progress thumbs through the 200+ pages & finds Ryan admitting that numerous anti-poverty programs have helped millions of needy Americans, um, escape poverty.

... Charles Pierce: "... there is not now a bigger fake in national politics than Paul Ryan, who went to high school and college on my dime -- You're welcome, dickhead -- who's never had a real adult job outside of government and/or wingnut welfare, and who nonetheless believes that government money blunts the work ethic of everybody except him." ...

... CW: I'd say the whole 204 pages can be summed up in one unintentionally ironic footnote: "The Official Poverty Rate does not include government transfers to low-income households." Got that? You can't factor in income received from government poverty programs, because they raise people out of poverty. And Ryan's whole fucking point is that poverty programs don't raise people out of poverty. So Aunt Maude has zero income because she lives on Social Security & food stamps & Medicaid. Or Cousin Joe has zero income because he's living on unemployment benefits. That footnote is the Rosetta Stone of Ryan's report. It's all you need to know to dismiss the whole report as a sham.

** Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "The Central Intelligence Agency's attempt to keep secret the details of a defunct detention and interrogation program has escalated a battle between the agency and members of Congress and led to an investigation by the C.I.A.’s internal watchdog into the conduct of agency employees. The agency's inspector general began the inquiry partly as a response to complaints from members of Congress that C.I.A. employees were improperly monitoring the work of staff members of the Senate Intelligence Committee...." ...

     ... CW: I find this the most intriguing story of the day. It also demonstrates that Bernie Sanders was not grandstanding when he asked James Clapper whether or not the NSA was spying on members of Congress.

Spencer Ackerman of the Guardian: "The outgoing director of the National Security Agency lashed out at media organizations reporting on Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations, suggesting that British authorities were right to detain David Miranda on terrorism charges and that reporters lack the ability to properly analyze the NSA's broad surveillance powers. General Keith Alexander, who has furiously denounced the Snowden revelations, said at a Tuesday cybersecurity panel that unspecified 'headway' on what he termed 'media leaks' was forthcoming in the next several weeks, possibly to include 'media leaks legislation.'"

Dan Roberts of the Guardian: "A Palestinian peace deal could open up economic growth across the Middle East, Binyamin Netanyahu told US supporters on Tuesday, but is still held back by security concerns and a lack of recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. In the most upbeat of recent comments during his trip to Washington, the Israeli prime minister highlighted the potential regional benefits of the US-led peace process, even while making it clear he believed significant hurdles remain. 'I am prepared to make a historic peace with our Palestinian leaders,' he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington." CW: I wonder what Bibi's game is here?

Beyond the Beltway

Reuters: "The Arkansas House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to fund the state's so-called 'Private Option' medical insurance program that has drawn interest from lawmakers in other states as an alternative to Obamacare. The measure, which had earlier passed the state Senate, received 76 votes, one more than necessary in the 100-member House. This ended a more than week-long standoff over the health insurance program for lower-income residents." ...

... Here's the Arkansas Times story, by Max Brantley. Still don't know how Josh Miller voted; he's the $1MM Medicaid patient who opposed the expansion because some Arkansans are loafers who would use healthcare benefits to buy drugs. ...

... The Blue Hog Report reprinted a very good letter to Miller from one of his constituents, Carol Balderree. CW: Balderree thinks we live -- or should live -- in a "Christian nation," but this Christian lady sure understands that everyone is deserving of affordable health care. Via Max Brantley.

Tom Loftus & Chris Kenning of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "Kentucky will fight a federal judge's ruling ordering the state to recognize gay marriage -- but without the help of Attorney General Jack Conway [D], who says he refuses to defend discrimination.... Moments after the announcement, Gov. Steve Beshear [D] released a statement saying the state would hire outside counsel to appeal U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II's ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed outside the state.... Beshear said he'll seek a stay of Heyburn's order pending the appeal...." ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Trip Gabriel, is here.

Jeff Weiner of the Orlando Sentinel: "A judge has granted a temporary protective injunction against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson after his wife filed paperwork accusing the Orlando congressman of shoving and injuring her during an incident this past weekend. Lolita Grayson's petition for the injunction, dated Monday, says her husband pushed her against a door, causing her to fall to the ground, during a confrontation Saturday at their home on Oak Park Road near Windermere. In a statement, Alan Grayson's press secretary, Lauren Doney, wrote that the allegations 'are absolutely false, completely unfounded, and clearly designed to vilify and harm Congressman Grayson.' ... The incident comes just less than two months after Lolita Grayson filed a divorce petition stating that their marriage of nearly 24 years was 'irretrievably broken.'"

Texas Primary Races

Ronnie Crocker of the Houston Chronicle: "The Republican lieutenant governor's race, the nastiest and most competitive of the primary season, is set to go another round. State Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston and incumbent David Dewhurst will compete in a May 27 runoff.... Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn held off challenger Steve Stockman, a U.S. representative from Friendswood, in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. George P. Bush, the grandson of one president and nephew of another, was victorious in the Republican primary race [for] ... Texas land commissioner. He will face Democrat John Cook, a former El Paso mayor, in November."

Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "Establishment Republican leaders on Tuesday defeated challenges from the right in a statewide primary election as conservatives inspired by Senator Ted Cruz largely failed to topple mainstream incumbents, and a race for lieutenant governor headed for a runoff. Two Republican leaders in Congress -- Senator John Cornyn and Representative Pete Sessions -- and a number of other Republicans in the House overcame opponents backed by Tea Party activists."

Ben Jacobs of the Daily Beast: "Tuesday night will mark the end of one of the most stunningly dishonest political campaigns in American history: that of Steve Stockman for Senate. Stockman's campaign seemed to violate every ethical and social norm in politics.... The entire campaign came across as a strange grift...." CW: IMHO, the entire Tea Party movement is one massive grift. Stockman is merely among the worst of the worst.

Senate Race

Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times: "To score political points, Republican Rep. Tom Cotton said repeatedly that he'd forego the congressional health insurance plan and sign up on the new health exchanges. It was only fair, he said. But now it appears he's gotten himself a low-cost grandfathered plan outside the exchange. The [Sen. Mark] Pryor [D] campaign has compiled Cotton's changing stories on insurance purchases...."