The Commentariat -- February 3, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "President Obama reached out to Muslims in the United States on Wednesday in an impassioned speech, embracing them as part of 'one American family,' implicitly criticizing the Republican presidential candidates and warning citizens not to be 'bystanders to bigotry":
Oliver Milman & Ryan Felton of the Guardian: "The Environmental Protection Agency warned of an unfolding toxic water crisis in Flint but was 'met with resistance' by Michigan authorities, a fiery congressional hearing into the city's public health disaster has heard.... Congress was also told that flawed water testing practices, now eliminated in Flint, are happening unchecked across the US, risking a much wider public health crisis in other cities."
Greg Sargent: "The campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have agreed on a rough schedule for four new debates over the next few months, according to various sources, a move that shows the Democratic primary is now set to shift into a higher gear and signals we may be headed for a long, drawn-out battle. The four debates will be sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee, a spokesman for the DNC, Luis Miranda, confirms to me."
You know, I get accused of being kind of moderate and center. I plead guilty. -- Hillary Clinton, ca. September 10, 2015 ...
... Amber Jamieson of the Guardian: "At a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire on Wednesday, [Hillary] Clinton accused [Bernie] Sanders of a 'low blow' for saying that the former secretary of state was only a progressive on 'some days'. 'I hope we keep it on the issues,' Clinton said, 'because if it's about our records, hey, I'm going to win by a landslide.' A reporter had questioned the Vermont senator on Tuesday about whether his Democratic opponent was a truly progressive liberal. 'Some days, yes. Except when she announces that she is a proud moderate, and then I guess she is not a progressive,' replied Sanders."
Ashley Parker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania plans two major announcements on Wednesday night about his candidacy amid speculation that he is pulling out of the race." CW: Darn! I was sure Santorum was going to win.
Simon Romero of the New York Times: "The surging medical reports of babies being born with unusually small heads during the Zika epidemic in Brazil are igniting a fierce debate over the country's abortion laws, which make the procedure illegal under most circumstances. Prominent legal scholars in Brasília, the capital, are preparing a case to go before Brazil's highest court, arguing that pregnant women should be permitted to have abortions when their fetuses are found to have abnormally small heads, a condition known as microcephaly that Brazilian researchers say is linked to the virus.
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Presidential Race
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Presidential candidates flew through the night to hit the New Hampshire campaign trail running on Tuesday morning, eager to capitalize on a race that has been reordered by surprising finishes in the Iowa caucuses." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Frank Rich reflects on the Iowa results & what may happen going forward. As we noted here a few days ago, Rich's predictions haven't been too great. (Have you heard anybody outside of the Paul household saying "President Paul.") Nonetheless, Rich always offers an interesting perspective. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... AND Charles Pierce reflects on the Iowa results. Something, something, inequality, Epistle of James. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
Annals of Journalsim," Ctd. Break.
... ** Part 1. Paul Waldman in the Week: "Since it is obviously impossible for you to understand what happened in Iowa on Monday night by simply looking at the numbers, you must find an analysis to make sense of it all. So I'm here to offer you not one but two hot takes for each party's race, to help you make sense of it all...." ...
... Part 2. Steve M. finds a lovely example of Jeb!-spin, masquerading as ABC News reporting or analysis or something. ...
... Part 3. Paul Krugman has a theory on why Iowa "matters." ...
... Part 4. AND then there's MSNBC's Chris Matthews, whose ostensible interview of Hillary Clinton included a running diatribe that required Charles Pierce to write, "Bernie Sanders is running a campaign completely within what can reasonably be called the mainstream of his party and of our politics. Discreet red-baiting and disingenuous scaremongering helps nobody." CW: What makes Matthews' rant particularly weird is that Matthews is (or was) supposedly working on a book about fawning biography of Bobby Kennedy, whose politics then were not so much different in content & tone from what Sanders says today. Not much news on the bio-in-progress, so maybe Bobby (or "Bob," as Matthews is won't to call him) & his radical views put off the author. Anyway, there's a reason "journalist" & "joke" begin with the same letters, & I think that has less to do with etymology than with Matthews School of Bull.
Jason Horowitz & Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders, who came within half a percentage point of defeating Hillary Clinton in Iowa, will spend the next week trying to maintain a significant advantage in New Hampshire, where he has been leading in polls for months. His campaign will stage rallies in the more populous southern parts of the state, where he also will air more than $1 million worth of television ads."
Amy Chozick, et al., of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton is digging in for a tough fight against Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in next week's primary in New Hampshire, her advisers said Tuesday, trying to spark political momentum and fund-raising energy after only a razor-thin victory in the Iowa caucuses."
Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "Hillary Clinton was declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday after final vote counts showed her narrowly beating Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, according to The Associated Press and other news organizations." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Here are the official vote tally percentages, according to the Iowa Democratic party's Website: Clinton 49.8, Sanders 49.6, O'Malley 0.5. ...
... Kevin Hardy of the Des Moines Register: "Sen. Bernie Sanders Iowa campaign is questioning the results of Monday's caucuses. After all precincts were reported Tuesday morning, the Iowa Democratic Party reported Hillary Clinton won 49.8 percent of state delegate equivalents in the Democratic Iowa caucuses. Bernie Sanders took 49.6 percent of delegate equivalents. Sanders' campaign staff believes there may be discrepancies between the paper vote tallies at the precinct level and numbers that were reported to the state party." ...
... Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post has a longish piece on how Clinton nearly got Berned in Iowa. Here's my favorite bit: Sanders "was headed to a May 31 rally at the American Indian Center in Minneapolis, his first big campaign event outside his New England home turf. But Sanders was still blocks away -- and the car he was in was not moving. 'Is there a wreck ahead?' Sanders anxiously asked his field director, Phil Fiermonte. 'No,' Fiermonte replied, 'they're here to see you.' More than 3,000 of them, many standing outside because the hall was full. 'It never occurred to me in a million years that line was for us,' Sanders recalled in a telephone interview Sunday.... 'I said, "Whoa." That was the first inkling that I had that this campaign was catching on.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
... CW: This post, in which Michael Stern briefly discusses recent legal news coverage of Ted Cruz's citizenship & Hillary Clinton's e-mails, made me wonder when we're going to hear the following theory emerge from the bowels of Right Wing World: Hillary Clinton is running for president to postpone her otherwise inevitable conviction for treason on accounta carelessly (or purposely!) sharing top-secret U.S. documents with Vladimir Putin & Kim Jong-Un via her Facebook page personal e-mail account.
Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky ended his presidential campaign Wednesday, after a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses this week." ...
... Ed Kilgore assesses what went wrong for Li'l Randy.
Killer Sharks! "Smelling Blood, Rivals Circle Trump." Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Emboldened by are preparing to challenge him aggressively in the New Hampshire primary — and perhaps even to aim a fatal blow at his campaign by seeking to deny him victory in a second consecutive state.... The sense of urgency about taking on Mr. Trump transcends the different political camps on the Republican side in New Hampshire." ...
’s defeat in the Iowa caucuses, his rivals for the Republican presidential nominationMaybe he'll do more than 40 minutes on a little stage telling everybody his canned speech that he's memorized. This isn't a student council election, everybody. This is an election for president of the United States. Let's get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble. -- Chris Christie, on Marco Rubio, to reporters Tuesday
... Killer Sharks 2.0. Philip Rucker & Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Marco Rubio's surprisingly strong showing in the Iowa caucuses reshuffled the already intense competition here in New Hampshire among the Republican establishment candidates, leading some to sharpen their attacks on the freshman senator from Florida ahead of next week's primary."
If we are attacked, somebody attacks us, wouldn't you rather have Trump as president if we're attacked? We'll beat the shit out of them. -- Donald Trump, at a New Hampshire rally Tuesday
CW Translation: If some Muslim guy attacks an American, I'll order the Pentagon to start World War III at the same time I'm yelling at the decorators for not painting vermeil on every baroque detail in the Trump White House ballroom
... Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump acknowledged on Tuesday night that his voter turnout operation in Iowa was weak, despite boasts from his team for weeks of a secret plan to get his supporters to the polls." ...
... Robert Costa & Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump returned to New Hampshire on Tuesday night with the stakes as high as ever for his presidential campaign, determined to showcase his political resilience after his second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and rouse his supporters with a rally that was a raucous return to form. There was swagger, curses and confidence, and thousands of people packed into an athletic center, all bundled up in winter coats and many toting signs." ...
... Also, former handsome short-term Sen. Scott Brown endorsed Trump at the rally. Relatedly, Scott Brown is still handsome. ...
... MEANWHILE, Trump wishes to remind us ungrateful voters that we aren't worthy of the generosity he has bestowed upon us by (partially) self-funding his vanity vaudeville act.
Betsy Klein, et al., of CNN: "One day after winning the Iowa caucuses, [Ted] Cruz issued an apology to [Ben] Carson after his staff falsely told Iowa caucusgoers that Carson planned to quit the race, calling it a 'mistake.' Cruz said in a statement Tuesday that his campaign staff saw a CNN report that Carson was dropping out, although CNN had not characterized Carson's actions that way.... Carson said Tuesday he accepted the apology, but questioned whether there was a deeper 'cultural issue' with Cruz's campaign. 'As a Christian I will accept the apology but it doesn't correct the problem,' Carson told CNN. 'This is a cultural issue when people in your campaign feel that it's ok to distort the issues to their political advantage and to tell absolute lies. And the question really is will there be any consequences for that.'" ...
... CW: Carson is right. Cruz's staff didn't idly spread a false story. They did so during the caucus process, to lure Carson's evangelical base voters over to Ted's camp. Cruz won the Iowa caucus vote by several points, so the lie, shot out to "grassroots leaders" as voters were participating in the caucuses, probably didn't materially change the final rankings, but hearing that their preferred candidate was leaving the race certainly could have made some voters switch from Carson to Cruz. Cruz is a snake. ...
Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified. -- Donald Trump tweet, Wednesday ...
... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Donald Trump used Cruz's phony e-mail claim that Carson was quitting the race, along with the phony voter mailers to accuse Cruz of stealing the caucus vote. ...
... Marvin S. highlights this New Jersey Star-Ledger editorial titled "President Cruz: Still America's Worst Nightmare." If you want to daydream about this nightmare, the editors reprise some of what Ted Cruz has already done & said to help you along. Also, too, Cruz has already condemned our winger Chief Justice as a liberal; I doubt even Alito, Scalia & Thomas are extreme enough for him.
Marco Has a New Black Friend. Andrew Shane of the (South Carolina) State: "U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who came close to winning second in the Iowa caucus, won a coveted endorsement Tuesday in South Carolina from U.S Sen. Tim Scott.... After the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9, Scott could help Rubio in South Carolina. The only African-American Republican in the U.S. Senate is one of the Palmetto State's most popular politicians in polls." ...
... CW: Six other sitting U.S. Senators have endorsed Rubio. Expect more to follow.
Other News
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "President Obama will make his first visit to a mosque in the United States on Wednesday, traveling to a suburb of Baltimore to meet with Muslim leaders and to speak out against hostility and discrimination against Islam."
Alan Fram of the AP: "Republicans failed in their latest futile attempt Tuesday to kill President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a Groundhog Day vote by the House that was solely an exercise in election-year political messaging. Tuesday's near party-line vote to override Obama's January veto of legislation gutting much of the law was 241-186, but that fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to reverse a veto. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the effort to force enactment of the bill, which would have also ended federal payments to Planned Parenthood, would send an important signal." CW: Important signal received.
Donald McNeil & Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "A case of Zika virus infection transmitted by sex, rather than mosquito bite, was discovered in Texas on Tuesday, a development sure to complicate plans to contain a global epidemic.... The Dallas County Health and Human Services Department reported that a patient with the Zika virus was infected after having sex with someone who had returned from Venezuela, where Zika is circulating. After the report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its advice to Americans visiting regions in which the Zika virus is spreading. Men having sex after traveling to these areas should consider wearing condoms, officials said.... Pregnant women should avoid contact with semen from men recently exposed to the virus, federal officials also said."
Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press: "While acknowledging mistakes made by the state in the handling of Flint's water crisis, Gov. Rick Snyder's hand-picked appointee to run the state Department of Environmental Quality faults the federal EPA for contributing to the public health catastrophe, saying it 'did not display the sense of urgency that the situation demanded.' In testimony to be delivered Wednesday before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, new DEQ Director Keith Creagh takes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to task, insisting that the federal agency dragged its feet for months before providing a legal opinion making it clear that DEQ should have required Flint to have corrosion-control treatments before it switched to using water from the Flint River in 2014."
Voter Suppression Laws Are Working! Scott Keyes of Think Progress: "... the first study has been released showing that the proliferation of voter ID laws in recent years has indeed driven down minority voter turnout, and by a significant amount.... The researchers found that in primary elections, 'a strict ID law could be expected to depress Latino turnout by 9.3 points, Black turnout by 8.6 points, and Asian American turnout by 12.5 points.' The impact of strict voter ID was also evident in general elections, where minority turnout plummeted in relation to the white vote. 'For Latinos in the general election, the predicted gap more than doubles from 4.9 points in states without strict ID laws to 13.5 points in states with strict photo ID laws,' the study found. That gap increased by 2.2 points for African Americans and by 5 points for Asian Americans. The effect was even more pronounced in primary elections." CW: Now, please, can't we bring back the poll tax? Oh, wait, in most states these laws do constitute at least a partial poll tax, as they often require voters to pay for forms of identification they don't have on hand. In some cases, they require voters to come up with documents that don't exist, like birth certificates for older voters born at home and/or in other countries.
David Streitfeld of the New York Times: "Whether it is sold or survives, Yahoo is getting smaller. It said on Tuesday it would lay off about 15 percent of its 11,000 employees. By the end of the cuts, the company said its work force would be about 42 percent smaller than it was in 2012. In addition to being smaller, [Yahoo CEO Marissa] Mayer said, the company would be simpler. Yahoo will shed assets, cut expenses and focus on the areas of the company that are growing."
Brian Feldman of New York: "Amazon is apparently opening hundreds of bookstores in malls around the country. According to Sandeep Mathrani, the CEO of mall operator General Growth Properties, Amazon is planning on opening '300 to 400' bookstores this year." CW: Support your local bookstore.
Beyond the Beltway
Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Georgia executed its oldest death row inmate early Wednesday morning, moving ahead with the scheduled lethal injection after courts and a state pardon board rejected his requests for stays. Brandon Astor Jones, 72, was first sentenced to death in 1979 for the death of Roger Tackett, who managed a convenience store."
Jeremy Roebuck & Laura McCrystal of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Bill "Cosby's lawyers contend that the aggravated indecent assault charge filed in December against the 78-year-old entertainer violates a 'non-prosecution' agreement [tnen Montgomery County D.A. Bruce] Castor made with their client a decade ago. Prosecutors, led by current District Attorney Kevin Steele, say no such deal existed."
Anh Do & Christopher Goffard of the Los Angeles Times: An Orange County cab driver says three fugitives who escaped from the Orange County jail, held him captive for a week, forcing him to drive them around in his cab, using his driver's license to get a hotel room & arguing about whether or not to kill him. ...
... Keystone Kops, Ctd. Joseph Serna, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: And in other Southern California manhunt news, L.A. County Sheriffs accidentally released a murder suspect awaiting sentencing on an attempted murder conviction. CW: Shit happens, you know. Lock your doors, people.