Politics

Sarah, We Hardly Knew Ye

by

by publius Well, this should end the whole "Sarah Palin is bizarre and erratic" meme.  Honestly, I don't know what to make of this.  My first thought was that she's obviously gearing up for 2012.  But now I'm not so sure.  Today's announcement was so ill-timed and rambling that it's hard to believe she's seriously … Read more

Coleman Finally Concedes

by

by hilzoy From the NYTimes: "After nearly eight months of waiting, almost 20,000 pages of legal briefs, and millions of dollars in election costs, Al Franken emerged Tuesday as the next United States senator from Minnesota, ending one of the most protracted election recount battles in recent memory. Mr. Franken, 58, a former comedian and author, … Read more

ENDA (Again)

by

by hilzoy A few days ago, Barney Frank introduced HR 2981, a new version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which bans employment discrimination against anyone on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Unlike last time, this bill includes protections for transmen and transwomen. That's the good news. The bad news is that, according … Read more

Why I’m Happy about Waxman-Markey

by

by publius Well, it’s certainly not perfect.  But at the end of the day, I think Waxman-Markey is a very good thing – and one that deserved a “Yea” vote. The most significant achievement is simply that the bill would impose real limits on emissions.  And that’s what matters most – the reduction is more … Read more

Cap And Trade Passes The House

by

by hilzoy From the NYT:  "The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy. The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which … Read more

Broken

by

by hilzoy Finally, four months after his nomination, Harold Koh has been confirmed by the Senate as the State Department's legal advisor. Various Republican Senators have put holds on Koh. They threatened to filibuster, and 31 of them voted against cloture.  The Republicans who voted in favor of his nomination were Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, … Read more

The Reason for the Season (of Reform)

by

by publius And while I'm on health care, just go read this Ezra Klein post on the business models of health insurance companies.  It provides some important perspective on a policy debate that can often become tedious for novices like me. It's easy to get lost in the weeds on all this stuff.  And it's … Read more

One Good Move (But We Need More)

by

by hilzoy I'm no happier about most of Barack Obama's record on LGBT issues than anyone else. That makes me pretty unhappy. But this, at least, is very good news: "Lawyers for President Obama are quietly drafting first-of-their kind guidelines barring workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees, officials said Tuesday. The guidelines will be in … Read more

The Narcissism of John McCain

by

by publius I don't have anything much to add, but Joe Klein gets this exactly right.  I'm glad we have a President whose main priority in foreign policy is something other than making sure he feels really good about himself.  Anyway, here's Klein: I have yet to hear what possible good it would do for … Read more

Neocons Vindicated?

by

by hilzoy

Andrew Sullivan links to " a smashing column" by Daniel Finkelstein:

"I am a neocon. Given all that has happened over the past ten years, I am sure my PR consultant would advise me to drop this label. But I don't employ a PR consultant. So, stubbornly, I cling on to the designation. It declares my belief in two things — that in every country in the world, wherever it may be and whatever its traditions, the people yearn for liberty, for free expression and for democracy; and that the spread of liberty and democracy (not necessarily through the barrel of a gun) is the only real way to bring peace to the world. I believe that what we are seeing on the streets of Iran now is a vindication of these neoconservative ideas."

Hmm. If that's what neoconservatism is, then I suppose I must be a neoconservative, or something very like one. I do not believe that everyone yearns for liberty, free expression, and democracy. I think that it took a lot of time for people to work out what, exactly, a free government would be like, and that before that happened, people could not possibly be said to have yearned for one. (Did people yearn for democracy in 12th century France?) 

On the other hand, we have worked that out now, more or less; and the idea of democracy is available to anyone who is in contact with the broader world. It's a natural idea to turn to when one's own government seems unsatisfactory, and once a people start asking why they should have no say in their government, I think it's hard for them to un-ask it, or to accept without hesitation a country in which their voices are completely excluded. So I suppose I am, for practical purposes, on board with this part of the neoconservative program.

Similarly, while I'm not sure I'd agree that "the spread of liberty and democracy (…) is the only real way to bring peace to the world", I think it would certainly help a lot. So I suppose I'm on board with that as well. This, according to Mr. Finkelstein, makes me, if not a real neoconservative, at least a pretty close approximation of one.

Which is, of course, absurd.

Read more

You’d Think This Would Settle It …

by

by hilzoy In a sane world, the absence of any evidence that the Obama administration was considering reinstating the Fairness Doctrine would have prevented people from talking darkly about the end of talk radio and freedom of speech. Regrettably, we do not live in a sane world. But this exchange seems clear enough to put … Read more

The Smearing of Health Care Reform

by

by publius The Senate GOP is girding up for battle on health care reform.  Not that it's a huge surprise, but their main line of attack has some pants-on-fire problems.  Here's Politico: As President Barack Obama tried to sell the American Medical Association today on his health care overhaul, the top Senate Republicans launched a … Read more

The Stakes of the Democratic Agenda

by

by publius

Early last week, President Obama – somewhat out of the blue – said quite bluntly that he supported net neutrality.  Policy-wise, that’s great.  But it’s also sort of amazing that net neutrality has come this far.

Think about it – net neutrality has no well-funded lobby.  There are literally legions of savvy industry lobbyists fighting against it.  And it’s not clear whether the issue has any obvious political benefits with the public-at-large.  From a public choice perspective, net neutrality should be dead.  But there was Obama last week, saying very good things.

And there’s a larger story here.  What’s interesting about the fight for net neutrality – or “openness” – is that it will illustrate whether things like organizing and grassroots pressure actually work.  I think they do – and I think that the progress on Internet openness is a testament to those efforts.  But the jury’s still out on that. 

But more broadly, we’re seeing many of these same questions in the fight over the larger Democratic agenda.  Indeed, what’s most interesting – and exciting – about the fight for things like health care reform and cap and trade is that they potentially challenge the more depressing predictions of public choice theory.  In other words, these major reforms would (if enacted) challenge the notion that democracies are primarily controlled by narrow interest groups.

Before I go on, I know that public choice theory covers an enormous range of ideas and camps, etc.  So for purposes of this post, I’m referring to the idea that intensely-committed minorities run the show in majoritarian democracies.  Conor Friedersdorf captured the idea quite well a few days ago (though his post is making a somewhat different point overall):

I wish that progressives would realize that parties with a narrow vested interest in a legislative outcome are always going to enjoy an advantage over the diffuse interests of the populace, and especially that portion of the populace that is without power.  Community organizing is never going to change this basic fact, nor is any campaign finance reform that passes constitutional muster, nor is a bigger Democratic majority in Congress.

That’s basically the idea of public choice I’m using here.  And he could be right.  I hope he’s not, but it’s a powerful critique that progressives shouldn’t ignore.  What’s promising, though, is that the ambition and content of the Democratic agenda gives some hope to the non-skeptics (for now, anyway).

Read more

My Two Cents

by

by publius I want to add my two cents on McArdle’s post as well — some of which reinforces Hilzoy's response.  First, the most significant error she makes is the assumption that “the law” was “powerless” here.  The fact that “the law” is different from what you might prefer is conceptually distinct from saying it’s … Read more

Subsidizing American Conservatism

by

by publius In today’s Outlook, Alec MacGillis argues that national health care reform would be a significant redistribution of resources from “blue” states to “red” ones.  The reason why is that health coverage numbers are far grimmer in Republican states, particularly in the South – shocking, I know. While I tend to agree with MacGillis’s … Read more

Smooth Operator

by

by publius I'll be honest — I'm a bit frightened of David Petraeus's political and media savvy.  This guy is good.  I just watched him on Fox News and was very impressed with his answers on everything from Gitmo to torture to the ability of our legal system to try detainees.  The video is here, … Read more

Signer for Virginia Lieutenant Governor

by

by publius I don't really do official endorsements and appeals for funds in elections (not sure I ever have).  But for those interested in the Virginia Lieutenant Governor's race (especially Virginians), I wanted to take a moment and urge you to support Michael Signer. He's just an all-around impressive guy — and is a solid … Read more

Helene Cooper Needs To Discover Google, Lexis

by

by publius

So let's say I'm Helene Cooper of the NYT.  And let's say I have a great idea for an article — the premise is that Obama knocks down pretend strawmen in his speeches just like Bush used to do (e.g., "Some have said…"). 

It would be a good idea for an article — if it were true.  But it's not, as about 15 minutes of Google and Lexis would show.  But Cooper went ahead and wrote it anyway.

The difference between Bush and Obama's arguments is fairly simple — Bush just made stuff up, while Obama's critics are actually making the critiques that Obama attributes to them.  Somewhat hilariously, Cooper herself concedes this on several of the supposed examples of Obama's "strawman" arguments.  She notes, for instance, that the criticisms Obama cites were made by real, living, breathing, non-straw-filled people like John Kyl, Anne Applebaum, Bill Kristol, and Jeffrey Kuhner.

There's a more detailed breakdown of the article below the fold:

Read more

The Contrast

by

by publius Cheney’s “I ♥ Torture” speech was, if nothing else, a clarifying moment.  Like a painting that captures the essence of a historical age in a single image, today’s split screen of Obama and Cheney reflected the very essence of the torture debate.  And the contrast couldn’t have been clearer – the men, the … Read more

We’re Doomed!

by

by hilzoy From the New York Times: "Four men from upstate New York were arrested Wednesday night in what the authorities said was a plot to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down military planes at Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y. The men were arrested around 9 p.m. after planting … Read more

The Very Principled Archbishop Burke

by

by publius I tend to shy away from intra-Catholic disputes such as the Notre Dame controversy.  I wasn't raised Catholic — and there were like 2 Catholics in my town growing up.  So I don't really have a dog in these fights.  But via Feddie, I see that the Archbishop Burke is at it again … Read more

Signs And Portents

by

by hilzoy Apparently, it's a big deal in some quarters that Barack Obama did not hold a ceremony for the National Day of Prayer, preferring instead to issue a proclamation and pray in private, "something that the president does every day". This is an instance of something that generally bothers me about many discussions of … Read more

What Sessions Means

by

by publius It’s a telling contrast – this rise of Jeff Sessions to Judiciary ranking member.  On the one hand, the Democratic Party nominated the first African-American president.  At the same time, Senate Republicans have intentionally elevated an Alabama Senator rejected from the federal bench for being a racist. It may seem like I’ve randomly … Read more

More Specter Weirdness

by

by publius I think Freud called this the "death wish."  Halperin reports on an NYT interview with Specter: The new Democrat says the Minnesota Republican should return to the Senate. "There's still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner." UPDATE:  I still don't know entirely what he meant, … Read more

Specter’s Dumb Politics

by

by publius Josh Marshall has good post up on Specter – he touched on some things I wanted to discuss, but he said it better.  Anyway, the upshot is that Specter is (uncharacteristically) making some enormous political errors by immediately opposing various Democratic positions so loudly.  I don’t really understand his thinking.  There’s no logic … Read more

The Hate That Pretty Much Speaks Its Name

by

by publius

The Oklahoma GOP recently held their state convention.  And judging by the party platform they adopted, it seems the GOP rebranding effort has a long road ahead.  The platform is genuinely creepy – and apparently uninfluenced by Meghan McCain’s Twitter feed.  (The blog Forever in Hell has multiple posts on the platform, and was my original source.  The GOP platform itself is available here and here*).

Anyway, I know Kevin Drum has previously noted the looneyness of the Texas GOP platform.  And the Oklahoma platform has a lot of similarities.  You know, all the good stuff you’d expect like withdrawing from the UN, restoring the gold standard, requiring biblical creation education, and Taliban-like intrusions on all matters related to sex (e.g., abortion, pornography, indecency regulation, no-fault divorces, Gardasil vaccinations).

But what’s most scary about this platform is its obsessive focus with homosexuality.  The level of hate and vitriol directed at homosexuals by this document – adopted by a state political party – is jarring.  If the national GOP is curious about the source of its image problems, look no further than to the Oklahoma GOP platform.  It’s legitimately frightening.  (On an aside, I think the intensity of this institutional hatred further supports judicial efforts to protect equality).

What’s most disturbing is that the platform references homosexuality again and again in multiple sections.  But of all these references, the section below takes the taco – it’s truly the worst thing in the entire document. 

This passage comes from a section called “Commendations” (p.29):

7. We commend state Representatives Wright, Blackwell, Christian, Coody, Duncan, Enns, Faught, Johnson, Kern, Key, Liebmann, Moore, Murphey, Osborn, Ownbey, Reynolds, Ritze, Sanders, Terrill, and Thomsen for opposing inclusion in the House Journal, the introduction of an openly homosexual minister’s male “fiancé”.

Initial reaction was … huh?  So I hopped on Lexis, and this story is hard to believe, even by the lofty standards of the rump of the Oklahoma GOP. 

At the beginning of Oklahoma’s legislative session last February, the only openly gay Oklahoma legislator invited a gay pastor to give the opening prayer.  In introducing himself before that prayer, the pastor had the audacity to say:  “dear friends, my wonderful parents, and my loving partner and fiance, Michael.”

Well, that last bit crossed the line and several GOP legislators objected and wanted his subsequent prayer excluded from the official House record.  They lost 64-20, but the Oklahoma GOP felt the need to formally commend the Fightin’ Twenty in its party platform for their efforts.  Nice work team. 

Note too the platform's quotation marks around fiancé.  You can almost feel the Christian love and tolerance.  (Also, Jones has a blog and wrote about the incident here).

This obnoxious provision, however, is far from alone.  Below the fold, I’ve listed other provisions in the platform that explicitly reference homosexuality (I excluded hate crime stuff, but that should arguably be in too). 

As you’re reading, note how many different sections of the platform reference homosexuality in some way.  Note too the provision that would – by my reading – ban homosexuals from being teachers or interacting with children in any professional context. 

It’s an eerie and creepy obsession.  It’s more than that actually.  It’s just hateful – and that’s about as precise an adjective as I can conjure to describe the Oklahoma GOP at the moment.

Read more

No, We Shouldn’t Close The Border. Sigh.

by

by hilzoy In the wake of the swine flu outbreak, we have the inevitable calls for closing the borders with Mexico (h/t): "A spokesman for Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said Wednesday night that Franks believes the border should be closed right now except in critical cases or situations involving emergency personnel. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., … Read more

Huntsman Rising?

by

by publius Utah Governor Jon Huntsman continues to stake out a conspicuously moderate persona — this time in an ABC interview regarding Specter.  At first glance, his tactics seem foolish for a potential 2012 candidate.  "Conspicuous moderation" isn't exactly sweeping the GOP primary electorate by storm these days. But still, it's a smart strategy for … Read more

More Specter

by

by publius The quest to say anything original about Specter may well be hopeless.  There are only 8 million posts or so out there.  But I’ll give it a shot – here are a few more scattered thoughts: Thanks Hillary Today’s flip further vindicates Clinton’s decision to fight it out to the bitter end in … Read more

One Last Collins Point

by

by publius It's nice to see Senator Collins scrambling to note her support for pandemic flu funding.  And I'm sure she's telling the truth about that. The point of the Collins snark, though, wasn't so much to accuse her of endangering public health.  It was to illustrate how utterly absurd and non-substantive her stimulus posturing … Read more

Best News I’ve Heard All Year

by

by publius The agreement to use reconciliation for health care is huge – it’s arguably the single best development since Obama’s inauguration.  It not only means that health care reform will be much easier to pass – it means that the ultimate legislation will also be much better (with a public plan, etc.). And that’s … Read more

Why We Need Universal Health Insurance

by

by hilzoy Kate Michelman tells a horrible story in The Nation. In 2001, a horse fell backwards onto her daughter, paralyzing her for life. Then her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Michelman and her husband had health insurance and long-term care insurance; her daughter did not. Between her daughter's expenses and what her husband's health … Read more