Politics

by publius Ah, Tea Party Day.  Loves it.  There’s already been much ink spilled on the manufactured nature of these things.  But that’s not the most interesting part.  What’s more interesting is the motivation of the people actually going to these things (and cheerleading them).  To me, the tea parties are serving a psychological function … Read more

by hilzoy If you have been reading public health blogs for a couple of years, you probably know, and miss, Confined Space, a blog about worker health and safety issues. If you don't, you missed a great blog, the kind that really educates you about an issue that it's hard for non-professionals to learn about otherwise. To … Read more

by hilzoy From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "After a trial spanning nearly three months, Norm Coleman's attempt to reverse Al Franken's lead in the recount of the U.S. Senate election was soundly rejected today by a three-judge panel that dismissed the Republican’s lawsuit. The judges swept away Coleman's argument that the election and its aftermath were … Read more

by hilzoy More good news: "President Obama announced plans on Thursday to computerize the medical records of veterans into a unified system, a move that is expected to ease the now-cumbersome process that results in confusion, lost records and bureaucratic delays. Medical information will flow directly from the military to the Department of Veterans Affairs' … Read more

by hilzoy Noah Schachtman: "Defense Secretary Gates just proposed the most sweeping overhaul of America's arsenal — and of the Pentagon budget — in decades.  Major weapons programs, from aircraft carriers to next-gen bombers to new school fighting vehicles, will be cut back, or eliminated. Billions more will be put into growing the American fighting … Read more

by hilzoy Scott Horton: "Senate Republicans are now privately threatening to derail the confirmation of key Obama administration nominees for top legal positions by linking the votes to suppressing critical torture memos from the Bush era. A reliable Justice Department source advises me that Senate Republicans are planning to “go nuclear” over the nominations of … Read more

by publius As the recession has worsened, we’ve heard lots of references to Japan’s so-called “lost decade.”  The fear is that, without appropriate economic policies, the United States might suffer its own lost decade.  My view, however, is that we’ve already suffered one of those – we just call it “the Bush years.”  And as … Read more

by publius The fight over the stimulus – a preview of the budget wars to come – has obviously taken on larger ideological dimensions.  And the stakes are high.  It’s a fight over the very idea of whether government can play a positive role in people’s lives.  That’s in part why the Republicans are fighting … Read more

by hilzoy The Senate voted Thursday to eliminate the estate tax for estates worth less than $5 million, or $10 million for couples (estates worth less than $3.5 million, or $7 million for couples, are excluded now), and to lower the tax on estates over that amount from 45% to 35%. (Note: you only pay … Read more

by publius There’s a lot more that must and will be said about the GOP’s April Fool’s Day budget.  But there’s one hilarious tidbit that needs mentioning.  As we already knew (because it was the one specific detail in the last “budget”), the plan has a massive tax cut for the wealthy – lowering the … Read more

by hilzoy From CongressDaily, via the Wonk Room: "Senate Majority Leader Reid said today he would drop a cram-down provision from a House-passed banking bill if the language threatened to keep the Senate from passing the overall bill. The provision would allow a bankruptcy judge to reduce a homeowner's mortgage principal. "If we can't get … Read more

by hilzoy I've been trying to figure out what to say about the House Republicans' new "budget". I think it's pretty neat that they decided to use those cute bubbles instead of numbers. Maybe next week they'll present their budget using interpretive dance or little animated jelly beans. I also like the way they say … Read more

by hilzoy I saw Obama's press conference, and I thought it was quite good, in a sober, unremarkable way. I just wanted to note two minor points that struck me  First, everyone who asked a question had the chance to ask a follow-up. I don't have the heart to go back and look at Bush's … Read more

by publius The Specter switch on the EFCA is disappointing, but not surprising.  It matters because he was the 60th vote, assuming all the Democrats (including Franken) stayed on board.  Of course, the latter assumption of Democratic unity may be questionable — but there would have been enormous pressure on the individual Democrats not to … Read more

by publius The EFCA compromise being floated is a promising, if still inadequate, development.  It does, however, illustrate the importance of strong opening bargaining positions and sustained political pressure.  Both are starting to bear fruit. Anyway, in thinking about the Whole Foods/Starbucks/Costco proposal, it’s worth remembering that the EFCA incorporates several distinct issues under one … Read more

by hilzoy Even though I am furious at the people who brought down AIG, along with all the other Masters of the Universe, I do not support the House bill that passed yesterday — the one that would tax bonuses at 90%. For starters, it's badly targeted. On the one hand, it leaves out the … Read more

by publius Via Ezra, I saw this Zadie Smith essay praising the multiple voices of Obama – voices on full display in Dreams from My Father.  I’ll admit to skimming the essay in places, but one upshot is that Obama doesn’t have one “true” authentic voice.  He has many – and that’s a good thing, … Read more

by publius Suzy Khimm has the goods.  And they're good.  Good goods, that is.

by hilzoy In the piece by Steven Davidoff about the AIG contract that I cited in my last post, he also writes: “This was not a boilerplate contract. Rather, it was highly negotiated. And it was highly negotiated to pay retention fees at high levels without regard to performance. This is obviously shocking. But it makes me … Read more

by hilzoy The contract guaranteeing employees of AIG's Financial Products their retention bonuses has been published. Since I am not a lawyer, and my impression is that contract law is not for the faint of heart, I haven't read it all the way through. Steven Davidoff at Dealbook has, however, and he teaches corporate law. … Read more

by hilzoy Today brought some very good news for members and veterans of the armed forces. First, Stop Loss — whereby a service member's term of service can be extended whether she likes it or not — will be ended: "The Department of Defense announced today a comprehensive plan to eliminate the current use of … Read more

by hilzoy Possibly because of my immersion in posts about going Galt, I've read altogether too many blog posts and newspaper columns about the horrid, wealth-destroying, class-warfare-waging, socialist nightmare that is Barack Obama's tax policy. So I thought it might be a good idea to get a few basic facts on the table. Obama is … Read more

by hilzoy Via TPM, Bloomberg: "President Barack Obama's economic advisers are increasingly concerned about the U.S. Senate's delay in confirming the nominations of Austan Goolsbee and Cecilia Rouse to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Without Senate confirmation, the two economists are barred from advising the president as the administration tackles the worst financial crisis … Read more

by publius Have to admit – I’m sort of fascinated with Rush Limbaugh these days.  Terribleness aside, it’s been fascinating to see his revival in the mainstream news of late.  And yes, his revival is a problem for Republicans – but not for the reason you think.  The GOP’s “Rush Problem” isn’t that he’s too … Read more

by publius I’ve fumbled around tonight trying to identify the precise feeling I had about Obama’s impressive speech.  It wasn’t so much that I was stirred or excited – the times are too dour for that.  I was just deeply satisfied with it.  It made me feel very very good about the 2008 election. The … Read more

by publius What do you think?  So far, it sort of sounds like he's self-consciously trying not to do Clinton's laundry list of small items.  He's going bigger.

by publius A new Post/ABC poll shows strong public support for the stimulus plan, and for Obama more generally.  The same poll also shows that Democrats are retaining large advantages over congressional Republicans. It's easy to look at these numbers and think, "Wow, the GOP blew it on the stimulus.  The public doesn't support them."  … Read more

by publius A classic debate over the years has been whether materialism or ideology provides a more accurate explanation of historical events.  For instance, was the Cold War about imperialist conquest for resources?  Or did the revolutionary ideology of both the US and Soviet Union play a more important role in describing events?  Did the … Read more

by hilzoy Steve Benen, Matt Yglesias, and Kevin Drum are all calling for reform of the filibuster. I agree. I am of two minds on the question of eliminating it entirely. (To anyone who thinks it's just obvious that the filibuster should be eliminated, I have three words for you: Janice Rogers Brown.) But what … Read more

by publius Arlen Specter claims that several Congressional Republicans are secret stimulus supporters.  It’s all so very tragic – the stimulus support that dare not speak its name.  Who knows if he’s correct, but it sounds very plausible to me.  Especially this part: "When I came back to the cloak room after coming to the … Read more

by publius The Lieberman amnesty is proving to be a wise decision (that's non-sarcastic, just check the link).

by publius House Democrats seem to be holding firm.  From The Hill: House Democrats on Tuesday said they are prepared to negotiate past Presidents Day rather than cave to GOP Senate centrists on the details of the economic stimulus package. Bucking warnings that the delicate Senate compromise passed Tuesday cannot be altered, leading House Democrats … Read more

by hilzoy Sorry to have been out of it for the past couple of days. I was busy, and slightly under the weather, but I also just found politics too depressing to write about.  I mean: you might think that when a genuine crisis occurs — when hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs … Read more

by publius One of the most infuriating aspects of the stimulus debate for me has been the media coverage.  The entire thing has been framed as a trivial high school class president contest — Who's up?  Who's got Big Mo?  The GOP has found its voice!  Meanwhile, the economy is getting really scary — as … Read more