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The GOP is Nuts by BooMan, boomantribune.com | December 21, 2012
Can we safely say that the majority of the House Republican caucus has been so indoctrinated into their own propaganda that they no longer realize that it is just bullshit designed to help rich people get their way? Do they all now actually believe that raising taxes reduces revenues? Do they believe that increasing income inequality increases consumer demand and promotes economic growth? Do they actually believe that government spending doesn't create any jobs even when the government is paying people to work? It is extremely dangerous to have a party this detached from reality read more »The Big Fail by David Weigel, slate.com | December 21, 2012
When they met behind closed doors, Boehner told his members that they were done, and could go home for Christmas. Some of the “no” votes didn’t even bother to show up, opting to attend a gumbo-themed send-off for a member who’d lost his re-election. Those who did show up heard their speaker declare defeat and recite a prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." And then it was away for Christmas. The meltdown shocked Washington, but it shouldn’t have. Here are the four reasons why. read more »Will Boehner's Speakership Survive Until Plan C? by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | December 21, 2012
Has there been a House speaker in modern American history with less control over his members than John Boehner? A significant number of Boehner’s members clearly don’t trust his strategic instincts, they don’t feel personally bound to support him, they clearly disagree with his belief that tax rates must rise as part of a deal, and they, along with many other Republicans, must be humiliated after the shenanigans on the House floor this evening. Worse, they know that Boehner knows he’ll need Democratic support to get a budget deal done. That means “a cave,” at least from the perspective of the conservative bloc, is certain. That, too, will make a change of leadership appealing. If a conservative spoiler runs, he or she could very possibly deny Boehner the 218 votes he needs to become speaker. It’s hard to say exactly how likely that is. But it’s likelier than it was, say, this morning. read more »Fiscal Cliff Vote Fails Due to Republican Theology on Taxes by Daniel Gross, thedailybeast.com | December 21, 2012
People in our world too frequently fail to take professionals at their words. The modern Republican Party doesn’t believe in raising taxes. Full stop. In fact, as a rule, its members believes that taxes are too high. When they get in power, Republicans try to cut taxes, regardless of the economic or fiscal situation. George W. Bush may have had a failed presidency in many ways, but you can’t deny his success at reducing taxes on income, capital gains, dividends, and estates. When they are out of power Republicans agitate to cut taxes and oppose tax increases. When they run for office, they promise to cut taxes and oppose tax increases. And when confronted with the prospect of massive tax increases that will result from mere inaction, they have proven, thus far, unwilling to take evasive action if it means raising taxes on anybody. read more »Republicans Crush Boehner’s Plan B by Brian Beutler, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com | December 21, 2012
So what happens now? Boehner has two problems: one with President Obama and another with his conference. And to the extent that he meliorates one he exacerbates the other. He can return to fiscal cliff negotiations with an empowered Obama, and try to eke out the sort of deal he just rejected, then pass it through the House next week, on a bipartisan basis at but a huge risk to his Speakership. That’s the course he told members he’d pursue in the conference meeting Thursday night. And the White House is open to it. It sets up a scenario where Boehner’s old nemesis Nancy Pelosi is suddenly back in the driver’s seat, controlling the votes necessary to pass a deal. But if a last ditch effort fails, or he chooses to rebuff Obama, he’ll set one of two unpredictable chains of events into motion. read more »Boehner’s Failure and the GOP’s Disgrace by Robert b. Reich, robertreich.org | December 21, 2012
Remarkably, John Boehner couldn’t get enough House Republicans to vote in favor of his proposal to keep the Bush tax cuts in place on the first million dollars of everyone’s income and apply the old Clinton rates only to dollars over and above a million. What? Even Grover Norquist blessed Boehner’s proposal, saying it wasn’t really a tax increase. Even Paul Ryan supported it. What does Boehner’s failure tell us about the modern Republican party? That it has become a party of hypocrisy masquerading as principled ideology. The GOP talks endlessly about the importance of reducing the budget deficit. But it isn’t even willing to raise revenues from the richest three-tenths of one percent of Americans to help with the task. We’re talking about 400,000 people, for crying out loud read more »Poll: 53% Say Republican Policies Are Too Extreme by Laura Clawson, dailykos.com | December 20, 2012
The Republican Party has for years gotten away with having extremist positions without being widely branded as an extremist party. But a new CNN/ORC International poll finds that, for the first time, a majority of Americans say Republican policies are too extreme, and the bad news for the GOP doesn't stop there. The poll found 53 percent saying Republican policies are too extreme, as compared with 37 percent who say Democratic policies are too extreme. The group calling Republicans too extreme is up 17 points from two years ago—basically, Republicans took their wins in 2010 and used them to convince the nation they're extremists. And if you think one of two parties working on a "compromise" is too extreme, chances are you think that party should compromise more. read more »Concealed Carry and the Triumph of Fear by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | December 20, 2012
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the NRA and the gun manufacturers, 49 states now issue concealed-carry permits to people for whom merely owning guns is not enough. As we focus our attention on military-style rifles and high-capacity magazines, we need to remember that the most important change in recent years isn't in the equipment, but in the spread of a new kind of mentality among many gun owners, one that seeks to make fear the organizing principle of American society. This has been the essential focus of gun advocates' work in recent years: changing laws so that as many people as possible can carry as many guns as possible into as many places as possible. Since the people who want to do so have driven the discussion and the laws on guns, it's important to understand where they're coming from. And frankly, it's an ugly place. read more »'Right to Work' for Less Laws Have Racist Origins by Kenneth Quinnell, aflcio.org | December 20, 2012
Last week, after Michigan became the latest state to pass "right to work" for less legislation, many began to dig into the history of such laws and discovered that one of the earliest pushes for "right to work" came from an extreme right-wing activist Vance Muse, who was staunchly anti-communist, anti-integration and anti-union. Muse was the leader of the Christian American Association, an organization that fought to pass "right to work" in more than a dozen states in the 1940s. Working with conservative business leaders and segregationist groups, the Christian American Association first pushed for so-called "anti-violence" laws that were designed to clamp down on picketing by unions. After they successfully passed that law in Texas and in other Southern states, they moved on to "right to work" in 1945, passing the first such law in Texas in 1947. In Florida and Arkansas, the Christian American Association used messaging that compared union growth to race-mixing and communism. read more »Rich Make Out Like Bandits in Fiscal-Cliff Negotiations by Daniel Gross, thedailybeast.com | December 19, 2012
If the stock market is a barometer on how the wealthy and powerful are feeling about their prospects, then the 1 percent has come down with a healthy dose of the Christmas spirit. In the past few weeks, the S&P 500 has rallied more than 7 percent. And why not? Staring at the fiscal cliff, which would have raised taxes on income, capital gains, dividends, and estates taxes, the wealthy had reason to fear. The moneyed class placed a huge, one-sided bet on their tribune, Mitt Romney, and on the Republicans. And they lost. Big time. In mid-November you could detect, in the precincts of Greenwich and Palm Beach, in Scottsdale and Buckhead, a grim sort of resignation. The first several weeks of the fiscal-cliff hostage situation gave them more reason to fear. But the developments of this week should cause the posh to take heart. Instead of getting soaked, it looks like the rich will receive a gentle spray of spring water. read more »
The Latest
E. Coli Found in Nestle Cookie Dough Sample, USA Today | June 30, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration said a sample of raw cookie dough collected at a Nestle USA manufacturing plant last week has tested positive for E. coli. Nestle voluntarily recalled all Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products made at the Danville, Va., factory earlier this month after the FDA told Nestle it suspected consumers may have been exposed to E. read more »
Beef Recall from Colorado Company Expanded, money.cnn.com | June 29, 2009
A recall of beef by a Colorado company that was announced last week because of possible E. coli contamination was expanded to include an additional 380,000 pounds of the company's beef products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. read more »
Rail’s Hazardous Cargo Debate Back on Track, MSNBC News | June 29, 2009
The derailment of freight trains carrying ethanol, in Illinois, earlier this month highlights the struggle to prevent such disasters along the 140,000-mile U.S. rail network. The pressure is on to tackle outstanding safety issues with hazardous-cargo shipments expected to soar in coming years. Fears that terrorists might view chemical-laden tankers as easy targets adds to the urgency. read more »
House Panel Examines U.S. Attorneys Oversight, Associated Press | June 25, 2009
A former U.S. attorney and New Jersey's Republican gubernatorial candidate defended an arrangement in which one-time Attorney General John Ashcroft's consulting firm made millions of dollars monitoring a controversial deferred prosecution agreement. read more »
Fed Faces Cover-Up Charges In Bank of America Merger, Financial Times | June 25, 2009
A Republican congressman accused the Federal Reserve of a “cover-up” over the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch takeover, raising the stakes ahead of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s appearance before a House subcommittee investigating the deal. read more »
FEMA Misspent $7 Million on Warehouses, Associated Press | June 25, 2009
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ignored the law and misused millions of dollars to build two warehouses after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to government investigators. Some of the money FEMA misused should have gone toward Katrina victims in Louisiana, according to a Homeland Security Inspector General report. read more »
Republicans Want TARP Money Back, Politico | June 17, 2009
If President Barack Obama thought Republicans would give him a break — or maybe even a little credit — for the Treasury Department’s recent announcement that 10 banks were allowed to repay their federal bailout funds, he can think again. read more »
GOP Comeback Limited by Demographic Changes, The Washington Post | June 15, 2009
There has been much chatter about who now speaks for the Republican Party, and whether the GOP has a message or an agenda to combat President Obama's popularity. read more »
GOA Report Reveals Holes In Food Safety Net, time.com | June 15, 2009
Amid increasing reports of food-borne illness, the GAO is calling out the Food and Drug Administration for failing in its duty to ensure the safety of the nation's food, particularly its fresh fruits and vegetables. Thousands of people have been sickened; the produce industry has lost millions of dollars. read more »
Senators Who Opposed Tobacco Bill Got Top Dollar From Industry, mcclatchydc.com | June 12, 2009
Among the 17 senators who voted against allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco are some of the top recipients of campaign contributions from the tobacco industry, which has donated millions of dollars to lawmakers in the past several campaign cycles. read more »
