The GOP Candidates Debate ~ Where is Snow White?

Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann,
Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Herman
Cain at the New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate at Saint
Anselm College in Manchester.
Photograph © Cheryl Senter for The New York Times.

"Shared Sacrifice" Indeed

If this graphic doesn't speak for itself, you can find some elaboration on the comparison here. (N.B.: Even if, implausibly, each of the millionaire households has four or even five members, the number of poor women and children participating in WIC dwarfs the number of rich folks getting tax breaks.) - Thanks again MSH!

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

This graphic (click for a legible version) is telling. I accompanies this frank Op-Ed from The New York Times. If the Democrats really wanted to relegate the Republicans to more or less total irrelevance they would ignore the right wing deficit hawks and take steps to mitigate economic hardship for the bulk of the population. That, after all, seems to be a universally popular policy stance. Forget doing something because it is the right thing to do. Craft a politically popular policy and sell it. Apparently, the Democrats cannot even pursue their own political interests.

Republicans as Anti-Intellectual Thugs

Historian William Cronon who teaches at the University of Wisconsin, has been vocal in criticizing the anti-union Republican Governor of Wisconsin. He has begun to blog on the issues surrounding Scott Walker's politics. And he published this Op-Ed in The New York Times. (You can find some reader replies to the essay here.)

In reaction (yes, that is the proper verb) Republicans are demanding a search of Cronon's UW email account - trawling for some phrase or comment that putatively betrays unlawful partisanship. There - quite rightly - has been a chorus of criticism against this move - here, here, here, here, here, and here, for instance.

Just an observation: I regularly hear right-wingers complain that college faculty are disengaged and irrelevant. Now, an accomplished scholar enters the public domain and what do said conservatives do? They don't actually reply to his arguments or contest the historical perspective he brings to bear on current politics. Instead they seek to shut him up. There are words for that - hypocrisy, intimidation immediately come to mind. You may think of others.

There is little surprise left in the Republican reaction. In reply to criticisms of the sort I've linked to above the Wisconsin GOP reportedly are seeking to portray themselves as the real victims. It seems necessary to state the obvious: there is a difference between the tactics of the Wisconsin Republicans and those who are criticizing them. The latter are taking to the public sphere and arguing, offering reasons, and replying to their opponents. Those on the Right, as is their wont, instead are looking to silence opponents - in this instance by using legal instruments, thereby criminalizing those with whom they disagree. Given a clear choice in strategy - either engage in open debate, defending one's views on the merits or seeking to question or subvert the credibility of one's opponent - the right nearly always chooses the latter. Conservatives proclaim themselves supporters of the "party of ideas" when in fact they are more likely to be party hacks.
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P.S.: At Slate Jack Shafer once again proves himself tone-deaf to important distinctions. He writes that there is no such thing as a "bad" open records request. What Shafer misses is that there is a considerable difference between a college professor and an elected official or a bureaucrat with decision-making power. The right is busy (think of the truly dim David Horowitz and his ilk) trying to undermine that distinction by portraying faculty - despite lack of systematic evidence - as domineering liberals picking on poor defenseless conservative students. Faculty have words at their disposal whereas politicians like Scott Walker have tools like the State Police. See a difference Jack?

The Poor Oppressed Business Community!

These are the panels of a mural by Judy Taylor that, since 2008, has adorned the building housing the Maine State Department of Labor. According to news reports the Governor - Republican Paul LePage - has ordered the mural removed because it allegedly makes the Department inhospitable to businesses. He rationalizes his order by reference to a set of complaints (anonymous, as far as I can tell) from those suffering the discomfort. The mural was funded by the state Arts Council, the artist was selected via a competitive process, and the panels depict workers, their organizations, and the history of labor conflicts (including - gasp! - strikes!) in the State. This mural hardly is in-your-face agitprop. After all it simply celebrates freedom of association.

The governor also has ordered a set of rooms in the Department that currently are named after labor and political leaders be re-labeled. (As if the business elites would be quaking at the memory of Frances Perkins!) His putative aim is "neutrality" that will make the business community comfortable enough to invest in Maine. And here I thought businessmen were oh so robust and vigorous. How could a simple mural be so intimidating?
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P.S.: All this really raises a question in my mind. If the Republicans don't like welfare recipients because they don't work, and they don't like working people because they might organize to stick up for themselves in the face of authoritarian business structures (and firms are indeed authoritarian), just who is it that Republicans like?

P.S.2: And here is a report from the newspaper of record.

P.S.3: Update on subsequent events here and the resulting court filing here.

On Wisconsin

Here is the report from The New York Times on the conclusion to the union busting campaign in Wisconsin. The upshot is that the Republicans confirmed that this is not at all about budget matters - they stripped all those out of the bill by which they eliminated worker rights to collective bargaining - and just went straight for the throats of public sector employees. No quorum, no opposition, no floor debate, none of that pesky democratic (small d) apparatus. This is the sort of thing that conservatives get all worked up about when it happens elsewhere.

For Democratic and Independent voters the lesson should be crystal clear - Republicans do not play well with others. In fact they prefer not to play with others at all. They have a reactionary agenda aimed at working people and the poor. And they will cram that agenda through regardless of proprieties or even legalities. If you think bi-partisanship is important it is a mistake to ever support any Republican. Instead of voting for civility (and engaging in the fantasy that the GOP cares a whit about that) you should vote to protect yourself and others from the predations of the right.

I am certain that all the Tea Party types who so value liberty and oppose tyranny will be out in the street protesting?

A Good Question

" ... Not content with depriving women of reproductive healthcare, House Republicans want to starve them and their children too. Their budget cuts the Women, Infants and Children Health and Nutrition program by $750 million and Head Start by $1 billion. It cuts $50 million from a block grant that pays for prenatal healthcare for 2.5 million low-income women and healthcare for 31 million children each year. As Charles Blow writes in the New York Times, proposed cuts to medical research strike directly at efforts to roll back the US infant mortality rate, now the highest among advanced economies. The Republicans seem bent on proving the truth of the bitter joke that “prolifers” care about children only before they are born. As for caring about women? Even as fetal vessels, the ladies just don’t count. After all, one in five women has visited a Planned Parenthood clinic—often for routine gynecological care. Is the GOP going to set up a replacement network of clinics to provide Pap smears and breast exams and STD testing and such? Or is Jesus now the national gynecologist? What on earth is the matter with these people?" (Katha Pollitt)

Anybody got a sensible answer?

Annals of Propaganda: Congressional Facebook

Karen Bass, California Democrat. A onetime physician assistant and
a Los Angeles native, Bass, 57, was the first African-American woman
to lead a state assembly in the United States, taking the helm of
California’s in 2008. Photograph © Christopher Leaman.

Billy Long, Missouri Republican. A longtime auctioneer and real-estate
agent in southwestern Missouri, Long, 55, has been voted the best auctioneer
in the Ozarks for seven years straight. Photograph © Christopher Leaman.

I stumbled across this story at The Washingtonian - mostly a set of portraits of some of the freshman class in the U.S.House of Representatives. Here, however, is how the folk at The Washingtonian introduce the photographs:

"The new class of the 112th Congress is the largest in years. Voter unhappiness in November swept in nearly 100 newcomers representing 39 states. As they begin work in January, their varied backgrounds and heritages underscore why the House of Representatives is known as the People’s House (stress supplied - JJ)."

Well, this seems partly true. There are some women here. And there are some non-Caucasians as well. And I concede that this is only a sample of the class. But if you look a bit closer you'll notice that the "varied backgrounds and heritages" have a distinctly partisan cast. Nearly all the Republicans are middle aged white guys whose incomes, I'd wager, place them in the top 5% or so of the distribution. Where are all those "varied" reps from the red districts? The "People's House" my keester! The class seems to be long on Billy and way too short on Bass. No surprise though, when the Republicans sweep into town.

Mitch McConnell

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, November 2010.
Photograph © Stephen Crowley/New York Times.

And this fellow, the one who looks regularly like the buffoonish class clown among a group of eighth grade boys, has threatened to insure that Obama is a one term President. Now there is a policy agenda for you! The only thing more disappointing than the capitulations of the Democrats is the vacuity and venality of the Republicans. That may seem like an extreme characterization. But the party has offered not a single plausible economic policy and (to take bu a single for instance) voted uniformly against extending unemployment benefits for those workers who lost jobs as a result of the Republican inspired depression.

Zombie Politics

Fear the undead. The rotting remains of our 31st president stalk the land ~ the Republicans will try hard to implement his economic policies, with the predictable consequence of deepening economic crisis. Here he is, Herbert Hoover, offering astute counsel to John Boehner and his cronies. What are people thinking?

Political Strategy for the Democrats - Dump the Conservatives

There is a smart Op-Ed in today's New York Times, written by Ari Berman who regularly writes for The Nation. In his essay Berman argues that the Democrats have subverted themselves by recruiting conservatives into their party. I could not agree more. The news headlines these days are about how the Democrats are about to 'lose' one or both houses of Congress. The journalists seem to not notice that over the past two years the Democrats have hardly "controlled" either house. Sure, the Republicans have been obstructionist. The real problem though, has been legislators who, while nominally "Democrats," actually have no stake in or commitment to liberal, let alone progressive politics. The Democrats cannot lose control of either house in the upcoming elections because they never had it in the first place. The fiasco reflects the popular Democratic strategy of running the party to the middle. As the Republicans increasingly have run further and further to the right, the 'occupy the middle' strategy has simply shifted the entire political spectrum rightward. This is the legacy of Clinton and Obama and their minions. Nicely done.
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P.S.: And here is Berman at The Nation, forwarding an AP report that indicates the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is taking precisely the wrong tack - they are funding the right wing Democratic candidates who opposed, while cutting off those who have voted for Obama's tepidly centrist agenda.

Blame the Republicans - You Bet, and Rightly So!

I'm looking at this report from The Pew Center for the People and the Press documenting the decline in public confidence in institutions.

Democrats mistrust government all the time, Republicans are extremely hostile to government when they are not in control - extreme right-wing partisanship accounts for the bulk of the collapse in "confidence in government." The Red-Staters are worried that Democrats might operate in ways that are less to the advantage of conservatives. Recall, though, that the Republicans are good at spending other people's money, mostly on themselves [1] [2]. Recall too that the extremist trends among Republicans have driven much of the political polarization in the country [3]. So, if you don't like the mess that is American politics blame the Republicans who are pushing their extremist views in ways that undermine our fiscal and political well-being.

Drill Baby, Drill? (2)

This is a follow up on my post from a couple days back. Point #1: I lifted the map above from The New York Times it nicely illustrates the calamity being created by a single well. Point #2: when you are told that expanding off-shore drilling will create 'real jobs right here in America' you should reply: 'Yeah, What Kind of Jobs you Talkn' About?' ... You can find a gesture toward an answer here. The analogy to miners in Appalachia is telling - no options, incredibly dangerous work, and parents who really, really don't want their kids to follow in their footsteps.
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P.S.: And before you think 'there goes Jim, that wacky pinko, being alarmist about the environment again,' consider the damage that this 100 mile long slick will do to the economy of the area, which relies on tourism and fishing.

Drill Baby, Drill?

Fire boats try to put out the Deepwater Horizon before it sank.
Photograph © KPA/Zuma/Rex Features.

Does anyone remember the Republicans chanting "Drill Baby, Drill" during the 2008 presidential election campaign? We dodged the McCain/Palin bullet and got a fistful of "hope" instead. Does anyone recall that Obama insists on expanded offshore drilling as a key component of what passes for his energy policy? "Change" anyone? This rig has collapsed into the sea. A dozen or so workers died, many others were injured. The industry is dirty and dangerous and does nothing what-so-ever to wean the U.S. off of fossil fuels. At the moment the well head is pushing in excess of 40,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. I'd say that Obama's policy is a joke, but that would make light of what is an ongoing calamity.