Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Truthiness
Since the administration has already admitted to Bush lying in the State of the Union address last night perhaps tomorrow during the gaggle the reporters should have Scottie going through the speech line by line, marking "Ts" and "Fs" where appropriate.
Pressure Points
Part of running a successful public campaign is understanding where the pressure points are and how to use them. Part of the reason to use your pulpit to make political endorsements is the implicit threat that those endorsements can be withheld or withdrawn. It's a level of power to be applied where possible.
I wasn't too thrilled with NARAL's way-early endorsement of Linc Chafee over his as-yet-to-be-determined-but-pro-choice Democratic opponent but I didn't think it was the biggest deal in the world. It's premised in the false belief that maybe, just maybe, some moderate Republicans will come along and save us. They never do. They haven't bothered to do that in some time.
There's no reason fo NARAL to support any Senator who voted for cloture especially when their opposition is going to be a pro-choice Democrat who could help flip Senate control to the overwhelmingly pro-choice party. They entire purpose of standing behind moderate Republicans is the hope that they come through on hard votes. Chafee's yes-on-cloture-no-on-Alito vote did nothing but provide him with slim cover on his left flank for his upcoming re-election. He doesn't deserve the support of any organization dedicated to women's reproductive rights.
I wasn't too thrilled with NARAL's way-early endorsement of Linc Chafee over his as-yet-to-be-determined-but-pro-choice Democratic opponent but I didn't think it was the biggest deal in the world. It's premised in the false belief that maybe, just maybe, some moderate Republicans will come along and save us. They never do. They haven't bothered to do that in some time.
There's no reason fo NARAL to support any Senator who voted for cloture especially when their opposition is going to be a pro-choice Democrat who could help flip Senate control to the overwhelmingly pro-choice party. They entire purpose of standing behind moderate Republicans is the hope that they come through on hard votes. Chafee's yes-on-cloture-no-on-Alito vote did nothing but provide him with slim cover on his left flank for his upcoming re-election. He doesn't deserve the support of any organization dedicated to women's reproductive rights.
Wanker of the Day
Jeff Greenfield.
Greenfield's been in the business for years. Is there any chance at all that he's unaware that the contents of speeches - in full - are usually distributed beforehand.
GREENFIELD: The other thing you should know -- Candy was the recipient of this. At least one opposition congressman has put out a scathing attack on the speech. When did you get it?
CROWLEY: I got it about, oh, an hour ago or so.
GREENFIELD: In other words, there wasn't a chance in the world that this congressperson had seen the speech, but he condemned it as filled with empty rhetoric and failing to address our problems.
Greenfield's been in the business for years. Is there any chance at all that he's unaware that the contents of speeches - in full - are usually distributed beforehand.
Mendacity
It never ends.
The central theme of the cartoon is that Rumsfeld is an asshole, which he is. They repeatedly deflect criticism of the civilian leadership by implying it's a criticism of the troops.
The central theme of the cartoon is that Rumsfeld is an asshole, which he is. They repeatedly deflect criticism of the civilian leadership by implying it's a criticism of the troops.
Dog Whistle Politics
Last night Amy Sullivan said something interesting. I suppose I've heard version of it before but never quite as succintly. Roughly paraphrasing, she said that Republicans speak to their base in code and then yell loudly to more moderate voters, while Democrats tend to to do the opposite.
I wasn't sure how true much this was or if true what it meant, but I've been mulling it over since. I certainly don't see a lot of yelling loudly to the base by most Democrats, though it's probably true that the few Democrats who do "pander" to the base do so loudly and proudly. It's also the case that many in the media equate anything expressed by Democrats in a passionate and strident way as pandering to the base. Democrats internalize this and think that what moderates/independents is bland moderation, which I don't really think is true.
Anyway, random thoughts, open for discussion.
I wasn't sure how true much this was or if true what it meant, but I've been mulling it over since. I certainly don't see a lot of yelling loudly to the base by most Democrats, though it's probably true that the few Democrats who do "pander" to the base do so loudly and proudly. It's also the case that many in the media equate anything expressed by Democrats in a passionate and strident way as pandering to the base. Democrats internalize this and think that what moderates/independents is bland moderation, which I don't really think is true.
Anyway, random thoughts, open for discussion.
18 1/2 Minute Gap
Oh my.
Of course, this is rather unsurpring given that barely remarked upon action by Abu Gonzales:
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Fitzgerald, who is fighting Libby's request, said in a letter to Libby's lawyers that many e-mails from Cheney's office at the time of the Plame leak in 2003 have been deleted contrary to White House policy.
Of course, this is rather unsurpring given that barely remarked upon action by Abu Gonzales:
Washington -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday that he spoke with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card immediately after learning that the Justice Department had begun a criminal investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. But Gonzales, who was White House counsel at the time, waited 12 hours before officially notifying the rest of the staff of the inquiry.
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Fantasy Land
Drum outlines the basic HSA proposal that the preznit didn't even bother talking about last night. Check out #5. Now that's comedy!
And, contra drum, these don't actually sound like appealing ideas. 4 seconds in any hospital and you've blown through your deductible. The fact that your deductible is deductible doesn't actually save you that much money. That fact that your out of pocket expenses are deductible doesn't actually save you that much money. Making things deductible only saves you whatever your marginal tax rate is. So, what, 15% discount? 20% discount? Big whoop!
I have no idea why the idea that you get to save money tax free so that you can spend it when you get sick is appealing. I have no idea why going to see medical personnel without the bargaining power of your insurance company behind you is appealing.
And, contra drum, these don't actually sound like appealing ideas. 4 seconds in any hospital and you've blown through your deductible. The fact that your deductible is deductible doesn't actually save you that much money. That fact that your out of pocket expenses are deductible doesn't actually save you that much money. Making things deductible only saves you whatever your marginal tax rate is. So, what, 15% discount? 20% discount? Big whoop!
I have no idea why the idea that you get to save money tax free so that you can spend it when you get sick is appealing. I have no idea why going to see medical personnel without the bargaining power of your insurance company behind you is appealing.
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