“There must be some way out of here”, said the Joker to the Thief.
“The Rot of Citizens United is Universal. Get used to it.” – Charles P. Pierce (Esquire)
Right now, the money is concentrated on races with national political import. Both Presidential candidates are on track to raise and spend a billion dollars this election cycle. If you’re an arch-conservative billionaire looking to majorly influence politics in the United States, you’re going to take your ten million dollars and plow it into the judiciary. You’re gonna plow it into Congress. You’re gonna plow it everywhere other than the Presidency, because ten million dollars won’t buy you a President, but it will buy you some Congresspeople, maybe a Senator, and a handful of judges.
The gates have been opened. The floodwaters are coming.
“GOP Intransigence: Wise or Foolish?” – Conor Friedersdorf (The Atlantic)
Wise in the short term, foolish in the long term.
It’s wise because it was the GOP’s best bet to blunt Obama’s Democratic super-majorities and retake one or both houses of Congress, giving them a glimmer of hope to retake the White House in 2012.
It’s foolish because it’s placed the GOP on the wrong side of every issue that will define national politics for the next ten to twenty years, and created a base that sees compromise, the fundamental building block of democratic government, as a heresy.
“House GOP plans to cut the budget of the White House budget cutters” – Brian Beutler (TPM)
You might ask yourself, “Why are Congressional Republicans trying to cut the OMB?”. Well Virginia, the answer is simple: the OMB has asked Congressional Republicans to honor the deal they made last year.
“Why public worker pensions could become a 2012 flashpoint” – Brian Beutler (TPM)
So, rather than say “Hey, those guys have pensions! We want pensions too!”, we’re going to say “Hey, those guys have pensions! GET ‘EM!”?
“Florida defends voter purge, accuses DOJ of enabling voter fraud” – Ryan J. Reilly (TPM)
I would be fine with Florida’s efforts, if they weren’t A) based on tremendously inaccurate data, B) attempting to solve a virtually non-existent problem at great taxpayer expense, and C) targeted almost exclusively at groups with as blacks and non-Cuban Hispanics that overwhelmingly vote Democratic.
“House Democrats Propose Increasing Minimum wage to $10” – Pat Garofalo (ThinkProgress)
You want to see a real stimulus package in action? This is exactly how you do it.
“Mario Draghi: The banker holding Europe hostage” – Ezra Klein (Wonkbook)
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
“Economist Paul Krugman is a hard-core science fiction fan” – Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (Wired)
A fascinating look at one of the most polarizing figures in economics, as viewed through the lens of science fiction.
