In which one of today’s articles is written by Ed Balls.
“Marco Rubio on Obama DREAM Job: ‘It Just Poisons the Well’ — The Politics Blog Q&A on Immigration Pushback, Romney’s Choice, Voting Beyond Consensus, and More” – Charles P. Pierce (Esquire)
An excellent read, even more apropos now that Rubio is out of the running for Veep.
“Austerity has failed in Europe – we must all now go for growth” – Ed Balls (London Evening Standard)
Told you.
“To end this impasse, let us tap Europe’s vast wealth” – Polly Toynbee (The Guardian)
Seriously, I love English names.
“What part of ‘Austerity isn’t working’ don’t people get?” – Jared Bernstein (Rolling Stone)
Sometimes, you need a scalpel. Other times, a sledgehammer. Because it bears repeating:
“Approaching the Fiscal Cliff: A Liberal’s Case for Optimism” – Peter Orszag (The Atlantic)
Mr. Orszag, in his analysis of the upcoming fiscal apocalypse, makes a fundamental mistake in assuming the GOP is comprised of reasonable people interested in governing responsibly. Raising the debt ceiling is not a guarantee, by any means. The GOP is likely to take the Senate or at the very least erode the Democratic majority down to almost nothing, and is likely to keep the House as well. Assuming President Obama wins a second term (which right now Five Thirty Eight has pegged at around a 60% chance of happening), he could come back in early 2013 to Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Boehner (or even worse, Speaker Cantor).
Right now, the Bush Tax Cuts, the Sequestration cuts, and the Debt Ceiling are all set to expire, be implemented, and voted on at the same time. The Democrats are holding the Bush Tax Cuts hostage, the GOP is holding the Debt Ceiling hostage, and both sides are holding the Sequestration cuts hostage. The only question is, who shoots first?
“Obama’s Immigration Shift Provokes GOP Hostility – To Romney’s Peril” – Sahil Kapur (TPM)
Is there any coincidence that “Barack” is an anagram for “Ackbar”? IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE NOT TO SPECULATE.
“The Absurd Things George Zimmerman And His Wife Did To Try To Keep Their Money Secret” – Nick R. Martin (TPM)
Christ, this is gonna be ugly. These people are grade-A morons.
“Chris Hayes & Co. Talk GOP Obstructionism in a Second Obama Term” – Julian Brookes (Rolling Stone)
My new favorite phrase: “the politics of winning”.
“Unpopular Mandate” – Ezra Klein (The New Yorker)
I’m gonna make this easy. The GOP opposes the individual mandate because A) it has been embraced by the Democratic party, and B) the President is blackity black black black. I mean, it’s their fucking idea. The Heritage Foundation came up with the idea in 1989. It was the core of every Republican healthcare proposal for twenty years. Before Barack Obama, it had bipartisan support. But, as soon as Obama gets elected, starts to institute health care reform, and bases it around the Individual Mandate, it’s suddenly unconstitutional and socialist and communist and fascist and every other word in the book. You can’t tell me that the GOP’s suddenly “principled” opposition to their own idea has absolutely nothing to do with denying the President a major political victory, in the hopes of making the first black President of the United States a single-termer.
