Day: July 14, 2015

Steve Benen pauses to take stock in the generational and historical scope of this day and this agreement:

At the start of the process, the smart money said these talks would fail. The hurdles were simply too great. Indeed, plenty of very credible observers feared that the attempted diplomacy itself might be a mistake – failure would leave the world in an even more precarious position than before the talks began. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry recognized the challenges and risks, and they took it on anyway. Their success will likely put a stop to Iran’s nuclear-weapons program, but it also marks one of the most dramatic diplomatic accomplishments in generations. I’ve seen some suggestions about this being Obama’s “Nixon goes to China” breakthrough, but the comparison is imprecise – the Obama administration’s task was far more difficult. I’m reminded of this piece from the Washington Post’s Steven Mufson, published in March.

…Obama is not Nixon, and Iran is not China, and the comparison – made in newspaper columns and by some foreign policy experts – is illuminating largely because of important differences it exposes. Nixon’s visit to China was a powerful symbol – a longtime anti-Communist president strolling along the Great Wall and dining with senior party leaders. Unlike Nixon, Obama lacked a political record that would shield him from criticism for reaching out to a longtime foe. China also welcomed Nixon’s visit, whereas Iranian leaders still harbor suspicion of the United States.

[T]he nuclear agreement with Iran is arguably a greater diplomatic accomplishment than anything we’ve seen in modern American history.

As Andrew Sullivan often said... Meep Meep Motherf*ckers. Barack Obama will go down as the greatest President since Franklin Roosevelt.

For years, the 18th Representative District was represented by the Republican Speaker of the House of Representative, Terry Spence. Spence was first elected in 1980, and he was reelected over Democrat Ronald Queen with 62.5% of the vote in 1982. Spence won two other easy reelections in 1984 and 1986, and then ran unopposed in seven of his thirteen reelection campaigns. Even though his district was becoming increasingly Democratic. Until 2006. The district, by then, was 49% registered Democratic, with only 26% registered Republican. So the Democrats finally decided to actually run a credible candidate, and they found Mike Barbieri, a behavioral health professional Mike Barbieri to run against Spence. Barbieri came close, but he lost by 12 points. In 2008, Barbieri defeated Spence 52% to 48%. In a rematch in 2010, Barbieri won 53% to 47%. And he has been unopposed ever since, save for a quixotic primary by Christopher Piecuch. Piecuch is a young man, the owner of Owner of PQ's Landscaping LLC. He garnered 18% of the vote against Barbieri's 82%. In real votes, due to a low turnout primary, the votes were actually 577 to 123. Christopher Piecuch is running again, having already announced on Twitter...

I was trying to think of what the wingnut headlines will be for this historic agreement with Iran. VIENNA (AP) — After 18 days of intense and often fractious negotiation,…