Open Thread
Thursday Open Thread [1.17.13]
![Thursday Open Thread [1.17.13]](http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/15770/large/issuesABCWaPo_1_16_13.jpg?1358348254 "Thursday Open Thread [1.17.13]")
President Obama and Democrats have won the debt ceiling messaging war, according to the new Washington Post ABC News poll.
President Obama heads into his second term with political momentum on his side, and leads congressional Republicans when it comes to dealing with the country’s debt limit according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
More Americans now approve of the way Obama is doing his job than at any point in the past three years, except for a fleeting spike upward after the killing of Osama bin Laden. The number seeing him as a “strong leader” is sharply higher, and a clear majority again sees him as empathetic with the problems they face.
Wednesday Open Thread [1.16.13]
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 58% of Americans say the debt ceiling should be handled separately from the debate on spending cuts, while 36% favor linking the two. That almost feels like a partisan breakdown (Democrats and Independents making up the 58%, and the Economic Terrorist Party making up the remaining 36%).
It looks like the Hastert Rule is dead and buried. For the second time in as many weeks, the House Majority party has allowed a vote on a measure that did not enjoy majority support within the majority party. I think we are seeing the future, and it is a future our very own El Som predicted.
Tuesday Open Thread [1.15.13]
Congratulations to Governor Markell and Lt. Governor Denn on their inauguarations to their second terms.
Check out Marc Ambinder on why President Obama took the Trillion Dollar Coin option off the table. And he’s right, because if you’ve lost Jon Stewart… .
“Around 11:45 on Monday morning, Justice Clarence Thomas broke almost seven years of silence during Supreme Court arguments. But it was not entirely clear what he said.”
It is criminal that he gets paid to be a judge. He is nothing but an automoton.
Monday Open Thread [1.14.13]
“Every President elected between 1976 and 2004 was, by birth or by choice, a Southerner, except Ronald Reagan, who enjoyed a sort of honorary status. (When he began the 1980 campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, scene of the murder, in 1964, of three civil-rights workers, many Southerners heard it as a dog whistle.) A Southern accent, once thought quaint or even backward, became an emblem of American authenticity, a political trump card. It was a truism that no Democrat could win the White House unless he spoke with a drawl. Now the South is becoming isolated again.”
As it should be. This is a spectacularly good thing.
Saturday Open Thread [1.12.13]
![Saturday Open Thread [1.12.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/jacklewsignature-240x180.jpg "Saturday Open Thread [1.12.13]")
The weekend! And it seems like the political news has slowed down some, or is that just me? Anyway, I do hope that you have plans to enjoy this warm weekend.
Friday Open Thread [1.11.13]
Friday! Yay! Just a few hours until Happy Hour. You’ve probably heard of the contretemps between Piers Morgan and Alex Jones based on their interview discussing gun rights and the obligation to gun safety. Apparently Morgan pissed off Jones, who started a White House petition demanding that Morgan get deported. This petition was answered by WH Press Secretary Jay Carney, who used it as an opportunity to explain that the First Amendment means something:
Let’s not let arguments over the Constitution’s Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First. President Obama believes that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. However, the Constitution not only guarantees an individual right to bear arms, but also enshrines the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press — fundamental principles that are essential to our democracy. Americans may disagree on matters of public policy and express those disagreements vigorously, but no one should be punished by the government simply because he or she expressed a view on the Second Amendment — or any other matter of public concern.
Awesome — read your constitution, people!
Thursday Open Thread [1.10.13]
President Obama nominates his Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, to head the Treasury Department and the Republicans are having a fit. Why? Jon Chait has the answer:
Lew’s disqualification, according to numerous Republicans quoted in the story, is that he doesn’t agree with Republicans on public policy issues. The quotes are sort of amazing:
Johanns said it’s also about policy, saying a Lew choice would be “controversial.”
Wednesday Open Thread [1.9.13]
When can you say an idea is gaining momentum? The WSJ had an essay on Saturday calling the War on Drugs a Failure. To be sure, this essay did not appear on the famously wingnutty WSJ Opinion page, but still. I’m intrigued by these articles that point out the high cost of some of our worst social decisions — it is looking like we are trying to give ourselves permission to get smarter and stop throwing so much money down the drain:
Tuesday Open Thread [1.8.13]
Boehner caves already, admitting that the House Republicans’ threat not to raise the nation’s debt ceiling in budget negotiations with President Obama is an empty one.
Monday Open Thread [1.7.13]
The Sunday Yack Shows yesterday were full of discussions of Government Shutdown if the GOP doesn’t get what it wants to raise the debt ceiling. From here, it looks like they want the Democrats to propose a bunch of budget cuts that the GOP can run against in 2014. Have I got that wrong? As you think about the stupidity of this demand, you might want to read this piece from The Atlantic, which asks, Are People Being Unfair to the House Republicans? Steve LaTourette is interviewed and asked to defend the 112th GOP caucus.
Sunday Open Thread [1.6.13]
Who knew there would be snow and ice this AM? The traffic reports were full of issues, so I stayed home instead of going to Philly today. This is what I’ve been reading:
Saturday Open Thread [1.5.13]
If you are still recovering from all of the revelry and working on getting back to it on Monday, maybe you’ll have some time to sit down with a cup of hot something and read some of these longish pieces from recent publications.
Thursday Open Thread
Ezra Klein: “What’s the record of the 112th Congress? Well, it almost shut down the government and almost breached the debt ceiling. It almost went over the fiscal cliff (which it had designed in the first place). It cut a trillion dollars of discretionary spending in the Budget Control Act and scheduled another trillion in spending cuts through an automatic sequester, which everyone agrees is terrible policy. It achieved nothing of note on housing, energy, stimulus, immigration, guns, tax reform, infrastructure, climate change or, really, anything. It’s hard to identify a single significant problem that existed prior to the 112th Congress that was in any way improved by its two years of rule.”
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