Friday Open Thread [4.5.13]

I said on Wednesday at the PDD Meeting that Gun Control on the Federal level so long as the Republicans are in control of the House, and hell, so long as Democrats are cowardly preserving the filibuster privileges of the Senate Republicans. Indeed, it is a mystery to me why some Democrats and everyone in the media thought somehow that Republicans would abandon the NRA and pass even the most innocuous gun control measure. On state level, things look better, in Connecticut and Colorado and Maryland, and also here in Delaware, where at least one bill, the Universal Background Check bill, has a good chance of passing if we lobby our legislators so that the hear sane reasonable voices in addition to the insane pro-gun arguments. But whether legislation is successful on the state or national level, the issue is back as a cultural wedge issue, and this time the case can be made, based on the poll numbers I showed you in the Polling Report today, that it benefits Democrats.

Thursday Open Thread [4.4.13]

Here are two stories with somewhat of a similar theme to them, and that is, "if people know the truth, they wouldn't like us," with us being the Republican Party and organized religion. First, the good old GOP. Gary Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate and religious right stalwart, told some truth about the varied and now disperate factions of the GOP:
"If we gave our voters an accurate portrayal of our ideas, that we want to cut the rate of growth on Social Security, give tax cuts to billionaires and then the values issues, the values issues would be more popular than the economic agenda of the current Republican Party.”
It is always refreshing when a Republican tells the truth, if only because it is so rare.

Friday Open Thread [3.29.13]

Does ... any of the idiot conservatives who repeat this nonsense ad infinitum [that families have to balance their budgets] have any clue how people manage their budgets? They use credit cards, which is debt. They get mortgages, which is debt. They get student loans, which is debt. They get car loans, which is debt. And let's not get started on businesses and their leveraged debts. So if Republicans want Washington to act like American families do, then we're already there!
And now lets put numbers to this story to show you how ridiculous this GOP talking point is:
U.S. household consumer debt profile: Average credit card debt: $15,266 Average mortgage debt: $149,667 Average student loan debt: $32,559 vs Income: $44,389 So, if we balanced the budget the same way households do, the federal debt to income ratio would be: 78/22 = 3.5/1 But it's currently approximately 1.7/1 So, if the Republicans actually meant what they said, we should be on a debt spending spree like never seen before in the history of the nation.

Thursday Open Thread [3.28.13]

The Week: "Most members of the Republican Party hope that the Supreme Court will not use the two gay-marriage cases it heard this week to issue a broad ruling affirming the constitutional right of gays and lesbians to marry. However, top officials in the GOP are reportedly praying for precisely that outcome, calculating that it would be the most effective way to remove gay marriage as a political liability." Well, if these top officials are hoping for that outcome (which I don't think will happen), then they are foolish and not very smart politicos. For if that does happen, guess what the social conservative base of the Republican Party does? They flip out. More so than usual. They will demand from the GOP complete and total obedience to their outrage. They will want the Congressional Republicans to immediately introduce a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage and attach it as an amendment to everything that moves in the House and Senate. Opposition to gay marriage will become the most important issue on the GOP voter's mind. Now, the GOP will then be faced with two choices: 1) tell these bigoted voters to go f*ck themselves because the Supreme Court has ruled and that is the end of that; or 2) say yes Master yes Master like they have done so many times before. Which do you think the oh-so-courageous GOP does?

Wednesday Open Thread [3.27.13]

Ross Douthat imagines the state of our politics today if the Iraq War never happened:
[T]ake away Iraq’s imprint on our politics, and America might well have still elected a Democrat to replace George W. Bush. But because of Iraq, the Democratic majority that did come to power in 2006 and 2008 has been more aggressive on public policy, less defensive in the culture war, and more proficient in the art of base mobilization than a hypothetical Clinton Restoration would have been – and their Republican opposition has been more ideologically bunkered-down, less nimble and less inclined to woo the center, than the G.O.P. might have been absent the trauma of Iraq.
Without Iraq, there is no Obama presidency. Obama would not have been able to distinquish himself from Clinton in the primaries and would have lost to her. Perhaps even more importantly, there would have been no Howard Dean. Thus, while Hillary would have gone on to beat John McCain due to the 2008 economic collapse, the Democratic Party would be a moderate mess, as the progressive take over of the party in 2005 would not have happened, and the 2006 retaking of Congress probably does not happen (although it would have in 2008).

Tuesday Open Thread [3.26.13]

It will be a historic day at the Supreme Court over the next two days as the Court hears arguments in two cases affecting marriage equality in this country. Today, the Court will consider whether California's ban on same-sex marriage, a law known as Prop 8 or Prop Hate, which was passed by referendum in 2008, is unconstitutional. Tomorrow, the Court will consider whether the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

Thursday Open Thread [3.21.13]

So Sen. Saxby Chambliss has to become gay apparently before he'll support marriage equality. Does he also have to become black to support equal rights for African Americans? Does he need to get a sex change before he can respect women?

Wednesday Open Thread [3.20.13]

I wrote about his several weeks ago, about but how our "right to vote" is illusionary as it is not enshrined in the Constitution as a right and that is why racist Republicans can get away with passing laws that burden the exercise of the privilege to vote. Well, now Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellows Jonathan Soros and Mark Schmitt agree with me and argue that we need a Right to Vote Amendment to the Constitution to focus the activist movement and help ensure that you can participate in our political system even if you don't have an "Inc." after your name.