Tuesday Open Thread [10.22.13]

Tuesday Open Thread [10.22.13]

5 Comments
John Judis at the New Republic says the Tea Party has been with us a long time:
Since the late 1960s, America has seen the growth of what the late Donald Warren in a 1976 book The Radical Center called “middle American radicalism.” It’s anti-establishment, anti-Washington, anti-big business and anti-labor; it’s pro-free market. It’s also prone to scapegoating immigrants and minorities. It’s a species of right-wing populism. It ebbed during the Reagan years, but began to emerge again under the patrician George H.W. Bush and found expression in support for Ross Perot and for Pat Buchanan with his “peasants with pitchforks.” And it undergirded the Republican takeovers of Congress in 1994. It ebbed during George W. Bush’s war on terror, but has re-emerged with a vengeance in the wake of the Great Recession, Obama’s election and expansion of government, and continuing economic stagnation.
This monster, like a zombie virus, is eating the Republican Party alive and tearing the diverse, and often conflicting coalitions therein apart.
How Do We Get Outta Here? Ideas From Dylan Ratigan

How Do We Get Outta Here? Ideas From Dylan Ratigan

4 Comments
Like many of you and a few visionaries around the country, I'm sure trying to figure out how we change the interlocked political and economic systems which brought us to this place none of us like.  You know, Gridlock and Crisis City, exemplified by last weeks nightmare.  These systems served us reasonably well early on in our nation, but clearly, in their present forms, they've outlived their usefulness. Remember Dylan Ratigan?  He delivered  epic rants on the Bush bailout and the too big to fail fiasco on MSNBC and then abruptly left.  He reemerged with a hydroponic farm venture in California.  Quite a change from a really good career in finance journalism, including with Bloomberg, NBC and MSNBC.  I loved his show and hated to see him go. I regard him as one of the visionaries I want to listen to in search of solutions to the current wheel spinning we are doing.   I don't know if I really agree with him, or not.  I'm still trying to wrap my brain around some of his concepts.  I am particularly uncomfortable with his critique of the role our two main political parties play in getting us where we are right now.  He thinks parties ought to go away, replaced by a sort of direct democracy model.  While often critical of my Democrats, I still cling to the belief we offer the best way out of this bad dream. But let me summarize some of his thinking for your perusal. If you want to go deeper, go to his web site.  Just Google his name. He sees an American Renaissance bubbling up from the grassroots. 
Ladies and Gentlemen, my opponent is a Republican.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my opponent is a Republican.

11 Comments
The world has changed since the shut down, and Democrats now have pickup opportunities in 49 of 61 districts surveyed by PPP. "But," people will say, "The election is a year out. People will forget?" To which I reply, "Awesome!" and "No they won't forget." A year out is perfect. This news cannot but help with Democratic recruitment and fundraising. And does anybody really think that the Republicans are about to suddenly go all sane and reasonable in the next 12 months? I don't.
The 62 Project: #’s 28 & 34

The 62 Project: #’s 28 & 34

6 Comments
Proof that people can change. Or at least evolve. Today's legislators both moved up the list notably this year, and the change appears to be permanent. Unless, of course, it's not. I think both liberated themselves from barriers of their own making, and it's refreshing to see.
Christine O’Donnell Is Still Grifting — Halloween Edition

Christine O’Donnell Is Still Grifting — Halloween Edition

25 Comments
According to CNN, O'Donnell is working on shaking down her supporters for MORE money for her legal bills related the the FCC investigation into the misuse of her campaign funds. Apparently she is in settlement talks and it looks like she is looking for money to keep fighting the FCC over charges of misuse of campaign funds -- misuses she admitted she did.
"I'm going to be straight forward and candid in this email - probably more candid and vulnerable than my political advisers would like!" O'Donnell said in a message to the supporters of her political action committee ChristinePAC. "I am facing a major decision and you play a large part in this decision." [...]
Two more 2nd amendment martyrs in Nevada

Two more 2nd amendment martyrs in Nevada

8 Comments
This is okay because, otherwise tyranny.
Two people are dead and two children critically wounded after gunfire erupted Monday at a Nevada middle school, Sparks police said. The Reno Gazette-Journal, citing Sparks City Manager Shawn Carey, said the shooter was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. "We believe the suspect has been neutralized," the Sparks Police Department said on its website, without further details. Angela Rambo, spokeswoman for Renown Regional Hospital, said the hospital had received two male patients, both minors, and both were in critical condition. Reno deputy chief Tom Robinson said there were 150 to 200 personnel that secured the school and the surrounding area. Robinson, addressing parents during a press conference, said "I can tell them to rest assured. The schools are safe. The rest of the city is safe."
Perspective on the Obamacare Rollout

Perspective on the Obamacare Rollout

15 Comments
Now that the GOP hostage-taking is done, the media is ready to pay attention to the Obamacare rollout. It is been frought with problems -- access to the website, errors on the website, transfers of data to the insurance companies and it just sounds like the failure of the century. Certainly something like this *should* roll out better, but I can't think of a tech rollout that I've seen that has been glitchless. If you've used Faceboook long enough, you know that every time they change their interface, the place is glitch-city until they fix it. Facebook is not the same as Obamacare, of course, but Obamacare isn't the only health care initiative that had a great many issues when it rolled out. So how about a reminder?