Legislative Priorities

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We know who the players are, but what are the plays? What legislation do we want to see moved this term? Can Andria L. Bennett keep a family tradition alive by adding an extra $50.00 fines to crimes perpetrated against old people and veterans?

Tuesday Open Thread [11.20.12]

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Another late Open Thread! There is too much Thanksgiving preparation going on here. Buzzfeed reports that Obama campaign manager Jim Messina is expecting the Obama political organization will stay alive this round, rather than be put into mothballs as he did the first term. And that organization's first job might be to organize around the fiscal cliff discussions:
Messina said the campaign will not immediately turn over the operation to the Democratic National Committee, but he also suggested Obama will not repeat what is widely seen as a mistake of his first term: switching off his grassroots operation at the behest of Congressional Democrats, who bridled at its organizing in their districts. This time, Messina suggested that the campaign's vaunted "Dashboard" social media system would be helpful during the fiscal cliff, allowing Obama supporters to call members of Congress. "People just spent five years winning two presidential elections together, now they’re not just walking away," he said.
This is good news.

So. Who Will Be the Next Speaker of the House?

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Today's bare-bones News-Journal story reports that both Pete Schwartzkopf and Helene Keeley are seeking the position. The News-Journal does not report that each candidate has a slate. If my sources are correct, and it's not certain that they are, each slate has at least one major head-scratcher on it. Here they are: Speaker: Pete Schwartzkopf Majority Leader: Valerie Longhurst (??!!) Majority Whip: Quin Johnson vs. Speaker: Helene Keeley Majority Leader: Bryon Short Majority Whip: John Viola (??!!) I don't know who will win, but I believe that this contest represents the first clear emergence of different factions within the Caucus.

The Republican Worldview

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The basic Romney/Limbaugh/Sher Valenzuela, worldview involves using government to give things to their wealthy friends who "deserve" free money and access to no bid contracts. That's why they naturally think that President Obama's job is to give money to his "friends." Obama's friends, of course, are low-life moochers who don't "deserve" government largess. "Gifts" to rich people are not gifts, but the natural order of things. Atrios made this observation, and it really makes sense.