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10 Dec 2010 15:26

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Politics: Robert Gates: “Don’t ask” repeal will be worse if it’s court-ordered

  • My greatest worry will be that we are at the mercy of the courts and all of the lack of predictability that that entails.
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates • Emphasizing that it’s better for Congress to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and allow an orderly end to the policy than for the court system to simply force an end to the policy. Yesterday’s vote which failed 57-40, fell apart without any GOP support; Gates was “disappointed in the Senate vote, but not surprised.” Along with just about everyone else looking for a repeal, buddy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Dec 2010 10:51

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Politics: Charles Krauthammer: Obama just pulled wool over both parties’ eyes

  • Know how we know the Obama compromise is smarter than it looks? Because you have guys like Charles Krauthammer basically calling him a genius. Krauthammer, a pretty solid conservative guy, suggests that Obama is smarter than his own party, because the tax-cut plan he just put in place is really a massive stimulus in everything but name; yet he’s also smarter than the GOP, because he got them to agree to a massive stimulus by making them think it was a tax cut. “Obama is no fool,” Krauthammer writes. “While getting Republicans to boost his own reelection chances, he gets them to make a mockery of their newfound, second-chance, post-Bush, Tea-Party, this-time-we’re-serious persona of debt-averse fiscal responsibility.” And that, friends, is a pretty entertaining take on the whole mess. But will it go through? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Dec 2010 09:18

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Politics: Obama, in fact, playing his long-term tax change card

  • Look, the fact of the matter is that, for a decade now we have had the tendency to think that we can keep on having all the services we want and … can keep cutting taxes as much as we want and that somehow things are going to magically balance out.
  • Barack Obama • Discussing the country’s current tax situation – basically a suggestion that we’ve been living like we can have our cake and eat it too. Obama, on the other hand, doesn’t think that’s true; he suggests his compromise would play out as “a central battle as part of a larger discussion about how do we reform our tax code so that it’s fair” and a way to deal with the deficit in “an intelligent way.” Obama is playing for long-term gain, and if he’s successful, he’ll make a stronger long-term mark. Of course, that still means it needs to pass, which Obama’s confident will eventually happen (even if it didn’t yesterday). source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 21:43

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Politics, U.S.: The best one-sentence description of how DADT repeal failed

  • A procedural failsafe that’s theoretically meant to protect the rights of minorities was just used to restrict the rights of minorities.
  • Ezra Klein • Regarding Democrats’ failure to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell today in the Senate. Klein is, of course, referring to the filibuster, which allows 41/100 Senators to block any legislation from passing. Note: According to Klein, this quote (or the spirit of it) originated from his ace intern, Dylan Matthews.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 21:15

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Politics: Forced to make decisions, Congress instead sits on its hands

  • » So, look here: The Democrats don’t want to give an inch. The GOP doesn’t want to give a centimeter. The president just gave a couple of inches, and the Democrats didn’t like it. So now, we have two bills which could’ve passed today die on the vine in the Senate. Because both sides don’t want to find any common ground. Is it really that hard to compromise? Yes, yes it is.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Dec 2010 23:15

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Politics: Glenn Beck: Surprisingly good at explaining Julian Assange sex case

  • Glenn Beck has made a lot of wacko clips in his day, but this may be one of his most entertaining ever. In it, our boy explains in great detail what Julian Assange did to encourage his arrest on sex charges in Sweden. Beck’s main point in this clip? While he doesn’t like what Assange represents, something smells kinda funny to him. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Dec 2010 21:00

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Politics: One well-known dude in Obama’s compromise corner: John Kerry

  • Obama can count on one influential Democrat in his corner. Problem is, it’s John Kerry, who’s as exciting as vat of ketchup. OK, now that we’ve gotten the veiled insult at his wife out of his way, let’s see what he has to say about the compromise: “The truth is, the President got a lot of things here we’ve been fighting for that we haven’t yet been able to win any other way.” It’s one of a number of messages that the White House has been distributing tonight. We have to emphasize, though, that we’re with Andrew Sullivan on this one: It’s frustrating to see Obama compromise, but he’s playing a pretty good game of handball with the GOP in making this compromise. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

07 Dec 2010 10:52

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Politics: Obama’s tax compromise: $600 billion to $800 billion total cost

  • So, fun fact on the Obama compromise: A lot of the stuff here could be considered short-term stimulus. While the Bush tax cut extension itself wouldn’t be, because it’s just extending a current tax rate, about half of the things in it (Social Security and business tax breaks, unemployment benefits, individual tax credits) could be. The overall result, which includes the Bush Tax Cuts would lead to a $600 billion to $800 billion total cost for the government. But hey, lower taxes for everybody! (And the Social Security tax break is, let’s face it, a not-terrible idea. As long as people notice that less money is getting taken out of their paychecks. Which they didn’t before.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 23:21

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Politics: Reddit’s grassroots political efforts ready for their close-up

  • You know what’s cool? When friggin’ Reddit fights for what it believes in. We posted about this phenomenon a month ago when it was tentatively called RPAC, and from there, they’ve kept it up. The Open Source Democracy Foundation (a 501(c)(4), not a PAC) is ready for its close-up, and their first order of business is net neutrality. “Regardless of peoples’ ideologies and political persuasions,” says the organization’s founder, Eddie Geller, “we find it hard to believe anyone wants the Internet to be less free or less open.” With the the SavetheInternet.com Coalition, they’re working on a letter-writing campaign to the FCC. But lest you think they’ve outgrown their roots, they’re still on Reddit, collectively plotting their next steps. Keep an eye on these guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 21:30

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Politics, U.S.: Ezra Klein: Tax cut deal a net positive, but not by much

  • This is not the government making a major new commitment to the recovery. It’s the government not getting in the way, and maybe doing a bit to help, the horribly slow recovery that’s happening anyway.
  • Policy wonk Ezra Klein • Regarding the tax cut deal struck today by The White House and the GOP. Klein likes the thirteen-month extension of unemployment benefits; on the bad side, he cites the effect the deal will have on the deficit. “It’s a lot better than I would’ve told you the White House was going to get if you’d asked me a week ago,” he admits, but still not quite enough to substantially stimulate the economy.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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