Elizabeth Drew on Obama and the debt limit: "What Were They Thinking?"

Pete Souza/White House---President Barack Obama at a meeting with his advisers in the Oval Office, June 8, 2011

Elizabeth Drew (NY Review of Books):

Someday people will look back and wonder, what were they thinking? Why, in the midst of a stalled recovery, with the economy fragile and job creation slowing to a trickle, did the nation’s leaders decide that the thing to do—in order to raise the debt limit, normally a routine matter—was to spend less money, making job creation all the more difficult? Many experts on the economy believe that the President has it backward: that focusing on growth and jobs is more urgent in the near term than cutting the deficit, even if such expenditures require borrowing. But that would go against Obama’s new self-portrait as a fiscally responsible centrist.

Lawrence Summers, Obama’s recently resigned chief economic adviser, said on The Charlie Rose Show in July that he found it “dispiriting” that “all of the energy is on the projected deficits…when the problem right now is that the economy is in danger of stagnating from lack of demand.” MORE...

H/t to Ari Melber and Booman. Gaius Publius (AMERICAblog) also comments on this and tosses Paul Krugman into the conversation.

"Seattle's Tim Keck forever remains The Stranger"

MCGINN PORTRAIT BY GARRETT MORLAN from the story "The Case for Mike McGinn: Part 1 (The Stranger)."

Jonathan Martin (Seattle Times):

The Stranger became a de facto arm of the McGinn campaign. It ran McGinn's hagiographic portrait on its cover, banner ads on its website and a four-part, 6,000-word polemic in print. In typical fashion, it called McGinn's opponent an idiot — complete with preceding four-letter-word adjective. Keck himself gave a rare political donation.

And it all worked. MORE...

Lee on MMJ in WA: "Never Get out of This Maze"

Lee (horsesass.org):

The state’s new medical marijuana law took effect Friday. But between the governor’s reckless partial veto, the unresolved state-federal conflict, and a state Attorney General who hides under his desk every time he hears the word ‘marijuana’, no one seems to have any idea exactly what the law does or doesn’t allow. MORE...

Photos of the Day (with stories)

"Debt crisis: Deal sought to head off stock plunge" (AP):

Precariously short of time, congressional leaders struggled in urgent, weekend-long talks to avert an unprecedented government default, desperate to show enough progress to head off a plunge in stock prices when Asian markets open ahead of the U.S. workweek. MORE...

"It’s Wedding Day in New York!"(AMERICAblog):

It's a big day in the Empire State. At the stroke of midnight, marriages between same-sex couples became legal in New York. And, shortly thereafter, couples began getting married. MORE...

Robert Reich: "Why Medicare Is the Solution — Not the Problem"

Robert Reich:

Not only is Social Security on the chopping block in order to respond to Republican extortion. So is Medicare.

But Medicare isn’t the nation’s budgetary problems. It’s the solution. The real problem is the soaring costs of health care that lie beneath Medicare. They’re costs all of us are bearing in the form of soaring premiums, co-payments, and deductibles.

Medicare offers a means of reducing these costs — if Washington would let it.

Let me explain. MORE...

"Obama Takes On GOP; Angrily Defends ‘Working Stiffs’ Who Struggle Everyday" (with video)

MEDIAite with video (05:18) from CNN:

President Obama took to the White House briefing room podium Friday afternoon to take questions regarding the earlier collapse of the debt crisis negotiations between the administration and the GOP. A rather pedestrian press briefing suddenly turned spirited with last question posed by Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, who asked about market reaction on Monday. Mr. Obama seemed passionate, if not…well, pissed, with Speaker Boehner and other GOP leadership for the stalled talks. MORE...

Booman on the Debt Crisis "The Kabuki Dance"

Booman:

It's not a true debt crisis. It's a crisis in the Republican caucus. This whole dance has been for their benefit. MORE...

Joan Walsh on compromise, Obama, the debt limit and Bernie Sanders

Joan Walsh:

The president sincerely believes that the intense polarization of American politics isn't merely a symptom of our problems but a problem in itself – and thus compromise is not just a means to an end but an end in itself, to try to create a safe harbor for people to reach some new common ground. I actually have some sympathy with that point of view. But having now watched two smart Democratic presidents devote themselves to compromise with Republicans, only to be savaged with increasing intensity, I've lost faith that compromise itself holds some healing magic. Maybe it just emboldens bullies.

All of that said, I don't agree with Sen. Bernie Sanders that Obama's compromising with the GOP means he should face a primary challenge. I've said it over and over: The left invests way too much energy and drama in presidential politics. If you want a better Democratic president, elect better Democrats to Congress and state legislatures. A primary next year would be an exercise in self-destruction. But I can say that without wanting to destroy Sanders. I hope Obama's staunchest supporters can do the same. MORE...

"What's Happened to Obama?"

Bob Burnett:

The core of our dissatisfaction may stem from what initially attracted us -- the notion of Obama being the first black president of the United States. Those of us who value the civil rights movement saw Obama's election as the culmination of an epic struggle featuring American heroes like Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther King, Jr. We were inspired by Barack's soaring oratory and believed he would care more about social justice. We expected him to be a hero.

Now we recognize that Barack Obama is a realist, not an idealist. We understand that above all else, he is a politician. In 2008, Americans elected the black Bill Clinton -- without the sex addiction. That's better than electing a generic Republican, but still a big disappointment. MORE...

Rachel Maddow on Reagan and today's House GOP on the debt limit (video)

MSNBC-Rachel Maddow, video (13:58).

"Democrats erupt over latest plan on debt ceiling"

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was asked to the White House on Thursday evening along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) as President Obama tried to soothe Democrats. Many worried that he was retreating on has demand for new revenue to accompany slashes in federal spending. (Tom Williams, Roll Call / July 22, 2011)

Lisa Mascaro and Christi Parsons (LA Times):

As President Obama pushed hard for a grand deal to reduce the federal deficit, he ignited a furor among congressional Democrats on Thursday by appearing to retreat from his insistence that spending cuts and revenue increases be included in the same package. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Digby is also unhappy.

Candlebox - "Stand" (with video)

WMGILG, video (03:32).

Howie P.S.: Candlebox is "from Seattle" and is very good friends with someone where I work. This song is considered "political"--by some.

David Horsey: "Job creators..." (with cartoon)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

David Horsey (SeattlePI.com):

It has been the case for a long time that modern-day politicians are barely able to speak unless they have memorized a set of talking points pre-approved and vetted by a team of spin doctors. It’s especially easy to detect this homogenizing influence when a new euphemism repeatedly pops up in the comments of an entire political caucus.

The current case in point: “job creators.” MORE...

Greenwald: "Barack Obama is gutting the core principles of the Democratic party"

Glenn Greenwald:

Where is the "epic shitstorm" from the left which Black predicted? With a few exceptions – the liberal blog FiredogLake has assembled 50,000 Obama supporters vowing to withhold re-election support if he follows through, and a few other groups have begun organising as well – it's nowhere to be found. MORE...

Howie P.S.: It may not be "epic" but there is a shitstorm. Many on "the left" know that the federal budget is in the red over the wars, the tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate give-aways.

"Debt talks bring tensions between Democrats, Obama to surface"

Paul Kane (WaPo):

For the first time in weeks of debt negotiations that have focused on rifts within the Republican Party, Thursday brought forward long-simmering tensions between Obama and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill.
(SNIP)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) pleaded to return to negotiations over a Reid-McConnell plan that contained no tax increases and no entitlement cuts.“This is a very sensitive time,” she said, trying not to directly criticize the White House.

Did she think the White House was working off the same page as her?

“No,” she replied. MORE...

(Updated) "Why Cenk Uygur Left MSNBC" (with video)

UPDATE: Paul Waldman (American Prospect):

"While who hosts which show on cable news is probably of only marginal import to you, something just happened at MSNBC that is actually interesting. Cenk Uygur, who had been hosting the network's 6 pm slot on a trial basis for the last few months, got shown the door, and Al Sharpton will be taking over." MORE...

TheYoungTurks, with video (11:55):

Cenk Uygur (host of The Young Turks) explains why he turned down a new, significantly larger MSNBC contract after hosting a prime-time show on the network that was beating CNN in the key demo ratings.

Howie P.S.: CURRENT TV, does this give you food for thought?

"Ed Schultz and Bernie Sanders (and Donna Edwards): The Gang of Six Plan Will Devastate the Middle Class" (video)

MSNBC-The ED Show, video (14:42).

"The Democratic Disappointment" with Chris Gregoire

Josh Feit (publicola):

At issue: Two of the biggest disappointments from the 2011 legislative session for the Democratic base—and by Democratic base, I mean labor unions and social service advocates. MORE...

Frontline (PBS) on Afghanistan: "KILL/CAPTURE" (video)

PBS-Frontline, video (53:39):

Inside the military's extraordinary secret campaign to take out thousands of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters.

Howie P.S.: I wonder if the "lamestream" networks have covered this story.

"Republicans to their leaders: Make a deal already"

Greg Sargent:

In case you needed further proof that the ground is shifting big time in the debt ceiling debate, consider this number from the new Post poll: Fifty eight percent of Republicans say their leadership is not doing enough to srike a deal, and seventy-nine percent of independents say the same about GOP leaders, versus 62 percent who say it about Obama.

This mirrors Gallup’s finding earlier this week that 57 percent of Republicans, and 72 percent of independents, want their leaders to reach a compromise even if they disagree with its contents. MORE...

Digby on the "props" Obama deserves on health care

Digby:

* New federal guidelines resulting from Obamacare mean virtually all insurance plans may soon be required to offer free coverage of birth control.

* Digby says the Obama administration deserves props for the proposal because it will provoke a major national backlash from the right, but she advises liberals to hang tough because it’s a fight they can win.

Howie P.S.: The above comes from tonight's "Happy Hour Roundup" by Greg Sargent.

"Elizabeth Warren Makes It Personal"

Nancy Scola (The Atlantic):

Elizabeth Warren is ready to name and shame. After 10 long months spent crafting a brand-new federal agency in her image and likeness, years before that willing the institution into statutory existence, only to be passed over on Sunday in favor of Richard Cordray just as the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is moving out of beta, Warren, on a press call late yesterday afternoon, was eager to share her clarity on who's to blame for the especially precarious position the new federal-friend-to-the-American-consumer now finds itself in. MORE...

George Packer on the debt crisis: "Empty Wallets"

George Packer:

In the midst of the debt crisis in Washington, D.C., Danny Hartzell backed a Budget rental truck up to a no-frills apartment building that is on a strip of motels and pawnshops in Tampa, Florida. He had been laid off by a packaging plant during the financial crisis of 2008, had run through his unemployment benefits, and had then taken a part-time job stocking shelves at Target in the middle of the night, for $8.50 an hour. MORE...

H/t to Ari Melber.

Robert Reich: "The Dangerous Hi-Jinks of the GOP’s Juveniles"

Robert Reich:

I’ve spent enough of my life in Washington to take its theatrics with as much seriousness as a Seinfeld episode. A large portion of what passes for policy debate isn’t at all — it’s play-acting for various constituencies. The actors know they’re acting, as do their protagonists on the other side who are busily putting on their own plays for their own audiences.

Typically, though, back stage is different. When the costumes and grease paint come off, compromises are made, deals put together, legislation hammered out. Then at show time the players announce the results – spinning them to make it seem they’ve kept to their parts.

At least that’s the standard playbook.

But this time there’s no back stage. MORE...

"Medical Marijuana Battle in Seattle"

Mark Miller (HIGH TIMES):

In a high-stakes ‘race’ to protect medical marijuana dispensaries before a statewide ban across Washington goes into effect next week, Seattle took measures on Wednesday to quickly create and pass a new medical marijuana ordinance.
(SNIP)
Equally encouraging was the announcement from King County Executive Dow Constantine (the highest ranking public official in King County, which includes Seattle) that he’ll consider expanding Seattle’s ordinance throughout the county. Constantine has already instructed the county sheriff and prosecutor to ignore small-scale dispensaries. MORE...

David Frum: "Incredible Shrinking Workers’ Income" (chart)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

David Frum:

Workers’ share of U.S, national income is collapsing.

Two questions for the Republican presidential candidates:

1) Is this a problem?

2) If yes, what can be done about it?

H/t to Glenn Greenwald.

Elizabeth Warren: "A Big Week for the New Consumer Agency"

Elizabeth Warren (HuffPo):

This is a big week for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Today, the President will announce his intent to nominate Richard Cordray to serve as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. On Thursday, the CFPB makes its transition from a start-up to a real, live agency with the authority to write rules and to supervise the activities of America's largest banks.

Rich will be a strong leader for this agency. He has a proven track record of fighting for families during his time as head of the CFPB enforcement division, as Attorney General of Ohio, and throughout his career. He was one of the first senior executives I recruited for the agency, and his hard work and deep commitment make it clear he can make many important contributions in leading it. Rich is smart, he is tough, and he will make a stellar Director. I am very pleased for him and very pleased for the CFPB. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Ari Melber Tweets that "the White House is circulating this new piece by Warren." Greg Sargent passes this along:

as Paul Krugman notes,

Republicans are equally committed to blocking his appointment: What’s going to happen, then, is no director for the CFPB in any case. But meanwhile Obama has passed up a chance to symbolically align himself with the public and against the banksters."

"Can't win a class war unless we fight one"

Chris Bowers (Daily Kos):

There is a class war being fought in Washington, DC right now, but it's extremely one-sided and so the outcome is obvious. By contrast, in Wisconsin the class war is being fully engaged from both sides, and the outcome there is balanced on the edge of a knife. That shouldn't come as a surprise, since there is no way to win a class war unless you fight one. MORE...

H/t to Shaun.

"Can Obama Pull a Clinton on the GOP?"

Robert Reich:

The fight over the debt ceiling will be over very soon. Most Washington hands know it will be raised. Political tacticians know President Obama will likely appear to win the battle, and his apparent move to the center will make Republicans look like radicals. But the Clinton script will take the president only so far. If he wants a second term, he’ll have to come out swinging on jobs. MORE...

"Pot is the new gay"--Bill Maher and Ethan Nadelmann (video)

claw7man, video (08:03).

"We’re Spent"

David Leonhardt (NY Times):

If governments stop spending at the same time that consumers do, the economy can enter a vicious cycle, as it did in Hoover’s day.

The prospect of that cycle is one reason an impasse on the debt ceiling, and a government default, could do so much damage. Global investors may be the only major constituency that has been feeling sanguine about the American economy. If Washington unnerves them, and sends interest rates rising, the effect really could be calamitous.

But the debt-ceiling debate doesn’t have to be yet another problem for the economy. The right kind of agreement could help soften the consumer bust and also speed the transition to a different kind of economy.

What might that agreement look like? MORE...

Obama Weekly Address: ‘I’m Willing To Compromise,’ I Expect Same Of Congress (video)

MEDIAite with video from CNN (03:54):

President Obama unsurprisingly devoted his weekly video address to the subject of the deficit negotiations and expressed some disappointment that a bi-partisan deal has yet to be reached. If former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were able to work with leadership in the opposing political party to reach compromise, Obama remains optimistic that now should be no different. MORE...

Howie P.S.: More from Jim Kuhhenn (HuffPo), "Obama Takes Debt Ceiling Case To The American People, Congress Seeks Bipartisan Plan":

Racing the debt clock, Congress is working on dual tracks while President Barack Obama appeals to the public in hopes of influencing a deal that talks have failed to produce so far.

"We have to ask everyone to play their part because we are all part of the same country," Obama said Saturday, pushing a combination of spending cuts and tax increases that has met stiff resistance from Republicans. "We are all in this together." MORE...

Daily Kos: "Abbreviated Pundit Round-up"

Charles Blow:

Last week I spent a few days in the Deep South — a thousand miles from the moneyed canyons of Manhattan and the prattle of Washington politics — talking to everyday people, blue-collar workers, people not trying to win the future so much as survive the present.

They do hard jobs and odd jobs — any work they can find to keep the lights on and the children fed.

No one mentioned the asinine argument about the debt ceiling. No one. Life is pressing down on them so hard that they can barely breathe. They just want Washington to work, the way they do. MORE abbreviated punditry from others HERE...

"Cantwell builds a political firewall — with greenbacks"

Joel Connelly (SeattlePI.com):

Cantwell has earned her stripes, helping hammer out Wall Street reform and working on health care reform as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. She’s done likewise politically, hosting a pricey Arctic Club lunch for Harry Reid as the Senate Majority Leader fought to hold onto his Senate seat. MORE...

Thom Hartmann Exposes the History of "We're going broke!" (video)

TheBigPictureRT, with video (06:04):

There's a long history of predicting Medicare is going broke any minute, and along with it Social Security and here it is.

H/t to Darryl.

"Murray Calls on Republicans to Put Middle Class Families over Tax Breaks for Millionaires" (video)

SenatorPattyMurray, video (09:59).

"Celebrating Woody Guthrie's Birthday With Arlo and the Radical Version of 'This Land...'

John Nichols:

As it happens, his son, Arlo, a great songwriter and singer in his own right, will celebrate in Madison on the 14th. He will be at the historic Barrymore Theater, singing his own songs and some of his father’s.

Arlo Guthrie will support the labor struggle in Wisconsin as his father did so many times during the good fights that gave rise to the modern labor movement: by donating his entire fee to the We Are Wisconsin Worker’s Emergency Rights Fund — a network of religious leaders, community groups, labor union members, student groups and others who oppose the current state budget, which harms Wisconsin families.

There is something so very right—in a historic sense and a contemporary sense—about a Guthrie singing “This Land Is Your Land,” in all its glory, in Madison, Wisconsin, on the night of Woody’s 99th birthday. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Woody's birthday is on Bastille Day--perfect. My departed stepfather, Earl Robinson, wrote the music to "Joe Hill" and was friends with Woody and his family, so I feel a particular connection. I played volleyball with Arlo once on the beach in Venice, California but it was in the late sixties and my performance was impaired by a recreational substance. I have no comment on Arlo's performance.

The Seattle Times editorial board: "Defending providers of medical marijuana"

Seattle Times (editorial board):

A COMMITTEE of the Seattle City Council grappled Wednesday with a proposed ordinance for medical-marijuana cooperatives. It would be much easier for Seattle to ban them, as some suburban cities have done — and it would be wrong.

Ultimately, marijuana prohibition has to end. The next step is to defend the providers of medical patients. MORE...

City of Seattle: "Medical marijuana ordinance"

City of Seattle:

The City of Seattle believes that the medical use of cannabis should be conducted in a safe and fair manner for the health, safety and welfare of the community.

City Attorney Peter Holmes and City Councilmembers acknowledge the federal prohibition of marijuana, but plan to respond to the changes in state law in a responsible manner to minimize impacts to patients, providers, and the health, safety, and welfare of the community.

• City Attorney’s medical cannabis briefing presentation to the Council, July 13, 2011
• Proposed medical cannabis ordinance
• Proposed notice for health care providers and use at dispensaries

"President Obama says he's willing to put his job on the line over the debt limit debate" (video)

MSNBC-The ED Show, video (12:41).

Howie P.S.: Bernie Sanders joins in to comment.

"Obama's Base Opens Its Pockets" (video)

MSNBC-The Last Word, video (06:10).

Howie P.S.: Ari Melber joins Lawrence O'Donnell to comment.

Bernie Sanders: "Mr. President, Keep Your Word" (video)

SenatorSanders, video (06:30):

As high-stakes deficit talks resumed Tuesday at the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders prodded President Barack Obama to keep his 2008 campaign promise not to cut Social Security. "If you told the American people you're not going to cut Social Security, then don't cut Social Security. Keep your word," Sanders said in a Senate floor speech.

Rachel Maddow: "GOP surrenders to economic reality" (video)

MSNBC-Rachel Maddow, video (15:14).

Obama: Boehner "would like to do the right thing" (video and text)

CBS News with video and text(03:00):

The deal to reduce the deficit could be huge - somewhere between $1 trillion and $4 trillion.

The two sides are talking about taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and defense spending. Almost everyone agrees it has to be done by next week to give Congress time to pass a bill.

In his interview Tuesday with President Barack Obama, CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley spoke with the president in the same room of the White House where former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt broadcast his fireside chats on the radio.

They discussed how it wasn't that long ago that compromise in Washington was considered a virtue and not a vice. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Here's a new video (04:46) from Jim Messina, Campaign Manager-Obama for America: "Exclusive: First look at our report‏." HuffPo headlines the story from AP: "Obama Fundraising For 2012 Campaign, DNC Breaks Record."

Alan Grayson on The Real Two-Party System: "The Meanies and the Weenies" (video)

RepAlanGrayson, with video from MSNBC (05:03):

Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) demands that Social Security and Medicare be protected at all costs. He vows to never vote for a cut in either program. The interview on MSNBC's The Ed Show took place on July 11, 2011.

"Obama's Pivot to Jobs Long Overdue"

Ari Berman (The Nation):

The Obama Administration is currently making the curious argument that cutting spending and restructuring the social safety net will make it easier for them to pivot to the issue of jobs.

Jonathan Bernstein [1] finds some credence to this claim, but count me as a skeptic. For two years a stubbornly high unemployment rate has been the gravest problem facing this nation. The Obama administration shouldn’t need to pivot to the issue of creating jobs—it should have been the top priority for the administration from day one and every day since. MORE...

Dennis in Seattle: "Kucinich in His Own Words" (with video)

Goldy (SLOG), with video (20:58):

If you're interested, here's a video of Rep. Dennis Kucinich's speech at the NWroots conference on Saturday. In truth, it's not really all that radical. In fact, his call for a "second New Deal" actually makes a lot of sense.

I can't vouch for all the numbers Kucinich uses, but the amount of basic US infrastructure in need of repair or replacement is just stunning. Our highways and bridges are obvious, but much of our nation's drinking water and sewage infrastructure is over 70 years old, not mention our many deteriorating schools. Think about it. High unemployment, particularly in construction, and all this infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt.

Tax cuts for the wealthy, or rebuilding America's public infrastructure? Which do you think would get more people back to work, while providing more lasting benefits?

Howie P.S.: If Dennis is going to heed my call to run for mayor, he will have to drop all the "world" stuff from his stump speech.

"Crackdown: Kent, Washington Raids Cannabis Dispensaries" (with video)

 
TOKE OF THE TOWN, with video from Q-13 (02:43) and KING5 (02:26):

The repercussions of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire's failure of leadership -- when she vetoed most of a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana dispensaries in the state -- continue to reverberate. Police in Kent, Washington served search warrants at all four dispensaries in town on Wednesday afternoon. MORE...

Howie P.S.: In the video from KING5 the mayor of Kent suggests a solution for medical marijuana patients: "Grow your own."

"Don’t blame ‘both sides’ for debt impasse"

Eugene Robinson (WaPo):

Washington has many lazy habits, and one of the worst is a reflexive tendency to see equivalence where none exists. Hence the nonsense, being peddled by politicians and commentators who should know better, that “both sides” are equally at fault in the deadlocked talks over the debt ceiling.

This is patently false. MORE...

"Katrina vanden Heuvel: Is the Media Misleading Americans on the Debt Ceiling Debate?" (with video)

Anna Lekas Miller (The Nation), with video from CNN:

Despite a quickly approaching and crucial deadline to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans are holding the Democrats and the American people hostage by rejecting any plan that increases federal revenue. Despite the fact that Barack Obama has proposed previously unthinkable cuts to Social Security and Medicare spending in an effort to appease Republicans, the GOP isn't backing down. As a result, many media outlets are focussing on the drama of the Republican gridlock, rather than on the fourteen million unemployed who are in danger of losing essential benefits.

The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel joined former Newt Gingrich press secretary Tony Blankley on CNN's Reliable Sources yesterday to stress just how important this budget debate really is. If we analyze the historical effects of raising taxes and cutting spending, vanden Heuvel says, we can shift the debate from one centered around Washington's debt crisis toward one that looks at the full picture of America's jobs crisis.

"In a role reversal, it’s now Obama who’s pushing for the big deficit deal"

Greg Sargent (WaPo):

The key thing to understand about the events of the weekend is that they brought about a remarkable role reversal. After months in which GOP leaders were challenging the President to join them in seeking a major deficit reduction package, it is now Obama who is pushing hardest for a $4 trillion deficit compromise, while GOP leaders are the ones pushing for a more modest deal — all because they can’t tolerate a compromise that includes any revenue increases of any kind. If the White House’s strategy has been in part about maneuvering Republicans into the position of appearing to be the main obstacles to compromise, it seems to have succeeded. MORE...

Dennis in Seattle: "Red meat from a vegan — Kucinich"

Joel Connelly:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich is a vegan, but showed late Saturday that he knows how to dish out red meat to the liberal faithful.

Fresh from a trip to Damascus, Syria — he gets on well with President Assad — Kucinich used the daylong NW Roots conference to deliver a message of fiery old-time populism, mixed with New Age, with a call to bring the troops home — everywhere.

The Ohio Democrat has been displaying his wares here, four times since Presidents’ Day. Kucinich is likely to lose his seat to redistricting, and is looking to Washington as a state where he once saw a UFO (staying at Shirley MacLaine’s home in Graham) and “marched with the Teamsters and turtles” against the World Trade Organization. MORE...

Howie P.S.: I wonder if he is interested in being a mayor again, a transplanted Jerry Brown municipal re-run kind of campaign.

"Seattle may license, regulate medical pot shops"

Chris Grygiel (seattlepi.com):

Left in the lurch by a gubernatorial veto, the Seattle City Council this week will begin attempts to license and regulate the growing medical marijuana industry here.

Earlier this year the state Legislature passed a medical marijuana bill, but Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of it. The governor said she worried the legislation put state workers at risk of federal prosecution. Evergreen State voters approved legalizing medical marijuana in 1998. Washington is one of 15 states which allows marijuana use for medical purposes, but the federal government does not recognize any medicinal use for cannabis.

On Wednesday at 2 p.m., the City Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee will consider an ordinance from Councilman Nick Licata establishing rules for medical pot shops. They would have to obtain a business license, pay taxes and fees and meet city land use codes. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Someone said "Pot is the new gay."

"President Obama and the New Deal"

Lawrence Lewis (Daily Kos):

We shouldn't be talking about deficits. That's the worst part about the entire debate. And from that fundamental problem all others follow. In the midst of the most tenuous of recoveries from one of the most severe recessions, we should be talking about jobs and mortgages and stimulus. We should be talking about reinventing our economy to be green not lean and mean. We should be talking about the Republicans as depraved agents of regression and extremism. We should not be talking to them as if they are willing to negotiate in good faith. We should not be talking to them as if they are capable of making sound decisions on policy. MORE...

"The Progressive Caucus of the US Congress is stopping in Seattle on Saturday, July 23rd."

The Progressive Caucus of the US Congress is doing a listening and speak out tour and is stopping in Seattle on Saturday, July 23rd at noon at South Seattle Community College. SPEAK OUT for GOOD JOBS NOW and Rebuild the American Dream: http://speakouttour.com/?page_id=8. This is our chance to be heard by members of Congress and heaven forbid, even the media. Please help ensure that there is a great turnout here and in other cities where you may have connections. If you would like to be matched with others in your area for carpooling purposes, please reply to this message with your location and whether you are driving or riding.

H/t to Leo Henton.

I have a question for President Obama.

Why isn't your Department of Justice as diligent in going after the banksters and Wall Streeters who crashed our economy as they are in in pursuing medical marijuana providers that are following state laws?

Ed Schultz: "Obama risking second term with Social Security cuts" (video)

RAW STORY with video from MSNBC (17:25):

On his MSNBC show Thursday night, Ed Schultz said that if President Barack Obama cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid he will not be reelected to a second term.

The Washington Post reported late on Wednesday that Obama was considering cuts in Social Security and major reductions in Medicare in exchange for Republican support of increasing tax revenues.

“This is a bad move,” Schultz said. “The Republicans behind closed doors — we can only imagine — they’re saying we’ve got him right where we want him. We have President Obama and his people floating stories about putting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on the table for cuts. This is something George Bush couldn’t even do.”

His guest, Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT), added that Republicans “would not take yes for an anwser” and wanted to run the government into the ground.

Ezra Klein: "The budget deals of Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama, in one chart "

Ezra Klein:

There are two ways to read the current stalemate in the debt-ceiling negotiations. There’s David Brooks’s take, which is that watching Republicans pass up “the deal of the century” should leave conservatives convinced there’s something wrong with the GOP. But you can also read it the opposite way: Democrats control the White House and the Senate, Obama is the most popular national political figure, a balanced approach to deficit reduction outpolls plans made entirely of spending cuts, and yet Democrats are still offering recalcitrant Republicans the deal of the century rather than taking to the ramparts. What’s wrong with them?
(SNIP)
It’s safe to say at this point that the White House is starting to get the credit it wants for working hard to find a compromise even as Republicans work hard to resist one. But that’s not a triumph of messaging. It is, if anything, an understatement based on the White House’s willingness to give congressional Republicans a much more lopsided deal than Reagan, Bush or Clinton presided over. Republicans might be fools for passing on it, but if and when they finally say “yes,” a lot of Democrats are going to be wondering whether the Democrats were suckers for offering it. MORE...

"Medical Marijuana Will Move Forward Despite New Threats from the Obama Administration"

Scott Morgan (HuffPo):

The Obama Administration's promising position on medical marijuana policy and the recent backpedaling that followed have generated plenty of discussion, but the most revealing aspect of this still-developing controversy has gone entirely unnoticed. MORE...

"In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts"

Lori Montgomery (WaPo):

President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue.

At a meeting with top House and Senate leaders set for Thursday morning, Obama plans to argue that a rare consensus has emerged about the size and scope of the nation’s budget problems and that policymakers should seize the moment to take dramatic action.

As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal. The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from the assault on government spending. MORE...

Matt Taibbi: "Frank Rich Blasts Obama For Letting Wall Street Off the Hook"

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

Matt Taibbi:

More and more, I hear that Obama’s hands-off-Wall-Street policy is a matter of concern within what used to be his own circle – Beltway professionals, intellectuals, lobbyists, academics, etc. Pretty clearly, that concern is bleeding into the mainstream press now. It’ll be interesting to see if Rich is right about it bleeding into the voter pool next. MORE...

Steve Benen: "Seeking ‘a more meaningful contribution’ from the rich"

Steve Benen:

In 2011, we have Republicans demanding 100% of what they want or they’ll crash the economy on purpose, and Dems have been reduced to asking GOP senators to agree that the wealthy should give up something when dealing with the debt Republicans built up in the first place.

What a farce.

H/t to Greg Sargent.

Seattle-King County: "Metro by the Numbers"

Goldy (SLOG):

1, 2 EX, 2, 3, 4, 5 EX, 5, 7 EX, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 EX, 15, 16, 17 EX, 17, 18, 18 EX, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 26 EX, 27, 28, 28 EX, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 51, 53, 54, 54 EX, 55, 56 EX, 56, 57, 66 EX, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 99, 101, 106, 107, 110, 111, 114, 116 EX, 118 EX, 118, 119 EX, 119, 121, 123, 124, 125, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 139, 140, 148, 149, 150, 152, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 166, 167, 169, 173, 175, 177, 179, 180, 181, 182, 186, 187, 192, 196, 197, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205 EX, 209, 210, 211, 213, 214, 219, 221, 222, 224, 230, 232, 233, 234, 236, 237, 238, 240, 242, 243, 245, 246, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 255, 257, 260, 265, 268, 269, 271, 277, 280, 308, 311, 312, 331, 342, 345, 346, 347, 348, 355, 358, 372, 373, 901, 903, 908, 909, 910, 912, 913, 914, 916, 917, 918, 919, 925, 927, 930, 935.

These are the Metro bus routes that are slated for reduced service beginning next year—the ones in bold eliminated entirely—due to a projected $60 million shortfall. Or, the county could approve the temporary, two-year, $20 car tab fee coming before council later this month. You'd think it would be a no-brainer. You'd think wrong.

"Slavery is gone, but wage theft is still alive in America"

John Burbank:

Slavery is gone, but how about wage theft? In 1978, average wages were $17.74 an hour. In 2009 they were $18.63. That’s an 89-cent increase in 31 years. Is this because workers are less productive? No, productivity has increased by 10 percent just since the start of this great recession. Has the country’s national income contracted? No, in the past three decades it has increased by more than two-thirds per person. So what happened to wages? In just 30 years, we have allowed income to stampede from the middle class to the very top, so now the top 1 percent grab one quarter of all income. Have they earned this money “with their own hands?” Or is this money “the fruits of someone else’s labor?” A big and growing chunk of this money is unearned income — dividends, capital gains and interest. That is not labor. That is taking away from labor. That is wage theft. MORE...

Howie P.S.: More facts that some will find inconvenient.

Katrina vanden Heuvel: "Invoke the 14th — and end the debt standoff"

Katrina vanden Heuvel (WaPo, op-ed):

On its current course, the United States is four weeks away from defaulting on its debt for the first time in its history. If that happens, businesses will fail. Financial institutions will fail. Home values will decline. Mortgage rates will skyrocket. Spending and investment will all but disappear. Social Security checks will stop being mailed. Everything from military pay to food inspection will be compromised, if not fully cut off. The millions upon millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed will be joined by millions more.

Across the world, America’s second financial collapse in three years will drag down already fragile economies in Europe, Latin America and Asia, potentially creating a “worldwide depression,” as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid described it. In short, we would be thrown back deep into economic turmoil — only this time with even fewer tools to crawl our way out.

In theory, this is unthinkable, and it will be remedied by reasonable political parties making reasonable concessions across the negotiating table. But Republicans have been negotiating in bad faith, unwilling to compromise even an inch on their extremist and absolutist positions. Some are no longer willing to come to the table at all. MORE...

Greg Sargent: "Which party is really in a “political hole” on deficit and Medicare?"

Greg Sargent:

My pick for read of the morning is David Rogers’s dissection of the current state of the deficit talks, in particular this analysis of the politics of the situation:

House Republicans have dug a political hole for themselves on the debt issue and their own controversial budget plan to dramatically reshape Medicare.

A deal now that includes substantial Medicare savings — and thereby diffuses that political issue in 2012 — could be a real asset for Boehner. Democrats have put options on the table representing close to $500 billion in 10-year savings from Medicare and Medicaid. This could be dialed up or down depending on Republican willingness to agree to more revenues, and by being so aggressive for “something big,” Obama is trying to make the GOP look small if it walks away.

Obama and Dems appear to be trying to box Boehner in: If he agrees to real revenue increases, Dems will agree to Medicare cuts as a way to allow Boehner to ease the weight of the political problem Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan has created for Republicans. But Boehner has repeatedly insisted he won’t support new revenues, and if he walks away after having been offered substantial Medicare concessions by Dems, the GOP risks looking as if they’re hostage to anti-tax fanaticism, unconcerned about the fate of the country, and are “not fit to govern,” as David Brooks put it yesterday.

But even if the GOP is in a difficult spot, it also needs to be pointed out yet again how much Democrats appear to be on the verge of trading away. If the GOP has dug itself a political hole, Dems appear to be on the verge of cheerfully supplying the dirt Republicans need to fill it.

As it is the debate is unfolding almost entirely on GOP turf, in a place where Republicans are getting far more than anyone thought possible in exchange for a debt ceiling hike that they themselves already agreed months ago was inevitable. Any concessions Dems win from Republicans on new revenues will be dwarfed by what Dems are giving up. And we don’t even know yet precisely what sort of Medicare cuts Dems are offering. If they agree to benefits cuts it could deprive them of some of the political advantage they have carefully built up on the issue in recent months. But it’s looking increasingly like the White House and Dems are willing to trade that advantage away in exchange for a deal and an opportunity for Obama to reap the anticipated political advantages that come with having presided over one. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Feel better now?

"The Beltway Begins to Wake Up to GOP Extremism"

Jamelle Bouie (The Nation):

There are two extremely frustrating things about today’s media environment as it relates to the Republican Party. The first, as the Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen described over the weekend, is the extent to which the media have simply forgotten the previous decade of GOP rule. For at least four years, Republicans governed with few obstacles to their agenda, securing tax cuts, wars, unfunded new entitlements and continued deregulation. The results were trillions of dollars in wasted spending, trillions more in lost revenue, deep dysfunction on nearly every level of government and an economic crisis of nearly world-historical proportions. Despite this, media elites continue to treat the Republican Party—and the architects of its disastrous party—as credible voices on public policy, as if 2001 to 2008 never happened.

The other is the extent to which media outlets treat current Republican behavior as politics-as-usual, despite the extraordinary nature of their actions. MORE...

"Exclusive: Julian Assange of WikiLeaks & Philosopher Slavoj Žižek In Conversation With Amy Goodman" (with video)

Democracy Now! with video (58:06):

In one of his first public events since being held under house arrest, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in London Saturday for a conversation with Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, moderated by Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman. They discuss the impact of WikiLeaks on world politics, the release of the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, and Cablegate — the largest trove of classified U.S. government records in history. “From being inside the center of the storm, I have learned not just about the structure of government, not just about how power flows in many governments around the world that we’ve dealt with, but rather how history is shaped and distorted by the media,” Assange said. MORE...

David Brooks: GOP 'May No Longer Be A Normal Party'

David Brooks:

...the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative.

The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no.

The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this movement refuse to believe it.

The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation’s honor. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Many of us have already figured out what Brooks has apparently just realized. You know things are really getting crazy when I'm linking to David Brooks to make the point that the GOP is abnormal.

Happy Fourth of July

I am told GEORGE WASHINGTON would approve.

Fourth of July with the "Rainbow Family" (with video)

Erik Lacitis (Seattle Times) with video (02:32):

GIFFORD PINCHOT NATIONAL FOREST, Skamania County — There is something about the smiling, contented, mystically philosophizing members of the Rainbow Family that gets a reaction from outsiders — whether it's befuddlement, scorn or maybe a little envy.

They're camping out, happily chanting — and you're what? Worrying about your next mortgage payment, and getting an ulcer? MORE...

Frank Rich: "What haunts the Obama administration is what still haunts the country"

Frank Rich:

What haunts the Obama administration is what still haunts the country: the stunning lack of accountability for the greed and misdeeds that brought America to its gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression. There has been no legal, moral, or financial reckoning for the most powerful wrongdoers. Nor have there been meaningful reforms that might prevent a repeat catastrophe. Time may heal most wounds, but not these. Chronic unemployment remains a constant, painful reminder of the havoc inflicted on the bust’s innocent victims. As the ghost of Hamlet’s father might have it, America will be stalked by its foul and unresolved crimes until they “are burnt and purged away.” MORE...

H/t to DemFrontCT @Daily Kos.

Eric Alterman on "Andrew Cuomo's Flawed Liberalism"

Eric Alterman (The Daily Beast):

Cuomo, himself, is a perfect symbol of the transition of American liberalism from an ideology focused on the standing of working people to one based on issues of social and cultural freedom that do not interfere with anyone’s ability to make money hand over fist without paying too much of it in taxes. MORE...

Howie P.S.: There are many examples of "flawed liberalism" available for study today.

"Arianna On Whether Obama Has Saved Or Betrayed Progressive Politics In America" (with video)

HuffPo, with video (72:45):

Has Obama saved or betrayed progressive politics in America? A conversation with Arianna Huffington and Michael Sandel in the video @ the link.

Howie P.S.: The short answer from the speakers is "yes." The full post is here. The article also links to this story in the Aspen (CO) Times, "Is the American Dream just a pipe dream?":

“The American Dream is alive and well … and living in Denmark,” said Arianna Huffington, president, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of 13 books. “We have long had faith that our children will be better off than we are. That promise has been broken; we have betrayed the American Dream. MORE...

David Horsey: "For House Republicans, protecting the wealthy trumps deficit reduction" (with cartoon)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

David Horsey (SeattlePI.com:

For some people, life is good.

CEO salaries are skyrocketing. Oil companies are flush. Wall Street financiers are raking in millions. And they sleep contentedly knowing House Republicans won’t make them chip in to help solve America’s debt crisis.

In his press conference this week, President Obama decried Republicans’ refusal to eliminate tax breaks for billionaires as part of a budget-cutting deal:

“We’ve got to make some tough choices here if we want to reduce our deficit. And if we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we choose to keep a tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars, then that means we’ve got to cut some kids off from getting a college scholarship. That means we’ve got to stop funding certain grants for medical research. That means that food safety may be compromised.”

House Republicans embrace their anti-tax dogma with fanatic zeal, but can such fealty to the super rich truly be a smart political tactic at a time when life is not nearly so good for the rest of us?

*Countdown with Keith ...: Dan Savage on What's Next for Same-Sex Marriage" (video)

Current, video (14:14).

H/t to Darryl.

Papantonio: "Please President Obama, Don't Blink In Debt Fight" (video)

golefttv with video from MSNBC, (04:49):

Mike Papantonio (and Laura Flanders) appear on The Ed Show to talk about the ongoing debt fight and why the GOP is so desperate to deliver for their corporate masters.

Memo to Jay Inslee: "Some states still leave low-income students behind; others make surprising gains."

Sharona Coutts and Jennifer LaFleur (ProPublica via SeattlePostGlobe):

In many states, ... economic differences are reflected in the classroom, with students in wealthy schools taking many more advanced courses.

But not in Florida. A ProPublica analysis of previously unreleased federal data shows that Florida leads the nation in the percentage of high-school students enrolled in high-level classes—Advanced Placement and advanced math. That holds true across rich and poor districts.

Studies repeatedly have shown that students who take advanced classes have greater chances of attending and succeeding in college.

Our analysis identifies several states that, like Florida, have leveled the field and now offer rich and poor students roughly equal access to high-level courses. MORE...

Krugman via Greg Sargent: "Default really could happen."

Greg Sargent:

Paul Krugman says those who think the GOP won’t put the global economy in peril rather than agree to any revenue increases don’t understand the true nature of today’s GOP, and says that Obama must not buckle if there’s any hope of putting an end to this kind of blackmail.

WA: Lee on "Moving Forward" on MMJ

Lee (HorsesAss.org):

Now that the dust has settled from Governor Gregoire’s epic fail on the recent medical marijuana bill, the state’s community of growers and patients are starting to pore over the new law to figure out how they can still provide safe access. After tonight’s meeting at the Cannabis Resource Center (the main Cannabis Defense Coalition office in SoDo), I feel like there’s actually a light at the end of this tunnel. MORE...

"ACLU & Elon James White: Just Say NO to the War On Drugs" (video)

acluvideos, with video (05:09):

Comedian Elon James White takes on America's failed forty-year war on drugs.
If you want to help stop the stupid war on drugs go to:

http://www.aclu.org/justsayno

Become a member of the ACLU and join the fight for a reasonable drug policy in America.

"Ken Burns's Prohibition -- coming to PBS | Sneak Peek" (video)

PBS, video (03:02):

Coming this fall to PBS -- PROHIBITION, the upcoming film from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, explores the rise and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment.