Month: July 2011
Is the GOP a Political Party Capable of Governing or Just a Wingnut Faction?
The struggles of the next few weeks are about what sort of party the G.O.P. is — a normal conservative party or an odd protest movement that has separated itself from normal governance, the normal rules of evidence and the ancient habits of our nation …. If the debt ceiling talks fail, independent voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern. And they will be right.
— David Brooks, writing in the New York Times op-ed pages.
First Twitter Town Hall is Today
Kids, don’t forget to log on to America’s first Twitter-hosted* town hall meeting. It takes place today at 2 p.m. Eastern time, and Twitter is going large by having Pres. Obama field questions and comments on how to get the economy going and how to put people back to work.
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) fired a preemptive shot with this tweet:
Republicans #askobama to outline plan #4jobs that doesn’t involve more spending, taxing, regulating http://j.mp/o1bpzE @townhall
Why is it Republicans feel the government should leave everything to the private sector except job creation, the one thing the private sector is best suited to provide? To Republicans, when employment is high, it’s because business is masterful. When employment is low, it’s because government is screwing up. I’m not in the right party to be able to follow this logic.
But to follow the town hall, search for @townhall and use the hashtag, as Speaker Boehner did, #askobama.
* Yes Buck, I know AP style says “host” is not a verb but Twitter itself is calling it that.
Bachmann’s Campaign Wardrobe Malfunction
O.K., seriously? Michele Bachmann is starting to remind me more of Katherine Harris with each passing day. Could someone please get with her about appropriate attire for campaigning for the office of President of the United States? And before everyone slams me for being sexist…Seriously Michele Bachmann?
McCain Still Angry and Delusional
The principle of not raising taxes is something that we campaigned on last November and the results of the election was the American people don’t want their taxes raised and they wanted us to cut spending. They don’t want compromise.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who didn’t say which American people or which individual races he was talking about, but reminded many of us why we’re so glad he and Sarah Palin lost in 2008.
Far White Right
Some say his candidacy would be a fluke.
Others say the prospect makes them puke.
But if he runs, he’ll attract
Folks who hate folks who are black —
Talking ’bout that “civil rights activist,” David Duke.
The Fundamental Flaw in Republican Economic Cliches
When Republicans aren’t telling us how they want to run government like a business, they bluster on about handling government finances like Americans do around their kitchen table. If they can’t afford something, they don’t buy it. If their credit card is at its limit, they quit charging on it. Blah-blah.
Except this isn’t how either businesses or family finances work. At least, not in my world.
I happen to have a business. And while I do all I can to cut costs, I recognize that if I am to stay in business I simply must spend money. There are minimum levels of expenses that I have to meet: computers and software must be maintained, bills for internet access and domain names have to be paid, and on and on. And when I come up short for these costs, I do what I can to increase revenue.
Any successful business owner knows there is a point beyond which cost-cutting alone solves problems
Any successful business owner knows there is a point beyond which cost-cutting alone solves problems. In fact, to cut beyond those levels can put you out of business. If you cut your staffing or hours or locations so customers are dissatisfied, they will leave you. If you slash spending to the point you’re offering inferior products or services, they will leave you over that. And if you stop paying your staff or overhead, you might as well put out the “Closed” sign and walk away.
The same is true of the fabled kitchen table financials. Sure, you can get by without cable TV and you can cut your auto insurance coverage and you can even start shopping at the Scratch and Dent Food Store. But if all this fails to help you meet your remaining monthly bills, you will probably look at cleaning out the garage onto eBay or Craig’s List, getting a second job, cashing in a low performing retirement account, and whatever else you can think of to bring in more money.
Why do Republicans not know this? Why do they think we can lower the deficit (the urgency of which is in dispute) by cutting spending alone?
I can’t help but summon a picture of Chad telling Chloe they’re going to have to tighten their belts by spending a month this year in Cozumel instead of Capri. Cash flow problem solved!
But here in reality world, we know that if you’re going to stay on track, with your business or your life, when you fall short you find ways to increase the money coming in. Cash flow problem really solved.
Come on Republicans, start solving the problem.
Raising Taxes on the Rich Would In Fact Fuel Job Growth
We’ve all heard the Republican argument that if we continue to keep personal income taxes low for Scrooge McDuck, he will take this personal money he would otherwise pay in taxes and which he could spend on any number of things – a newer car, travel, really, really expensive and delicious june bugs – and invest it in enterprises that produce jobs.
Republicans tells us, as did former Gov. Mitt Romney, “With over 20 million people who are unemployed or who have stopped looking for work, the last thing we should be doing is raising taxes on job-creators, entrepreneurs, and small business owners across America.”
Except they’re dead wrong. Michael Linden, at the Center for American Progress, crunched the numbers.
In the past 60 years, job growth has actually been greater in years when the top income tax rate was much higher than it is now.
For instance, in years when the top marginal rate was more than 90 percent, the average annual growth in total payroll employment was 2 percent. In years when the top marginal rate was 35 percent or less—which it is now—employment grew by an average of just 0.4 percent.
And there’s no cherry-picking here. Pick any threshold. When the marginal tax rate was 50 percent or above, annual employment growth averaged 2.3 percent, and when the rate was under 50, growth was half that.
In fact, if you ranked each year since 1950 by overall job growth, the top five years would all boast marginal tax rates at 70 percent or higher. The top 10 years would share marginal tax rates at 50 percent or higher. The two worst years, on the other hand, were 2008 and 2009, when the top marginal tax rate was 35 percent. In the 13 years that the top marginal tax rate has been at its current level or lower, only one year even cracks the top 20 in overall job creation.
Christian Racist on Huckabee Cruise: ‘We Didn’t Like Seeing [Obama] Get Elected Because of His Race’
Mike Huckabee, the Baptist preacher, Fox News host and former governor of Arkansas, hosted 250 true believers on a cruise to Alaska. Adam Haslett, a writer for Prospect, went along to report on the trip. His report includes this encounter with two of Huckabee’s Christianist followers:
Maggie Benedict and Jinx Drda from suburban St Louis were also greatly disappointed to hear Huckabee had bowed out of the presidential race. They’ve always voted but it wasn’t until Obama’s victory that they became more active in politics.
“It’s the first time I’ve felt the president wasn’t a true American,” Maggie says. “And that he wants to become a dictator. We didn’t like seeing him get elected because of his race.”
