Friday News Roundup - Domestic
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-03-08/friday-news-roundup-domestic
President Barack Obama courts rank-and-file Republicans. The House votes to avert a government shutdown. The latest jobs numbers are released. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.
Guests
Jeanne Cummings
deputy government editor for Bloomberg News.
Manu Raju
senior congressional reporter at Politico.
Michael Scherer
White House correspondent for Time magazine.
Featured Video
President Barack Obama met with several rank-and-file GOP leaders for meals this week in attempt to shore up support for a budget deal.
Jeanne Cummings, deputy government editor for Bloomberg News, said the meetings indicate both Democrats and Republicans are making an effort to end the spending debate.
"It's sort of very refreshing for someone like me who spends my life covering a very frustrating city, a very broken city. The last week has been, at least by appearances, the way Washington should be," said Michael Scherer, White House correspondent for Time magazine.
Comments
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Drones top news again.. Masterfully the T-Party/Republicans focus attention away from their constant whining about the American born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki,and turn it into whining about non-existant U.S. drone strike killings.They demand terrorists get their day in court..OH YEA..??? How about all those still at Gitmo,the T-Party/Republicans blocked..?? I wonder,do T-Party/Republicans understand opposing Obama on everything means your FOR the opposite thing.. T-Party/Republicans oppose Obama killing terrorists,means YOU ARE FOR THE TERRORISTS..!!
Where was the T-Party/Republican outrage when Treyvon Martin was executed by a vigilante..?? No trial need there,black teen,with hoodie..OKAY to kill..
It`s just amazing how T-Party/Republicans can play the media.The Lame Brain Main Stream Media,while claiming liberal bias.
Rand Paul's filibuster was inspiring to many Americans. This is a winning way to bring attention to the Constitution and it's importance to the American people. The Constitution is by it's very nature is a libertarian document. Libertarianism is the key to future success for the republican party. The republican party must adopt as it's platform the mantra of personal rights over the collective rights that the democrat party represents. Misinformed young people that view the democrats as the purveyors of personal liberty, are for the most part blind to the fact that they are being manipulated by manufactured personal liberty crisises over birth control and race baiting. When the inevitable failure of progressivism comes, libertarians must be in position to offer the common sense solutions of personal liberty and small government that the Constitution represents. The republican party must make progressive republicans the minority within the party much like the radical liberal democrats have done to "moderate" democrats within their party.
Where ya been..?? On May 4,1970 U.S. Army National Guard troops opened fire on peaceful protesters, students invoking their 1st Amendment rights,only to be shot down in cold blood.. WHERE was thing outrage of human rights then,or now.Jim Rhodes was the Republican governor at the time.He told 60 minutes,'they had it coming',
That was the Vietnam War where 60,000 young Americans died, so we could get slave wages for the American "Job Creators" to make cheap printers.
Joe Scarborough squared off on "Charlie Rose" Wednesday re: budget vs deficit vs debt. It was very informative and the pair showed some areas of agreement (both agreed on the realo need for jobs + focus should be on reducing debt rather than the deficit) and some odd exchanges on personal levels. Then Thursday's "Morning Joe" featured discussions of a series of stats and charts which basically supported the facts that corporate profits have soared in recent years - up 14% over the last decade vs. a DEcrease in personal income of -7% in the same span. The real dollars, even adjusted for inflation have gone mostly to the top 1% in the economy at the expense of onshore US jobs. The offshoring by US corporations and the influx of H1B workers supplanting US workers has hit pretty hard - at a time when the recession also doubled down on personal incomes.
Question: Why does Congress continue to focus on the deficit vs. jobs when the majority of economists and the CBO call for emphasis on jobs (i.e. job-oriented programs + the evil return of "stimulus")??
Question 2: Is Paul Ryan's plan to impact the over-55 folks on Social Security and Medicare realistic or political suicide?
Maybe we should look back to democrat FDR's concentration camps for 110,000 Japanese Americans?
Not sure I get the connection to the democrats JFK and LBJ"s Vietnam war death count, you should probably also mention that between 2 to 3 million Vietnamese met violent deaths too.
Hey Clifford, you're probably the biggest "fibber" on this comment board and that's saying something. I would like to read the transcript of this statement "He told 60 minutes,"they had it coming", link please, I can't find it?
Topic:Will the Justices Sow the Seeds That Denies Them the Right to Vote?
Have efforts to limit voting access really abated? With the Republican Party's Koch Brother's Diebold machines in 2004, the GOP's systematic exclusion of Blacks and other minorities from the voting rolls in 2000 and 2004, and the GOP's Central Committee's party plank in 2012 to disenfranchise grandma and grandpa and take away the voting rights of bonafide U.S. Citizens by endorsing states requiring hard to get birth certificates in order to vote, it's disingenuous to say that limits to voting access have abated. So, who is dreaming – those who say concerted efforts continue to deny the right to vote or those who say every jurisdiction is the paragon of Jeffersonian democracy (let's settle for Jacksonian democracy?)
Look at Alabama's and other states' laws designed to limit access to older people and minorities. According to the Brennan Center, Alabama allows for passports, driver's licenses and state IDs, but for those not traveling or driving for years what are the current requirements and planned requirements (given recent history) to qualify for a state ID. We know that one of the requirements for octogenarians endorsed by the GOP was to get original copies of birth certificates. Original copies from hard to get records from 1925, 1930, 1935? That's not a deliberate impediment to voting? Do these actions mean there's an environment for laws limiting voting access in Alabama and other states? The Justices may want to insure they'll be living in the right state when they become limited in driving and no longer have a driver's license. Will they need a hard to get birth certificate to get a state voter ID?
Will the Justices be tempting the forces denying the right to vote by turning their backs on history – let alone current events? Will the Justices themselves be denied the right to vote when these same forces ask old folks to obtain hard to get documentation?
"Rand Paul's filibuster was inspiring to many Americans."
The Rand Paul filibuster drew the battle lines between the old guard (McCain and Graham) who dined with the President and the other elites vs. the young guns (Paul, Cruz, and Rubio) who defended the Constitution on the floor of the Senate.
It could not be clearer.
Rand Paul`s filibuster was both sad and pathetic and wonderful at the same time. It`s wonderful to see Congress doing some work,any work. Mr.Paul`s speech was really just declaring his candidacy for president,he needed to take the spot light from Jeb Bush ,who is on a book tour. It`s sad because Mr`Paul`s job is to be a lawmaker. There are no jobs titles of official whiner and complainer. His job is to write the law banning drones over the U.S. skies altogether,if that is his complaint.Between Justin Bieber and T-Party clown acts,the real problem of the unemployed lingers,with no media coverage,as Wall Street enjoys record profits and highs...
Dear Diane, Please ask the panelists why Republicans resist any effort to close loopholes. e.g. Subsidies to oil companies and other corporate interests are actually expenditures......money going OUT of the Federal budget to those who have not earned it. Conservatives decry any money being taken from taxpayers and given to others, often labeling that as thievery.
Also ask why Republicans frequently insist on reducing corporate taxes when corporate profits are at an all-time high (up 14% this decade) and the lowest since the 1950s.......while individual income has actually slipped 7% in the same span.
Rand Paul's filibuster was nothing more than opportunistic grandstanding. Where was he when the AG articulated the administration's definition of due process to not require a judicial process in his speech at Northwestern U Law School in March 2012? If Paul's filibuster was sincerely based on principle why hasn't he put forward legislation to repeal the Patriot Act, either in its entirety or at least the section Holder cited in his Northwestern U Law School speech?
BBB wrote:"unemployed lingers,with no media coverage,as Wall Street enjoys record profits and highs..."
Wall street highs are built on the illusion of wealth as is the nanny state, it's a house of cards. The Fed prints profusely, the stock market loves it, this can't last. The main stream "liberal" media loves Obama, the bad real unemployment numbers are not the kind of love letters they are willing to send, they might be snubbed at the next golf outing.
It's pretty obvious that democrats are frightened by libertarian philosophies. Many on the left seem to gravitate towards them on occasion. The lies are getting really old and progressivism looks worse by the day. Sometime in 2014 the feds health care takeover and it's cost should be plain to see.
"Please ask the panelists why Republicans resist any effort to close loopholes. e.g. Subsidies to oil companies and other corporate interests are actually expenditures"
No need to ask. I can answer that. Because Republicans already offered to close loopholes as part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiation in December. Instead, the President chose to demagogue the one percenters with class warfare.
In my opinion, he chose poorly when you consider the good of the country, but that is not what motivates him, is it?
I think after several years of job forecasts and job numbers, most people have now arrived at the same conclusion I have arrived at. The numbers are either gross exaggerations or blatant lies.
Yes, people will lie when there is an advantage to gain by doing so.
And the stock market? Oh, as someone stated earlier this week, adjusted for inflation, the stock market isn't even up to the high in 2007.
Again, lie (and exaggerate) if possible to gain an advantage.
America--the decline continues. In spite of Democrats, Republicans, or other varmints.
The filibuster is nothing more than a temper tantrum for adults. And just as childish.
"Personality transplant" That is invaluable Diane!!!
Your panel is composed of reporters.
They should refrain from judging the economics of things like Minimum Wage.
Sheer was wrong. There is no consensus on Minimum Wage effects. Concluding that the common sense understanding (wages will decrease jobs) is actually the truth supported by evidence is a disservice.
They should report on what the facts are... Distinguish policy differences from politics and then report on the fundamentals of the policy differences.
Of course they can always opine on the political strategies
Please allow me to dilute and resubmit my censored comments:
1. I mistook Tom Coburn for a lady in the photo above.
2. Senator Paul's 13 hour filibuster of the Brennan appointment was to my mind grandstanding. Right wing religious radio in my region says it is a prelude to his Presidential bid.
3. President Obama's "breaking of bread " with Paul Ryan (and Chris Hollins) seems apropos in this Easter season where the back of American labor is being broken. In fact it is in some ways a transubstantiation of the covert alliance between both major political parties in pleasing their wealthy and global corporate funders.
4. The partisan bickering on this page belongs on a sports forum where the Sox and Yankees are being compared. Naturally, Oligarchs know how to divide us. Often they use shills, but the mentally ill and the perverted are much cheaper.
I thought my first (moderator deleted) version far more colorful and accurate. Is DRShow allowing my debate opponents to determine when my comments are "appropriate"?
Many are criticizing Congress for not working hard enough. Like him or not, it was nice to see Rand Paul put some time in on the floor.
I love how the same municipalities that "want no drones" are the same ones that are bidding on the drone-building companies to establish businesses there.
Beyond The Political Spectrum
gary k wrote:
"The filibuster is nothing more than a temper tantrum for adults. And just as childish."
Paul's filibuster was an act of patriotism. It forced the Administration to clarify its position on drone attacks on American citizens on American soil which, until the filibuster, the Administration was happy to OBFUSCATE. Holder had a chance to answer in testimony earlier this week. He refused and instead insisted on skirting the issue. All he had to do was clarify what he was eventually forced to put in the letter by Senator Paul's filibuster.
Tcatman on min wage-
Wrong! See Rick Wolff on Moyers & Company of Feb. 22, 2013 if you seek the truth instead of Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Plan.
Diane "wants to clarify"
Then lets do it for real. Republicans did meet with Obama on several documented occasions, only to be later demonised on Obama's permanent campaign throughout his presidency. Any sensible person will eventually get it into their heads that consensus reached at a meeting and then the President goes out there and kicks their heads in, is bad deal. They were used for a photo op.
"Obama, Visiting G.O.P. Lawmakers, Is Open to Some Compromise on Stimulus"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html?_r=0
Beyond the Spectrum makes the most salient point today. We are so deeply invested in financial gambling that it has negated any moral sense. What better proof could one need that striving, education and effort are being cast aside in favor of a quick buck under corporate capitalism.
What do the guests make of the statement that the Lochner case, a thoroughly discredited case, was praised by Paul and called a magnificent decision.
Is not this more important than 13 hours of showboating?
Why is it that the entire country is held hostage by a few people who are afraid of losing their jobs? In all these discussions it's a "given" that McConnell and Boehner "can't" do anything because they could lose an election? REALLY? Millions of Americans have to lose their jobs because of 2 men whose first priority isn't their country, but themselves. They aren't the only ones, of course - it's the way politics work - but it's exactly what made me a believer in term limits.
One of the liberal English majors (which is what all but a fraction of a percent of the media are) made a comment on how weak Boehner was as a leader, because he cannot get the republican members to vote as he likes, like Pelosi-Galore did.
Seems to me that they are doing what there were sent to congress to do - represent their constituents. IF they disagree with some deal Boehner made with the democrats or Obama, they should refuse to vote for it.
There is nothing that needs to get done. Nothing. This business of stuff needing to be done is a liberal/media construct - what they want is either the release of money, or the restriction of liberty.
There is plenty that needs to be stopped.
I would like to see congress stop Obama completely until he is out of office. Give him the permanent American Salute, preferably on national TV.
emoush: Can they, Senators and Congresspersons, "lose their jobs"?
It is far more likely they could increase their and their family's income by leaving office to become lobbyists and experts, maybe be weak regulators in the Cabinet, whether through election defeat or resignation. Once these courtesans have served their "betters" by rubber stamping corporate written legislation they have cut a lifetime deal (to keep quiet). Obstruction and saying "No" are sometimes obedience to authority.
Homercules: (like my spelling better?
What would Assad do?
That's a moot question.
On the subject of Rand Paul.
His dad was, of course, the most - perhaps the only - truly principled Presidential hopeful in the Republican field. Rand has failed to get very much attention, compared to his colorful father. No question, Rand is now gearing up to run for President, too. And he has done two things recently to try to get national attention:
First, he delivered his own rebuttal to the State of the Union address, separate from the actual Republican response. He looked sort of goofy doing it, but it made people notice him.
And now - the first time anybody's done it in years - he takes the floor in a true, classic filibuster.
I love it.
Oh, sure, he just wanted to be in the limelight, cynical politics blah blah. But seriously, wasn't it great? He actually stood there and talked. Wow.
My admiration of his feat has nothing to do with the fact that I think he was doing the right thing anyway. I happen to have been very disturbed when the news broke that, basically, the government can kill anybody, anywhere, anytime. I frankly find that scary. Like, that's a policy from some miserable dictatorship, not America.
So, it makes sense for somebody to strike back by holding up a Cabinet nomination. I wish I'd thought of it.
Mentee is a consultancy made up word. The proper relationship terms are Mentor and Protege.