The Politically Correct Senate Minority Leader

Pam's House Blend has has the video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) on GOP TV criticizing the economic stimulus bill by alleging:

- "We will have made a dramatic move in the direction of indeed turning America into western Europe";

-"This paints a picture of the Europeanization of America"; and

-"We continue (i.e., at present) to have a vibrant private sector" (things must be pretty good in Kentucky!)

Now, you might not want to belittle a major region of the world which has a greater reverence than does the U.S.A. for the past (including for people) and neglects to show the partiality of conservative Republicans for growing income inequality accompanied by a declining middle class. Or, you might have noticed numerous nations in western Europe and a diversity greater than, say, Kentucky. But I thought immediately of something less significant and more ironic. From the website experiencefestival.com:

Dead white men or DWEM (an acronym standing for "Dead White European Male"), is a pejorative term used most commonly to refer to a tradition of thought and pedagogy which stresses the importance of individual European males from the past, at the expense of other forces (economic or social, for example) or groups of people (for example, non-Europeans and women)....

DWEM is a rhetorical device used to deride the emphasis on Western civilization in schools (especially those in the United States), as the majority of figures considered "significant" in Western civilization are white males who are usually dead. The term was used pejoratively in the early 1990s by those advocating multicultural studies. The term finds widespread usage among members of the educational establishment who see students as agents of social change.

Mitch McConnell, if he is aware of it, apparently would be loathe to acknowledge that the attack on "dead white european males" in the university was the genesis of the "politically correct" movement which conservatives smugly delight in ridiculing. And note that the proudly conservative McConnell, like other right-wing Repubs, never derides Asia, Latin America, Africa, or anywhere nearly as much as western Europe, northern Europe, or just plain "Europe." It is difficult, apparently, for a party and an ideology sensitive to the charges of racism, or at least insensitivity to minorities, to criticize any region from which many recently naturalized Americans (AKA voters) hail. Far easier to criticize Europe or, in this case, western Europe, whose inhabitants long ago came to the U.S.A. and whose identity as Europeans generally has long ago been overtaken by their identity as Americans (or as Lutherans, Roman Catholics, men, women, whites, or whatever).

Get a backbone, Mitch. Or some perspective. Or just old common sense. Anything.

Fiscal Wrangling

The United States Senate, with the assistance of three Republican Senators (Specter of Pennsylvania and Collins and Snowe of Maine), yesterday approved a $838 billion bill to arrest the deepening recession. In its bid to take a chunk of the stimulus out of the House of Representatives' stimulus bill (and to make the proposal appealing to a few Republicans), so-called Senate "centrists" worked out numerous changes to the House bill, most of which are regressive, and all of which are detailed here.

Paul Krugman, in his blog of February 4, said it best: "when it came to stimulus legislation, when Obama finally introduced his economic plan he immediately began negotiating with himself, preemptively offering concessions to the GOP, which voted against the plan anyway."

And now comes more discouraging news. On February 4, President Obama announced curbs on compensation of senior executives at companies receiving Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. But as Representative Brad Sherman (D.-Ca.) points out, there are three major loopholes. He notes

First, the terms do not apply to firms like Citigroup or AIG who have already received TARP funds, unless they receive even more. Both Citigroup and AIG have both received over $45 billion, and they face no limits on executive compensation if they choose to retain what they have received without seeking more.... Second, most of the firms who received TARP funds in the future are allowed to pay any amount in executive compensation or bonuses.... Third, the proposal has no effective limits on luxury perks. The Administration’s proposal simply requires boards of directors to adopt policies on such luxury items as private jets and lavish parties.

It has been said "God is in the details" or "the devil is in the details" (a curious duo). One can only hope that upon dissemination of additional TARP funds and negotiation between the House and the Senate on the stimulus bill, more God than Satan is present.

Economic Fantasy

The Republican Party continues to construct, or to propagate its already constructed, alternate economic reality.

Newly-elected head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, wasted no time in his appearance on this morning's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. In response to Stephanopoulos' first question/comment, Steele remarked (page 3 of transcript):

Well, I think that's laughable. I mean, he acts like we have spent the last eight years in -- in this -- in the mess that we're currently in. This is about 18 months old.

The reality of it is, Bush inherited a recession. He got us through that recession. The spending was out of whack. There's no doubt about that. And a lot of Republicans had a problem with the level of spending that took place during that time.

But the economy did grow. Close to 6 million jobs were created.

The "Bush inherited a recession" line just won't die. Though Mr. Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 2001, CNN reported on November 21, 2008

The world's largest economy sank into a recession in March, ending 10 years of growth that was the longest expansion on record in the United States, a group of economists that dates U.S. business cycles said Monday.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), composed of academic economists from Harvard, Stanford and other universities, joined a chorus of economists and investors who were saying that a recession had already begun. The group posted its decision on its Web site.

It ruled that the long expansion ended in March and the nation's tenth recession since the end of World War II began at the same time.

If it is only fair to suggest there is little a President Bush could have done in 1-2 months to hold off a recession, it's only accurate to note that "the longest expansion lasted exactly 10 years. The previous record for uninterrupted economic growth was set in the 1960s, a period of eight years and 10 months lasting from February 1961 to December 1969." And netrootsmass.com analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, finding

seasonally adjusted numbers for nonfarm jobs (defined as those not involving farm work, general government, private households, or nonprofit organizations serving individuals), in its 8 years (from January 2001 to January 2009 (est.)), the Bush Administration created 2,111,000 jobs or 21,990/month. 150,000 to 200,000 per month would be expected to accompany an economic expansion or, in other words, 14.4 million to 19.2 million over the course of an 8 year Presidency. Under Bush, the economy also lost 4,401,000 manufacturing jobs. These are jobs that traditionally had good wages and benefits and at the end of the Bush Administration accounted for only 12.71 million of the nation’s 134.6 million nonfarm jobs (or 9.4% of them). Bush lost twice as many of these good paying manufacturing jobs during his time in office as he has created jobs of all other kinds. In all, the US lost 25.7% of its manufacturing jobs under Bush.

By contrast in the 8 years of the Clinton Administration (from January 1993 to January 2001), 22,744,000 nonfarm jobs were created or ~237,000/month. Bush’s job creation rate was only 9.3% of the Clinton rate. At the same time, manufacturing jobs in the Clinton years showed a modest increase of 323,000.

So despite a spurt in defense spending in the last Administration, a little over 2.1 million- not 6 million- jobs were created (according to the Wall Street Journal, 3.0 million), compared to 22+ million under Bill Clinton. And the U.S.A. lost over one-fourth of its manufacturing jobs- traditionally those with good pay and benefits-during the Bush Administration.

To be sure, Repub pols do not embrace the Bush presidency; far from it. To hear them speak of the last president, it is almost as if the latter existed almost in a kind of political limbo, not a Democrat but not a Republican, either, just someone held captive by an evil, left-wing Congress (though sometimes controlled by the GOP, a fact in danger of being lost in history). An understandable approach, politically, but one which should not go uncontested.

Leno, Letterman, Stewart Not Threatened

Senate leaders and the White House have reached agreement on an $827 billion stimulus package, about which President

Obama said earlier in the day that further delay would be "inexcusable and irresponsible" given yesterday's worst monthly unemployment report in a generation -- 598,000 jobs lost in January and the national unemployment rate rising to 7.6 percent. And late yesterday, federal regulators announced the closures of three banks, First Bank Financial Services in Georgia and Alliance Bank and County Bank in California, raising to nine the number of bank failures this year.

Already, too many jobs being lost; too little credit extended; too few homes being sold; too many banks failing; too many businesses closing; and on and on. And Senator Amy Klobuchar (D.-MN.) gets up before the National Press Club and quips

"John Edwards is still talking about two Americas. It turned out to be the greatest pickup line ever."

So it is worth remembering about all the months wasted- first being deceived into thinking the economy was strong (see, Scarborough, Joe: autumn, 2007) and then railing over "socialism." And recalling a report of December 22, 2007 from Bloomberg News:

The federal government should help fund new light-rail lines, parking lots near mass-transit stations and other energy-efficient transportation projects that can get under way in 90 days as a way to stimulate the economy. ``Hard-working families across America are already struggling to make ends meet. ``Before things get worse, I urge Congress to take action immediately to strengthen our economy and create new jobs.''

He said the initial $25 billion (of $75 billion) would go for investments in clean energy such as wind farms and weatherizing homes and businesses; to train workers for new jobs in the clean energy field; for aid to states to avoid cuts in Medicaid, education and other services; and for extended unemployment benefits. (He) also called for a home relief fund to provide counseling and financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure. He also asked Congress to enact new legislation against predatory lending.


Not any Republican (obviously), Larry Summers (almost as obviously), Barack Obama, or Amy Klobuchar. But John Edwards.... more than 13 months ago. Fortunately, Congressional Democrats (other than Ben Nelson and a few others) now understand the enormity of the situation Mr. Edwards had begun to grasp back when one party thought the economy was just fine and the other party could offer no remedy. And thankfully it won't be long before the people of Minnesota will benefit from the addition of a truly effective Democratic Senator to the upper chamber in Washington, D.C.

State Politics

While the stimulus debate rages in Washington, politics is still going on elsewhere, especially in the following states:

Missouri: Thankfully, Repub Senator Kit Bond has chosen not to run for a fifth term to the United States Senate and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, daughter of a former Governor and of a U.S. Senator, has announced her intention to run (video below) for the Democratic nomination to succeed Bond. Public Policy Polling has her ahead of three possible Repub challengers, Representative Roy Blunt, former U.S. Senator Jim Talent, and former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman.

Kentucky: Second-generation Italian-American Daniel Mongiardo, the Lieutenant Governor who was defeated by incumbent Senator and far rightie Jim Bunning (R.- Philadelphia Phillies) in 2004, has announced his intention to challenge Bunning again, in 2010. Mongiardo is a physician and graduate of Transylvania University (don't know anything about it, but gotta love the name) who has incurred some hostility from the left for co-sponsoring SP 245, Kentucky's pending constitutional amendment against gay marriage. But, according to this post, as a state senator, he supported legislation to add "harassment, intimidation, or bullying of a student" for any of the characteristics listed in the state's hate-crime law; supports overtime pay and fair trade (not the euphemistically- named "free trade") to protect his state's workers; permitting importation of prescription drugs from Canada; a patient's right to sue his/her health maintenance organization; investment in alternative energy; and opposes privatization of Social Security.

Ohio: The popularity of Democratic Governor Ted Strickland has soared with introduction of his education plan and he now crushes in a hypothetical match-up either of his most likely 2010 GOP opponents, former U.S. Representative and Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich and former Senator Mike Dewine. Strickland, whose name was mentioned (though he had definitively denied any interest) first as a possible running mate for Hillary Clinton and then for Barack Obama, has been named along with numerous others as a possible nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary.

Virginia: Democratic Governor Tim Kaine, reportedly one of the three finalists (along with Evan Bayh and Biden) as Barack Obama's running mate, is constitutionally precluded from running for a second term. The most prominent Republican aspirant for the statehouse, Lieutenant Governor Robert T. McDonnell, is leading in a poll against each of these three possible Democratic opponents: Representative R. Creigh Deeds, former state legislator Brian T. Moran, and businessman Terry McAuliffe (yes, that Terry McAuliffe). Virginia is one of only two states with a gubernatorial election in 2009, the other being....

New Jersey: A Quinnipiac University poll shows former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, the leading Repub candidate for governor and buddy of former Attorney General John Ashcroft, with a lead against incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, with lots undecided. Christie has the political profile- largely ideologically unknown and flexible- a Republican probably needs in this liberal, and thus Democratic, state.... and can boast of prosecuting more than 130 elected and appointed political officials, a misleading, though potent (especially with the mainstream media) claim.

With the country being run (sort of) by a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress, this autumn may be a fearful time for a Democrat to be running for chief executive of a state or even U.S. Senator.

The Republican Media- No. 19

Republican heartthrob Sarah Palin is back in the news. First came the report on January 27 that the Alaska Governor has formed a leadership political action committee, SarahPAC. Two days later, Rassmussen Reports published its finding that 55% of the Repub electorate wants its party to be more like the 2008 vice-presidential nominee, while only 24% say the same about John McCain.

These items come a few weeks after Mrs. Palin during an interview (video below) on January 5 told right-wing John Ziegler, maker of the upcoming documentary How Obama Got Elected, "I’ve been interested to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she will be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope.”

Hoping that Caroline Kennedy would not be appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat in New York, I was pleased to see that after initial excitement about the possibility of the return of the Camelot aura, Ms. Kennedy came under withering criticism (though the ridicule was overdone). If Sarah Palin would only see beyond her whining partisanship, she might recognize the parallel betweeen the treatment of her candidacy and that of Mrs. Schlossberg.

Though the Governor came to be widely criticized- for reasons she brought on herself-she initially was adored by the mainstream media. As this adoring blog from The Christian Science Monitor noted on September 4, Mrs. Palin's acceptance speech (and, in most cases, she herself) at the Repub National Convention was nearly universally applauded by the mainstream media, garnering praise from such figures as Bob Schieffer (CBS), Jay Carney (Time), Wolf Blitzer (CNN), George Stephanopoulos (ABC), Chris Matthews (MSNBC), and Tom Shales (The Washington Post).

Even on October 22, nearly eight weeks after Palin was selected by McCain and after much doubt justifiably had been cast on her candidacy, the Alaska governor got some good press. On that date, the Politico's John Martin reported:

AP's Glen Johnson has a Palin moment at an Ohio rally today that will play much better in "real Virginia" than at any Georgetown cocktail parties:

Palin was exuberant before the crowd, demanding an autograph from warm-up singer Gretchen Wilson, famed for her song, "Redneck Woman."

Palin joked: "Someone called me a 'redneck woman' once. You know what I said back? 'Thank-you very much.'"

As much as Mrs. Palin was portrayed as inexperienced and lacking in knowledge compared to what one might expect of an individual vying to be one hearbeat of a 71-year old man from the Presidency, so was she portrayed as an average person, the woman next door, with a real family with issues shared by real people. Perhaps that's why she was not questioned when she told Katie Couric (video way below)

I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kind of suggested, 'wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?' Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America."

According to the then-Republican nominee for vice-president and the media, which virtually ignored the remark, Alaska is like a microcosm of America. Except, compared to the rest of the country, in terms of political affiliation (its electoral votes having gone to the GOP's presidential nominee the last eleven elections and now considered the fourth most Republican state); ethnicity (few blacks or Hispanics but 15.6% Alaskan Native or American Indian); weather (average annual snowfall in Anchorage, 70.6 inches; in Juneau, 97.3 inches); topography (the eleven highest mountains); size (largest); population density (lowest); location (not part of the continental United States). And religion: Sarah Palin, darling of the cultural right, presides over one of the three least religious states in the U.S.A.

Alaskans are Americans, too- like residents of Hawaii; Puerto Rico; Manhattan, New York; and Manhattan, Kansas. Only none of those jurisdictions has a wealthy chief executive who, with her willing accomplices in the mainstream media, passed herself off as an average person from an average place. That, disturbingly, might even have been enough to bring victory to the McCain-Palin ticket, were the attention the American people might have given to good looks, charm, and personality not diverted by war, economic crisis, and other disasters brought to us by her party.

Article Of The Week

Thomas Frank, author of The Wrecking Crew, What's The Matter With Kansas, One Market Under God, and other books, also writes a weekly column at The Wall Street Journal, which would be akin to The Nation magazine asking Newt Gingrich to be a regular contributor.

In his column, "Obama Should Act Like He Won," of January 14, 2009, Frank demonstrated once again that he has figured it out- or, in the phrase, now trite, of Anita Hill's feminist supporters- "gets it." He writes

The reason centrism finds an enthusiastic audience in Washington, I think, is because it appeals naturally to the Beltway journalistic mindset, with its professional prohibition against coming down solidly on one side or the other of any question. Splitting the difference is a way of life in this cynical town.

The function of this "Beltway centrism" (a cousin of the politically correct "bipartisanship"), Frank noted, "has not been to wage high-minded war against 'both extremes' but to fight specifically against the economic and foreign policies of liberalism." Tongue pressed firmly against cheek, Frank cites as "centrism's achievements" NAFTA, repeal of the Glasss-Steagall Act, and the Iraq war resolution. Liberals have demonstrated dysfunctional flexibility while "conservatives pressed laissez-faire through good times and bad, soldiering on even in years when suggesting that America was a 'center-right nation' would have made one an instant laughingstock."

NAFTA, the Gramm-Bliley-Leach Act, and the acquiescence of the mainstream media in the run-up to Gulf War II are only a few of the examples in which the media has practiced a centrism intended to repudiate liberalism. Yet, much of the public, attention diverted by abortion and gay rights, clings to the myth of the "liberal media," oblivious to the conservative orthodoxy to which the media hews on the less bewitching issues of foreign policy and economics.

Writing six days before the new President's inauguration, Frank observed "there is no branch of American political expression more trite, more smug, more hollow than centrism." This would be two weeks before approval of the Democrats' stimulus bill in the House after elements which had apparently offended Republican lawmakers were eliminated. When the bill passed- with unanimous Republican opposition- Frank's uncomfortable conclusion that "centrism is a chump's game" was, at least for now, vindicated.