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- As 2009 came to a close, it should be apparent to all that there was nothing the GOP wasn't willing to exploit in order to attack Democrats in general and the president in particular, for whom they have bottomless loathing of. Or as a Republican congressional candidate in Minnesota put it, defeating the "radicals" in Washington is a bigger fight than global terrorism, which seems to me an accurate portrayal of the Republican Party's priorities since 9/11. The question is, when will this become the story?
- Hashing out the details for health-care reform in conference committee is obviously the last hope progressives have for getting a better bill, so it's understandable that they would balk at bypassing conference and just let the House vote for the Senate bill. And as distasteful as it is for House progressives to rubber stamp the latest glorious compromise coming out of the World's Greatest Deliberative Body, being forced to take the politically safe route is not a function of spinelessness about the principles undergirding reform but rather an acknowledgment of the spinelessness of the U.S. Senate in admitting it has an institutional problem.
- It is important to distinguish self-identified conservatives and the conservative movement from the Republican Party insofar as what motivates each of them is different, even if there is significant overlap. But heading into 2010 it seems clear that the ideological-partisan alignment on the right is making such distinctions between movement and party largely irrelevant. Mitt Romney is a man utterly devoid of of political convictions, but he's in tune with the right as he tours the country promoting his book, America: F*** Yeah! Similarly, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Idaho thinks we're in a second American Revolution and that only divine intervention will save us. And here's rising star Michele Bachmann explicitly making the case that the tea partiers' cause is that of the GOP's.
- Speaking of the tea partiers, now that they are a permanent fixture of American political life, the question I raised last year is still relevant: what is the endgame for the tea party movement? If they truly believe the United States is being consumed by the forces of collectivism, and they're openly encouraging protesters to attend rallies armed with loaded guns, doesn't this all lead to a very dark place? Don't such accusations about Barack Obama and Congress compel action, even violent action? Or is it all just posturing?
- No one should be surprised that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is a climate-change denier. Mackey is a libertarian. Libertarians believe, fundamentally, that government regulation is, at best, bumbling, at worst an ominous threat to all free men (never was there a more male-centric political creed). If you believe climate change is really happening, then you have to accept that the upshot is regulation of greenhouse gases. Since Mackey cannot accept government regulation under any circumstances, he has convinced himself that climate change is not really happening, which allows him to retain his faith in markets.
- Holiday Remainders: The press has only ever been biased in favor of authority, which is complicated by the fact that Washington is still strangely wired for Republican rule; "moderate" congressional Democrats deeply regret that Congress won't be able to take up climate change legislation this year; the fact that Dawn Johnsen might have to be renominated to head the OLC proves how smooth-running our U.S. Senate truly is; the United States Army confirms the incompetency, hubris of the Bush administration in matters of national security; and the "coalition of the willing" transitions to the less inspiring, less catchy "the United States singlehandedly trying to remake hostile countries through war."
--Mori Dinauer
