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- A couple of reactions to the defeat of the omnibus spending bill: "It’s a new day in Washington," says Rich Lowry. "President George W. Bush won this evening," says Kathryn Jean Lopez. I single these two out because they imply some era of renewed American greatness is to follow. But I don't see it. I see a country that is crumbling before our very eyes, whose broken political institutions cannot solve the pressing problems we face. And while there is plenty of blame to go around, only one party is adamantly opposed to any sort of real public investment, convinced that mindless national pride is enough to sustain us.
- Another snippet from the omnibus defeat, in the words of National Review's Andrew Stiles and Robert Costa: "Reid says nine Republican senators approached him today to tell him that while they would like to see the bill passed, they could not vote for it. He did not reveal the names of the nine." I don't really care about the identities, but this statement makes no sense. Wouldn't voting for the bill go a long way passing the bill? I know Mitch McConnell owns every Republican in the Senate, but this level of cowardice is teetering on the edge of legendary status.
- The self-delusion continues: "When Southerners commemorate the memory and legacy of their Confederate ancestors by holding a 'Secession Ball,' why do they leave out of their celebration slavery and the other negative aspects of that time period? Because they prefer instead to stress the many positive aspects of Southern secession. And they should." This is great advice, and from now on, I'm going to focus only on positive things. I mean, the internment of the Japanese was only bad from their point of view, but I certainly won't let that get in the way of admiring FDR as a flawless liberal hero. Gosh, I feel better already!
- Remainders: "Government takeover of health care" is the lie of the year; I believe this makes it Chait 3, Gillespie 0; the Fed is actually regulating our financial overlords for a change; and props to First Read for mocking the "comeback kid" meme.
-- Mori Dinauer
