×
- Of course there are political advantages to calling a "stimulus bill" a "jobs bill." But rhetoric only takes you so far if your jobs bill fails to actually produce jobs. The ARRA, while imperfect, saved a not-insignificant number of jobs, and created some demand where there otherwise would not have been any, but it wasn't designed to create concentrated and targeted job growth. Since the administration reportedly knew the stimulus fell short of the amount of money its economists were recommending for political reasons, perhaps they held off on an actual jobs bill designed to make up for the ARRA's shortcomings.
- Kevin Drum catches a New York Times piece on Obama's trip to China making the assumption that China has become "more willing to say no to the United States," as if in the rosy past China was more deferential to the United States. As much as this narrative stems from a simpleminded understanding of our fiscal relationship to the Chinese, it also draws upon the "rising power" story that places China on an inevitable path to preeminence, regardless of the fact that China is still very, very poor.
- I don't doubt that many Republicans believe their own terrorist-as-supervillian fantasies, but the main reason they would welcome a return to the inspiring politics of 2002-2004 is that they, you know, won those elections. And they won them because they convinced enough people that only they could protect you from the terrorists marching on Main St., USA, and that Democrats were nothing less than traitors.
- It's possible that Chuck Grassley actually believes that in their heart of hearts, Democrats just want to destroy capitalism, but to suggest that they "don't care" if they're hurting the economy doesn't make any sense. Name me a political party that won elections by being indifferent to an ailing economy. If Democrats were really just self-interested power seekers, why would they deliberately ruin their chances for re-election?
- Remainders: The vision of the Senate Robert Byrd recalls doesn't actually exist; Marco Rubio tests whether anti-immigration sentiment or worship of St. Ronnie is more powerful; and this year's War on Christmas is the most clueless yet.
--Mori Dinauer
