Concern of the day, Benen: But based on the concerns they've raised, it sounds like far too many "centrist" Democrats aren't able to shake the mindset that's dominated politics for the last 30 years. They're uncomfortable about going too fast. They're burdened by fears and timidity. Ambition is bad. Change is fine, just so long as it's slow. They're going to need a push.
atrios notes They Were Dumb And Crazy A Few Years Ago, Too
It's interesting thinking about the wingnutosphere and how in the year 2009 it looks pretty batshit crazy. Of course it was pretty batshit crazy a few years ago, too, but their batshit craziness was validated by the fact that their team ran the country.
Oh, and conservatives? Thanks for giving Obama the power to tap your phones! bwahahaha
TPM Headline of the Day: Done Deal: Rove And Miers To Testify Before House On U.S. Atty Firings
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Snark of the Day, Josh Marshall: How can we believe in Obama now that Democrats have made fun of Rush?
QOTD, John Cole: Also, when a real crisis happened on 9/11, I remember the Democrats rushing to do whatever Bush wanted. I remember hand-holding and singing on the Capitol Steps. I don’t remember them hoping Bush’s response would fail.
QOTD2, Friar Tuck Says: regarding Michale Scherer's incredibly inane Swampland post on the Limbaugh story being Obama's fault: "There is a decade's worth of PWNage on this thread. It's like Nebraska scoring 77 points on Middle Tennessee just because they can. More, please!"
On the same topic, I have never seen such utter disdain for a reporter as is being heaped on Scherer throughout the blogosphere right now. For example, TPM's Kurtz: Things That Make My Head Explode
Time's Michael Scherer reads Jonathan Martin's piece in Politico on how happy the Dems are to let the GOP brand themselves as the party of Rush and concludes, incredibly, "this entire controversy has been cooked up and force fed to the American people by Obama's advisers."
I'll let Greg Sargent do the honors of taking down this nonsense.
In response to a growing RW meme, John Cole says Show Me in a terrific post you really really should read in its entirety.
... I remember 2000 and 2001 pretty well. I was a Republican at the time, and we have talked before about how excited I was to vote for Bush. I remember not being able to sleep, waking up early to go vote as soon as the polls open, and I remember going to see a movie during the afternoon to take my mind off the election .... I remember coming home and watching the returns until late in the morning, I remember the sinking feeling over Florida, and thinking “We are going to get screwed. The Democrats are going to steal this.” I remember all of that.
Many of you will have a hard time understanding this, because one thing we as a country aren’t very good at politically is putting ourselves in the opposition’s mindset, but I remember at the time thinking the whole process was screwed up and the Democrats were trying to pull a job over on the Republicans. ....
Most of you won’t understand it, but the Republican base was just as convinced the Democrats were screwing them as the Democratic base was convinced the Republicans were stealing the election. Both sides were equally convinced the other was up to no good.
I also remember the aftermath, and I do remember a lot of anger. I remember the “Selected, not Elected” stuff, I remember protests and a sullied inauguration, I remember a lot of anger. People are just pretending if they say there were not a lot of angry people on the left. It was there, and it was real. ....
I also remember what was going on at the time. There was a mild economic downturn, but the country overall was in pretty good shape. The big crises in the first couple of months in the Bush administration was the story about “W” keys on the White House keyboards (since debunked), ....
Other than that, the big issue was the tax cuts. Our surplus was going to be too big, and we had to return the money to the people. .... And I remember a lot of Democrats were really opposed to the tax cuts, and called them irresponsible and said they would lead to real financial problems (how did that prediction work out?) and that we had a lot of stuff to pay for (like the national debt). I remember them repeatedly saying it was bad policy and it should be stopped.
But here is what I don’t remember. I don’t remember one single Democrat standing up on national television and loudly proclaiming “I hope George Bush fails.” I simply do not remember it happening at all.
So until Michael Scherer and others can show me the clips or transcripts of Democrats sitting around rooting for Bush and this country to fail, I think he and everyone else defending the Republicans and Limbaugh, who are explicitly stating they want President Obama to fail and stating it at a time of FAR greater consequence than we had in 2001, can quite simply just shut up.
And just so we are clear, until shown otherwise, what I remember is the following:
2001, time of mild economic downturn but with a large budget surplus projected as far as the eyes can see, and Democrats stated the tax cuts are bad policy and should not be adopted.
2009, during two wars, a financial disaster, an economic crisis and massive unemployment and trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, and the Republicans and Limbaugh are rooting for Obama to fail so they can regain some political power.
Until I am shown otherwise, that is how I see things. What is happening right now is nuts, and there simply is no comparison. Show me the tapes. Show me the transcripts. Show me Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid standing in front of a camera saying “I want President Bush to fail” just like we have seen Mike Pence and the parade of other Republican leaders do in the past few days. Bring it on, and I don’t mean some random jackass on the internet or some crazy tenured prof at a community college somewhere. I will admit my memory was wrong if it happened, but I want to see it, because I don’t remember it. And I’m not merely talking about opposition to policy. I mean stating that they wanted the President to fail. And then when you are done, you can show me the video tapes or transcripts of all the Democrats groveling and begging for forgiveness at the feet of Michael Moore (who, by the way, is fat) after dissing him.
*** Update ***
Also, when a real crisis happened on 9/11, I remember the Democrats rushing to do whatever Bush wanted. I remember hand-holding and singing on the Capitol Steps. I don’t remember them hoping Bush’s response would fail.
The growing repuglican position is Limbaugh's. They cannot support an America that looks like the one President Obama envisions, and they hope he fails in delivering on his promises. If Obama succeeds, and America is the better for it, what will they say? For example, Think Progress found this nugget: Vitter: Limbaugh Is Saying ‘What I Am Saying’ — ‘I Hope’ Obama ‘Fails In Advancing Leftist Policy’
... more and more Republicans have gone on record agreeing with Limbaugh. In an interview with CNN yesterday, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the third-ranking House Republican, said “You bet, we want those policies to fail.” Now, in an interview with The Hill, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) admitted that he agrees with Limbaugh:Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) agreed with Limbaugh on Tuesday.
“I hope [Obama] fails in advancing leftist policy that I strongly disagree with,” Vitter said. “I think what [Limbaugh] was saying was largely what I am saying.”
The Louisiana Republican, running for reelection in 2010, told The Hill that he took issue with Steele’s “strong negative” contention that Limbaugh’s comments were “incendiary.” Vitter added that he hopes the Democratic president succeeds in “leading this nation on the right path and helping us recover from this economy.”
- Diaper Dave is truly a busy boy: Vitter introduces legislation defunding Planned Parenthood.
- More on this from Benen: So, Vitter wants American women and their families to suffer so he can score some cheap points, while praying his constituents overlook his unfortunate hooker habit. The irony of having a philandering politician, who arranged pay-for-sex schemes from the floor of Congress, target family planning funding is apparently lost on Vitter altogether. Hypocrisy aside, let's also not overlook the fact that treating family planning programs as some kind of political football is ridiculous. These programs prevent unwanted pregnancies, reduce abortions, and not incidentally, empower women to make prudent choices about their reproductive health. During a recession, with many families losing their healthcare insurance, family planning programs are even more needed, making Vitter's "pro-family" grandstanding that much more offensive.
C&L: FDR: Welcoming The Hatred
With the endless drone of hate and vitriol spilling out of last weeks CPAC cabal, it's comforting (somewhat) to realize the amped-up hysteria and whining is just what history does, and does over and over. It's never civilized, it's never constructive and it is always based on fear and paranoia.
So it's mild comfort to know another President faced pretty much the same barrage. President Roosevelt faced familiar taunts and similar paranoid rants during his re-election campaign in 1936.
Here is an excerpt from the now-famous Madison Square Garden address of October 31, 1936.
Whodathunk this Rasmussen poll question would generate 81% "No" answers from Republicans:
Agree or Disagree: 'Rush Limbaugh is the leader of the Republican Party -- he says jump and they say how high.'Isn't that about the equivalent of, Are you Rush's bitch -- yes or no?
Sully:Quote For The Day II "These memos I wrote were not for public consumption. They lack a certain polish, I think," - John Yoo. Scott Horton's jaw drops a little farther."
TPM Headline: Bair To Banks: FDIC Fund Could Become Insolvent
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the deposit insurance fund could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency. ...
kos writes a memo:
Benen on HERDING CATS....Dear media,
95 percent of Americans are getting a tax cut with Obama's budget. So framing this as a tax hike makes you look pretty stupid. And dishonest. And wrong. So stop it.
Hugs and kisses,
kos
It all seemed so encouraging. President Obama delivered a national address before both houses of Congress, outlining an ambitious and fundamental change to the way the government operates. Americans loved it. ...The president is riding high; he enjoys a national mandate; his party controls both the House and Senate; Republicans can't filibuster budget reconciliations; and the public finally trusts the Democrats to do what's right on the economy. There was ample reason for optimism.
And yet, the old Will Rogers adage about Democrats rings true for a reason.
Moderate and conservative Democrats in the Senate are starting to choke over the massive spending and tax increases in President Barack Obama's budget plans and have begun plotting to increase their influence over the agenda of a president who is turning out to be much more liberal than they are.
A group of 14 Senate Democrats and one independent huddled behind closed doors on Tuesday, discussing how centrists in that chamber can assert more leverage on the major policy debates that will dominate this Congress.
...Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) .... Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) .... Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) .... . Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), ...."
We've reached the point at which Evan Bayh has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, complaining about earmarks and taxes, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) liked so much, he entered it into the congressional record this morning.
.... But based on the concerns they've raised, it sounds like far too many "centrist" Democrats aren't able to shake the mindset that's dominated politics for the last 30 years. They're uncomfortable about going too fast. They're burdened by fears and timidity. Ambition is bad. Change is fine, just so long as it's slow.
They're going to need a push.
- dday adds: The Scolds Never Stop
Ladies and gentlemen, your almost-Vice President, Evan Bayh.
Once again, the path for a Democratic President must go through Democratic fiscal responsibility scolds. And this is coming in the middle of a Great Recession, where investment is non-existent, trade is stalled, and consumer spending isn't going anywhere, meaning that ONLY GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING. Cutting that spending translates directly into losing thousands of jobs. That's reality for the next year or so.
If anything, Obama is being modest in his plans. And he is paying for the big investments in his budget by making the tax code more progressive and fair. And that's the reality of the fiscal scolds - they want to protect the status quo for their buddies and contributors. They would rather the 30-year cycle of radical conservative economic policy continues unabated. Obama's budget is a a threat to the DC estabishment that is best represented by these "moderates." ... I don't remember Evan Bayh or Ben Nelson or any of these scolds raising an eyebrow to any of the radically destructive policies the Bush Administration trafficked in on a daily basis. It's only with a Democratic President attempting to lead on Democratic principles that their spines stiffen.- Josh Marshall on The Big Deal.
Over the last week, there's been a growing realization that President Obama's budget makes big structural changes to the federal budget and thus to the federal government in general. As the preferred cliches have it, he's going long or swinging for the fences. And in the last few days we've begun to hear not only about Republican opposition, which is expected, but substantial Democratic opposition, or perhaps better to say, resistance. Fourteen Democratic senators (plus Joe Lieberman) met yesterday to discuss their opposition to various parts of the 2010 budget.
...
This isn't just any legislative battle. These are big changes and they'll have profound effects on the country going years and likely decades into the future, especially if they're perpetrated out through an eight year presidency. So this basic cleavage within the Democratic party, how deep it is, what's driving it, how imbedded it is, is of the greatest importance. We're kicking into high gear on the reporting side. But we want your input and insights, and of course your tips if you're up there on the Hill watching or somewhere else that gives you some angle into what's happening.
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