In American politics right now, those who are in charge are missing the proverbial boat on a whole host of issues - a fact that appears to be more obvious to a wider cross section of the American people every day.
As we noted Monday, a nascent debate on Syria appeared to be on the horizon as the week began. But with two separate polls from both the Pew Center and Gallup, it's already clear what the opinion of the American people is on Syria - America should stay out of it. Unfortunately, President Obama has already missed the boat on that one, after authorizing a small number of arms to be sent to Syrian rebels. Still, the President may not be sunk yet on his minor Syrian decision, though as Washington Monthly's Ed Kilgore noted yesterday, the hopes of neo-con chicken hawks like Senators McCain and Graham - and their military contractor donors - may be completely underwater with public disapproval of more U.S. war involvement being so high.
On immigration, any sane person looking at the demographic realities facing the GOP might logically believe there's a course that should allow immigration reform to sail through Congress. Not surprisingly to us, however, is the torpedoing by extremist tea party Republicans of any immigration plan that might pass the Senate and be signed by the President. The attempt to tie immigration to Obamacare and the latest plan by Sen. Ted Cruz to override the Supreme Court's Voter ID ruling are both examples of the GOP being effectively dead in the water on the issue of immigration reform.
Of course, if members of Congress were sane, they also wouldn't follow the example of Rep. Eric Cantor, who's been trying to trash the President, as weeks of overblown scandals and fake outrage have caused a dip in Obama's poll numbers. As Steve Benen at Maddowblog pointed out, Cantor - and frankly anyone in Congress - should really keep their political stones in their pockets, since Congress now has its lowest approval ratings EVER. Even with a slight dip in his poll numbers, Americans still like and trust President Obama five times more than they do Congress.
The plunge into stupidity doesn't stop there.
As Jonathan Bernstein noted over at The Plum Line, and as our staffers have said for years, the almost slavish devotion to the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party also now appears to be costing the GOP to lose some of the moderate religious right. Indeed, Bernstein cites a story by Anne Kim and Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly that details how some moderate religious Republicans have been trying to find solutions to their problems with Obamacare. Instead of the GOP supporting and helping out their natural constituents, these religious Republicans looking for a healthcare solution have found two champions in Democratic senators Mark Pryor and Chris Coons.
What Americans really want doesn't take a deep dive into policy or partisanship to understand.
They want more jobs, better pay, healthcare for all, and a government that works efficiently and effectively. They want policies that make sense, like not getting involved in civil wars of other nations - especially in the Middle East - and not having their government spy on them.
They also want an immigration policy that keeps families together and rewards hard-working immigrants, while punishing corporations that try to abuse those immigrants.
That so many people in American politics seem to be missing the boat so often these days makes us wonder exactly what they're really thinking - or if those at some of the highest levels of politics are even capable of floating a cogent thought on their own anymore.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
The Silence Of The Sheeple
As a new week begins, there is both a new debate on American involvement in Syria, and the debate that remains to be truly addressed, over security and privacy. Today, we'll try to finish what we started a week and a half ago, since - unlike Congress - we don't like to fall asleep on the job.
Over the weekend, more muddled information from Barton Gellman in the Washington Post, and Glenn Greenwald in the Guardian were released about the NSA's spying programs.
While the new info is interesting, much of the mainstream media is still avoiding addressing the truly important debate, of security versus privacy. What's more, Congress - the ones who are truly responsible for making this NSA mess such a disaster - appear to have been sleeping while the wolves of the military/industrial/spying class fleeced the sheeple of America.
Adam Serwer noted back in 2012 that members of Congress who reauthorized these programs didn't even understand what they did. That obviously didn't keep someone like Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner from feigning shock over the NSA's programs last Friday, as Serwer also reported. We say "feigning" because if Sensenbrenner had actually attended the meetings he was supposed to, he'd already have been well-versed in what the NSA was doing.
It's a good thing a handful of writers and journalists - like Serwer and the Washington Post's Greg Sargent - have thankfully stayed focused on the real debate over privacy and security that President Obama recently said he welcomed.
Sargent, in fact, engaged in a serious Twitter conversation with our own staffer Shawn Peirce on Friday, after Greg spoke with the ACLU's legislative counsel, Michelle Richardson. As Greg noted, Richardson claims that the Obama administration could declassify enough information about the NSA programs so that Congress and the American people could have that debate over privacy and security.
The problem, as both Greg and Shawn noted in their discussion on Friday, is that if President Obama or members of his administration declassified the NSA material without any action from Congress, with the adversarial addiction of the mainstream media, it would almost certainly lead to further partisan political attacks that would likely bring America no closer to solving the problem.
As Sargent said in that discussion on Friday, "…obviously the best way for this to happen is for Congress to compel it". That would mean our Congressmembers would have to wake from their legislative slumber, so they might actually protect the American people. Frankly, we're not sure some of them are willing to wake up.
There are a few in Congress who aren't completely asleep, as Greg noted last week, like Sen. Jeff Merkley, a progressive Democrat, and Sen. Mike Lee, a Tea Party Republican. Still - Congress can't do this alone.
To truly neuter the NSA's wolfish habits will require a full court press from both the Congress and the Obama Administration, working together, with an assist from the judicial branch.
Of course, to get the debate to generate a policy change will also require the American people to refuse to remain quiet on this issue. In that respect at least, both Gellman and Greenwald are keeping parts of this debate at the top of the minds of the mainstream American media, and therefore, the American people. That may not seem like much, but it's better than the willfully ignorant silence on this issue that Americans have been sounding since 2001.
Over the weekend, more muddled information from Barton Gellman in the Washington Post, and Glenn Greenwald in the Guardian were released about the NSA's spying programs.
While the new info is interesting, much of the mainstream media is still avoiding addressing the truly important debate, of security versus privacy. What's more, Congress - the ones who are truly responsible for making this NSA mess such a disaster - appear to have been sleeping while the wolves of the military/industrial/spying class fleeced the sheeple of America.
Adam Serwer noted back in 2012 that members of Congress who reauthorized these programs didn't even understand what they did. That obviously didn't keep someone like Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner from feigning shock over the NSA's programs last Friday, as Serwer also reported. We say "feigning" because if Sensenbrenner had actually attended the meetings he was supposed to, he'd already have been well-versed in what the NSA was doing.
It's a good thing a handful of writers and journalists - like Serwer and the Washington Post's Greg Sargent - have thankfully stayed focused on the real debate over privacy and security that President Obama recently said he welcomed.
Sargent, in fact, engaged in a serious Twitter conversation with our own staffer Shawn Peirce on Friday, after Greg spoke with the ACLU's legislative counsel, Michelle Richardson. As Greg noted, Richardson claims that the Obama administration could declassify enough information about the NSA programs so that Congress and the American people could have that debate over privacy and security.
The problem, as both Greg and Shawn noted in their discussion on Friday, is that if President Obama or members of his administration declassified the NSA material without any action from Congress, with the adversarial addiction of the mainstream media, it would almost certainly lead to further partisan political attacks that would likely bring America no closer to solving the problem.
As Sargent said in that discussion on Friday, "…obviously the best way for this to happen is for Congress to compel it". That would mean our Congressmembers would have to wake from their legislative slumber, so they might actually protect the American people. Frankly, we're not sure some of them are willing to wake up.
There are a few in Congress who aren't completely asleep, as Greg noted last week, like Sen. Jeff Merkley, a progressive Democrat, and Sen. Mike Lee, a Tea Party Republican. Still - Congress can't do this alone.
To truly neuter the NSA's wolfish habits will require a full court press from both the Congress and the Obama Administration, working together, with an assist from the judicial branch.
Of course, to get the debate to generate a policy change will also require the American people to refuse to remain quiet on this issue. In that respect at least, both Gellman and Greenwald are keeping parts of this debate at the top of the minds of the mainstream American media, and therefore, the American people. That may not seem like much, but it's better than the willfully ignorant silence on this issue that Americans have been sounding since 2001.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Something To Count On
Once again, the weekend is almost here, and as some of our staff members have already hit the road, those who remain should be zipping around, trying to get things done - not paging through the latest work of folks like Sergio Aragonés and Tom Richmond in Mad magazine's new "Superman" issue, or watching the season finale of "Game of Thrones."
We're not worried though, as we have the utmost confidence that our staff members will get today's edition compiled, published, and out the door in good time because they're professionals - and also because they're not members of Congress.
Indeed, another poll from Gallup focusing on Congress came out Thursday afternoon, and it was similar to the PPP poll we featured back in January of this year. The January poll focused on Congress' approval rating, which - as far we know - still remains lower than root canals, traffic jams, or even cockroaches.
This week's poll was slightly different though, focusing on the level of confidence Americans have in their Congress. After looking at the poll results from Gallup, it should surprise absolutely no one that the top reason Americans are fed up with Congress is gridlock. As Josh Barro of Business Insider noted on Twitter, "Who the hell are these 30 million Americans who still have confidence in Congress?" The only positive thing we can say about Congress right now is that they're consistently bad - four years at the bottom of the list! Looks like we may have finally found the one thing everyone in Congress is good at.
In all seriousness, we can understand why Americans both don't like and don't feel they can count on their Congress to get anything meaningful done right now.
Six months after the Newtown massacre, no new federal gun safety laws are anywhere near passage. Seven months after Republicans got stomped at the polls -- in part for treating women and minorities like second-class citizens -- Congressional Republicans seem to have re-opened their war against women, and are continuing their longstanding fight against immigrants. As Steve Benen noted, it looks like that GOP rebranding project has failed spectacularly.
Instead of continuing to drag you down, however, since it's Friday we'll give you the good news: Some members of Congress are continuing to try to get important legislation passed, on issues like gun safety, workplace equality, and immigration reform. Some politicians are also still working on implementing laws Congress has already passed, like the Affordable Care Act.
The even better news is that it appears Congress might actually get a few more things done later this year. After all, we haven't even reached the MLB All-Star Break - though Congress did have its annual Congressional Baseball Game last night. As the best former sportswriter on Capitol Hill - Roll Call's Meredith Shiner - wrote about the contest, the Democrats "dominated the game," blanking the Republicans 22-0.
There are always reasons you could look at the world negatively: For example, the EF 0 tornado that hit the northwest suburbs of DC yesterday, the new committment to support the rebels in the ongoing civil war in Syria, and the continuing controversy over the NSA's spying programs are just a few examples.
What keeps us focused on the positive, however, is that we have the confidence that comes from having great and trustworthy friends, family, and coworkers - and we realize that's more than many people have.
As the old advice says, count your blessings not your curses.
We think that's some great advice for all of us this weekend.
We're not worried though, as we have the utmost confidence that our staff members will get today's edition compiled, published, and out the door in good time because they're professionals - and also because they're not members of Congress.
Indeed, another poll from Gallup focusing on Congress came out Thursday afternoon, and it was similar to the PPP poll we featured back in January of this year. The January poll focused on Congress' approval rating, which - as far we know - still remains lower than root canals, traffic jams, or even cockroaches.
This week's poll was slightly different though, focusing on the level of confidence Americans have in their Congress. After looking at the poll results from Gallup, it should surprise absolutely no one that the top reason Americans are fed up with Congress is gridlock. As Josh Barro of Business Insider noted on Twitter, "Who the hell are these 30 million Americans who still have confidence in Congress?" The only positive thing we can say about Congress right now is that they're consistently bad - four years at the bottom of the list! Looks like we may have finally found the one thing everyone in Congress is good at.
In all seriousness, we can understand why Americans both don't like and don't feel they can count on their Congress to get anything meaningful done right now.
Six months after the Newtown massacre, no new federal gun safety laws are anywhere near passage. Seven months after Republicans got stomped at the polls -- in part for treating women and minorities like second-class citizens -- Congressional Republicans seem to have re-opened their war against women, and are continuing their longstanding fight against immigrants. As Steve Benen noted, it looks like that GOP rebranding project has failed spectacularly.
Instead of continuing to drag you down, however, since it's Friday we'll give you the good news: Some members of Congress are continuing to try to get important legislation passed, on issues like gun safety, workplace equality, and immigration reform. Some politicians are also still working on implementing laws Congress has already passed, like the Affordable Care Act.
The even better news is that it appears Congress might actually get a few more things done later this year. After all, we haven't even reached the MLB All-Star Break - though Congress did have its annual Congressional Baseball Game last night. As the best former sportswriter on Capitol Hill - Roll Call's Meredith Shiner - wrote about the contest, the Democrats "dominated the game," blanking the Republicans 22-0.
There are always reasons you could look at the world negatively: For example, the EF 0 tornado that hit the northwest suburbs of DC yesterday, the new committment to support the rebels in the ongoing civil war in Syria, and the continuing controversy over the NSA's spying programs are just a few examples.
What keeps us focused on the positive, however, is that we have the confidence that comes from having great and trustworthy friends, family, and coworkers - and we realize that's more than many people have.
As the old advice says, count your blessings not your curses.
We think that's some great advice for all of us this weekend.
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