The Commentariat -- September 24

Here's Part 2 of Paul Krugman & Robin Wells' epic review of books in the New York Review of Books. Here's Part 1.

Dana Milbank: Cornpackers! ...

Stephen Colbert testifies before a House subcommittee:

     ... NBC News report. New York Times story. Time post.

At the end of the hearing, Colbert got serious:

Scott Wilson of the Washington Post: "After years of focusing U.S. time and attention on the Middle East, the Obama administration is seeking to reorient its foreign policy toward Asia, largely as a way to ensure domestic economic growth in the decades ahead."

"Postcards from the Pledge." Jon Stewart examines the "fresh new ideas" reflected in the Republicans' "Pledge to America":

     ... Tanya Somanader of Think Progress has a transcript of the comparisons which Stewart highlighted of Republicans' "old ideas" & "new ideas." ...

... Michael Linden & Michael Ettlinger of the Center for American Progress: "The budget deficit would be about $200 billion larger in 2020 under the 'Pledge to America' plan than it would be under President Barack Obama’s budget, and over the next 10 years deficits would be $1.5 trillion higher than under the president’s budget." (pdf) ...

... "War on Arithmetic." Paul Krugman: "On Thursday, House Republicans released their 'Pledge to America,' supposedly outlining their policy agenda. In essence, what they say is, 'Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.'” ...

... Dana Milbank: "It took the Republicans just three minutes to violate their Pledge to America.... Their pledge..., among other things, promises to rein in an 'arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites.' Yet moments after taking the stage to face the cameras, Republican leaders appointed themselves arrogant elites. They compared themselves to the founding fathers and likened their actions ... to the signing of the Declaration of Independence." ...

... "Profile in Cowardice." Even the Washington Post's conservative Editorial Board writes, "The House Republicans' 'Pledge to America ... mixes irresponsible tax cuts with implausible spending caps and unspecified actions to control entitlement spending.... The 'Pledge' ... would increase the debt by $4 trillion -- yes, trillion -- by extending all the expiring Bush tax cuts and adding new ones, including a poorly conceived deduction for small businesses." ...

... David Corn, in Mother Jones, on what is not in the Republican "Pledge." (It's a long list.)

Mike McIntire of the New York Times: "With every election cycle comes a shadow army of benignly titled nonprofit groups like Americans for Job Security, devoted to politically charged 'issue advocacy,' much of it negative. But they are now being heard as never before.... Americans for Job Security ... spent $6 million on ads during the primary season. This week, emboldened by the [Supreme] Court ruling, the group paid close to $4 million more for ads directly attacking nine Democratic candidates for Congress.... Its deep ties to a Republican consulting operation raise questions about whether, under cover of its tax-exempt mission..., the group is largely a funnel for anonymous donations."

We don’t get our food from farms anymore. We get it from grocery stores. -- Stephen Colbert

Christina Wilkie of The Hill: "Comedian Stephen Colbert’s scheduled appearance on Capitol Hill Friday elicited mixed reactions from lawmakers.... At the hearing, the late-night talk show host will appear in the form of his fictional character...."

... Here's the Colbert segment with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Cal.), who chairs the House subcommittee on immigration:

Jason Zengerle, in GQ, profiles Rand Paul, & doesn't make young Paul sound as bad as he is. What Paul does appear to be, is totally uninformed & willing to change his views, such as they are, on everything.

Well, isn't this an effective ad from some right-wing fake-name front group called "Citizens for the Republic":

... CW: and how, pray tell, is the government going to be both "smaller" AND "more caring, one that remembers us"? Obviously, if the government is smaller, it isn't going to be "more caring."; it will have to be "less caring." And will "the government" "remember us"? Yes, maybe after we're dead from lack of care. Oh, look, even Daniel Larison of Pat Buchanan's! American Conservative agrees with me.

John Pomfret of the Washington Post: "A new generation of officials in the military, key government ministries and state-owned companies has begun to define how China deals with the rest of the world. Emboldened by China's economic expansion, these officials are taking advantage of a weakened leadership at the top of the Communist Party to assert their interests in ways that would have been impossible even a decade ago.... Today, from Washington to Tokyo, the talk is about how difficult it is to contend with the explosion of special interests shaping China's worldview."