The Conversation -- January 23, 2024
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The full federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday rejected ... Donald J. Trump's bid to lift a gag order imposed on him in the criminal case in which he stands accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election. The terse ruling, issued on behalf of the 11 judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, leaves Mr. Trump with only the option of appealing to the Supreme Court if he wants to keep fighting the gag order, which restricts his ability to publicly criticize certain people involved in the legal proceeding."
Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "The trial of E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against Donald J. Trump has been postponed for another day and will resume Thursday, a federal court announced on Tuesday. The court did not offer a reason for the additional delay, but the trial was originally postponed for a day after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in court Monday that a juror had reported flulike symptoms and would be getting a Covid test."
Here's the New York Times liveblog of developments in today's New Hampshire primary. After 7:00 pm ET, I'll post this on Wednesday's page.
Marie: I just voted in New Hampshire, and I would say turnout was light because I breezed in and out in no time. As tempting as it was to vote for Vermin Supreme, I wrote in Joe Biden instead. Glad I did because a fellow I talked to after I voted told me that Vermin Supreme has been running for 20 years, and he hasn't won yet. I guess people just aren't turned on by the thought of rat-topped pizza pies.
Marshall Cohen of CNN: "The Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission has dismissed a challenge against Donald Trump's candidacy based on his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. The panel rejected the case on procedural grounds Monday, finding that the commission didn't have jurisdiction to address the matter. The outcome is a victory for the former president, but the panel avoided grappling with questions around his culpability for the deadly attack on the US Capitol.... Decisions made by the commission can be appealed in Massachusetts courts."
Say Whaaaa? Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "President Joe Biden's campaign social media team pounced when ... Donald Trump slurred through an incoherent chunk of a rally speech and also appeared to commit a gaffe in which he quoted himself in the third person.... [In] a daffy chunk ... [of his speech in Laconia, New Hampshire, Monday night,] Trump describes the operation of the Iron Dome the way a fifth-grader would cut down cops and robbers on a playground.... During the already-bizarre chunk of Trump's speech where he waxes apocalyptic over a hypnotic cult musical score, he threw in a stray self-quote: 'How foolish, are we? How stupid are our leaders? We can be energy independent and even energy dominant. Yes. Oh, yes. And quickly, says President Trump. We will be there very quickly.' And minutes later, he took a tumble down a chunk about the death penalty, slurring as he told the crowd: 'We have become a drug-infested, crime-ridden nation which is incapable of solvin' even the swollest, smallest problem, the simplest of problems we can no longer solve. We can't do anything. We are an institute in a powerful death penalty! We will put this on!' Team Biden highlighted both moments on their Twitter/X feed[.]" ~~~
~~~ Marie: You might think that Trump had made these incoherent remarks during a foaming-at-the-mouth tirade. But no. If you listen to the clips, you can hear him speaking quietly, slowly, listlessly and apparently trying to carefully read from a teleprompter. He isn't up to it. ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's recent campaign appearances "signal we're headed for a lengthy debate over the relative cognitive abilities of the candidates in the most geriatric election in modern history.... Plenty of people are noting [Trump's flubs], including Fox News, Haley, Ron DeSantis's campaign before he dropped out and increasingly the Biden campaign, which has taken to promoting Trump's flubs on social media. It has also launched an ad on the subject.... While the age issue was basically a wash in the 2020 election, [President] Biden's many senior moments as president have led to a sharp rise in reservations about his mental fitness.... Trump has reaped benefits from trying to attach his own liabilities to his opponents. Now the Biden campaign has clearly set about trying to do that, and Trump's unsteady return to a packed campaign schedule suggests he could deliver plenty of fodder."
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Presidential Race
Haley Routs Trump. Alyce McFadden of the New York Times: "The first votes in the New Hampshire primary have been cast in the township of Dixville Notch. All six of them. Nikki Haley took 100 percent of the vote, with 100 percent turnout. The polls -- or poll, in this case -- opened just after the clock struck midnight, as they have here for 64 years, to great fanfare. And 10 minutes later, the voting was done. The event is as much a press spectacle as it is a serious exercise in democracy: There were more than 10 journalists for every voter, including representatives from major TV networks, newspapers, wire services and foreign press from over a dozen countries." McFadden spoke with the voters.
Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "In a first-of-its-kind effort, some Democrats are trying early this election year to drum up a symbolic show of support for the president, who has faced no formidable primary challengers, even as he has drawn low approval ratings. The unusual New Hampshire initiative is one of the results of a revampe Democratic nominating calendar. [President] Biden and the Democratic National Committee moved South Carolina to the front of the pack, but New Hampshire decided to continue to hold its long-prized first-in-the-nation primary earlier, in defiance of the new party rules. The contest carries no practical weight since the DNC has stripped the state of its delegates to the nominating convention and Biden opted not to put his name on the ballot. But Democrats here say their vote ... offer[s] the first show of support for Biden in his party before other states hold contests. And Biden's allies have been aggressive in promoting him in the state, with a super PAC run by a former party official spending more than $1.2 million on ads and mail, and many surrogates close to the campaign, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), campaigning for the write-in effort." ~~~
~~~ Alex Seitz-Wald & Mike Memoli of NBC News: "The New Hampshire attorney general's office says it is investigating what appears to be an 'unlawful attempt' at voter suppression after NBC News reported on a robocall impersonating President Joe Biden telling recipients not to vote in Tuesday's presidential primary. 'Although the voice in the robocall sounds like the voice of President Biden, this message appears to be artificially generated based on initial indications,' the attorney generals office said in a statement. '... New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely.' The investigation comes after a prominent New Hampshire Democrat, whose personal cell phone number showed up on the caller ID of those receiving the call, filed a complaint." (Also linked yesterday.)
Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump defended his confusing GOP primary rival Nikki Haley with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an interview with Fox News's Bret Baier, saying he recently aced a cognitive test.... [Bret Baier of Fox asked Trump in an interview,] '[Nikki Haley] said, are you mentally fit? That's basically what she said.... How do you respond to that?' 'Well, I did a cognitive test recently, and I aced it,' Trump replied. He then explained his previous gaffes, like when he appeared to confuse Obama for Biden, that it was all part of a bit[.]" MB: Hall doesn't say so, but Trump took the "recent" cognitive test he claims to have aced about four years ago. Update: I just heard a clip of Trump's saying he took the test "a few months ago." It is not impossible that a doctor readministered the test, but my own doctor told me doctors are not routinely giving these cognitive tests anymore. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Josephine Harvey of the Huffington Post (Nov. 27, 2023): "Last week, Trump's campaign released a vague note from a doctor declaring that his 'overall health is excellent' and his 'cognitive exams were exceptional,' without providing any specifics about the results." MB: So perhaps I was wrong and Trump did "recently" take a cognitive test. However, I encourage you to think about the meaning of "exceptional": it does not necessarily mean "exceptionally good." ~~~
~~~ Oh, and this from Ashley Parker & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post (Jan. 19): "'I think it was 35, 30 questions,' the former president said in Portsmouth, N.H., of the test, which he said involved a few animal identification queries. 'They always show you the first one, like a giraffe, a tiger, or this, or that -- a whale. "Which one is the whale?" Okay. And that goes on for three or four [questions] and then it gets harder and harder and harder.' The only problem: The creator of the test in question, called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, said it has never included the specific combination of animals described by Trump in any of its versions over the years. In fact, Ziad Nasreddine, the Canadian neurologist who invented the test, said the assessment ... has never once included a drawing of a whale.... Experts also note that the assessment is not an I.Q. or intelligence test, though Trump has often talked about it as if it was."
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: Donald Trump "made a series of flubs and missteps that serious minds should want to know more about. And yet, his stumbles are barely getting covered on cable news.... There also seems to be some reticence over the issue in light of [President] Biden's apparent decline." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "... don't mistake [Donald Trump] for a colossus leading a mighty band. This view ignores the opportunism behind many of the endorsements he is winning and the sharp split between Republicans who want to govern and those who don't.... Trump's apparent dominance distracts from what the behavior of elected GOP politicians in Washington teaches us day after day: The party is a mess." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Bender & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump plumbed new depths of degradation in his savage takedown of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a yearlong campaign of emasculation and humiliation that helped force one of the party's rising stars out of the presidential race after just one contest and left him to pick up the pieces of his political future. In front of enormous rally audiences, Mr. Trump painted Mr. DeSantis as a submissive sniveler, insisting that he had cried and begged 'on his knees' for an endorsement in the 2018 Florida governor's race. In a series of sexually charged attacks, Mr. Trump suggested -- without a shred of proof -- that Mr. DeSantis wore high heels, that he might be gay and that perhaps he was a pedophile. He promised that intense national scrutiny would leave Mr. DeSantis whining for 'mommy.' Mr. DeSantis shied from fighting back, which only inflicted more pain on his campaign." ~~~
~~~ Return on Investment: from Little to Nothing. Liz Skalka of the Huffington Post: "... the DeSantis campaign and its allied super PAC, Never Back Down, spent at least $53 million to ultimately win the vote of 23,420 Iowans. As other outlets have noted, it works out to roughly $2,262 per voter -- although not every penny was spent to court Iowans, and DeSantis' outlay in the final weeks of the campaign won't be available until the end of the month.... Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy spent $22 million, including more than $15 million of his own money, to win the votes of 8,449 Iowans. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a wealthy one-time software company executive, spent more than $15 million, with $12 million from his own pocket, on a campaign that he abandoned before any votes had even been cast." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Contributor RockyGirl made me feel sorry for Ron DeSantis -- for the first time ever -- when she suggested in yesterday's Comments that he "must be on the Spectrum"; that is, that DeSantis suffers from at least a mild form of autism. I'm guessing RockyGirl was kidding. But if it's true, think of the sympathy DeSantis would have garnered by becoming such a success despite his disability. Our jokes about him would have been considered cruel. Even some Trump supporters would have faulted Trump for his nasty attacks (and, yes, Trump would have attacked anyway). However, autism does not explain away Rhonda's own very mean streak. Ron DeSantis is a cruel man, who has taken lives with his condemnation of Covid vaccines, endangered others and damaged minorities and LGBTQ+ people with his despicable "anti-woke" agenda. So, on the whole, I guess I don't feel very sorry for Rhonda. Have a chocolate puddin' cup, Rhonda, and go away. ~~~
~~~ Not feeling sorry for DeSantis: Stephen Colbert, who notes that Ron's parting "Winston Churchill" quotation was actually from "an old Budweiser ad": ~~~
CNN had a liveblog yesterday covering E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Donald Trump, but the court adjourned for the day because of a sick juror. "Both Trump and Carroll were in the courtroom when the cancellation was announced.... Trump attorney Alina Habba told the judge that the former president plans to testify in the trial, but he cannot be in court on Tuesday because of the New Hampshire primary." MB: There's nothing forcing Trump to be in New Hampshire on primary day. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Maria Cramer & Kate Christobek of the New York Times have the story here. Judge Lewis Kaplan had not yet decided as of Monday morning when the trial would continue but he told Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who requested the trial be delayed until Wednesday, "Circumstances may result in your getting what you ask for. And maybe not." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update 2. Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "Former President Trump's defamation trial brought by E. Jean Carroll won't resume until Wednesday morning, according to a court spokesperson, a timeline that enables Trump to wait until after the New Hampshire primary before deciding whether to testify."
~~~ Ana Faguy of Forbes: "... Donald Trump took to Truth Social Monday attacking writer E. Jean Carroll in more than three dozen separate posts, hours after the defamation trial against Trump was canceled for the day because of a juror illness.... The former president posted more than 40 times in the span of less than an hour Monday morning, attacking Carroll using snippets of interviews Carroll has done with the media, purported Facebook posts from Carroll and original posts from Trump attacking Carroll's claims about him."
Gary Fineout of Politico: "A push by some Florida Republicans to use taxpayer money to help pay for ... Donald Trump's multiple legal battles quickly fell apart after Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to veto the legislation. State Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican who endorsed Trump's reelection, has filed a bill for this year's legislative session that could allow the state to hand out up to $5 million to the embattled Republican front-runner for president. The legislation has already won the endorsement from Jimmy Patronis, the state's Republican chief financial officer, who for months has been publicly calling for taxpayers to pay to defend Trump from criminal charges.... Garcia late Monday night announced she would withdraw the bill... less than two hours after DeSantis publicly posted on X ... that he did not support the measure.... Roughly 12 hours earlier, Garcia stated in a release, put out by Patronis' office, that 'we're in the midst of an historic moment where we're watching an election that's trying to be stolen by left wing prosecutors, the Biden Administration and even Blue States.'" MB: "Trying to be stolen"? At least we know Garcia is inarticulate. More seriously, this bill was an abomination.
Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A Georgia judge unsealed a divorce case on Monday that has entangled the Atlanta district attorney prosecuting ... Donald J. Trump, but halted plans to force the testimony of the prosecutor, Fani T. Willis. One of the parties to the divorce, Nathan Wade, is the lawyer whom Ms. Willis hired to manage the election interference case against Mr. Trump and his allies.... The accusations do not change the underlying facts in the Trump prosecution.... But [they] complicate the case considerably.... The judge ... stayed Ms. Willis's deposition [demanded by a subpoena from Mr. Wade's wife, Joycelyn Wade], which had been planned for Tuesday, saying he wished to hear from Mr. Wade first." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post is in high dudgeon over the Willis-Wade affair. "What in the world was Willis thinking?... In government or out, you don't hire your boyfriend. You know who knows this? Fani Willis. 'I certainly will not be choosing people to date that work under me,' she said in a 2020 campaign appearance helpfully recirculated by the Georgia GOP chairman.... The arrangement stinks, and it plays right into Trump's hands.... It might not damn her case in court, but the damage in the court of public opinion is immense." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Marcus makes two assumptions here: (1) that Willis & Wade were in a relationship before Willis hired Wade, and (2) that the affair has something to do with "thinking." I don't think there's any publicly-available evidence yet of when the affair began, but we don't need direct evidence to know that most "inappropriate" sexual liaisons don't involve much, if any, thinking. People who work closely together are always having affairs. And most of them know, on some level, that the affairs are, at best, inadvisable. But, as often as not, sex will best propriety. ~~~
~~~ Update: Ruth's disapproval got me to wondering if she herself might have had an "inappropriate" affair that began in the workplace. So I found this 2017 story about Ruth's career. Down the page we learn, "Soon she was promoted to the paper's national staff, where she covered legal issues, including the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Her future husband was working for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Thomas hearings, and their romance blossomed after he became one of her sources. How perfect is that?" Oh my stars & garters. I don't know where "Having Affair with Source" fits into the journalistic ethics code, but I'll bet it's in the "Don't Do This" section. What were you thinking, Ruth?
Mark Walker of the New York Times: "The Federal Aviation Administration recommended late Sunday night that airlines begin visual inspections of door plugs installed on Boeing 737-900ER planes, the second Boeing model to come under scrutiny this month. The F.A.A. said the plane has the same door plug design as the 737 Max 9, which had 171 jets from its fleet grounded after a door panel was blown off one of the jets shortly after an Alaska Airlines flight left Portland, Ore., on Jan. 5., forcing an emergency landing. The door plugs are placed as a panel where an emergency door would otherwise be if a plane had more seats." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Kentucky. Roshan Abraham of Vice: "Republican politicians in Kentucky are rallying behind a new bill that would authorize the use of force -- and potentially deadly force -- against unhoused people who are found to be camping on private property. The bill would also criminalize unsanctioned homeless encampments and restrict cities and towns from preempting state laws. The bill, known as the 'Safer Kentucky Act,' or HB5, would target homelessness, drug possession and mental illness by drastically increasing criminal penalties for a range of offenses. Introduced last week by Republican state representative Jared Bauman, it already has 52 sponsors in Kentucky's House of Representatives. A vote is scheduled for this week.... The bill says the use of force is 'justifiable' if a defendant believes that criminal trespass, robbery or 'unlawful camping' is occurring on their property. In addition, it says that 'deadly physical force' is justifiable if a defendant believes that someone is trying to 'dispossess' them of their property or is attempting a robbery or committing arson, language that could also have ramifications for tenants overstaying their lease." (Also linked yesterday.)
** Texas. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration on Monday, allowing federal officials to cut or remove parts of a concertina-wire barrier along the Mexican border that Texas erected to keep migrants from crossing into the state. The ruling, by a 5-to-4 vote, was a victory for the administration in the increasingly bitter dispute between the White House and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, an outspoken critic of President Biden's border policy who has shipped busloads of migrants to northern cities.... Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal members to form a majority." The Texas Tribune story is here. MB: What's disgusting, not to mention ominous, is that four so-called justices thought it was fine for a state to assert itself over a federal prerogative and institute cruel & unusual punishment against people crossing the border. ~~~
~~~ Then There's Clay Higgins. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration in its fight with Texas for control of the southern border, [Rep. Clay] Higgins [R-La.] weighed in on social media. 'My thoughts are that the feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground,' wrote Higgins." MB: This is nonsensical. If anyone was "staging a civil war," it was Greg Abbott, who tried to usurp the federal government's power. And Higgins himself came close to joining a civil war when he voted against certifying the duly-chosen Arizona and Pennsylvania Electors and claimed late last year that FBI agents unloaded from "ghost buses" and orchestrated the insurrection.
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israel Defense Forces said 21 soldiers were killed in southern Gaza in the deadliest single attack on its forces since they began their operation in the enclave.... IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the soldiers who died in southern Gaza were rigging buildings with mines when a strike appeared to trigger the explosives and collapse the buildings with the troops inside.... The IDF said its ground troops encircled Khan Younis and 'deepened the operation' around the area. The southern Gazan city is the hometown of Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar and the site of heavy fighting in recent weeks that has forced thousands of people to flee.... The United States and Britain, with the support of four allies, launched new airstrikes on eight Houthi targets in Yemen, heightening fears of a prolonged, retaliatory military campaign from the Iranian-backed militant group." ~~~
~~~ CNN's live updates for Tuesday are here.
Sammy Westfall of the Washington Post: "Twenty-three American citizens, most of whom served in the Israel Defense Forces, have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war since Oct. 7, according to the U.S. State Department.... After receiving draft notices as part of a wider mobilization, about 10,000 people living in the United States have reported for duty with the IDF, Israeli officials said in November. Many had previously done service in the IDF or remain reservists.... At least 32 Americans were killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. At least 10 Americans are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, with two released under a hostage exchange deal late last year." MB: So as I understand it, at least 55 Americans have been killed in the war.
"From the River to the Sea." Ishaan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "The phrase 'from the river to the sea' has sparked controversy in both Israel and the United States, where pro-Palestinian protesters have invoked the slogan in demands for freedom and rights for Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Many Israelis equate these demands to calls for the erasure of the Israeli state, citing Hamas's own past rhetoric. U.S. House lawmakers pushed legislation deeming the slogan 'antisemitic.' But Netanyahu and his ruling Likud party have their own fixed vision of what should exist between the river and the sea -- Likud's original party platform insists that 'between the Sea and the Jordan there will be only Israeli sovereignty.' And the reality cemented under successive Netanyahu governments is one of Jewish supremacy and Israeli control over a large population of Palestinians whose lives are circumscribed by Israel's security imperatives."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Charles Osgood, a newscaster who told unconventional stories on the radio in unconventional ways -- sometimes with rhyme, sometimes with humor, often with both -- died on Tuesday at his home in Saddle River, N.J. He was 91."
The New York Times liveblogged the Academy Awards nominations. Here's Variety's list of nominees.
New York Times: "Dexter Scott King, who as one of four children of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked closely with -- but also frequently fought against -- his siblings and the civil rights community over his father's legacy, died on Monday at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 62.... Mr. King was the longtime chairman of the King Center, an institution established by his mother, Coretta Scott King, in 1968 to advance the vision of her husband. He was also the president of the King Estate, which managed licensing of his father's image and likeness."
New York Times: "Norman Jewison, whose broad range as a filmmaker was reflected in the three movies that earned him Academy Award nominations for best director -- the socially conscious drama 'In the Heat of the Night,' the big-budget musical 'Fiddler on the Roof' and the romantic comedy 'Moonstruck' -- died on Saturday at his home. He was 97.... Mr. Jewison, whose career began in Canadian television and spanned more than 50 years, was, like his close friend Sidney Lumet and a select few other directors, best known for making films that addressed social issues." ~~~
~~~ "Here are some films of his available to stream, no matter your mood," via the NYT.
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Oh, really?
So this morning I’m listening to the an interview with a state senator from NH who was beating the drum for Nikki Haley (and clearly against the Fat Fascist). As part of his rationale he pointed out, in as nice a way as he could, that Trump only truly appeals to a very circumscribed minority, and in order to win in the general, the GQP needs to pull in a more diverse group of voters. Diversity ain’t exactly a thing on the right, but okay. Then he stated that he knew a lot of people who were diehard Fatty fanatics, but who would forgive him for pulling for Haley when the dust had settled.
Really? Maybe in New Hampshire, which can be a quirky, iconoclastic, and occasionally curmudgeonly place (as Marie has no doubt discovered), but I can’t think of anywhere else where the MAGAts would brook anything smacking of disloyalty to the Dear Leader, least of all the Orange Monster himself. Trump has proved to be more viciously vindictive than any mob boss. I read the other day that a political advisor who worked for a while on Rhonda’s Unmagical Misery Tour, has been declared persona non grata-fuggedaboutit by Trump. That guy can kiss his career goodbye. Fatty has sent out marching orders to apparatchiks on the right that he’s now outcast. Never to be hired by anyone on pain of reaping Trump hatred.
It used to be, in political circles, that advisors, media pros, policy wonks, could go to work for the candidate of their choice. If their person won, great. If not, they were professionals and no one held anything against them (barring dirty tricks or ideological bridges too far). Not anymore. With Trump there are no professionals, only Trump acolytes, brown shirts, and Kool Aid guzzlers on one side and traitors deserving death on the other, a situation growing more virulent by the hour as his cognition augurs in.
So, good luck to that NH pol. At the end, he did admit that he would happily vote for Mr. Destroyer of Democracy, but that won’t save him. And honestly, I would fall over speechless if just one—ONE—of these people who say “We need to go a different direction” would stick to their guns and answer the question about whether or not they would vote for Trump by saying “Absolutely not. No way.”
It never happens. Ever. Fear and self preservation kick in. And that’s all she wrote.
@Akhilleus: You are so right. In fact, it's common for political operatives to move to a campaign of a former primary rival when their candidate drops out. With Trump, apparently "disloyalty" -- taking a paying job with another Republican -- is tantamount to treason. Let's hope that means he's stuck with the bunch of boobs who are "letting Trump be Trump." Because "being Trump" is a loser.
Should Chevron be Shivved…
Interesting thing about the current hatred on the right for Chevron Defeference. Guess who was its biggest supporter back in the 80s and who actually had a hand in creating the logic underlying it? The Dark Lord himself, Nino Scalia.
Here’s how if went.
A doctrine called Skidmore Deference had been in place since the Roosevelt administration. Scalia and other right-wingers hated Skidmore because it gave more leverage to regulators (in Nino’s words, it was too “wishy-washy”, right-wing speak for “We can’t control it”). But with Reagan’s election, the developments that led to Chevron caused great joy among right-wing judicial schemers like Scalia.
Here’s why.
Chevron’s two step process made it harder for judges to engage in de novo review and instead threw control over to government administrators. At the time, the general feeling on the right was that there were too many liberal judges making too many decisions in favor of the public good and against corporations and industrial giants.
But once Reagan took over, those government agencies and departments were being stocked with right wing hacks who would take care of business in the manner of which people like Scalia approved. Hooray! Liberal judges sidelined! Corporations win! As late as 2006, corporate shills like Clarence Thomas were still singing Chevron’s praises. But then…holy shit! Obama! Now, those government agencies weren’t being controlled by right wing apparatchiks anymore. Honesty would prevail. The public good. Oh noes! Chevron has to go! Plus now, many more federal judges are right-wing plants. Now they WANT their judges to be making the decisions, not experts in the various fields.
It’s the same thing with the Voting Rights Act*. They change the rules to suit their need for power and control. And consider that back in the 60s, in California, then governor Reagan was all about gun control because Black Panthers were arming up. Can’t have the darkies owning guns, so GUN CONTROL! But then the white supremacists said “We need guns, lots and lots of guns.” So then it was GUN CONTROL is unconstitutional!
They change the rules so they win, no matter what.
Yesterday, I read Laura Hunter’s comment about that article on the big push on the right for that unitary executive bullshit in order to hand Fatty compete power should he successfully steal the coming election.
I will absolutely guarantee that, should they be successful in embedding UE crap as an ongoing operating principle, the next time a strong Democrat takes the White House it’ll be “Unitary Executive!?!? What a terrible idea!” Just as Scalia was all for Chevron, but now his kid is screeching “Chevron? What a stupid idea. Who thought that up?!”
They just have to win. No matter what.
To be honest, there are certainly instances in which too much, or the wrong kind of regulation, can impede innovation and progress in various industries. But that’s always been a by product of necessary regulation. So maybe a certain drug will take longer to get to market, but at least FDA regulations are protecting millions from being abused, or killed, by unscrupulous corporate connivers. The problem here is that there is little appetite in the right to fix problems while still maintaining the conditions for good regulatory oversight. Better to kill the whole thing.
If you’re interested in a more in depth discussion of the historical background to Chevron, Skidmore, Scalia, etc., check out this Consumer Finance Monitor podcast.
Fast forward about ten minutes in.
*And don’t listen to any GQP apologists tut-tutting about how it won’t be that bad if Chevron is chloroformed. Remember what happened when John Roberts disemboweled the Voting Rights Act? Thirty seconds after the decision was handed down, a dozen southern states introduced bills to make voting much more difficult for Democrats and minorities. Remember what happened after Dobbs? Within a millisecond (because the decision was already leaked), states controlled by religious zealots decreed that abortion was punishable by ten years hard labor, fines, loss of medical licenses, and all kinds of crazy shit. The second Chevron is killed, corporations will inundate the courts with demands to be freed of all regulation. It’ll be nuts.
"Four Republican Justices vote to allow ruling that the Supremacy Clause does not apply during Democratic administrations to stand
The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration on Monday and cleared the way for Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire Texas officials installed along a busy stretch of the southern border until the legality of the barriers is resolved in court.
As is typical in emergency actions, the majority did not explain its reasoning for dissolving an order from a lower court. Four conservatives — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh — noted their dissents without explanation."
Can't shovel money fast enough to the rich and powerful, but Republicans always become misers when their lessers need a little assistance.
Tennessee
"Five years ago, a conservative think tank made an explosive revelation: Tennessee leaders had allowed a key anti-poverty program to amass a $730 million surplus — dollars from the federal government that never reached the struggling families for whom they were earmarked.
Fast forward to today: the state currently has a surplus of $717 million in the same federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program — known in Tennessee as “Families First.” The size of Tennessee’s TANF balance dwarfs every state but one.
In the coming years, all but $190 million of the amassed funds will be distributed in the form of multi-year grants to community groups, transferred to a health department nurses for newborns program and paid to IT contractors to overhaul the agency’s aging computer system. New grant awards announcements are expected this spring.
“Over the course of the next three to four years we will see a consistent reduction in those unexpended balances as grant funding is distributed,” said Danielle Cotton, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, which manages the Families First program.
Critics, however, have questioned the lengthy timeline that has elapsed since the existence of the surplus was first brought to light in 2019, and the consequences of withheld resources for Tennessee’s working poor."
Women are too emotional to be President says a group of Trump voters. They want someone stable and who won't give in to emotion like Donald.
Some other Trump supporters forgot their dimes
A reminder of where the Supreme's Neil came from. If he had to provide an explanation of why he voted no on the Texas border barrier suit, and why he's no fan of Chevron, he might have cited this from Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Gorsuch_Burford#
It's all his mother's fault.
Ken,
More to the point, it was them evil guvmint bastards who screwed his mom.
So all guvmint is bad and must go.
Except whatever part protects guns, corporations, and the rich.
Aghast: "In addition, it says that 'deadly physical force' is justifiable if a defendant believes that someone is trying to 'dispossess' them of their property or is attempting a robbery or committing arson, language that could also have ramifications for tenants overstaying their lease.”
Add Kentucky to another state I'll never move to (following Texas and Florida).
Neutral Arbiters, no shame whatsoever.
"And then there was Justice Sam Alito, who defended his flip-flopping on the issue by saying that Chevron was necessary in the past when judges were motivated by policy considerations, but is not necessary now because judges like him no longer put their policy preferences into the law. I’m not making that up. Alito, of all people, the man who does nothing but make policy about abortion rights, voting rights, and affirmative action based on his own personal grievances, said that judges are no longer motivated by policy concerns."
Ever wonder if many of those esteemed Founders so admired by the Originalists were equally shameless, their vast imperfections now cloaked by passing of centuries?
I have and do.
Dixville Notch used to be cute. No more. I am so tired of people dumping on Democrats and Biden in particular, and so, from now on, I will be praising Dems and Biden and Harris and anyone else whose name comes up, with shining accolades. We need not talk about anything real, since it is in competition with Faux Fantasy Fellow's nimble fingers. How does anyone write so many false "tweets" in so little time? He must be operating with a cheat sheet with a pattern listed that puts 1. grievance 2. write random words in no particular order 3. grievance 4. fountain of blasphemy and lies 5. grievance. 6. hate against women, blacks and browns, gays. 6. grievance...etc.
It’s all soshulizm. Until it ain’t.
Soooo…here we go again with yet another Party of Traitors liar taking credit for a bill put forward by Biden and passed by Democrats. A bill this guy, Rep. Pete Stauber (PoT-Minnesota), voted against and called a descent into reckless socialism.
Here’s Pete back then:
"This massive spending package is not about real infrastructure, and instead will make businesses less competitive, outsource jobs, saddle American families and future generations with more debt and higher taxes, send inflation soaring to greater heights, and completely devastate our economy,"
He left out the “harumph, harumph”.
But, oh look! That “not real infrastructure bill” is having an almost immediate real world effect on life in Minnesota. And guess who’s taking full credit for this wonderful improvement?
Good ol’ (I ain’t votin’ for this crap!) Pete!
"’The Blatnik Bridge is aging, and its restoration is essential to ensuring continued economic success, which is why I have long fought for these funds. Securing the money to help replace this bridge has been a top priority for both states, and I am proud to have worked with my Minnesota and Wisconsin Congressional colleagues to secure this critical investment,’ Stauber stated. ‘I look forward to seeing this project benefit countless industries, employers, health care patients, commuters, and tourists for years to come.’”
“Long fought for these funds”, as in VOTED AGAINST IT and called the whole thing socialism.
Really, they have no shame. And the moral core of a donut.
File this under disinformation? The headline caused me to try a quick google. Pretty huge difference.
Profits Do Not Cause Inflation: Causal Fallacies as Economic Disinformation
https://www.aier.org/article/profits-do-not-cause-inflation-causal-fallacies-as-economic-ignorance/#:~:text=Profits%20Do%20Not%20Cause%20Inflation%3A%20Causal%20Fallacies%20as%20Economic%20Disinformation
How much of inflation is due to profits?
Corporate profits drove 53% of inflation during the second and third quarters of 2023 and more than one-third since the start of the pandemic, the report found, analyzing Commerce Department data. That's a massive jump from the four decades prior to the pandemic, when profits drove just 11% of price growth.3 days ago
Paywalled link, so not provided but google will kick it up
Gonzo,
And part of those extortionate profits (wow! over half) are plowed back into disseminating this kind of self-serving disinformation.
It's good for bidness.
Like Marie, I have also voted in the NH primary. Turnout in my Seacoast town seemed moderate, possibly a little more than usual. Assuming the town received the same number of Republican and Democratic ballots, more Republican ballots were requested. And judging from the line to switch party affiliation after voting--something that most independents, like me, prefer to do right away since it's more convenient than remembering to stop into Town Hall to take care of it--a lot of independents voted. Line was longer than I've ever seen it.
All in all, quite routine despite all of the media's sound and fury. All I'm hoping for is that Haley gets close enough to make the orange cretin sweat. A little more stress in the life of such an old and unhealthy man may send him to the hospital with a stroke or heart attack.
Elizabeth,
From your mouth (fingers?) to god’s ears.
The good (some of them) die young. Evil dung flingers like the Fat Fascist seem to live waaay past their sell by date.
He’s already stinking rotten, but plenty of shoppers believe that, like wine or cheese, he improves with age. Nope. He’s more like chicken. A week in the fridge and you’re inviting food poisoning. And that’s a week. How ‘bout nine years?
Holy Ptomaine, Batman!
Interesting that Rhonda, who has been so concerned about Florida students learning “fake history” about slavery, etc., personally demonstrates the problem with actual right-wing fake history by bowing out of the race for right-wing dictator with a made up “quote”from Winston Churchill.
More evidence that, on the right, history, truth, and morality are whatever you say they are.
One of my favorite clever voices is gone.
May Charles Osgood rest in peace.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/01/23/charles-osgood-dead/
George Conway on Politico writer Michael Kruse interview with a NH voter wanting the country torn apart... one's gotta wonder if the earworms in the Braindead series aren't real, infecting much of rural/urban country... Interviewee Ted Johnson has been simmering, ready and willing to push the temperature past boil... This infection is widespread. Makes me anxious.