Speaking of debates, the other amazing thing that happened this week is that Donald Trump announced he will moderate a GOP debate -- and Gingrich immediately accepted his invitation! (This was right about the same time that Gingrich teamed up with Trump to suggest that poor kids could be farmed out to work for Trump because, as Newt puts it, “Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits for working and have nobody around them who works.” Yep, poor people are just sitting around all day, not working, basking in the milk and honey that is government welfare.) Romney, Paul, and Huntsman have all widely declined, and only Santorum has joined Gingrich in deciding to attend. Trump, Gingrich, and Santorum, unfiltered, in one room, for multiple hours. No wonder the staff of the Daily Show is succumbing to fits of ecstasy.
Somewhat balancing the Daily Show’s joy at the Trump debate, Herman Cain officially bowed out of the presidential race on Saturday. Luckily, he left with enough absurdity to give Jon Stewart & Co. a wonderful parting gift (see this week’s Fun Video of the Week!). Cain’s supporters are expected to drift to Gingrich, strengthening his lead. But Rick Perry is trying to fight for every one of those voters. He sank to new lows this week with the release of an ad he calls “Strong,” in which he declares himself an unashamed Christian, which somehow lets him pivot to attacking Obama for letting gays serve in the military, bemoaning the fact that kids can’t “openly celebrate Christmas” in school (whaaa??), and vowing to end “Obama’s war on religion.” (But wait, I thought Obama was a Muslim Marxist terrorist seeking to ensure Islam’s takeover of the world?) What an asshole.
TWO BIG, IMPORTANT, EXCITING SPEECHES: This week, Obama gave a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas, where in 1910 Teddy Roosevelt laid out what Wikipedia tells me was his idea of a New Nationalism, calling for a dramatic expansion of social welfare and safety net programs. Obama used the speech to define what he calls our “make or break moment” -- a time when we can embrace a view “that says in America we are greater together—when everyone engages in fair play and everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share.” He argued that our tax code “must reflect our values.” That means, in the short term, extending the payroll tax cut, and in the long term, raising taxes on those at the very top. “This isn’t about class warfare. This is about the nation’s welfare. It’s about making choices that benefit not just the people who’ve done fantastically well over the last few decades, but that benefits the middle class, and those fighting to get into the middle class, and the economy as a whole,” Obama said. He explained the essential reforms that were passed in 2010’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill, and called for higher penalties on banks found guilty of fraud. He called on Americans to make education “a national mission,” and repeated his exhortations for greater investment in science, technology, and infrastructure. You know I’m a sucker for the emotional uplift, so here’s how he ended it:
And well into our third century as a nation, we have grown and we’ve changed in many ways since Roosevelt’s time. The world is faster and the playing field is larger and the challenges are more complex. But what hasn’t changed—what can never change—are the values that got us this far. We still have a stake in each other’s success. We still believe that this should be a place where you can make it if you try. And we still believe, in the words of the man who called for a New Nationalism all those years ago, “The fundamental rule of our national life,” he said, “the rule which underlies all others—is that, on the whole, and in the long run, we shall go up or down together.” And I believe America is on the way up.
It was a beautiful speech. (Or, in the words of GOP economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, it was “hypocritical, incoherent, and unpresidential.” You know, potato, potahto.)Obama wasn’t the only one kicking ass at the speech-giving thing. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the leaders of the world in Geneva, announcing the Obama administration's new policy to specifically promote and protect the human rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender people worldwide. “It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave,” Clinton said (minute 8:25 in the full video). I found it incredibly moving to hear the United States Secretary of State, speaking before the United Nations, say this:
To LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this: Wherever you live and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected to a network of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that you are not alone. People around the globe are working hard to support you and to bring an end to the injustices and dangers you face. That is certainly true for my country. And you have an ally in the United States of America and you have millions of friends among the American people. (Minute 23:30)
Here’s a 4-minute highlight reel. Full text and video here.ON THE HILL: Tons of stuff happened on the Hill this week, as Republicans realized that blocking every measure to try to revive the economy was wrong and bad for the country, and joined their Democratic counterparts to pass sweeping reforms and confirm a host of desperately needed nominees. Ha! Just kidding. More gridlock, comme d’habitude. First up, we have the filibustering of Obama’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency created in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill -- the one to which Elizabeth Warren was originally nominated, but then decided to run for Senate after the GOP blocked her. So Obama nominated former Ohio AG Richard Cordray, an insanely well-respected and well-qualified guy whom everyone seems to like. But Cordray’s nomination “failed” today by a 53-45 vote, with every Republican except Scott Brown (R-MA) filibustering his nomination (Sen. Olympia Snowe voted “present”). Sen. Mike Lee was blunt about his caucus’ reasons for filibustering: “I have met Mr. Cordray, and my decision to oppose his confirmation by the Senate has nothing to do with his qualifications. Rather, I feel it is my duty to oppose his confirmation as part of my opposition to the creation of CFPB itself.” Sen. Minority Leader McConnell was just as blunt, saying that unless three specific changes he demands are put in place, "We won’t support a nominee for this bureau — regardless of who the president is.” (One of the changes would be to abolish the entire post and replace it with a board of directors, presumably to make it as inefficient as possible.) Let’s not forget, of course, that the agency was created by duly-enacted federal law -- a law that both houses approved and the President signed, the process outlined by the Constitution that these people are sworn to support and defend. As a reminder of just how radical this is, remember that routine filibusters of executive appointments is a brand new phenomenon. For example, in 2003 (Bush’s third year in office), there wasn’t a single cloture vote on an executive branch nominee.
Next, Republicans for the third time blocked an extension of the payroll tax cut today, which would have been funded by a temporary surtax on income over $1 million (expected to affect 0.2 percent of the population). The House GOP introduced its own version of the tax cut extension, which would pay for it by rolling back from Medicare and food-stamp and unemployment benefits and freezing federal worker pay. It also comes with a whole host of poison pills: a provision speeding the construction of the Keystone oils ands pipeline; ending the EPA’s rules limiting toxic air pollutants; and banning the EPA from proposing a replacement standard. Obama, who issued a veto threat regarding the Keystone pipe and said he won’t leave for Christmas vacation until the tax cut is passed, responded to the House plan this afternoon: “Rather than trying to figure out what can they extract politically from me in order to get this thing done, what they need to do is be focused on what’s good for the economy, what’s good for jobs and what’s good for the American people.”
One of the most amusing parts of this debate has been hearing the GOP claim that part of why it is dragging its feet is that it is suddenly concerned about the solvency of the Social Security fund, to which payroll taxes are paid. First, since the tax cut plan is fully paid for, there’s no threat posed to the Social Security fund. Second, it seems to me that if the GOP is genuinely concerned about the solvency of the fund given the payroll tax cut, now would be a perfect time to propose eliminating the cap on taxable income, or at least raising it above its current $106,800 limit.
WHITE HOUSE PUTTING POLITICS BEFORE SCIENCE: This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius abruptly overruled a recommendation from the FDA and HHS medical experts to make Plan B emergency contraception available over the counter to those under 17. Currently, the incredibly safe and effective pill is available to all women over 17 years old over the counter, but younger women need to get a doctor’s prescription. Considering it must taken within 72 hours to be effective, the prescription requirement can make Plan B effectively unavailable for teenagers. Immediately following Sebelius’ decision, FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg insisted the issue was not about health or even protecting young women who may not understand the drug: "There is adequate and reasonable, well-supported and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of child-bearing potential." Apparently, this is the first time that HHS has overruled the FDA on a drug approval. This is a little much for those of us who remember Obama, in his first months in office, sounding a very different tune when he reversed Bush’s policies on stem cell research. "Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said. “It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology." Today, Obama said he supported Sebelius’ decision. At Salon, Rebecca Traister is particularly enraged at Obama’s invocation of his daughters as justification.
Must-Read of the Week: A list of all the people Newt think he’s like, and all the people he knows he’s smarter than. (Hint: The former includes Lincoln and Ho Chi Minh; the latter includes Michele Bachmann.) Bonus: Newt really, really thinks highly of himself. Really.
Another Must-Read: Here’s an account of one Occupier’s LA arrest. It’s pretty insane.
Fun Video of the Week: Jon Stewart recaps Herman Cain’s farewell speech, which included, I kid you not, a quote from the Pokemon movie.
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