Hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving, I'll be spending the evening down at Invesco.
Let's go Broncos!
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Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Life's little annoyances... Comcast edition
As if I needed another reason to hate Comcast now when you call their 1-800 number you are greeted by Shaq and Ben Stein.
Just in time for Thanksgiving... obesity and poverty blogging
The folks at Sadly,No! deliver a thorough thrashing to WaPo's Charles Lane.
Hey Andrew, here's that opening you've been looking for...
Denver Post,
Here it is, served on a silver platter, an opportunity for Andrew Romanoff to create some daylight between himself and Michael Bennet. Romanoff is not the populist sort but if he wants a shot at winning he needs to seize on an issue and make it his own.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet suddenly finds himself the darling of liberals on health care reform, but he appears more cautious on the Democrats' other major priority for the year — imposing new regulations on Wall Street...
Bennet last week joined Republicans in warning of "unintended consequences" in the sweeping, 1,100-page bill developed by Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., which establishes a new federal super-regulator as well as a separate agency to protect consumers.
The committee's junior Democrat, Bennet called for coming up with a bill that can win Republican support.
He raised his concerns the same day that Republicans asked for months of new hearings and discussion and warned darkly that passing financial regulatory reform in its current shape would cause "pandemonium in the world."
Here it is, served on a silver platter, an opportunity for Andrew Romanoff to create some daylight between himself and Michael Bennet. Romanoff is not the populist sort but if he wants a shot at winning he needs to seize on an issue and make it his own.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wars cost money
Time to start paying for them.
Of course this will never pass out of the Senate, it may not even make it to the floor of the Senate for debate. The same Serious Centrists who are telling us that we can't afford healthcare will be leading the charge to defeat this measure. They're budget hawks when the issue is spending money to stimulate the economy in the midst of the greatest economic downturn in generations or corralling our spiraling healthcare costs while increasing access to basic care. When we're discussing blowing up brown people in far away countries, well that's free as far as the Serious Centrists are concerned.
Of course this will never pass out of the Senate, it may not even make it to the floor of the Senate for debate. The same Serious Centrists who are telling us that we can't afford healthcare will be leading the charge to defeat this measure. They're budget hawks when the issue is spending money to stimulate the economy in the midst of the greatest economic downturn in generations or corralling our spiraling healthcare costs while increasing access to basic care. When we're discussing blowing up brown people in far away countries, well that's free as far as the Serious Centrists are concerned.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Poor analysis of Bennet healthcare stand from Beltway media....
I'll use Ezra Klein as an example. First, here's what Michael Bennet said to CNN over the weekend,
Where to begin?
First, I think that the title to Klein's post is grossly off the mark. Michael Bennet is facing a primary challenge and whatever you think of Andrew Romanoff's chances currently there's no surer way to piss of the Democratic base in Colorado than by failing on healthcare reform. Michael Bennet is certainly aware of this and while he has been consistent on the issue of healthcare it's hardly a sign of his not being a careerist. Quite the opposite really. A smart politician in a primary is going to make sure he is in line with his base on an issue such as healthcare. I'm not saying that Bennet made this statement purely out of cynical career concerns but his statement certainly isn't an example of a politician eschewing career concerns.
Second, Klein makes the all too common mistake of looking at a resume which includes high level political jobs but no elected office and concluding that Bennet is a political neophyte. The man was Chief of Staff to Mayor Hickenlooper, that's a position that clearly required Bennet to learn "the complex set of rationalizations that lead so many politicians to justify... compromises." He was also Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, which is about as political of a job as you will find in this state and obviously requires political compromises, justifications and rationalizations.
How Klein can look at this resume and not see that Bennet's experience is over-flowing with political experience is beyond me. Klein conflates electoral experience with political experience. As Bennet demonstrates you can have political experience without having electoral experience.
Ezra's analysis comes in a post titled "Sen. Michael Bennet is not a cynical careerist"“If you get to the final point and you are a critical vote for health care reform and every piece of evidence tells you if you support the bill you will lose your job, would you cast the vote and lose your job?”...
Bennet answered very simply: "Yes."
Bennet, it should be said, is a vulnerable senator. He's a moderate Democrat in a swing state who was appointed to his seat with no electoral skills or existing political base. But maybe that accounts for his clarity on this question. Bennet was formerly chief of staff to the mayor of Denver and then superintendent of the city's school system. He has never made the compromises that lead to reelection, nor learned the complex set of rationalizations that lead so many politicians to justify those compromises.
Where to begin?
First, I think that the title to Klein's post is grossly off the mark. Michael Bennet is facing a primary challenge and whatever you think of Andrew Romanoff's chances currently there's no surer way to piss of the Democratic base in Colorado than by failing on healthcare reform. Michael Bennet is certainly aware of this and while he has been consistent on the issue of healthcare it's hardly a sign of his not being a careerist. Quite the opposite really. A smart politician in a primary is going to make sure he is in line with his base on an issue such as healthcare. I'm not saying that Bennet made this statement purely out of cynical career concerns but his statement certainly isn't an example of a politician eschewing career concerns.
Second, Klein makes the all too common mistake of looking at a resume which includes high level political jobs but no elected office and concluding that Bennet is a political neophyte. The man was Chief of Staff to Mayor Hickenlooper, that's a position that clearly required Bennet to learn "the complex set of rationalizations that lead so many politicians to justify... compromises." He was also Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, which is about as political of a job as you will find in this state and obviously requires political compromises, justifications and rationalizations.
How Klein can look at this resume and not see that Bennet's experience is over-flowing with political experience is beyond me. Klein conflates electoral experience with political experience. As Bennet demonstrates you can have political experience without having electoral experience.
Colorado GOP, still totally useless
Thanks to the Colorado GOP for reminding us that no matter what we may think of Bill Ritter as governor the Republicans are still operating in an alternative universe where the state doesn't need more revenues... or bridges, or roads, or schools...
Not getting it...
Apparently Jeffrey Goldberg still doesn't understand that American Evangelical support for Israel is rooted in the Evangelical belief in an apocalyptic End Times. They don't love Israel or Jews, they're rooting for their destruction. In other words dear Jeffrey, they are using you for their own salvation. That Jews and Israel die a horrid death via a Holy War in the process is a feature, not a bug.
Bennet gets national attention
Steven Benen at the Washington Monthly has picked up on Sen. Michael Bennet's clear declaration on CNN that he would vote in favor of health care reform even if it that vote cost him his job.
That sound you hear is the window of opportunity closing on Andrew Romanoff. The former Colorado Speaker of the House depsertaly needs a message and an issue to run on. Thus far Bennet has failed to provide any such opportunities for Romanoff and Romanoff hasn't forced any opening himself.
That sound you hear is the window of opportunity closing on Andrew Romanoff. The former Colorado Speaker of the House depsertaly needs a message and an issue to run on. Thus far Bennet has failed to provide any such opportunities for Romanoff and Romanoff hasn't forced any opening himself.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Ah, weekend....
Hell-acious week, no time for blogging or even following the news really so here's some quick hits from Saturday morning browsing...
I was thoroughly entertained by this snark filled dressing down of yet another very stupid Matt Yglesias post. Honestly, I wonder sometimes if he's purposefully trolling his readers just for his own personal bemusement.
Matt Taibbi on the culture wars and Sarah Palin, it's a great and insightful take.
Also, leave it to The Onion to really get to the heart of matters.
I was thoroughly entertained by this snark filled dressing down of yet another very stupid Matt Yglesias post. Honestly, I wonder sometimes if he's purposefully trolling his readers just for his own personal bemusement.
Matt Taibbi on the culture wars and Sarah Palin, it's a great and insightful take.
Also, leave it to The Onion to really get to the heart of matters.
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