Republicans In crisis and a Nation and a Democracy on the Sacrificial Alter

[joepistole]

Just a little conspiracy for you, I'd be really interested to see how many Republican's make money through the current shutdown. After all such occurrences create abnormal reactions in the stockmarket which can be easily exploited by the already rich and powerful, really during a shutdown they should shut the trade system down too to stop this exploitation.

I am not a Republican, but I have made huge sums since 2008 in the stock markets. I am making good money now even as the stock markets fall. As you note, people can profit hugely if they can predict the direction of the market, be it up or be it down. And it’s not like the direction of the market has been difficult to predict over the course of the last few years. When you have a bunch of Tea Party, Limbaugh inspired idiots on your hands it really is not and has not been that difficult to predict. This has been some of the easiest stock market pickings I have seen in nearly three decades of stock market investing.

 

[Billy T]

How is it possible that this could be allowed to happen? ...

With low quality education in poor neighborhood schools with local funding, that is to be expected as Alexis de Tocqueville explained in Democracy in America published in ~1835 after less than one year investigating how it works with selfish politicians and populations both ignorant and selfish. That is not the case in Scandinavian countries, with mass all well educated where democracy is stable and productive.

Following is a quote from his book, with slight condensing and very little paraphrasing into modern terms:

" ... mutually corrupt citizens and the democratic state. Citizens vote for those politicians who promise to use the state to give them whatever they want. The political-class delivers, so long as citizens do whatever it says is necessary to provide for everyone's desires. The “softness” of this despotism consists of people's voluntary surrender of their liberty and their tendency to look habitually to the state for their needs. …

{the government} extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals …”

As I note in the OP of the link, Fiat Money, which was not fully freed from gold until 100 years after Democracy in America has accelerated the process of national destruction, many fold. (For a few decades, now ending, there was no limit on what the politicans and advancing technology can deliver to the voters with the dollar as the world's reserved currency. That is now ending.)

 

[joepistole]

All persons voting on matters dealing with fiscal policy should be required to pass a barrier exam in economics, for example.

I think the problem is deeper than just knowledge. Congressmen have access to lots of information. Some of them are smart enough to know better but they don’t seem to be fazed or constrained by little things like truth and honesty. Republicans just don’t believe in science.

Another thing that would help is the creation of a weighted voting system. Voters would be tested and classified into fields of knowledge. Based on how they score, these voters could be allowed to vote in a fourth branch of government, a standing committee of perpetual referenda, which can override the other three branches of government in selected matters (some powers would be left autonomous).

A parallel tax system should be created in which a person who passes barrier exams gains the right to vote their tax dollars to specific allocations--with normalization of the amounts such that there is little or no disparity in weight of the rich over the weight of the poor. A secondary purpose of this would be to restore the sense of democracy that is so ill-defined, plus to draw a finer line between rights and privilege. Voting in matters that require expertise should be treated as a privilege, one freely given to all persons who qualify. The unqualified people would have the option to put up (learn something) or shut up (your vote is worthless).

Additionally, all departments of the qualified colleges and universities should be encouraged to provide, say, 10% of their resources to producing policy recommendations in their fields of expertise which would have the weight of actual votes on the floor. This could be incentivized through public endowments to the contributors, without disturbing the grant process, and without the limitations on winning awards.

We do need a better way of electing our representatives. We need to take the special interest money out of our elections. We need publicly financed elections and we need a code of ethics for our elected officials and regulators, a code of ethics that prevents our officials from profiting from those they regulate (e.g. Billy Tauzin). And finally we need a better informed electorate, which means reinstating The Fairness Doctrine so that individuals and corporations cannot spew crap (i.e. lies) without getting a challenge, without someone else given the opportunity to expose those lies. And I think the fear of being exposed is one of the main reasons Republicans/Tea Partiers and the Republican entertainment complex is fighting so hard to prevent Obamacare from being fully enacted.

As for colleges and universities, unfortunately, we now have people like the Koch brothers buying up academia. The Koch brothers are using their money to allow them to make hiring and termination decisions at some universities in order to corrupt academic institutions and spread their ideology and further their political power base at the price of honest academic pursuits and credibility. Our colleges are being corrupted.

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/koch-brothers-now-under-fire-corrupting

Make no bones about it, America is under assault. But the attackers are not from without. They are from within. It is being played out every day on our airwaves, cable networks, and internet and in the halls of our government and now in the halls of academia as well.

 

[joepistole]

Surely the Republicans can't believe this is going to turn out well for them?

Republicans are pretty good at deceiving themselves as well as others. They don't like reality, they just make something up to deceive others and themselves (e.g. Romney Polling 2012). And then they are surprised when reality bites them in the ass.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...e_his_campaign_had_the_wrong_numbers_bad.html

 

[Tiassa]

WaPo Tacitly Chokes on Reality

WaPo Tacitly Chokes on Reality

The Editorial Board of The Washington Post, with a day left before the shutdown:

Ultimately, the grown-ups in the room will have to do their jobs, which in a democracy with divided government means compromising for the common good. That means Mr. Boehner, his counterpart in the Senate, Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), minority leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the president. Both sides are inordinately concerned with making sure that, if catastrophe comes, the other side takes the political hit. In truth, none of their reputations stands to benefit.​

Reality apparently set in, and now they're scrambling to save face:

Americans' respect for their Congress has, sad to say, diminished in recent years. But citizens still expect a minimal level of competence and responsibility: Pay the bills and try not to embarrass us in front of the world.

By those minimal standards, this Congress is failing. More specifically, the Republican leaders of the House of Representatives are failing. They should fulfill their basic duties to the American people or make way for legislators who will.

We don't come to that view as rabid partisans. On many of the issues stalemating Washington, we find plenty of blame to go around. We've criticized President Obama's reluctance to pursue entitlement reform. The last time the country reached the debt ceiling, we urged both sides to compromise on revenue and spending in the interest of long-term fiscal soundness.

This time, fiscal responsibility isn't even a topic. Instead, Republicans have shut much of the government in what they had to know was a doomed effort to derail the Affordable Care Act. That law, in case you've forgotten in the torrent of propaganda, is hardly revolutionary. It is an effort to extend health insurance to some of the 40 million or so people in this country who have none. It acts through the existing private-insurance market. Republicans tried to block its passage and failed; they hoped to have it declared unconstitutional and failed; and they did their best to toss Mr. Obama out of the White House after one term in order to strangle it in its cradle, and they failed again.

They're entitled to keep trying, of course — though it would be nice if someday they remembered their promise to come up with an alternative proposal. But their methods now are beyond the pale.​

That third paragraph is actually one of the most telling. Jay Rosen of New York University tweeted his summary:

A remarkable editorial. We'd like to blame both sides. We tried. We've blamed both sides before. But in this case... http://goo.gl/sJHVsf ​

And the funny thing is that WaPo's editorial board has often made a point of actually throwing for Republicans when criticizing Obama. It would probably be more accurate to adjust Rosen's point: "We'd like to; we tried; we've gotten away with it in the past. But in this case, we just can't."

And that's significant. When The Washington Post tries to go out of its way to carry water for you in order to pretend it's being fair, but can't find a bucket that isn't visibly full of holes, well, that would be a good time to reflect on just how far you're willing to go, and revisit the extraordinary territory you've already traversed.

Even news media outlets that regularly tank stories in order to present a superficial notion of fairness against the "liberal media conspiracy" myth is struggling to reach far enough into their bag of fake amorality to cover the deficit of substance about the GOP's playbook.
____________________

Notes:

Editorial Board. "U.S. Congress’s dereliction of leadership on government shutdown". The Washington Post. September 29, 2013. WashingtonPost.com. October 2, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...cb9994-2925-11e3-97a3-ff2758228523_story.html

—————. "House Republicans are failing Americans in their effort to kill Obamacare". The Washington Post. October 2, 2013. WashingtonPost.com. October 2, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...995ed0-2ab1-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html

Rosen, Jay. "A remarkable editorial". Twitter. October 2, 2013. Twitter.com. October 2, 2013. https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/385396169381126145

 

[Tiassa]

Futility

To Put It Simply

Judd Legum of ThinkProgress, on negotiating with Republicans:

​

Really, you'd think that sort of explanation wouldn't be necessary, but I'm starting to suspect that it isn't, at least insofar as we cannot assert with any confidence that makes any difference whether Republicans are capable of comprehending the point or not.
____________________

Notes:

Legum, Judd. "Can I burn down your house?" Twitter. October 2, 2013. Twitter.com. October 2, 2013. https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/385468973971951616

 

[Asguard]

Tiassa I don't get something, I have seen in a few places that the Affordable care act didn't get a single republican vote and passed anyway. So why did Obama let it be so cut down from its original version? why didn't he push the public option and instead let those who were going to vote against it strip it out and STILL vote against it?

 

[Tiassa]

Rebels Without a Clue

This Is What It Comes To

"We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is." —Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN03)​

Indiana's Third Congressional District is nestled in the northeast corner of the Hoosier State, spanning eight counties with Fort Wayne standing out as its largest city. Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R) is a U.S. Senate also-ran who got a second chance after his House predecessor resigned in a sex scandal.

And he supports the Republican bid to keep the U.S. government shuttered.

Why? Well, at this point, it's about pride:

House Republicans are unlikely to blink in the standoff over Obamacare that precipitated a government shutdown, fearing that acceding now to Democratic demands for a “clean” spending bill would weaken their hand in upcoming negotiations over the the debt ceiling.

Those Republicans said Wednesday that the spending impasse that shut down the government early Tuesday is less about conservatives' desire to derail Obamacare than it is about strengthening their hand in the debt-ceiling talks. That borrowing limit must be raised by Oct. 17 to prevent the government from defaulting on its financial obligations and Republicans say any future agreement to reopen the government would link the spending bill and the debt ceiling.

“This is not just about Obamacare anymore,” centrist Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., said.

“We're not going to be disrespected,” conservative Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., added. “We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is.”

(Drucker)​

We should not presume that these Republicans are now trying to save face; rather, it is at least as likely that they know they've lost, so they're going to try to salt the earth in their retreat.

Meanwhile, Byron York checks in with what really does sort of become a noodle-scratching juxtaposition:

"I've been trying to figure this out," says one House Republican of the current standoff over funding the government. "It seems to me that Boehner could do whatever he wants with Democrats on the floor and still get about 180 or 190 of us. So why doesn't he do that?"

The lawmaker was referring to the fact that a large majority of the House's 232 Republicans, plus a large majority of its 200 Democrats, would likely support a "clean" continuing resolution to fund the government but not defund, delay, or limit Obamacare. If House Speaker John Boehner were to bring such a bill to the floor, it would probably pass with a majority of Republican as well as Democratic votes. But Boehner doesn't do it.

If the Speaker did, he would raise the ire of the group of House GOP conservatives most committed to continuing the defund battle. There are various estimates of how many there are in that group—probably about 30 core members, but perhaps 30, or even as many as 50, others who are sympathetic to the core position. Even so, a high estimate is about 80, meaning that even in the worst case scenario for a clean continuing resolution, Boehner would still have around 150 Republican votes to end the impasse. Given Democratic support, that would be more than enough.

But he doesn't do it. "I think the issue is, he's scared that those 30 people could somehow force a speaker's election," says the House Republican. "I don't know exactly, but clearly he thinks his speakership is a stake if he screws them."

So the standoff continues. But there are signs the terrain of battle has shifted so much that Obamacare—the reason Republicans fought so hard over resolutions to fund the government in coming months—is no longer the central issue in the fight.​

No, really think about that.

Boehner could apparently bring the clean CR to the floor, but seemingly won't because there is a bloc of House Republicans who he allegedly thinks will fire him as Speaker if he doesn't give them everything they want, but they don't actually know what it is they want.

Republicans are working hard to prove the thesis that government just doesn't work.
____________________

Notes:

Drucker, David M. "GOP stands firm against funding bill, will link to debt ceiling fight". The Washington Examiner. October 2, 2013. WashingtonExaminer.com. October 2, 2013. http://washingtonexaminer.com/gop-s...ll-link-to-debt-ceiling-fight/article/2536750

York, Byron. "On Capitol Hill, the Obamacare fight is no longer about Obamacare". The Washington Examiner. October 2, 2013. WashingtonExaminer.com. October 2, 2013. http://washingtonexaminer.com/on-ca...-is-no-longer-about-obamacare/article/2536702

 

[Asguard]

Question based on your post above

I assume you have some form of "private members Bills" in the US so why don't the democrats move a funding Bill for this in the house? I know it would be unusual for an opposition to move a budget bill but if it would get the support of the majority of the house then surly that would be the best move. That or the Republicans who ARE opposed to this should move a vote against the current house leader if he fails to move the Bill they want. Would take the threat of the other 30 away

 

[Tiassa]

Notes on Being Allergic to Nuts

I assume you have some form of "private members Bills" in the US so why don't the democrats move a funding Bill for this in the house? I know it would be unusual for an opposition to move a budget bill but if it would get the support of the majority of the house then surly that would be the best move. That or the Republicans who ARE opposed to this should move a vote against the current house leader if he fails to move the Bill they want. Would take the threat of the other 30 away

Well, actually, if I understand the PMB idea correctly, they're all PMBs by the time they get into the hopper. That is, the president's budget is introduced to the House by members of Congress. Everything is introduced by the members of each respective chamber.

However, I do think the relevant issue here would be called a discharge petition, in which signatures of a majority of the chamber can force a floor vote regardless of the Speaker's will. To combine that with an earlier question:

I have seen in a few places that the Affordable care act didn't get a single republican vote and passed anyway. So why did Obama let it be so cut down from its original version? why didn't he push the public option and instead let those who were going to vote against it strip it out and STILL vote against it?

One of the things that is often hard to appreciate, even for someone like me, is the decision to escalate. That is to say, there are a number of resolutions to these issues, but they are considered extremely severe.

You've heard of the nuclear option? Essentially, on the first day of the session, the majority writes the rules for the chamber. That is, one day a year, the U.S. Senate has a chance to eliminate the filibuster.

Sounds like an obvious thing to do, given the GOP's behavior, but the filibuster is a sacred rite, with tremendous implications, as state Sen. Davis showed in Texas. Remember those cops spraying those college students with pepper spray during an Occupy protest, and it eventually cost the university president her job? Yeah. Killing the filibuster would be akin to those cops deciding the protesters needed to be cleared, and skipped the hot sauce in favor of just shooting them.

Similarly, a discharge petition would be considered a very potent procedural maneuver, and in the end, there is a great danger that Republicans are trying to bait Democrats into playing this way. Democrats always lose those fights.

Figuratively speaking, political riots are fine, political warfare is not. Yeah. Fine line, broad gray zone. Region. Gray region. A continent, you know. Spreading up from the seafloor.

Obama, on the other hand, made a pretty solid political calculation when he pulled single payer. His error was expecting good faith from Republicans. And, well, that's the thing. These are supposed to be good people trying to do good work for the nation. It is actually hard to remember the difference between this century and the last, but the right wing has been getting steadily more vicious since Clinton's election in '92. These are extraordinary times in the longer view; while history will suggest naïveté, people had a reasonable expectation that things wouldn't go this far. Unfortunately, that reasonable expectation was a well-conditioned myth.

The thing is that Obama couldn't have rammed single-payer through; Democratic majorities in the House depend on Blue Dogs, named in a former era when liberal was still red. Blue Dogs are Democrats who run on exceptionally conservative platforms because the could not otherwise win election. And before 2010, there were enough Blue Dogs left that Obama couldn't presume a unified caucus on single-payer. Indeed, he couldn't presume a win on single-payer. Won through sheer strength, single-payer would close Blue Dog districts to Democrats, and possibly even trigger a wilderness period for Democrats seeking the White House.

The conservative plan was the only one he could get through at all.

And as it is, swing locales with conservative tendencies have no reason to risk Blue Dogs when there are perfectly rabid Republicans on the ticket.

There are a number of things that can be done, but when the presupposition is that Republicans will fight as dirty as possible with whatever tools they have, one must decide with the utmost of prejudicial caution when considering the introduction of heavy ordinance to the battlefield.

As I've asked my conservatives neighbors, "Is this how it goes, now?"

Do they really want Democrats trying to match them on this point? Well, actually, yes, sort of. Remember that American conservatives tend to believe some variation of the idea that government doesn't work. We ought not be surprised, then, that they're so willing to prove themselves right. But that's also the gordian knot for the Democrats, and nobody has figured out how to slice through it.

Yes, the Democrats can probably match them, but no, it's not a good idea. After all, if government doesn't work, Republicans win.

Tiassa, I didn't mean my post to say that other countries are perfect ....

I ... I ... okay. (What did I miss?)

 

[Asguard]

I ... I ... okay. (What did I miss?)

That was aimed at heading off anyone accusing me of making comments to just criticise the US before my own countries dysfunction was brought up and they would be right, there are problems in our current political climate but it would never again get to the point where one side blocked supply but even if there was provisions made for this kind of idiocy when the constitution was written and ours was based on yours so it would have been a logical assumption to assume that you had provisions too

That being said I find it amazing that any country could get to a point where the government is literally shut down without riots in the streets. Hell this is isn't the only American dominated site I am a member of and there ix nothing about this. There were more comments on the us.battle.net (a gaming site) on the last Australian election and the potential to lose the national broadband network than there has been on all the US personal sites I am on (which include lots of public servants) on the shut down of your government. Hell look at the post on here about NASA being shut down, the poster didn't even realise the government was shut down and as I said on the day of the shut down NPR were talking about baseball, it was the ABC (ours, not yours) and the BBC which were running story after story on the shut down. Its baffling to me how this seems to be such a non issue. Hell one person I saw commented that if these people are "non essential" they shouldn't be being paid in the first place

 

[Tiassa]

Bad Optics, and Other Notes

Republicans Remind: "F@ck you, America"

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX19) represents a northern Texas congressional district that runs from Deaf Smith County along the New Mexico border to Eastland County at its southeast turn, and up to Archer county at its northeast corner; the range includes the cities of Abilene, Lubbock, and Hereford. A largely rural district, well, TX19 voters sort of get what the rest of us might expect:

Conflict over the responsibility for the government shutdown got personal at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Wednesday when a member of Congress confronted a U.S. Park Service Ranger over access to the closed park land.

The congressman was Randy Neugebauer, a Republican representing Texas. He confronted the ranger in the middle of a crowd of tourists as she was keeping most of the public out of the closed World War II memorial.

The Park Service has been allowing World War II vets who have traveled from all over the country to enter the memorial, even though it's closed during the government shutdown; the rangers say they are exercising their First Amendment rights as they let the veterans in.

But they are keeping the rest of the public out of the facility, which is officially closed. And that did not sit well with the congressman, reported News4's Mark Segraves, who witnessed the confrontation.

"How do you look at them and... deny them access?" said Neugebauer. He, with most House Republicans, had voted early Sunday morning to pass a funding measure that would delay the Affordable Care Act, a vote that set up a showdown with the Senate and President Barack Obama. With the parties unable to agree on how to fund the federal government, non-essential government functions shut down Tuesday.

"It's difficult," responded the Park Service employee.

"Well, it should be difficult," replied the congressman, who was carrying a small American flag in his breast pocket.

"It is difficult," responded the Park Service employee. "I'm sorry, sir."

"The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," the congressman said.

"I'm not ashamed," replied the ranger.

(Segraves)​

At that point, gathered members of the public started speaking out on behalf of the park ranger, and Neugebarger left.

This is one of those simple things, one of those moments in which we see the true colors, the real allegiances, of Republicans come out. Neugeberger's allegiance is not to the United States. He voted to not fund the government unless it effectively undoes the 2012 election. And then he went looking for rank and file federal workers to harass.

Dan Amira called the stunt "truly disgusting". Steve Benen denounced Neugeberger's conduct as "bullying".

Dr. Brian Carr, a blogger from within TX19, noted for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal:

I once thought that our District 19 Congressman Randy Neugebauer was unstoppable in his quest to be perpetually re-elected. He could slap babies in front of the entire Jones Stadium on a football night and, to those who hold him dear, it would be seen as merely misunderstood.

Now I'm not so sure.

To visit his facebook page it would seem that he may have made a serious miscalculation. The video that was recorded on Tuesday at the World War II memorial in Washington did not portray him as I suspect he thought it would ....

.... Congressman, nobody is buying your lie about who is at fault. Your voter base is starting to feel the pain of your refusal to act, and they resent your after-the-fact letter where you are to forego your salary but only after having been shamed into this choice.

I'm beginning to think that the next election might actually be based on a winning campaign slogan of "I'm not as bad as Neugebauer".​

At this point, Republicans are fighting a post-policy war for "optics", and think about it this way:

• There are children needing cancer treatment who won't get it because Republicans are playing for optics. Where is the GOP congressman trying to lecture doctors at the NIH, &c., &c.

• The WWII memorial story was kind of an American come-together moment; those who don't understand what happened there really are missing a gem.

• Yet, with that kind of green shoot of Americana amid the wasteland of this shutdown, Rep. Neugebarger devised a plan to absolutely wreck that two cents worth of charm.

—Memo to Team Neugebarger: This is what the industry refers to as "bad optics".​

The right-wing media machine is having fits, too, because Neugebarger's stunt doesn't sit well with the narrative FOX News and others have been pushing, which is that the shutdown "slimdown" of the government isn't a big deal. Sure, FOX News pitched six kinds of fits when the White House pared back its public tour schedule, and now who cares if some museums close, of course, except that at the same time we're supposed to be enraged that the WWII memorial is closed, I mean, you know, since Republicans have been rushing down there for photo ops, but you know, cancer patients and containing the goddamn brain-eating amoeba to Louisiana where the one case is known to exist? Just not exciting enough to rally the base. They need red meat, like Rep. Neugebarger bullying a law enforcement officer working without pay.

Remember this the next time you hear Republicans speak of American values. These are theirs: Pitch a tantrum, then go bully people who, unlike Congressional Republicans, are doing their jobs and, unlike Congressional Republicans, aren't getting paid for doing so.

Strangely, the predominant sentiment reacting to this display of amateurish sleaze is not so much one of outrage; rather, regardless of how disgusting we find such behavior, they're Republicans, and we really ought to be accustomed to such low morals and ethics by now.
____________________

Notes:

Segraves, Mark. "Congressman Confronts Park Ranger Over Closed WWII Memorial". NBC Washingotn. October 3, 2013. NBCWashington.com. October 3, 2013. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...nger-Over-Closed-WWII-Memorial-226209781.html

Amira, Dan. "Government Shutdownpocalypse Live-Blog: Day 3". Daily Intelligencer. October 3, 2013. NYMag.com. October 3, 2013. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/10/government-shutdown-live-blog-updates-thursday.html

Benen, Steve. "Neugebauer plays tough, bullies Park Service Ranger". The Maddow Blog. October 3, 2013. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com. October 3, 2013. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2...bauer-plays-tough-bullies-park-service-ranger

Carr, Brian. "Congressman Neugebauer Reaps the Whirlwind". Think About It. October 2, 2013. LubbockOnline.com. October 3, 2013. http://lubbockonline.com/interact/b...10-02/cogressman-neugebauer-reaps-whirlwind-1

Hananoki, Eric. "Fox Fix: In AP Reports, 'Shutdown' Becomes 'Slimdown'". Media Matters for America. October 2, 2013. MediaMatters.org. October 3, 2013. http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/02/fox-fix-in-ap-reports-shutdown-becomes-slimdown/196221

 

[Tiassa]

Shots Fired: Waiting on the Detail

Breaking: Shots Fired at U.S. Capitol

Around thirty minutes ago, Capitol police responded to shots fired outside the building, and ordered people inside to shelter in place. Early reports suggest the incident took place at the Rayburn building:

Rep. Gerry Connolly (R-Va.) was standing on a balcony of the U.S. Capitol with Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) when they heard two burst of gunfire coming from the direction of the Rayburn Office Building.

"It was almost like two very rapid fire bursts, very loud," Connolly said. "They were clearly coming from the direction. That’s when we saw people fleeing, and we realized this was no fireworks. It sounds liked the first volley of a 21-gun salute."

He said he could see people fleeing away from the Rayburn building and police officers running towards it before he was shepherded back into the building.

(O'Keefe and Helderman)​

Rep. Connolly also has said that, according to the Sergeant-at-Arms, a suspect has been arrested.
____________________

Notes:

O'Keefe, Ed and Rosalind S. Helderman. "Shots fired at the Capitol". The Washington Post. October 3, 2013. WashingtonPost.com. October 3, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/10/03/shots-fired-at-the-capitol/

 

[joepistole]

At this point, Republicans are fighting a post-policy war for "optics"

Indeed and it’s really pretty funny. And it is sad people fall for it. Today, Republican congressmen had dressed up as physicians to give a press interview. They even had stethoscopes around their necks. Like I am sure those congressmen are examining patients at their congressional offices. In another press conference depicting Republican congressmen at work featured a dozen or more Republican congressmen “hard” at work in a conference room and seated at a table. The odd thing about it was they were all seated on the same side of the conference table. So if they were “hard at work” they couldn’t see each other or talk directly to each other. I mean isn’t the point of a meeting to be able to see and talk directly to each other. I have had a white collar job for nearly 30 years and attended thousands of meetings. But I have never been in a large meeting of 12 or more people where we all sat on the same side of the conference table…duh! But if the point of the conference is to get your face on the evening news and not get any work done, well then it makes sense. Unfortunately, for Republicans now it is all about optics. And even more unfortunate, none of their dittoheads will notice that is all about optics and deceit and not about substance and honesty.

 

[Tiassa]

Politics to the Power

Narratives: The Finer Points of Roguery

There is actually a metacontext here, a narrative[sup]2[/sup], because it's a narrative about a narrative.

See how that works?

I know, brilliant, right?

Well, see, that's the thing; sure, it's not brilliant, but neither ought such a notion be extraordinary. And yet, it does seem to have its own extraordinary context, or is that context[sup]2[/sup]? Or maybe √(context)? Never mind, I'm enjoying the joke too much.

Thus prefaced, Steve Benen:

I probably shouldn't have to explain this to Republicans, but "gaffes" have an impact when they reinforce an existing story or belief. For example, Mitt Romney said during last year's presidential campaign that he likes "being able to fire people." The context was more forgiving, but this became a big story because it bolstered the worst impressions we already had about Romney—he had a record of making a profit after laying off workers.

Later, we saw the "you didn't build that" line from President Obama. Any sane person could hear the remarks and notice the context, but the right seized on the line because of the larger narrative they were so eager to push—the president, they said, was hostile to free enterprise and these four words proved they were right. It was a "gaffe," in other words, because it fueled a message Obama's critics were already eagerly pushing.

With Harry Reid and the NIH, the right not only pushed an idiotic claim, they also undermined their own narrative. In order for yesterday's "gaffe" to make any sense at all, one must believe that the Senate Democratic leader is a heartless, conservative miser who opposes public investments in health care and medical research. Seriously.

Republicans spent yesterday afternoon asking us to see Harry Reid as too right-wing for their tastes. Literally no one could be dumb enough to believe such garbage.​

We are into a metapolitik—politik[sup]2[/sup]—at this point. To the one, we might reasonably be concerned at the notion of telling Republicans how to be better at being villains, but to the other it has long been clear that expecting them to not be villains is an exercise in futility. Thus, really: If you're going to waste our time, at least put some effort into it. If you're going to try to wreck society, at least be entertaining while you do. If you're going to lie to us, learn how to lie.

And look, there just aren't enough psychoactive drugs I can put into my system: I cannot warp reality around me enough to accomplish those effects for you, and thus alleviate you of such burdens as we all know you are specifically, by dint of your conservatism, customarily exempted from bearing. And, frankly, if I can't get high enough to justify you, neither can society. So this time it comes back to you, conservative neighbors.

If you're going to waste our time with this sort of insistent, petty malice, get better at it.

Right now, I think we would be better served by a genuine supervillain, because at least then some comprehensible assertion of principle would be at stake. You are demonstrating something akin to a collective antisocial personality disorder, except the problem is you're a bunch of poseurs. Either psycho up, or skip it.

Genuine malice is an occasional product of nature. Lazy malice is just pointless.
____________________

Notes:

Benen, Steve. "Mastering the art of shiny objects". The Maddow Blog. October 3, 2013. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com. October 3, 2013. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/03/20800952-mastering-the-art-of-shiny-objects

 

[Write4U]

Well, we can wrack up the first death at the hands of the anarchists in congress. When are we going to label this form of "serving the people" as "sedition"?

 

[Tiassa]

Update: Indiana Ouch

Update: Indiana Ouch

You know, I just sort of stuck with the juxtaposition of holding hostages without knowing what the demands are.

For many of us, to remember the last time Republicans shut down the federal government is to think of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich. Specifically, the far-right Georgian admitted in November 1995 that he closed the government in part because President Clinton hurt his feelings on Air Force One—the president didn't chat with Gingrich during an overseas flight and then made the Speaker exit at the rear of the plane.

It was a moment that captured the entire fiasco quite beautifully. A petulant, out-of-control Republican leader shut down the government largely to spite the president who made him feel bad.

We don't yet know if a similar moment will come to define this Republican shutdown, but I'd like to nominate this gem as an early contender.

"We're not going to be disrespected," conservative Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., added. "We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is."​

Go ahead, Republicans, tell us another one about how the shutdown is Democrats' fault.

I've long argued that congressional Republicans are now defined by a post-policy nihilism, but even I'm surprised an elected GOP member of Congress would say this out loud, on purpose, and on the record.

(Benen)​

Obviously, other narratives aren't so (ahem!) kind. "The quote," Benen argues, "is just ... perfect." And it is. It really, really is. But even Benen is analytical compared to Warren Rojas of Roll Call:

President Barack Obama didn't mention the Indiana Republican by name during his Thursday morning speech to a Rockville, Md., construction company, but he did make sure to rub the GOP's sentiments in the blue collar-crowd's faces.

"Just yesterday, one House Republican said — I'm quoting here, all right, because I want to make sure people understand I didn't make this up — one House Republican said, 'We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this, and I don't know what that even is.'

"Think about that. You have already gotten the opportunity to serve the American people. There's no higher honor than that," 44 told the assembled workers, who, according to media reports, both laughed and clapped for the ready-made punch line.

About an hour after being lampooned by POTUS, Stutzman's press shop issued the following mea culpa:

"Yesterday, I carelessly misrepresented the ongoing budget debate and Speaker Boehner's work on behalf of the American people. Despite my remarks it's clear that the American people want both parties to come to the table to reopen the government, tackle this nation's debt crisis, and stop ObamaCare's pain."

Best of luck with the rest of your backpedaling, sir.​

Ouch.

​

____________________

Notes:

Benen, Steve. "Marlin Stutzman and post-policy nihilism". The Maddow Blog. October 3, 2013. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com. October 3, 2013. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/03/20801266-marlin-stutzman-and-post-policy-nihilism

Rojas, Warren. "Marlin Stutzman Attempts Foot-from-Mouth Surgery". Heard oin the Hill. October 3, 2013. HoH.RollCall.com. October 3, 2013. http://hoh.rollcall.com/marlin-stutzman-attempts-foot-from-mouth-surgery/

 

[joepistole]

The Speech Fox News Doesn't Want You To Hear

This is the speech President Obama gave today which was aired by every news service except Fox. This the President Obama speech Fox does not want you to see or hear. That is why unlike other news agencies Fox aired commercials while President Obama gave this speech today. President Obama was direct, honest and firm. I can understand why Fox News refused to show it to their dittohead audience. Fox doesn't want to ruin the mushroom crop with a little light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_yhwXFfvDk

 

[Tiassa]

SINObomber

Throwing Enough Darts—SINO Edition

"We need a name that's witty at first, but that seems less funny each time you hear it."

—Seymour Skinner​

Not every joke under the sun is a Be Sharps joke. Republicans need to learn that some of the dead horses they beat to dust are easily recycled for another day:

For those keeping score, Boehner started in late 2010 saying he would not cause a deliberate debt-ceiling crisis. In 2011, he reversed course, created a crisis, and did real damage to the nation on purpose. In early 2013, the Speaker reversed course again, saying a debt-ceiling breach simply cannot happen. And then today, Boehner's spokesperson said the polar opposite, saying Democrats will have to satisfy Republican demands. Indeed, the Speaker's office specifically said a ransom-free debt-ceiling bill—a measure Boehner himself has supported many times throughout his lengthy congressional career—"cannot pass the House."

In other words, since Boehner was slated to become the nation's most powerful lawmaker, he's been against, then for, then against, then for holding the debt-ceiling hostage. The Speaker wasn't going to shoot the hostage, then he was, then wasn't, then he was again.

Let me use a metaphor Republicans are fond of: Boehner seems to be drawing so many red lines it's impossible to know what he really believes or whether anyone should find him the least bit credible.

The New York Times article offers a ray of hope, but it also adds cloud cover that casts an ominous shadow.

As Matt Yglesias summarized, "It is, in other words, the classic suicide hostage strategy: Do what I want or I'll detonate the bomb strapped to my chest. This has always been Boehner's position. Is it credible? I don't think so, but my confidence level is relatively low. Is it a morally acceptable way for a statesman to conduct himself? Absolutely not. Is it different from what he's been saying all along? Nope."

(Benen)​

I don't know if I've mentioned it of late, but narrative counts.

As long as you're pitching industrial-grade, cookie-cutter, mass-produced sound bites ....

Well, sure, they're just toothpicks or matchsticks or whatever, until a craftsman makes them into a dollhouse or rocking chair.

I make no excuses, however, for designers who think bacon is clothing; but that really is beside the point.

All it comes down to is that the GOP and its allies might want to think things through a little more, whether it's a sound bite or a shutdown.
____________________

Notes:

Benen, Steve. "Boehner's red line gets a little blurry". The Maddow Blog. October 3, 2013. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com. October 3, 2013. http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/03/20806489-boehners-red-line-gets-a-little-blurry

 

[Tiassa]

Piling On: Maybe I should start digest posts

To Count the Ways ....

And this is just one of them:

And it’s different because the Republicans have no coherent strategy. Their leaders, as one Republican put it to me, have been laying track just ahead of the train as it roars forward.

They are making insulting offers — for example, proposing to fund a few parts of the government that they cherry-pick while allowing the rest to languish. House Speaker John Boehner’s approach has been driven by fear: fear of the most right-wing House members, fear of rabid talk-show hosts, fear of the Frankenstein monster of fanatical organizations the party has relied upon to gin up the faithful.

The greatest insult Republicans issued was to the men and women who work for them. The GOP’s claim that members of Congress and their employees have an “exemption” from Obamacare is a lie. On the contrary, they are the only people in the country with an existing employer health plan who have been required to buy insurance on the ACA’s exchanges.

These are people who labor daily to make their bosses look good. Now Republicans have actually proposed that, among the people in the country who already have insurance, these tireless souls become the only ones to give up the employer contribution to their premiums. This amounts to a pay cut ranging from about $5,000 for individuals to $12,000 for those with family coverage. I guess this is a pittance to politicians who spend their time thinking about millionaire “job creators.”

Maybe House Republican staffers should form a union.

This cynical attack by Republicans on the living standards of their own really does show how entirely phony and political (in the very worst sense of that word) they have been in creating this crisis. The government is shut for only one reason: Boehner wants to keep his job. This is not a sufficient cause for throwing hundreds of thousands of other people out of theirs. “This is the conservative right versus the reckless right,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Budget Committee Democrat. “The country should not become the victim of the Republican civil war.”

Which is why the only way out is for the growing number of Republicans on the responsible side of the skirmish to insist that the whole charade be called off. There should be negotiations all right, but on real budget issues, and for the long term — after the government is opened and the debt ceiling raised. The House and Senate can then engage in the kind of normal compromise-seeking discussions that the GOP has so far resisted.

(Dionne)​

The only real question is who will answer the call, and when.
____________________

Notes:

Dionne Jr., E. J. "Why this shutdown is different". The Washington Post. October 2, 2013. WashingtonPost.com. October 3, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...e720e6-2b97-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html