Monday, November 26, 2012

No Commentary Required 11/26/12

Here are some stories that caught my eye:

For a while now I've been saying that the Republican Party will miss the point if they simply blame Romney. Reader JT at TPM takes it from there.
The Republican Party has a problem, but it is not one candidate; it is not packaging or branding; it is not messaging that is sinking the GOP. It is the core beliefs of the vast majority of Republicans.

Their problem is their war on women; war on gays; war on minorities. It is their war on science and math and logic and education and reality. It is listening to nuckle heads like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter and Donald Trump. It is allowing entertainers to determine the direction and policy positions of a major political party. It is following the teaching of extremist religions leaders like the US Catholic Bishops.

But most of all, it is the GOP’s utter lack of respect for anyone who is not like them; supporting an idiot obscure congressman who shouts “You lie” at the President of the United States during the State of the Union Address. Not repudiating truly crazy people who cling to the thumbless notion that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. It is supporting an insane governor who waves her finger publicly in the face of the President because he rejects her lunatic positions. When the GOP allows or supports these actions, they are condoning disrespect for the majority of Americans who are not aging white men...

That is why the GOP is failing. Not because Romney ran an unsuccessful campaign.
*****

I'm beginning to think that in writing Barack Obama: The Story, perhaps David Maraniss actually began to understand the man that is our President. Take a look at how he answered this question in an interview with Franklin Foer:
FOER: But sometimes he seems sullen about having to go through a lot of the daily mechanics of politics, as if there’s something about Washington that’s eating at him.

MARANISS: I think it’s that he has to find his own way to feeling authentic. It’s very important to him to have that sense of authenticity. He’ll never have the need for people that someone like Clinton did, but that was a narcissistic need. Clinton would call up a friend to watch him do a crossword puzzle. And Barack Obama is a very different personality in that sense. He’s never going to schmooze with Congress as much as people want him to. That’s not him. But when he gets to a certain comfort level, and he feels good about the politics that he’s in at a particular point, then yes, he can enjoy himself. And I certainly noticed it in the last week of the campaign.
You want to see someone who is enjoying himself? Just remember this one.



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I'm loving the fact that Senator Patty Murray is becoming the person to watch on the so-called "fiscal cliff" negotiations.
With a low-key style that contrasts with some of the Senate’s camera hogs, Murray may be the most powerful senator a whole lot of people have never heard of outside of the two Washingtons where she lives and works.

As chair of her party’s Senate campaign arm, the architect of surprising Democratic gains and the incoming chair of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, Murray now occupies a place of special influence in the Senate...

In a Congress of hot tempers and sharp tongues, Murray doesn’t favor over-the-top rhetoric. Once dismissed by a Washington state representative as just a “mom in tennis shoes,” she’s turned the moniker into a campaign symbol of determined strength.

Murray, colleagues agree, doesn’t issue idle threats.

“Everyone takes Senator Murray seriously because she does not bluster,” Reid said. “She simply says what she means and stands by it.”
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It looks like House Republicans are set to vote on an "Immigrants We Like" Reform Bill this week.
House Republicans still smarting from their poor showing among Hispanics in the presidential election are planning a vote next week on immigration legislation that would both expand visas for foreign science and technology students and make it easier for those with green cards to bring their immediate families to the U.S... 
The House proposal would allow family members to come to the U.S. one year after they apply for their green cards, but they wouldn't be able to work until they actually got the card.
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 A reminder...you can find "Everything you need to know about Obamacare" in the tab titled simply Obamacare at the top of this page. Spread the word.

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Finally, can I just say how much I love Morgan Freeman? I watched a lovely movie he starred in over the weekend titled The Magic Of Belle Isle (hint: when a movie features Morgan Freeman and is directed by Rob Reiner...you KNOW its going to be good). And now this:

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