Krugman writes: "As pundits are discovering to their horror, there's probably more to the Trump phenomenon than mere celebrity. The fact is that the central planks of modern conservatism - slashing taxes on the rich and benefits for the public at large - are deeply unpopular."
Paul Krugman. (photo: The New York Times)
Pension-Cutters and Privatizers, Oh My
By Paul Krugman, The New York Times
19 August 15
wrote Monday about the strange phenomenon of Republicans lining up to propose cuts to Social Security, a deeply unpopular policy that is, however, also a really bad idea. How unpopular? Lee Drutman has the data: only 6 percent of American voters support Social Security cuts, while a majority want it increased. I argued that this apparent act of political self-destructiveness probably reflected an attempt to curry favor with wealthy donors, who are very much at odds with the general public on this issue:
Table 4 spending priorities. (photo: The New York Times)
Now we have another example: Marco Rubio has announced his health care plan, and it involves (a) greatly shrinking the tax deductibility of employer health benefits and (b) turning Medicare into a voucher system. Part (a) is favored by many economists, although I would argue wrongly, but would be deeply unpopular; part (b) is really terrible policy — proposed precisely at the moment when Medicare is showing that it can control costs better than private insurers! — and also deeply unpopular.
The strategy here, surely, is to propose things that voters would hate if they understood what was on the table, but hope that Fox News plus “views on shape of planet differ” reporting elsewhere will keep them confused, while at the same time pleasing mega-donors. It might even work, especially if Trump can be pushed out of the picture and the Hillary-hatred of reporters overcomes professional scruples. But it’s still amazing to watch.
Anti-Abortion One-Upsmanship Will Haunt Republicans in the Election
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=30488"><span class="small">Jessica Valenti, Guardian UK</span></a>
Wednesday, 19 August 2015 13:38
Valenti writes: "Conservative presidential hopefuls are handing the future Democratic nominee a mighty large sword to wield against them in the general election."
Mike Huckabee. (photo: Scott Olson/Getty)
Anti-Abortion One-Upsmanship Will Haunt Republicans in the Election
By Jessica Valenti, Guardian UK
19 August 15
Conservative presidential hopefuls are handing the future Democratic nominee a mighty large sword to wield against them in the general election
f 2012 was the year of Republican men saying stupid things – from “legitimate rape” to pregnancy from rape being something “God intended”– this must be the year of Republican men simply being stupid. There’s no other way to account for the complete meltdown that the party’s presidential hopefuls are having over abortion, racing to the right in a short-sighted effort to win the nomination while leaving themselves high and dry for the general election.
Marco Rubio, who supported a bill in 2013 that included exceptions for rape and incest, flat-out denied as much during the Republican debate earlier this month, saying, “I have never advocated that.” Later, when caught in his lie, Rubio said he only supported the bill because “it prevents abortions” and doubled down on his extreme position: “While I think [pregnancy from rape and incest] are horrifying...I personally believe you do not correct one tragedy with a second tragedy.”
When Ben Carson was asked if he supported rape and incest exceptions, Slate writer Amanda Marcotte pointed out that he claimed exceptions aren’t really necessary because women can just stop the pregnancy before it starts: “I would hope that they would very quickly avail themselves of [an] emergency room, and in the emergency room, they have the ability to administer, you know, RU-486, other possibilities, before you have a developing fetus.” Leaving aside the fact that not all rape victims are able to get to an emergency room – especially if the rapist is a family member – RU-486 is not the morning-after pill; it’s an abortion-inducing pill you take to end an established pregnancy. Perhaps a doctor should know this?
As I find myself (almost) speechless in response to all of these men, I think Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it best: “Did you fall down, hit your head and think you woke up in the 1950s or the 1890s? Should we call for a doctor?”
Republicans vying for their party’s endorsement seem to forget that women’s votes exist. And that while this anti-choice posturing may be beneficial in the primaries, they are handing Hillary Clinton – or whoever the Democratic nominee may be – a mighty large sword to wield against them in the general election.
Jess McIntosh, vice president of communications at EMILY’s List, told me, “They’re so extreme it almost forecloses the possibility of a campaign. No persuadable voters want to hear about your plan to force raped children to give birth. It sounds as monstrous as it is.”
“And how do you argue about parental consent, when if you had your way the wishes of the parents would be meaningless?” she continued, “since every accidental teen and pre-teen pregnancy would be forced to result in birth?”
It’s well-established that extreme positions against abortion simply don’t fly with American voters. Measures to give zygotes personhood rights have failed again and again, the majority of Americans don’t want to see Roe v Wade overturned, and most people believe in abortion exceptions. Jocelyn Kiley, associate director at the Pew Research Center, told me that about 75% of Americans believe abortions should be possible in the case of rape. “For and health and life exceptions,” she says, “there’s a broad majority of more than 80%.”
FOCUS: Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley, and Chafee Shine in Historic Surf Ballroom
Wednesday, 19 August 2015 11:42
Galindez writes: "The historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was the last place Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson shared their music with the world before their untimely death in a plane crash."
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding on Friday in Clear Lake, Iowa. (photo: Win McNamee/Getty)
Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley, and Chafee Shine in Historic Surf Ballroom
By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News
19 August 15
LEAR LAKE, IOWA – The historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was the last place Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson shared their music with the world before their untimely death in a plane crash. On Friday night it was home to the 12th Annual Democratic Party Wing Ding. The event was a fundraiser for several county Democratic parties in Iowa. The headliners on this night were four of the Democrats running for president of the United States. Missing was former Virginia senator Jim Webb, who had a scheduling conflict in New Hampshire.
The last time all five candidates shared the same stage they spoke in alphabetical order. Unfortunately for Webb, following Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders meant that many of the attendees streamed out of the room while he was speaking. This time the candidates drew straws, and Clinton led off, followed by Sanders, O’Malley, and Lincoln Chafee.
For hours before the doors opened there was a sign war going on outside between supporters of Clinton and O’Malley. Most were young people the campaigns had brought into Iowa from out of state. As the O’Malley supporters chanted O O O O Oh … I could tell, as an Oriole fan, that they were from Maryland and have practiced the chant at Camden Yards.
O’Malley, who is barely registering in the polls in Iowa, had the most enthusiastic crew outside lining the street. I spoke with the father of an O’Malley staffer who confirmed that O’Malley’s national staff was in Iowa for the State Fair and the Wing Ding. Clinton’s crew outside put up a good fight and were also enthusiastic.
The Sanders campaign had a strong presence inside the room but did not participate in the show outside. One staffer said they were confident that they would have a strong showing in the ballroom, and they did.
Clinton seemed to have the most support in the room, not a surprise since the event was a fundraiser. It was a strong speech that included a joke about her email scandal. Clinton told the crowd that she had just launched a snapchat account. She then joked that the messages delete themselves all by themselves. The former Secretary of State also took aim at those pushing Benghazi and the email investigations. “I won’t pretend that this is anything other than what it is, the same old partisan games we’ve seen so many times before,” Clinton said. “So I don’t care how many superPACs and Republicans pile on. I’ve been fighting for families and underdogs my entire life and I’m not going to stop now.”
Clinton also laid into Republican priorities. “Republicans want to stack the deck even more for those at the top – you saw this in the Republican debate the other night. Seventeen candidates and not one of them said a single word about how to address the rising costs of college … about equal pay for woman. Or quality preschool for our kids … No solution to sky rocketing prescription drug costs. No commitment to end mass incarceration, or to say loudly and clearly: ‘Yes, Black lives matter!’”
Bernie Sanders went second and came on stage to enthusiastic support. He spoke about the surging support for his insurgent campaign. Just four months ago, Sanders told the audience, he wasn’t even sure he would run for president. What has happened in the three-and-a-half months since he declared his candidacy, he said, “has blown my mind because we are generating an enormous amount of enthusiasm.” Just last weekend, he noted, he spoke to big crowds in Seattle (15,000) Portland, Oregon, (28,000) and Los Angeles (27,500).
“The media often ask me why we seem to be generating so much enthusiasm and why we have so much energy on this campaign. My answer is that the American people are sick and tired of establishment politics, establishment economics and establishment media. They understand that corporate greed is destroying our economy. They understand that American politics is now dominated by super PACs and that the mainstream media is prepared to discuss everything except those important issues facing the American people.”
He focused on economic issues. “We need an economy that works for the middle class and not just for the top 1 percent.” He called for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He said women deserve pay equity with male workers. He said too-big-to-fail banks must be broken up and Wall Street regulations reimposed.
He talked about the environment, saying the Keystone XL pipeline must not be built to carry the dirtiest oil on the planet from Canada to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.
Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley told the audience that he’s the only progressive candidate who has a long track record of executive experience.
“Tell me what we’ve come to as a country, that you can get pulled over for a broken tail light, but if you wreck the nation’s economy you’re totally untouchable,” O’Malley said. “That is not the American dream. That is not how our economy is supposed to work.” His supporters were just as enthusiastic inside as they were outside, chanting his name several times.
He also focused on his accomplishments as the governor of Maryland. “We expanded family leave and voting rights, we passed driver’s licenses for new American immigrants, and we banned the sale of assault weapons,” he said. “Actions, not words. We fought for the DREAM Act, we fought for marriage equality and we won. Actions, not words.”
He got his largest applause when he called for reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, which limited the types of investments banks could make with customers’ money.
The next president can’t “give a free pass to the bullies of Wall Street to work over the people of Main Street,” O’Malley said.
The last speaker of the night was Lincoln Chafee. Every time I talk to people after Chafee speaks, they say he is a nice guy. He does come across that way, smiling through his whole speech. The opposite of Bernie Sanders, who you can tell is tapping into people’s anger toward the establishment.
Chafee comes across as a guy who would give Donald Trump a hug to open the first debate if they were the nominees for president.
Chafee did take on Jeb Bush’s recent remarks about how stable Iraq was when his brother left office. He asked if Jeb had drunk some kind of “neocon kool-aid.” He called Iraq a chaotic mess after George W’s invasion.
Chafee focuses a lot on being the peace candidate and said he would “end the wars and bring the money home.”
He also makes the case that his record as a mayor, senator, and governor separates him from the rest of the field.
Following the event I spoke to an attendee, John Klaus, who was of two minds. “On my left, I’m wearing a Bernie. On my right, I’m wearing a Martin O’Malley,” he said.
Klaus said Clinton is in the back of his mind, and acknowledged that there’s a good chance he’ll be knocking on doors for her during the general election campaign. He said he’s okay with that.
“But for now, I’m working for Bernie,” he said. “I love Bernie. And I like Martin.”
Clinton, he said, is too distant, not genuine enough. He was not ready to call her inevitable. And Klaus says he’s happy the Democratic contest is becoming interesting.
Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
Brand writes: "We want union, we want connection, we need it the way we need other forms of nutrition and denied it we delve into the lower impulses for sanctuary."
Russell Brand at an anti-austerity protest last June. (photo: Rex)
Our Survival Impulses Have Gone Awry
By Russell Brand, Russell Brand's Facebook Page
19 August 15
ur survival impulses have gone awry. We no longer live in an environment where fat and sugar, the only bits of a gateaux worth having, are scarce, they are abundant, our daft ol anachronistic brainbox doesn’t know that. That shouldn’t be a problem if you have a balanced life, as part of a supportive, if not loving, community, like our species was designed to live in. The moderation and regulation of these impulses is a challenge but not impossible. Unless you live in a culture that continually stimulates these lower, atavistic desires. The booze becomes a necessary anesthetic in conditions like these. The natural desire for sex will become distorted if we are abstracted from our social purpose, our reproductive function, our community values, let alone our interconnectedness. We are living in a zoo, or more accurately a farm, our collective consciousness, our individual consciousness is being hijacked by a power structure that needs us to remain atomised and disconnected. We want union, we want connection, we need it the way we need other forms of nutrition and denied it we delve into the lower impulses for sanctuary.
- from Revolution
Our survival impulses have gone awry. We no longer live in an environment where fat and sugar, the only bits of a...
“This is an impressive crowd — the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elites; I call you my base.”
— George W. Bush
zra Klein’s piece this morning on The Donald, and how his views are actually more representative of the GOP base than the establishment want to admit, dovetails with my piece about Social Security. Ezra is, however, a little vague about who he means by the Republican establishment; I argue that we’re really talking at this point about a small group of very wealthy donors. As the old joke by W indicates, these donors actually constitute a sort of different base.
And what we’re seeing here is a stark conflict between the two bases. The Bush base wants, well, Bush; it has anted up well over $100 million in an attempt to anoint Jeb! as the nominee, in part because he faithfully espouses its priorities. (Interesting note: If Jeb! really believed he could achieve 4 percent growth, there would be no need for Social Security cuts, since that kind of growth would rapidly fill federal coffers. But slashing the welfare state is, of course, not about the money — it’s about the pain.)
It turns out that Bro! was, for a while, pretty good at convincing the voter base that he was one of them, even while showing real featly to the big money. But that fell apart in 2005 during his attempt to privatize Social Security. And Jeb! has no talent at all for that kind of salesmanship — or, actually, anything as far as I can see. All that money, and he’s fourth in the polling.
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wrote Monday about the strange phenomenon of Republicans lining up to 
LEAR LAKE, IOWA – The historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was the last place Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson shared their music with the world before their untimely death in a plane crash. On Friday night it was home to the 12th Annual Democratic Party Wing Ding. The event was a fundraiser for several county Democratic parties in Iowa. The headliners on this night were four of the Democrats running for president of the United States. Missing was former Virginia senator Jim Webb, who had a scheduling conflict in New Hampshire.
ur survival impulses have gone awry. We no longer live in an environment where fat and sugar, the only bits of a gateaux worth having, are scarce, they are abundant, our daft ol anachronistic brainbox doesn’t know that. That shouldn’t be a problem if you have a balanced life, as part of a supportive, if not loving, community, like our species was designed to live in. The moderation and regulation of these impulses is a challenge but not impossible. Unless you live in a culture that continually stimulates these lower, atavistic desires. The booze becomes a necessary anesthetic in conditions like these. The natural desire for sex will become distorted if we are abstracted from our social purpose, our reproductive function, our community values, let alone our interconnectedness. We are living in a zoo, or more accurately a farm, our collective consciousness, our individual consciousness is being hijacked by a power structure that needs us to remain atomised and disconnected. We want union, we want connection, we need it the way we need other forms of nutrition and denied it we delve into the lower impulses for sanctuary.
- from Revolution
zra Klein’s piece this morning on The Donald, and how his views are actually 
