There’s an amusing though frequently verging on depressing kerflusterfuck waxing and waning on the right, triggered by a column in the National Review by Charles C. W. Cooke, who, in addition to being to being the only person I know to use two middle initials—in homage, one can only assume, to legendary Bonnie & Clyde…
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Gentlemen may cry “Truce! Truce!” but there is no truce
E. J. Dunne has a column up at the WashPost with the unfortunately accurate head “Our political foundation is rotting away” . Noting how Republicans are pushing through a tax bill that is both utterly abysmal and far ranging for no other reason than to garner Big Donnie a “win”, regardless of the number of…
The Apotheosis of Paul Ryan is the Apotheosis of Hypocrisy
It is likely that Republicans in Congress will pass something resembling House Speaker Paul Ryan’s tax package—because if they don’t they’ll look like complete fools, and they’d rather fuck up the country than look like that. It’s “amusing” that everyone, even me, has pointed to the massive Republican hypocrisy of having spent eight long years…
Republican Tax “Reform”—Lots of little lies on top of one huge one
Who knows what’s going to shake from sieve as the Republican tax “reform” package lurches towards Bethlehem? Well, not me, for sure. I don’t know what kind of last-minute gimcracks and switcheroos old Paulie Ryan will pull out of his ass to paste together a bill that will get through the House, whether he will…
Serious people can change their minds, can’t they?
Max Abelson at Bloomberg reminds us that only a few short years ago, all the “serious people” on Wall Street were demanding that President Obama just had to cut entitlements to save America from economic collapse brought on by massive budget deficits. Unfortunately for the unity of the Democratic Party, Obama bought this line. Fortunately…
Yo, Conservatives! Don’t Analyze Trump! Oppose Him!
Right-wing double domes, some of them with hair, have been both generating and garnering pixels with critiques of our president’s character. Too much Woody Allen, not enough Gary Cooper, says Peggy Noonan, who seems to have started the ball rolling. Narcissistic and domineering (ya think?), says Charles Krauthammer. Not sufficiently Greek, says David Brooks. I’m…
Avik Roy Couldn’t Like the Senate Republicans’ Health Care Bill More if He Had Written It Himself!
Back in the day, conservative health care maven Avik Roy put the wood to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Obamacare replacement legislation, remarking after Paulie “improved” the bill to meet Republican criticism, “it’s curious that extending tax cuts was a higher priority for the House than addressing the fact that the bill will make insurance unaffordable…
Yo, Paleoliberals! You can’t go home again! (not really)
David Ignatius reports that Charles Peters, long-time editor of the Washington Monthly and, not incidentally, one-time mentor/editor to David, has the solution to the Democrats’ electoral woes, presented in his new book We Do Our Part. In writing the book, Charlie gets in line behind paleolibs Thomas “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Frank and Michael…
Poor, Pitiful Paulie Ryan, from policy wonk to policy wank in six weeks
If you’ve been hatin’ on House Speaker Paulie Ryan as long as I have, seeing Paulie finally take the beatdown he so richly deserves is schadenfreude beyond a Paulie hater’s wildest dreams. Perhaps the best of the many, many drubbings Paulie has received is administered by the hitherto unknown (to me) Philip Klein, who hangs…
When Republicans collide: Trump versus Congress
Remember back during the primaries when we Democrats felt all we needed to do was stand back and watch while the Republican Party destroyed itself? That didn’t work out so well, did it? Now we’re at Round 2. President Trump’s “budget”, such that it is—a 9.2% increase in defense coupled with a 9.2% cut for…