Visual source: Newseum
Paul Krugman:
But my take is that the hermetic nature of movement conservatism — its loyalty tests, its closed intellectual world where you get all your alleged facts from Fox News and the Heritage Foundation, the “wingnut welfare” that ensures that defeated politicians always have a cushy job waiting at a think tank somewhere, always made it vulnerable to this kind of spin into policy craziness. The Bush debacle undermined the control once exercised by the establishment, which tried to keep up the appearance of reasonableness; and now people like Pawlenty and Romney need to sound crazy even if they (possibly) aren’t.
The 2010 election may, in retrospect, turn out to have been a disaster for the GOP: it empowered the extremists, leading them to believe that they could go the whole way and keep winning elections. I guess we’ll see.
See debt ceiling debate.
Rob Long on the Republicans' fall line-up:
Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has the opposite problem. He’s like the show that comes on between the two shows you want to see. He’ll do, of course, if you can’t find the remote or there’s nothing on the DVR, but you’re more likely to make a quick sandwich or let the dog out than sit on the sofa and watch. A Mitt Romney Show gets on the air because it methodically hits all the major market-research bullet points — the dials, initially, are up — but then it fails to generate any real heat. Often, shows like that can hang on if they keep plugging away and delivering a solid audience...
And Palin has already showed television viewers two important things: She knows how to aim at slow-moving herd animals (that takes care of the press), and she understands the importance of appearances.
Fran Wendelboe:
The big daddy? Still Romney pulling in a mega ten million in a one-day fundraising effort. It looks like his to lose. However, the pressure and perils of being a frontrunner so far in advance is hard to maintain. Mitt’s speech last week did nothing to help the RomneyCare problem, if anything it appears to have made it worse. But will voters be weary of it by the time primary season is in full swing?
Anyone saying the outcome is predictable on the Republican ticket would be foolish to say the least. It is still very much anyone’s game, especially if all the players chip away at Romney.
Maybe, but it looks from here like Romney and a bunch of unhappy Republicans scurrying around complaining.
Amy Fried:
What's stunning is how tea party, evangelical, and movement conservative voters are being dissed by those seeking an "adult" Republican candidate. Quite openly, these base voters are being told that their grassroots energy and efforts are less important than the desires and financial support of establishment Republicans. Whether or not the establishment is correct about who is electable, this messaging and the coming primary contest could create real wounds in the party.
Perhaps the GOP needs to lose big in 2012 to get the party back on track. See 1964. And perhaps establishment types realize it, even though they can't be permitted to say it. See Newt's comments about the Ryan budget.
Mike Murphy:
Candidates may go to Iowa thinking they are the sharpies, but in truth they are the marks. The canny Iowans lure in all sorts of hopefuls, who find themselves spending millions on television ads, motels, office space, rental cars and catering. With 99 counties, Iowa has a lot to organize, and of course, every county must have a local coordinator, field staff and a humble Main Street storefront. Candidates raise millions from smart money types in Washington and on Wall Street and pour it all into Ottumwa — where the real sharp operators are.
Richard McGregor:
Over the weekend, Herman Cain declared he was running for president. Mitch Daniels said he would not. Together, the two announcements sum up the Republican party’s presidential problems.
The Republicans have a struggling economy, high unemployment, a gaping budget hole, an unhappy electorate and a tarnished president working in their favour for the 2012 election.
But less than 18 months before voting day, the party despairs about finding someone with the drive and ability to sell its message. The weekend announcements will only deepen their angst.
it's a few days old, but a good one from
Jonathan Bernstein:
In 2010, Republicans had one major unearned weapon: virtually everyone in politics believed that they had seen this movie before, in 1994, and it ended with a GOP landslide.
We’re now in a point in the cycle in which this process has reversed. Barack Obama is receiving a bit of an unearned advantage because everyone thinks that we’re in 1995, leading to a presidential victory on the budget and a solid reelection next year.
This, I think, explains why Republicans are depressed about their presidential prospects in 2012.
They have to defend the Ryan budget, and they know they are going to lose. Yep. Makes perfect sense.
Room for Debate:
Is Anti-White Bias a Problem?
A new study says whites think discrimination against them is a bigger problem than anti-black bias. Is this surprising?
Robert J Samuelson, after listing recession bad news:
All true. But it’s also true that the recovery seems increasingly self-propelled. Americans are shopping again, albeit with less fervor; exports are improving; companies are hiring. Massive government spending and the Federal Reserve’s low interest rates seem less crucial to growth. Although this is good news, the pervasive post-crisis gloom prevents us from acknowledging it.