Friday pundit edition.
NY Times editorial:
Failure to repeal "don’t ask, don’t tell" is only one of the reasons why Thursday was one of the most shameful days in the history of the Senate.
There was also this:
Republican senators blocked Democratic legislation on Thursday that sought to provide medical care to rescue workers and others who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke at the site of the World Trade Center attack in 2001.
Aren't you proud?
Paul Krugman:
I’ve spent the past couple of days trying to make my peace with the Obama-McConnell tax-cut deal. President Obama did, after all, extract more concessions than most of us expected.
Yet I remain deeply uneasy — not because I’m one of those "purists" Mr. Obama denounced on Tuesday but because this isn’t the end of the story. Specifically: Mr. Obama has bought the release of some hostages only by providing the G.O.P. with new hostages.
The problem?
And by stringing things along, the extension increases the chances that the Bush tax cuts will be made permanent, with devastating effects on the budget and the long-term prospects for Social Security and Medicare.
David Brooks:
Over the past week we’ve seen the big differences between cluster liberals and network liberals. Cluster liberals (like cluster conservatives) view politics as a battle between implacable opponents. As a result, they believe victory is achieved through maximum unity. Psychologically, they tend to value loyalty and solidarity. They tend to angle toward situations in which philosophical lines are clearly drawn and partisan might can be bluntly applied.
Network liberals share the same goals and emerge from the same movement. But they tend to believe — the nation being as diverse as it is and the Constitution saying what it does — that politics is a complex jockeying of ideas and interests. They believe progress is achieved by leaders savvy enough to build coalitions. Psychologically, network liberals are comfortable with weak ties; they are comfortable building relationships with people they disagree with.
This contrast is not between lefties and moderates. It’s a contrast between different theories of how politics is done.
I'm a network liberal and I don't think this was such a great week. But then, Brooks is generally wrong, as he is here in assuming that this is a deal that will hold - with Republicans - over time. And as he is in assuming the DeMint/Palin wing bargains in good faith. Their goal is less taxes, not less deficit. They could care less about the deficit.
Chris Hayes agrees:
The Republicans have spent two years—an entire election cycle and postelection victory lap—repeating with tourettic persistence dire warnings about the existential threat posed by large deficits and mounting government debt.
And yet, amazingly, these same Republicans (and a few conservative Democrats), who love to offer lectures about the necessity of shared sacrifice, also spent the week demanding that all the Bush tax cuts be made permanent, a policy that would increase the debt over the next ten years by an astounding $3.3 trillion. Occasionally, you would find politicians oscillating madly between these two positions in the same paragraph or media appearance, reaching its reductio ad absurdum with a blog post about Kent Conrad's views on the matter that George Stephanopoulos headlined: Sen. Conrad: Extend All Tax Cuts; Time to Get 'Serious' About Deficit.
Duh. Conrad makes my head hurt.
ABC News:
Earlier this week, Weiner's Democratic counterpart from New York, Rep. Gary Ackerman, put it even more bluntly: "We got screwed." And Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana called the tax plan "almost morally corrupt."
Although most Republicans embraced the provision in the compromise that temporarily extends tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, GOP leaders have not spared Obama their criticism either.
Only in pundit-land is that "proof" of a good deal.
Barack Obama on the Nobel peace prize:
The rights of human beings are universal - they do not belong to one nation, region or faith. America respects the unique culture and traditions of different countries. We respect China's extraordinary accomplishment in lifting millions out of poverty, and believe that human rights include the dignity that comes with freedom from want. But Mr. Liu reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law. The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible. I regret that Mr. Liu and his wife were denied the opportunity to attend the ceremony that Michelle and I attended last year. Today, on what is also International Human Rights Day, we should redouble our efforts to advance universal values for all human beings.
China's not going to be happy [about the prize.] Hope too many people don't suffer on that account.