Robert Schlesinger Yesterday

Reading Too Much Into the Politics of V (Spoilers)

By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

A charismatic leader promising hope, change and universal healthcare ... a complicit press ... and hiding a terrible secret that you might have read about on the Internet ... a new Beck/Limbaugh biography of Barack Obama? No! It's V, the ABC remake of the classic early 1980s alien invasion mini-series. MSNBC just reported that the show's creators deny that they're taking a shot at Obama. But of course they are: The aliens bring healing technology that they'll share with all. "You mean universal healthcare!" the co-opted reporter responds, as if anyone had not yet made the political connection.

But the politics aren't all conservative. As the show's first episode reaches its dramatic climax, a character reveals that the aliens have been here for years, quietly infiltrating human society in order to set the stage for their takeover. Among their nefarious actions were "unnecessary wars"--apparently George W. Bush is a space alien. (Well maybe not Bush; maybe Rove or Cheney. Oh definitely Cheney.) And as Jonah Goldberg points out, one could argue that "much of the stuff about the dangers of 'devotion' and promises of miraculous cures amounted to an indirect shot at faith-healing evangelicals." (He's also right about this: "If I were 17 and the super-hot alien blonde wanted me to put on a German gay disco doorman's jacket, I would have done so.")

So is V thinly veiled GOP propaganda? Nah.

Peter Roff Yesterday

2009 Election Results Show Republicans Recapturing Critical Real Estate

By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Not quite a tidal wave but something more than a ripple on the water, the Republican victories in the 2009 elections demonstrated that, despite the fondest wishes of many supposedly objective political analysts and pundits, the Grand Old Party is far from kaput.

Of particular interest is the apparent resurgence of the suburban Republican and the Republican-leaning independent, cohorts that even two years ago were thought to be a dying breed. Tuesday, they turned out to be the balance of power in important places like New Jersey, where Republican Chris Christie ousted incumbent Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine by about five points.

Laura Chapin Yesterday

Anti-Abortion Democrats Should Mind Their Own Business on Healthcare Reform

By Laura Chapin, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The Congressional Busybody Caucus has struck again. On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the Washington Post that leadership was negotiating feverishly with a group of Democrats threatening to deep-six healthcare reform over the issue of abortion. Joined by a larger block of anti-choice Republicans, this group is afraid that a woman who receives federally-funded healthcare coverage might therefore be able to buy private health insurance coverage that includes abortion.

With all respect due to members of Congress, this officially falls into the None of Your Damn Business category. Like it or not, abortion is a legal medical procedure and is included in private health insurance plans just like any other legal medical procedure. Would this contingent have a problem with federal funds going to subsidize a kidney transplant?

Mary Kate Cary November 03, 2009

Fiscal Conservatives Threatening to Take Over the Republican Party? Great!

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Politico is running a story today on what it calls the Republican Party's "nightmare scenario" of conservatives challenging up to a dozen GOP candidates in key House and Senate races in 2010. Politico points to several examples of these challenges, one of which is Utah, where Rep. Bob Bennett is in trouble after, among several troubling votes, "his Wall Street bailout vote last fall."

In fact, when you read the article carefully, not one of the conservative candidates mentioned says a word about social issues. All of their opposition is to candidates, like Bennett, who supported or voted for Obama's massive expansion of the federal government.

Doug Heye November 03, 2009

Republican Victories Would Lay Bare Internal Democratic Conflicts

By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

"I do think that if the results show Republicans have a pretty good night, that probably is going to lead some Democrats to think that, going into next year, we need to take a second look at the way we've done a lot of bills we've addressed up to this point," Rep. Jason Altmire, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, told the Fox Business Network last night.

Given the media's obsession with how the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District affects the Republican Party outside of NY-23, it's of note to see a Democrat openly talking about his party's own internal conflicts.

Altmire, an outspoken congressman in his second term, is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition made up of conservative and centrist Democrats.

Robert Schlesinger November 03, 2009

NRA Official: People Arming In Case Politicians 'Attack'

By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Today's Washington Post has an interesting piece on skyrocketing sales of guns and ammo (12 billion—that's billion, with a b—rounds sold in the last year, up from 7 to 10 billion in an ordinary year). Whichever side you're on in the gun control debate, it's an interesting read. And buried deep in the piece is this arresting explanation for the phenomenon:

"I think it's Katrina. I think it's terrorism. I think it's crime. And I also think that it's people worrying about [whether] they'll be attacked by politicians," said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association. "They're suspicious, and justifiably so."

Attacked by politicians? Now presumably he means that people think politicians are going to push gun control laws, and so "attack" their right to bear arms. But presumably as a long-time participant in this particular debate LaPierre understands the importance of picking the right words (especially since every other example he gives involves a real, physical threat). Couple LaPierre's comment with the assertion by North Carolina GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx that healthcare reform is a greater threat to the United States than "any terrorist right now in any country."

The message all around? Be scared.

Peter Roff November 03, 2009

Obama's Dithering Dims Americans' View on Afghanistan and the War on Terror

By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

President Obama's deliberations over U.S policy toward Afghanistan are not helping the American electorate maintain confidence in his leadership. A new Rasmussen Reports national survey indicates that only 34 percent of American voters say the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, a decline of nine points since October and 21 percent since January, when Obama was inaugurated.

Rasmussen also found that 29 percent of those surveyed "believe terrorists are winning that war" while 31 percent say it is a draw. "As recently as April," Rasmussen said, "28 percent said the terrorists were on top, but numbers consistently at that level haven't been seen since late 2007. The belief by 31 percent that neither side is winning is the highest such finding in at least three years."

Robert Schlesinger November 03, 2009

Hey Pawlenty: Is George W. Bush a Republican?

By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

GOP12 has some interesting video where the Morning Joe gang tries to nail Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty down on whether Olympia Snowe is welcome in his Republican Party (that, GOP12 smartly argues, should be a 2012 Republican debate question: Do you want Snowe in your party?). Pawlenty dodges and weaves, repeating a mantra about what disqualifies one as a Republican. The list includes being for tax increases "repeatedly" (one can, apparently increase taxes if you don't inhale while doing it), being for card-check, being a friend of ACORN, being for the stimulus bill and being for bank bailouts.

But ... weren't the bank bailouts an idea originated by Republican President George W. Bush? The answer is that Pawlenty says that being wrong on these issues in totality is a sign of non-Republicanism. But it's striking that in his mind one of the signature domestic policy initiatives of the last Republican president is a bright line litmus test for ideological purity for Republicanism. Not conservatism, mind you, but Republicanism.

Mary Kate Cary November 02, 2009

American Mainstream Is Looking More Like Republican Mainstream

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Is what's going on in New York's 23rd Congressional District a GOP civil war or not? If you ask me, it's not.

The media and their friends on the left, including White House adviser Valerie Jarrett on ABC News, are doing their best to turn Dede Scozzafava's withdrawal from the race and endorsement of her Democratic opponent into another example of Republican feuding over "litmus tests." They just can't help themselves. In fact, Jarrett calls Republicans "more and more extreme," yet it's the liberals who have worked themselves into a hissy fit of angry rhetoric. Take a look at Frank Rich's column in today's New York Times—far more extreme than anything being said on the right: "The riotous and bloody national GOP civil war" has devolved into a "wacky paranoid cult" that is "re-enacting Stalinism in full purge mode." It's not the people on the right—the ones who've been "outed" as moderates, supposedly—who are calling each other Stalinists. Ironically, it's the left who are upset about the Republican base.