Rick Perlstein to Obama: Let People Know the Democratic Party is on Their Side
August 19, 2011 No Comment(Rick Perlstein joins Chris Matthews on Hardball in above video) Rick Perlstein is a damn good piano player with a love of fusion, a great guy and an incredible historical writer. He said on Hardball Thursday: PERLSTEIN: Chris, forget the word left. Ronald Reagan, let’s quote him. “There is no left and right. There`s only up or down.” Up for the middle class means some kind of protection of their economic interests. I mean, Obama is worried that if he talks about this stuff, he`s going to sound divisive. History suggests that people who talk about this stuff aren’t divisive. They’re uniters. I mean, look at — look at Franklin Roosevelt. This is the guy who said the kind of stuff you — you heard in that clip. This is also the guy who built the strongest, the biggest, the most diverse political coalition in American history, and then he united the whole country to defeat Hitler. The idea that talking about malefactors of great wealth, about — about people who are taking away the birthright of every American, is going to make people think that you`re somehow creating class war, history doesn’t suggest it. It`s just not there in the record. This is the kind of stuff that makes people feel that the Democratic Party is on their side, that Democratic leaders are going to lay down the tracks for their interests Rick’s latest piece in Time is very instructive to you and to me and to hopefully President Obama. How Democrats Win: Defending the Social Safety Net I was flattered to learn from Joe Klein’s Aug. 15 column in TIME that Barack Obama is reading my book Nixonland . The book is about the “separate and irreconcilable fears” over the past 50 years that have come to define the increasingly acrimonious cohabitation of Americans on the left and on the right. I assume Obama turned to it for insight about how he might help turn down the volume in our political conversation. But there’s also a story in Nixonland about how the Democratic Party wins, why it loses and the good things that happen when the party gets the formula right. I surely hope Obama did not miss it. It concerns the two major axes upon which major national elections get fought. Sometimes they become battles over the cultural and social anxieties that ordinary Americans suffer. Other times they are showdowns about middle-class anxieties when the free market fails. Normally, in the former sort of election, Republicans win. In the latter, Democrats do — as we saw in 2008, when the tide turned after John McCain said “the fundamentals of the economy are strong.” So we learn that the president is reading Nixonland which is an excellent idea because knowing our history is like having a window into the soul of future decisions. There’s always been a two party system and Republicans have blocked social programs and opposed helping the middle class and the poor while the Democrats created our social safety nets and weren’t afraid to tell Americans that fact. Now Obama has at times defended the principles of the safety nets like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, especially when Paul Ryan had his insane Medicare destruction budget passed, but now since the 2010 midterm elections all that is coming out of the White House is how we must cut the deficit, reduce spending and fix entitlements. He’s been using our safety nets as a bargaining chip against the tea party to appeal to Independents. Even if it’s a chess match of sorts, the middle class loses because the narrative is all about cutting and chopping during a bad economy to appease the confidence fairies and austerity freaks that inhabit the WSJ op-ed pages. Need proof? Just read the Senate Democrats who are on the Super Congress piece in the WSJ to be totally horrified. As Digby says: We are so screwed: confidence fairy, “shared sacrifice”, “balanced approach”, China bashing, the whole nine yards. Back to Perlstein: Two years later, Nixon thought he had another one in the bag — the 1970 elections, in which he campaigned tirelessly for Republican candidates, then gave an election-eve TV speech blaming Democrats for the “thugs and hoodlums” in the streets. Only he made a terrible mistake: he sounded just as frantic and ugly as the forces he claimed the GOP would subdue. In contrast, the Democrats ran a response to Nixon’s hysterical election-eve address from Edmund Muskie, the calm, quiet Senator from Maine, who sat in an armchair and asked Americans to vote against a “politics of fear” that insists “you are encircled by monstrous dangers” and instead choose a “politics of trust.” You might say Muskie’s was a very Barack Obama sort of speech — but with a difference. It was overwhelmingly partisan. It excoriated Republicans for the way they “cut back on health and education for the many … while expanding subsidies and special favors for the few.” In other words, it was just the kind of speech Obama will not give. This shows how much power Broderism has over this administration. He’s been sucked into the right-wing framing of our economy and seems to give more credence to the deficit hawks than the principles that have made the Democratic Party the champion of the American people. By the way, there are many Congressional Democrats that are behaving much the same way. Since the President is reading Nixonland he still has time to readjust his post Labor Day jobs speech and grasp these fine points of analysis by Perlstein; Here’s what LBJ knew that McGovern didn’t: There are few or no historical instances in which saying clearly what you are for and what you are against makes Americans less divided. But there is plenty of evidence that attacking the wealthy has not made them more divided. After all, the man who said of his own day’s plutocrats, “I welcome their hatred,” also assembled the most enduring political coalition in U.S. history. The Republicans will call it class warfare. Let them. Done right, economic populism cools the political climate. Just knowing that the people in power are willing to lie down on the tracks for them can make the middle much less frantic. Which makes America a better place. And which, incidentally, makes Democrats win . Republicans have been attacking, attacking and attacking while your advisers are saying to be measured and adult-like. Sorry, this is a fight to save this country and its senior citizens and not to see who wins the credit rating agencies hearts and to get hand shakes from the Chamber of Commerce . Hardball Transcript: Rick, everybody here loves you, so we can’t wait to hear your thinking about this. I want to start this off, lady and gentleman, because this is the best piece of clip I’ve ever seen to make your point, Rick, and to educate all of us how to be, if you want to be, a strong Democratic president.Here`s President Roosevelt warning about Republicans back in 1936 in words that could be used right now in this partisan fight. Let’s listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me warn the nation against the smooth evasion that says, Of course, we believe these things. We believe in Social Security. We believe in work for the unemployed. We believe in saving homes.Cross our hearts and hope to die, we believe in all these things. But we do not like the way the present administration is doing them. Just turn them over to us. We will do all of them, we will do more of them, we will do them better, and most important of all, the doing of them will not cost anybody anything! (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)(END VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEWS: Unbelievable! Rick, that is American speech. That`s how you talk to people today. Your thoughts because it seems to me what you`re saying. RICK PERLSTEIN, AUTHOR, “NIXONLAND”: Today. That`s right. I mean, every Democratic candidate from dog catcher to, you know, (INAUDIBLE) presidential candidate have been saying the same thing ever since, every generation.I mean, in 1960, everyone remembers the famous debate between Nixon and Kennedy. Kennedy made Nixon sweat. Well, why did he sweat? It came right after Kennedy said, I`m a Democrat. I`m proud to be a Democrat. We built Social Security. And by the way, you elect me, I`m going to put together something called Medicare, you know, Social Security for medical care for old people. And this guy, Nixon — he`s part of a great, proud American party called the Republicans. Oh, and by the way, let me just mention the Republican Party opposed all those things. MATTHEWS: Yes. Let me go out to Alex Wagner. This politics, it seems to me, reminding people what the stakes are — you won`t have all this stuff even to kick around anymore, to use a Nixon phrase. There won`t be Medicare, Medicaid. These are things the Republicans have been dying to take apart and now they`re on the verge of doing it. — – read on
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John Michael McDonagh’s debut sees Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle partner up in an odd couple cop movie that arrests the genre’s slump, says Henry Barnes Henry Barnes
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Click here to view this media Former Reagan adviser and ex-Bushie, Bartlett defends the actions by the Federal Reserve against the “grossly irresponsible” charges made by republican candidate Rick Perry. A few days ago Perry said this about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.” Karl Rove and others have condemned Perry’s comments as “unpresidential.” (CNN) – Former Treasury official Bruce Bartlett labeled newly-minted Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry “an idiot” Friday. Bartlett, who served at Treasury under former President George H.W. Bush and as a domestic policy adviser to the late President Ronald Reagan, delivered the choice words to the Texas Gov. in reference to his recent comments about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. “Rick Perry’s an idiot, and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that,” Bartlett said Friday on CNN’s “American Morning.” Perry sparked controversy when he said Bernanke would be “treasonous” if he printed more money to stimulate the economy before the 2012 election. “I mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous, or treasonous, in my opinion,” Perry said Monday in Iowa. He stood by his comments Tuesday. Bartlett said the politics at the Federal Reserve are a serious problem and in part blamed U.S. presidents, who he said have historically not focused their energies on the bank. Video is edited down from the original 7 min.
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Plans for hundreds of wind turbines have been blocked over claims that vibrations will interfere with recording station The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is blocking plans for hundreds of wind turbines because it says their “seismic noise” will prevent the detection of nuclear explosions around the world. The MoD claims that vibrations from new windfarms across a large area of north-west England and south-west Scotland will interfere with the operation of its seismological recording station at Eskdalemuir, near Lockerbie. The station listens out for countries secretly testing nuclear warheads in breach of the 182-nation Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty . At a meeting today, Carlisle council rejected the latest application for six wind turbines at Hallburn Farm , near Longtown, because of the MoD’s objections . The noise from the turbines would increase interference to an unacceptable level, the MoD said. The company that made the application, REG Windpower , warned that plans for many other windfarms in the area were similarly affected. As much as one gigawatt of renewable power was being held up by the MoD, the company told the Guardian. This is equivalent to about a quarter of the UK’s current onshore wind capacity, and could make an important contribution to meeting UK targets to cut the pollution that is causing climate change, REG Windpower argued. But according to the MoD, the swishing blades of wind turbines cause vibrations in the ground that can be detected by the sophisticated monitoring equipment at Eskdalemuir. The UK has an international obligation to protect the operation of the station to help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, it said. An expert study for the MoD concluded that although the station could cope with some seismic noise, increasing this beyond a certain level would cause interference. The limit has now been reached so the ministry is objecting to every new wind turbine within 50km of Eskdalemuir. This has generated frustration among wind power developers because the area has many attractions for them. It has good wind speeds, is sparsely populated and is close to centres of electricity demand. But REG Windpower’s development director, Matt Partridge, was hopeful of a breakthrough in finding a technical fix for the problem. “We’re optimistic there will soon be a solution,” he said. One idea is to hang weights like pendulums inside turbine towers to deaden the vibrations from the blades. The MoD promised it would reassess its opposition if there were a proven technological solution. Eskdalemuir was a “unique facility in the UK”, said an MoD spokesman. “It detects and accurately interprets seismic signals worldwide to detect nuclear explosions and deter the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Wind turbines can affect the readings.” He added: “The MoD would not object to a planning application without due reason. Objections are only raised where such action is considered vital to adequately protect MoD interests.” Wind power Energy Renewable energy Scotland Nuclear weapons Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio is calling for “compromise” now that his anti-collective bargaining law passed earlier this year appears to be in trouble. He held a press conference to plead his case: “We are now standing here saying to people, ‘bring your grievances to us. We will look at them,’” said Kasich, who was joined at the news conference by fellow Republicans, House Speaker William G. Batchelder and Senate President Tom Niehaus. “Why would people say ‘I’m not going to talk?’ “It doesn’t mean that because you talk you reach agreement,” he said. “Just because you talk doesn’t mean you work it all out. But I think the public would like us to talk. So we’ll see where this all goes.” … Kasich says his timing has nothing to do with efforts to repeal the law, or with a recent Quinnipiac poll that shows the measure being defeated by a double-digit margin. “This is not an effort that is being put forward because we fear we’re going to lose,” Kasich said. … “Let’s see where all this goes. Maybe we get somewhere, maybe we won’t,” Kasich said. “If we don’t get anywhere, see you in November.” Kasich, notably, suggested no potential areas of compromise and made no real commitment to talk to the working families of Ohio. We Are Ohio, the group behind the repeal drive, issued the following response : We are asking you for a fresh start, and that fresh start must begin with a full repeal of Senate Bill 5. A complete repeal of Senate Bill 5 would go a long way toward creating an environment for compromise, restoring trust in government by the electorate and setting the table for meaningful negotiations about creating jobs, rebuilding Ohio’s economy and moving the state forward. Under your authority, we ask that you call the Ohio General Assembly into session and repeal Senate Bill 5 in its entirety. With this fresh start, we can begin to build a good faith agreement based on shared values, principles and known facts: … So, basically, thank you. We appreciate the gesture of asking for compromise. Make it more than a gesture and we’ll be more than happy to talk. Earlier this year, Kasich signed into law the bill that would strip collective bargaining rights for 360,000 Ohio workers. The bill has not yet gone into effect since the referendum effort collected enough signatures to get on the ballot. More than 1.3 million Ohio citizens signed petitions to get the repeal on the ballot — more than six times the required amount. Observers think it unlikely that the bill will be repealed by the Republicans and, in that case, the referendum will appear on the November 2011 ballot. A recent poll had the bill being repealed by a 56-32 percent margin. Labor leaders think that the results of the Wisconsin recall elections have Kasich on the run . Upon seeing the results of the Wisconsin recalls — where Democrats won five of nine recall elections — Kasich called for compromise. Working America reports that Kasich has fought compromise every step of the way to date, as he: • Described his political agenda like this just three days after his election: “If you think you’re going to stop us, you’re crazy. You will not stop us. We will beat you…If you’re not on the bus, we’ll run over you with the bus. And I’m not kidding.” • Demanded that Ohio teachers unions take out a full page ad apologizing for not supporting his campaign. • Repeatedly and publicly called a police officer who gave him a moving violation an “idiot” – shortly before pushing legislation that would take away bargaining rights from all Ohio police officers. Kasich and his Republican allies also refused to meet with workers when crafting the collective bargaining bill. Ohio state employees have already compromised in recent years and have surrendered $350 million in wage freezes, health care benefit cuts and other cuts to their compensation.
Continue reading …NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell appeared on last night's “Hannity” to go over how, in Sean Hannity's words, the media welcomed Rick Perry to the race “Bachmann-style,” that is with a barrage of unfair smears and even comparisons of the Texas governor to Democratic segregationist Bull Connor. Video follows page break:
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan describes the crisis as a ‘litmus test’ for humanity as he visits a refugee camp in Mogadishu with his wife The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has visited Somalia to draw international attention to the famine sweeping across the Horn of Africa. Erdogan, who was accompanied in Mogadishu by his family and five cabinet ministers, has appealed for more food aid for the drought-hit country and lashed out at wealthy western countries for not doing more. Somalia’s president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, welcomed Erdogan at the airport with a warm embrace. Erdogan, dressed in a sharp suit, and his wife, Emine, who wore haute-couture Islamic dress, then drove through the city’s rubbish-strewn streets. At one dusty, windswept refugee settlement, Erdogan crouched inside the tent of Bashir and Fatima, a young couple mourning the loss of two of their four children who died after walking 55 miles to Mogadishu. Emine Erdogan handed out chocolates and sweets. On Wednesday, Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries pledged $350m (£121m) in aid to fight the famine, which has left 3.7 million Somalis at risk of dying of hunger. Erdogan has said he hopes the OIC’s efforts will jolt the consciences of those ignoring the unravelling humanitarian emergency. A pious Muslim, he has called the disaster a “litmus test” for humanity. The withdrawal of most Islamists from their Mogadishu bases earlier in the month has in effect handed full control of the capital to the government for the first time since civil war broke out in 1991. Somali troops and African peacekeepers are still meeting pockets of rebel resistance in the city, highlighting the view of regional observers that the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab insurgents are far from defeated. Security forces flooded Mogadishu’s main streets, where Turkish flags fluttered in the coastal breeze and posters adorned the walls of mortar-blasted buildings. “Prime minister Erdogan’s visit tells us the Turkish people are closer to us than any other Muslim nation on earth,” said one resident, Abdirashid Ali Omar. “The Turkish people are here to share with us in our time of need. It is momentous.” Muslim Turkey, a rising political and economic power that straddles east and west, is far behind other emerging powers such as China, Brazil or India in the race for new markets in Africa. But under Erdogan’s ruling AK party, Turkey has expanded commercial ties in Africa, as well as in the Middle East and Asia, and opened several new embassies in Africa. The UN’s World Food Programme said on Friday it was still unable to reach 2.2 million hungry people living in areas of southern Somalia controlled by al-Shabaab, whose bloody campaign to topple the government has cost more than 20,000 lives. Aid agencies say that while droughts are a natural phenomenon, this famine is largely down to conflict and bad governance. “Droughts will happen. They always will, but they don’t have to be disasters. They can be managed,” Oxfam’s Philippa Crosland-Taylor said in neighbouring Kenya. Somalia Turkey Famine Aid Africa Middle East Europe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Recep Tayyip Erdogan describes the crisis as a ‘litmus test’ for humanity as he visits a refugee camp in Mogadishu with his wife The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has visited Somalia to draw international attention to the famine sweeping across the Horn of Africa. Erdogan, who was accompanied in Mogadishu by his family and five cabinet ministers, has appealed for more food aid for the drought-hit country and lashed out at wealthy western countries for not doing more. Somalia’s president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, welcomed Erdogan at the airport with a warm embrace. Erdogan, dressed in a sharp suit, and his wife, Emine, who wore haute-couture Islamic dress, then drove through the city’s rubbish-strewn streets. At one dusty, windswept refugee settlement, Erdogan crouched inside the tent of Bashir and Fatima, a young couple mourning the loss of two of their four children who died after walking 55 miles to Mogadishu. Emine Erdogan handed out chocolates and sweets. On Wednesday, Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries pledged $350m (£121m) in aid to fight the famine, which has left 3.7 million Somalis at risk of dying of hunger. Erdogan has said he hopes the OIC’s efforts will jolt the consciences of those ignoring the unravelling humanitarian emergency. A pious Muslim, he has called the disaster a “litmus test” for humanity. The withdrawal of most Islamists from their Mogadishu bases earlier in the month has in effect handed full control of the capital to the government for the first time since civil war broke out in 1991. Somali troops and African peacekeepers are still meeting pockets of rebel resistance in the city, highlighting the view of regional observers that the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab insurgents are far from defeated. Security forces flooded Mogadishu’s main streets, where Turkish flags fluttered in the coastal breeze and posters adorned the walls of mortar-blasted buildings. “Prime minister Erdogan’s visit tells us the Turkish people are closer to us than any other Muslim nation on earth,” said one resident, Abdirashid Ali Omar. “The Turkish people are here to share with us in our time of need. It is momentous.” Muslim Turkey, a rising political and economic power that straddles east and west, is far behind other emerging powers such as China, Brazil or India in the race for new markets in Africa. But under Erdogan’s ruling AK party, Turkey has expanded commercial ties in Africa, as well as in the Middle East and Asia, and opened several new embassies in Africa. The UN’s World Food Programme said on Friday it was still unable to reach 2.2 million hungry people living in areas of southern Somalia controlled by al-Shabaab, whose bloody campaign to topple the government has cost more than 20,000 lives. Aid agencies say that while droughts are a natural phenomenon, this famine is largely down to conflict and bad governance. “Droughts will happen. They always will, but they don’t have to be disasters. They can be managed,” Oxfam’s Philippa Crosland-Taylor said in neighbouring Kenya. Somalia Turkey Famine Aid Africa Middle East Europe guardian.co.uk
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Ursula Nevin slept through riots in Manchester but was jailed after accepting a pair of shorts looted by a friend A mother of two who slept through the riots but was jailed for handling a stolen pair of shorts that had been looted by a friend has been freed from prison on appeal. It is thought to be the first successful appeal against a sentence in relation to the disorder in England. Ursula Nevin, 24 was jailed for five months by a district judge at Manchester magistrates court earlier this week. The severity of the sentence caused concern as she had not actually been involving in rioting or looting. She had admitted accepting a pair of shorts that had been looted from a city centre shop by a friend. Judge Andrew Gilbart QC said he was setting aside the prison sentence because Nevin had not actually taken part in the riots. He ruled that the original decision was “wrong in principle” and instead he ordered Nevin to perform 75 hours of unpaid work for the community. Nevin was in bed at the time of the widespread disorder in Manchester city centre where her lodger, Gemma Corbett, helped herself to clothing and footwear from the Vans store and then took them back to the house they shared in Stretford, Greater Manchester. Nevin cried in the dock last Friday as District Judge Khalid Qureshi told her she was supposed to be a role model to her two young sons and criticised her for not speaking up and ordering the stolen haul to be moved out of the house. Judge Gilbart said on Friday that he had indicated in previous sentencing remarks on looters that a distinction could be made for people receiving stolen goods who had not been physically present during the disorder throughout Manchester and Salford last Tuesday. “Ursula Nevin did not go into Manchester city centre,” he said. “We regard it as wrong in principle that she was subject to a custodial sentence. “She must pay some sentence because she knew where the goods had come from. “Seventy-five hours of unpaid work appears to be the appropriate figure bearing in mind the guilty plea.” Addressing Nevin, who had no previous convictions, he said: “You must have found yourself, in the circumstances of the last week, trapped in a circle of hell. “The way you never get into that situation again is to show the courage to say ‘no’. “I am sure the courts will not be troubled by you again. Leave now and look after your children.” The defendant cried as the sentence was reduced, as did family members in the public gallery, including her mother. UK riots Sentencing Crime UK criminal justice Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Ursula Nevin slept through riots in Manchester but was jailed after accepting a pair of shorts looted by a friend A mother of two who slept through the riots but was jailed for handling a stolen pair of shorts that had been looted by a friend has been freed from prison on appeal. It is thought to be the first successful appeal against a sentence in relation to the disorder in England. Ursula Nevin, 24 was jailed for five months by a district judge at Manchester magistrates court earlier this week. The severity of the sentence caused concern as she had not actually been involving in rioting or looting. She had admitted accepting a pair of shorts that had been looted from a city centre shop by a friend. Judge Andrew Gilbart QC said he was setting aside the prison sentence because Nevin had not actually taken part in the riots. He ruled that the original decision was “wrong in principle” and instead he ordered Nevin to perform 75 hours of unpaid work for the community. Nevin was in bed at the time of the widespread disorder in Manchester city centre where her lodger, Gemma Corbett, helped herself to clothing and footwear from the Vans store and then took them back to the house they shared in Stretford, Greater Manchester. Nevin cried in the dock last Friday as District Judge Khalid Qureshi told her she was supposed to be a role model to her two young sons and criticised her for not speaking up and ordering the stolen haul to be moved out of the house. Judge Gilbart said on Friday that he had indicated in previous sentencing remarks on looters that a distinction could be made for people receiving stolen goods who had not been physically present during the disorder throughout Manchester and Salford last Tuesday. “Ursula Nevin did not go into Manchester city centre,” he said. “We regard it as wrong in principle that she was subject to a custodial sentence. “She must pay some sentence because she knew where the goods had come from. “Seventy-five hours of unpaid work appears to be the appropriate figure bearing in mind the guilty plea.” Addressing Nevin, who had no previous convictions, he said: “You must have found yourself, in the circumstances of the last week, trapped in a circle of hell. “The way you never get into that situation again is to show the courage to say ‘no’. “I am sure the courts will not be troubled by you again. Leave now and look after your children.” The defendant cried as the sentence was reduced, as did family members in the public gallery, including her mother. UK riots Sentencing Crime UK criminal justice Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
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