12.7.14: The Forgotten Notion of Protect and Serve; Congress Out of Touch

To those who understand and or subscribe to 'trickle down' theory know that it all starts at the top.  Chuck Todd rattled off a series of statistics regarding Congressional wealth: annual salary $174,000 (average American $54K), income growth of 15.4% (average American 3.7%), average net worth without real estate $1,000,000 (average American with real estate $166,000) so when he said that 50.2 percent of Congress consisted of millionaires, we were surprised it was that low. 

It's no wonder that 81 percent of Americans think Congresspeople are out of touch.  Let's face it, for most of Congress if it isn't about the money, it's about the power, but for more than half it's both.  Not only does Congress NOT reflect the American people politically as Amy Walter correctly pointed out, they for the most part definitely don't understand the economic struggles of the populace that they created. 

But getting into Congress is a golden ticket, and once you're in you feel like you have a license to do anything.  Just like some individuals feel when they have say... a badge.

And these inexplicable grand jury decisions not to indict either police officer in Ferguson or Staten Island perpetuate that sense of license.  As to whether or not it's a question of race or poor policing, the answer is both in both cases though we thought it profound that the widow Mrs. Esaw Garner said that she felt like her husband was murdered (by officer Daniel Pantaleo) and that it didn't have that much to do with race.

Mrs. Garner, showing herself to be a genuine person, did not sugar coat the description of her husband in the slightest saying that he 'had a past' referring to past trouble with the law and that he was lazy, but he didn't deserve any of the treatment you see on the video footage.  Whether or not Eric Garner was selling loose cigarettes or not, the Garners didn't deserve to be harassed by police being called 'cigarette man' and 'cigarette man wife.'  Mr. Garner's civil rights were clearly violated and Mrs. Garner deserves her day in court - it's that clear.

Mrs. Garner, referring to police in a familial way - 1-2-O, said she was afraid of them; she fears for her children in the face of the police because they now know who they are.  If our nation's police departments can't change that perception for ordinary citizens [not dangerous criminals] then ultimately equal justice in the United States will collapse - it's failing right now.  What ever happened to the notion of "protect and serve?" Unfortunately, it seems quaint now.  It's certainly not what Patrick Lynch, President of the New York Police Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, is focused on when he despicably blamed Mr. Garner for resisting arrest, which Mr. Garner didn't do.

The American people have a serious lack of trust and confidence in their law enforcement and the justice system, from the Supreme Court with it's idiot 'corporations are people' type decisions on down the line, and frankly, Americans are tired of feeling at the mercy of a system that they increasing perceive as unfair.

Chuck Canterbury of the Fraternal Brotherhood of Police came off a little too defensive when it came to holding officers responsible, but one valid point that he made was that it all starts with poverty or eliminating it as the case may be.  It's something the Reverend Al Sharpton also touch on the same point saying that infrastructure investment could lead to jobs and training for those on the low end of the economic scale.

Does the connection between these tragic incidents and economic hardship even register with most Congresspeople?  The focal point of 'service' seems out of their focus so obviously not. 


Panel: Rick Santelli, CNBC; Kaseem Reed (D), Mayor of Atlanta; Amy Walter, Cook Political Report; John Stanton, "Buzzfeed" Washington Bureau Chief


Mr. Todd noted the 73rd Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, the day that entered the United States into WWII, and he said that if you haven't been to the memorial in Hawaii, it's worth seeing.  It is, but it's not so easy to get there so here you are... (our tribute)...

11.30.14: Managing Our Own Biases

To paraphrase The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson, President Obama is damned every which way when talking about race in America, and he also succinctly commented that 'it's the lot of the first African-American President of The United States' aka the 'least aggrieved black man in America.'

With that in mind, when the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson (now a household name) by a grand jury came to pass, all that's left for the president to essentially say is that we have to follow the rule of law. Some may not like that but when someone like Rich Lowry of the National Review says that the president's comments were pretty much right on you can see the fine line Mr. Obama has to walk though rightfully so, the expectations for him are higher when it comes to discussing race.  Meanwhile, the citizens of Ferguson, MO rage in frustration and unwantedly serve as the epicenter for other protests and demonstrations around the country.

Unfortunately it seems as if we have to reprogram our brains for a new reality.  If you connect some of the statements presented on today's program everything comes into focus.   Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP first stated what we all know which is that discussing race is an uncomfortable conversation, difficult to maintain and thus is not had frequently enough.  That conversation was cut in Ferguson by the prosecutor and grand jury of St. Louis County in not going forward with an indictment and subsequent trial.  Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) explained why he wanted to see an indictment because he believes that transparency of a trial is essential.  That's true but what is also true is that the press would blow up the trial in the media and if a not guilty verdict came down, then it could potential be even worse.  Despite this, the conversation needs to continue.

The New York Times columnist David Brooks said that it was the white community's responsibility to go the 'extra mile' when it comes to race relations.  So does that mean he agrees with Gov. Patrick that there should have been indictment handed down by the 'white controlled' judicial institutions?  In terms of Ferguson, what else could it suggest?  Carry that a step further with The "Meet The Press" Colin Powell clip in which he says that there is a 'dark vein of intolerance inside the [Republican] party. 

You tie it all together and it presents quite a darker image of America than we'd like to imagine and don't believe in the sinister nature that rubs off.  But no one has a good answer as to why as a society what can not explain ourselves when some one like  Pharrell Williams says in Ebony we're not talking about the causes of why Michael Brown thought it OK to act as he did in the first place. 

As Mr. Brooks spoke, one of his comments was that racial issues are very much intertwined with social ones, which is true but doesn't fully account for or comprehend the fact the one is a cause and the other a result.  It's why most African-Americans don't believe that race relations are any better than they were five years ago.  All this leads to Harvard professor Charles Ogletree's conclusion that incidents like Ferguson are going to continue and we'll have more Michael Browns. 

That's the reality that we having real trouble reprogramming our brains to accept because it's so unacceptable. 

We have to stem the tide, keep the conversation going, and as Ms. Ifill mentioned manage our own biases. 


Panel: Helene Cooper, The New York Times; Andrea Mitchell, NBC News; Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post; Rich Lowry, The National Review.

(Great panel - all press.)


...And speaking of managing our own biases, Senator-elect Tom Cotton (R-AR) spoke about immigration legislation only in terms of southern border security and security inside the country.  If this sole thrust of his understanding of immigration reform there's little reason to think anything will get done because it perpetuates an undue prejudice of Hispanics in American and shows a lack of understanding the full scope of undocumented immigration into the United States, but let's get to work on that border fence anyway.

11.23.14: Backs Against The Wall - Immigration and Ferguson

The distilled view of the executive action that President Obama took this week is that most people agree with the measures, but they do not agree with how the measures were put in place.  The president acting alone doesn't sit well with the American people because the people that represent them make a big stink about the fact that they weren't included.  Hence, you get sound bites of people like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) accusing the president of being a monarch.

But what really upsets Republicans is the fact that despite crushing the Democrats in the midterm elections, President Obama out-politicked them again with he took executive action on immigration.  But, they only have themselves to blame because the Republicans in the Senate couldn't get the Republican-controlled House to act on the immigration bill passed in the upper chamber.

With only two years left in his presidency, no more elections, and the knowledge that Republicans will not cooperate with him on anything, Mr. Obama's back was against the wall in terms of creating a positive legacy of his time in office.  So he acted on immigration and politically stuck it to Republicans.

Four of the five million people that the executive order affects are the parents of American citizens (kids born in the U.S.) and because the Republican House didn't pass a bill, the Democratic President gets all the credit for helping them out.  And a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 is going to get those votes because the Republican candidate will have to campaign against this immigration action in the primaries, essentially forfeiting those votes.  

Because of this action, some Republicans are calling for a government shutdown - 'political suicide' is how Joe Scarborough described that on the program today.  He also used that term to describe proposed impeachment proceedings against the president, before explaining that using defunding measures would be very difficult to accomplish.

If in 2016 a Republican is elected president, does that person risk losing the Hispanic vote for at least a decade by revoking the Mr. Obama's executive action without any alternative legislation ready to go?  This brings us to the prospect of the Republican-controlled Congress constructing and passing immigration legislation, which Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said was a necessity for Republicans.  Even there, the president can say that he pushed along Congress to take action, hence take some credit.

In the immediacy of all this, people are talking about the president and not the big win the Republicans just pulled off, and that's why they're so pissed off.  Republicans have no victory wave to ride into the next Congress.  They haven't even arrived in town and people already want them to have things done.

As we've pointed out previously, the actions taken by the president are legal, but are they dangerous in setting the precedent for expanded presidential power?  The answer to the latter point is yes, but again the Congress ceded the power.  They showed a clip of an interview that guest Jose Diaz-Balart did with the president where he said he would not, could not, invoke such action because it was not lawful.  It depends on the range of scope of the actions taken by the president, and what the lawyers say.

But really all of that isn't germane to the fact the president's political counter punch was extremely effective on two fronts - one, that it hurts the Republicans and two, that it personally benefits a lot of people while being an economic booster for the country.

And what goes under-said is the fact the Mr. Diaz-Balart pointed out, which is Mr. Obama has deported over 2 million people, surpassing George Bush's two-term total years ago, the population equivalent to the city of Houston, Texas.  An incredible number.  Another point that is not mentioned enough is that more people illegally immigrate to the United States through airports than across the border.

Despite that latter point, Hispanics coming into the United States via its southern border will always get a disproportionate amount of xenophobic blame in the immigration debate.  As we have always said in this column, they are not to blame - they are trying to create better lives for themselves because their backs are up against it.  The onus on and blame for keeping them out (if that's the goal) falls on the United States.  In other words, fix the laws.

And it has to be mentioned because no one does it enough and that is the unspoken discrimination that makes the whole thing reek ugly.  (If you want to get rid of it, you first have to own it.)

Sadly, it is something that also certainly applies to what is happening in Ferguson, Missouri as the town awaits a grand jury decision on whether or not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

 The debate between fmr. New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson quickly escalated into a highly animated tone when Mr. Giuliani cut in with the statistic of cited  the statistic that 93% of violence toward African-Americans is committed by African-Americans.  As Mr. Dyson correctly pointed out that those people do go to jail and that they are not ordained with the public's trust as is the case with Officer Wilson.

The whole thing ended with this exchange, but watch for yourself:

“The white police officers wouldn’t be there if you weren’t killing each other 70-75% of the time,” Giuliani said a few seconds later.

“Look at this! This is the defensive mechanism of white supremacy in your mind sir!” Dyson concluded. 

         
As the young protester in NBC News John Yang's piece said, "people are tired of being pushed up against the wall, and Mr. Giuliani's provocative statements and comparisons only reinforce that feeling amongst the African-American community.  With as much as we object to Mr. Giuliani's positions on this national, cultural issue, we agree with the way he would prepare for the grand jury's announcement.  Instead of the stupid move of declaring a state of emergency and calling in the National Guard like Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) did, Mr. Giuliani would have the police quietly prepared to react at a moment's notice.  Given the history, it's prudent, but it doesn't assume the worst from your citizenry like preemptively calling in the National Guard.  Frankly, it's the extra shove that the people of Ferguson simply don't need.


Panel: Joe Scarborough, Host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe;" Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report; Bill Richardson, fmr. Gov. of New Mexico; Jose Diaz-Balart, Host of MSNBC's "The Rundown" (Mr. Todd's old job)NBC News

11.16.14: How Republicans Can Stop the President

We want to touch on a few things right at the top here.  One, Chris Matthews did not make news by saying that the President is able to negotiate with Tehran but not the Republicans, which Chuck Todd purposely misquoted to illustrate how what Mr. Matthews said will be interpreted by the Republicans.  So since Mr. Matthews did not give Republicans the appropriate statement for political fodder, Mr. Todd made sure they got it.

Mr. Matthews explained the intractable position each side has on immigration and the Affordable Care Act. Republicans take the lion's share of the heat when it comes to not being able to negotiate, as they should.  The party has demonized the very word compromise, which follows the direction that has been given a small but very vocal base.  With that said, that doesn't by any means give a pass to President Obama.  This will get to more in a minute.

But first the second thing we wanted to comment on is the newly reported execution of an American aid worker, Peter Kassig, by ISIS.  NBC's Richard Engel pointed out that Mr. Kassig in part was executed because he was at one time a U.S. soldier fighting in Iraq.  After his service, he returned to the region in Syria to do aid work where ISIS captured him in 2013.  What we see is hubris driving an ill-advised farce of a pretext to launch a war that sent thousands upon thousands of U.S. soldiers to the Middle East, one of them Mr. Kassig, where on the way over 100,000 Iraqis die they saw unspeakable horrors of war up close.  Perhaps that's what happened to Mr. Kassig who then felt compelled to go back and help people in the midst of violence; violence in all that had been set off by the invasion of Iraq and resulted in a terrorist state swallowing up what was formerly part of the country.  Mr. Kassig was then killed by that terrorist group.  The fractures caused by the Iraq war run deep and here's one more way in which they manifest themselves. 

***

You can tell from last week's column, that we thought compromise between the Republican-controlled Congress and the Obama Administration would be a fallacy and sure enough within one week, the political war of words have been turned up to eleven.  Case in point, the interview with Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal (R) on today's program, where he stated that the president is breaking the law by executing an executive order on immigration that would essentially stop deportation of 5 million undocumented immigrants.  He also stated that the President would shutdown the government by doing so.

The president would neither be breaking the law nor shutting down the government by signing this executive order - those are simply facts.  For one, Congress shuts down the government, not the president who would not act if it were an impeachable (illegal) act.  We get what Mr. Jindal was trying to do in his blunt rhetoric.  His implication is that if the president goes by executive order, he'll force the Republicans to shut down the government.

It would be foolish for Republicans to do this.  The Congressional overreach that The New York Times' Helene Cooper mentioned at the end of the program will come to fruition, and the reason is because as a shutdown continues on, ultimately in the American people's collective the reason for the shutdown fades and sharp attention turns to those responsible for keeping it going and their refusal to end it.

One way in which the Republicans could stop the president from signing the executive order would be for the House to take up the Senate immigration bill.  By saying they would do this, they take the political high ground on the president who would surely take a sharp political hit if he still went ahead with the order.  The Republicans in the House could mark up the bill to their liking, vote on it and send it to the Republican-controlled Senate for a vote who could then pull out reconciliation to pass it with a simple majority.  This way, they wrestled the issue away from the president handing him a defeat, give the perception to the American people that you are there to govern, and provided what is in the bill endear yourself as a party to the Hispanic community.

But the Republicans' position, according to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), is that there will be no immigration reform at all.  The reason is that anything in the bill that even smells of amnesty would anger the base of the party.  Conversely, the business leaders that support the Republican party want provisions in any reform that call for leniency with regard to guest workers - a non-starter for the base.  The result is that Republicans have no alternative to present.

This segues nicely into the fact that Republicans who want to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have not presented an alternative proposal.  Governor Jindal gave reasons why he didn't like the ACA and said he had an alternative plan, but he never said what it is.  With no alternative, it will be very difficult for Senator Mitchell McConnell (R-KY) who said that he wants to pull out Obamacare 'root and branch' to explain why he has the healthcare tree in his hand once 250,000 of his constituents have had their KYNECT (Kentucky exchange) health insurance taken away, much less the rest of the country. 

Avik Roy, opinion writer for Forbes, said that the increasing number of people on medicaid is driving up premiums for people with private insurance.  However, by most accounting, overall premium costs across the country have gone down.   Additionally, inflation on healthcare overall is slowing because more people are buying into the system.   Mr. Roy's argument didn't even hold up throughout the program hour, but there is legitimate concern for small business owners who may not be able to handle the employer mandate of the law.  Unfortunately, Republicans will not fix this because in an all-or-nothing approach all you want is a hammer, there's no need for a wrench.  Repair is superfluous. 

Very soon, the rhetoric is going to meet the road and repeal-only of one big issue and sitting on your hands for another are not going to maintain the Congressional majorities Republicans surely want to keep.  There is no agenda in these tactics, and within the next two years the American people will recognize this solely as such.  If Republicans want to stop the president, stay in power and have a shot at the White House; then they need a real agenda and pretty darn quick.


Panel: Helene Cooper, The New York Times; Chris Matthews, "Hardball" MSNBC; Reid Wilson, The Washington Post; Carly Fiorina.



One more thing - On Net Neutrality, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has no idea what he's talking about and his comparison of it to Obamacare is both stupid and irresponsible.  With net neutrality, the playing field is no longer level for web entrepreneurs vs. big corporations.  Instead of all of the internet moving at the same speed, big corporations would be able to unfairly move faster and that would stifle innovation.  The internet is not broken, and end neutrality would do just that.

One more one more thing - We want to speak to the people who are asking Carly Fiorina if she is running for president.  She was coy in her answer to Chuck Todd and she many people are asking her.  Well, to them and to Chuck Todd we say - STOP ASKING.  Those people are idiots.  Are you kidding?  A former CEO of Hewlett-Packard who practically tanked the company while getting a golden parachute who moved on to be a failed Senate candidate does not a president make.   Sure, more power to anyone who runs for president, but really?

11.9.14: Will Washington DC Embrace Compromise?

In this mid-term election postmortem edition of "Meet The Press" the essential question is that now that the election is over will Washington DC break its governing gridlock by engaging in compromise to move the country forward?  From what was said by the collection of guests and panel participants, the answer is: not likely.  Amy Walker of the Cook Political Report answered that there can not be compromise when all the moderates have been voted out. 

But at the moment, members of Congress are doing what they do best, which is talk a good game and they want to keep people hopeful that something positive for all of the American people can still happen, given that now the Republicans controlling both houses of Congress while the Democrats still control The White House. 

With the exception of the Georgia Senate race (we said it would go to a run-off), our predictions from last week's column were all spot on, and what can be said about that is that they were correct because they were easy calls to make.  There are various reasons why Republicans won so big, but one of them IS NOT President Obama's policies even though the Republicans framed this mid-term as a referendum on them.

Today's program made clear that rural and small town America hasn't felt the economic recovery as much as the concentrated population centers have, but by all indicators the economy is moving forward: 5.9% unemployment, record stock market numbers, less deficit spending, healthcare costs growing at a slower rate than they have in a decade.   None of which Republicans can take credit for, but they effectively demonized the president so much that they had the Democrats running away from the president's policies.  It was a fatal mistake that the Democrats made and frankly with regard to the Kentucky Senate race, if Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) can not admit to voting for Barack Obama then she doesn't deserve to win.

All of the above is the result of President Obama's policies, like it or not.  And another indication that the election results were more of the Democrats not standing up for their principles, something that Howard Dean rightly admonished his party for on today's program, than the actual policies is that in 5 red state referendums the overwhelming majority voted for a raise in the minimum wage.  This is something that President Obama has been calling for over the years but Republicans are against the raise.  (This is just a simple look at the facts of the matter.)

Yet there remains the notion of moving the country forward.  What ever you take that to mean (most people think of it in terms of the economy), it's difficult for us to see how that is going to happen considering that the one thing Republicans have said all along, as Senator-elect Mike Rounds (R-SD) reiterated, is that they are going to do all they can to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which in essence is re-litigating the past.  "Dismantle it section by section" is how Mr. Rounds put it.

For the President's part, he said that if Congress does not act on immigration by the end of the year, he is going to sign an executive order to reform the policy as much as the law will allow without the consent of Congress.  As former Congressman Eric Cantor put it, that would be 'lighting the fuse.'  However, we're with NBC's Jose Diaz-Balart in that the president should sign the executive order because it's the House that has been intransigent the most on this issue. Mr. Diaz-Balart said that if it 'poisons the well, then they should change the water.'  The Senate has passed a bipartisan bill on immigration but because it came from a Democratic-controlled chamber, the Republican-controlled House just sat on it.  Now that the Republicans control the Senate, they'll throw that bill out and recreate another that more reflects their majority view, again this is going backwards.

So now that we've painted a bit of a bleak picture for compromise, where does that leave us?  The Republicans' attacks on the President were a winning strategy to win control of Congress and there's no reason why they won't continue that strategy and insist that having a Republican in The White House is best for the country.  That the most likely Democratic candidate is Hillary Clinton is incidental in terms of this strategy.  It wouldn't matter who were to run on the Democratic side, that person will be framed as a continuation of President Obama, something that Scott Walker didn't fail to mention in his victory lap interview on the program.  With Hillary Clinton being the 'front-runner,' she's a bigger profile likely candidate so she's easier to hit.

The panel got into a back and forth about what constitutes incendiary actions in Washington.  Eric Cantor said that if the president signs an executive order on immigration that would be considered such an action, though it was the House of Representatives that he lead that subverted any reform.  When Chuck Todd presented the scenario of Republicans repealing the ACA as something to carry the incendiary label, Mr. Cantor answered that  repealing the ACA is not incendiary because everyone knows that is what Republicans are going to do it.  This drew dismissive laughs from the rest of the panel, as it should have. We don't know for sure how these election results will playing out the two years, whether our political leaders can compromise.  However, with Eric Cantor's presence on the program today, it reminded us of one thing: we're glad he's gone.


Panel: Jose Diaz-Balart, NBC News; Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report; Stephanie Cutter, fmr. Deputy Campaign Manager for President Barack Obama; Eric Cantor (R), fmr. House Majority Leader

11.2.14: Mid-Term Elections Analysis, Rand Paul and Kaci Hickox

In this midterm election special on today's "Meet The Press," it's easy to see why all the key Senate races are so tight, and that's because of the obvious conundrum the American people find themselves in.  They are unhappy with the predominately Democratic incumbents, but they see that the Republican leadership alternative isn't any better. 

From Chuck Todd's interview clips of likely voters around the country, the predominating theme is that the American people want more moderate leaders, ones that can compromise with the best interest of people in mind to ultimately move the country forward.  However, what the American people also know is that neither party offers such candidates.  The reason that these candidates don't exist in larger numbers [read: not all political leaders fit into this negative box] is because they are more beholden to donors and special interests than they are to their constituents in their respective districts.  None of this is a mystery to the American people so they feel stuck, hence close races.

Because of this evident frustration, it's not surprising that the Cook Political Report's Amy Walter assessed the midterms as one of anti-incumbency, and that falls on the Democrats given they have control over the executive office and the Senate.  (The House districts, by the way, are so completely gerrymandered that no one's even giving those races any attention.  Don't get us started.)  In the interview with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Mr. Todd brought up that Senator Paul once said that the Republican brands 'sucks.'  But here's what sucks more with regard to these midterms and that is the Democratic candidates, with the exception of Michelle Nunn in Georgia, is that they have run away from President Obama's policies - their Democratic party leader.  If your a Democrat defending your seat and you voted with the president, own it and make the argument for it.  It shows principle and conviction, which are two qualities voters respond to.  That doesn't mean you have to agree with Mr. Obama on every issue, but distancing yourself so far away, essentially making yourself Republican-light, shows no guts.

For the Republicans' part, they're capitalizing to the max on all the political negativity they've created.  So much so that they will take control of the U.S. Senate with easy wins in Kentucky, Iowa, Arkansas and Colorado; and run-off wins in Georgia and Louisiana.  All of this obvious stuff - as Charlie Cook explained that these are all really home games for the Republicans.

However, even in lieu of the consensus opinion of all the guests on the program the Senator Pat Roberts' campaign in Kansas was the worst, we wouldn't be surprised if Independent Greg Orman couldn't seal the deal and win.  Asking for people's votes (aka 'their trust') while never clearly stating your positions on anything, as Mr. Orman does (or does not as the case may be), will catch up to you, and it's not too late; call it the cold-feet factor.

(We also think that Rick Scott in Florida's Gubernatorial race will prevail, as crazy as that sounds given Mr. Scott's poor performance as governor.)

Senator Paul, during his interview with Mr. Todd, provided a window into the future as to how Republicans will act as a result of these wins.  First and foremost, there will be a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare in its totality, which the president will surely veto.  Again, no surprise here but it will be interesting to see how this plays out politically.  Our feeling is that the American people won't like it because not only are they weary of wars oversees but they're also exhausted from the 'wars' at home. 

The Kentucky Senator does talk a really good game when it comes to sounding reasonable and conciliatory toward people who disagree with him, but his unwillingness to compromise is as firm as the rest of his party's.  In addition to his statements about Obamacare, Senator Paul also talked about voting rights, advocating for early voting.  He didn't disagree with the Republican position of requiring voter I.D. cards, but just the tactic of leading with it as a campaign issue.  What good is being able to vote early if you don't have a I.D.?  Let's face it, all voter I.D. laws do is disenfranchise voters.  In today's elections in the United States, to commit the kind of wide scale fraud to actually effect a result would take millions of dollars - something that would hardly go unnoticed, don't you think?

And of course this disenfranchisement disproportionately affects minorities and the poor who tend to vote more Democratic.  Though given this truth, it did sound like a bit of desperation on the part of Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) when she said the South is bad for African-Americans and women, playing on the sympathies of people to attain their votes.  Senator Landrieu has always been perceived as someone who is more interested in her own self-interest, hence self-preservation so when Senator Paul says falsely that most African-Americans feel taken for granted by the Democratic party, it seems plausible.

***

Lastly, we'd like to comment on Mr. Todd's interview with Kaci Hickox, the American healthcare worker who was quarantined in Newark upon her return from West African where she was working to combat the Ebola virus crisis. 

It was an important interview because it gave Americans a chance to hear from Ms. Hickox and see that she is like every other American.  And like many Americans, she showed the compassion and commitment to helping others.  As a healthcare worker who understands the disease better than most, coupled with the desire to live, she demonstrated that she is responsible in self monitoring her health.  She had it absolutely correct that we should approaching this problem with the lens of science instead of the prism of politics. 

And if you're in Maine, you should consider two things leading up to your trip to the voting booth.  One, consider Ms. Hickox's action and service as heroic.  Also, consider that your governor, running for re-election, would like to arbitrarily take away the personal liberty of an American citizen while personally attacking that person's character and is using empty rhetoric to play upon your fears.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!



Panel 1: Charlie Cook and Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report; Fred Yang, Democratic Pollster; Bill McInturff, Republican Pollster

Panel 2: Michael Steele, fmr. Chair of Republican National Committee; Robert Gibbs, fmr. White House Press Secretary;  Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent NBC News; Joe Scarborough, host of "Morning Joe."









kaci kickox - ebola nurse

from maine


talking about science and not politicas
paul lapage - gov.
villated every promise she made so far


self -quarantine - community has been through a lot
will no go into town -

population centers - different rules? no - kaci

presidential politcas already oat the midterms

contemplators club
no one's in a hurry

gibbs - more entused about republicans

lose a book tour - andera -

has to be authentic

rand paul - republican front runner - michael steele

joe - not going to win -
jeb or christ
mitt romney -
john kasich -

10.26.14: There's No Money in Compromise

NBC Congressional Correspondent Luke Russert reported on today's program that $4 billion dollars have been spent on this year's midterm elections, which of course prompted the question as to whether or not money is taking over American politics.  While it's mildly commendable that the question would be raised at all since media companies like Comcast, which owns NBC, it's silly to even ask.  With a disgustingly gaudy number such as $4 billion staring us in the face, it's more like to what extent is it dominating our political system.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post published a piece outlining how much politicians' wealth has increased over the years (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/10/22/so-just-how-rich-is-congress-richer-than-you/) so it's not difficult to decipher why the money is spent and who eventually benefits from it. Understandably, the system as is motivates politicians little to make any changes.  It all stems from a cynical Supreme Court decision - the Citizens United ruling - that has allowed an unlimited amount of dark money (where donors do not have to be disclosed) that has nothing to do with the general welfare of a nation but the narrow agenda of a select few.

The results the American people see are the further enrichment of that select few, gridlock and dysfunction in Washington DC, more polarization between the political parties, and the increasing difficulty for the general populace to make ends meet.

Dan Balz, Chief Correspondent for The Washington Post, explained that everyone is sick of these political ads, even the producers that make them but there is too much money involved to say no. Chuck Todd offhandedly mentioned that it could jeopardize the two-party system, but we're not there yet.  Mr. Todd also pushed the notion that the public wants to punish the Democrats without rewarding Republicans, the reward being control of both houses of Congress.  This presumes that Democrats are solely at fault because they back the 'failed' policies of President Obama.  If you disagree with the President's policies or not, that doesn't necessarily mean they are unsuccessful.  For example, you would have to conclude that if the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to insure more people while slowing the growth in healthcare costs, you would have to deem that a success.  However, if you own the hospital, you're making less profit so it's a failure.

No matter how the elections turn out - whether either party is punished or rewarded - today's panel seemed to think that little would change in terms of the gridlock.  But from Mr. Todd's 'on the road' interviews, once again you see that the American public is ahead of its leaders.  The final interview quote was a man in Wisconsin saying that you had to make friends with the people you were most afraid to make friends with, in terms of political viewpoint, which is another way of saying that it is all right to compromise.  The sad reality is that there is no money in compromise, only in gridlock.

It's also clear that no matter what happens in the senatorial races, Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are not the men who can fix Washington dysfunction.  Hence, it's not encouraging to hear Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rob Portman (R-OH) defend their respective leaders.

Mr. Todd explained that the two most important concerns in this election for voters are the economy and Washington gridlock.  (Both go hand in hand.)  Coupling that with what Mr. Balz said about the Ebola virus and ISIS providing a general foreboding over this election season, it's no wondering the American people are frustrated.  All we want to see is our political leaders come together on something, anything instead of politicizing everything.  Unfortunately, there's no money in that either.


Panel: Dan Balz, Chief Correspondent for The Washington Post; Luke Russert, NBC Congressional Correspondent; Caroline Ryan, The New York Times Washington DC Bureau Chief; Nia Malika-Henderson, National Political Reporter for The Washington Post


As for Dr. Fauci's now weekly Ebola update, the only way to stop the Ebola virus here is the eliminate it in West Africa as he explained.  Quarantines and travel bans, though he was reluctant in disagreeing, Dr. Fauci said would be detrimental in accomplishing that goal where Dr. Sophie Delaunay, Ex. Dir. of Doctors Without Borders, stated is out of control.  She also explained that the doctor in New York followed all the necessary protocols to safeguard against spreading the virus.  On all this, we're still with Dr. Fauci in that we're going to put our trust in science and government.  What else is there?  You tell us!


And this is our 300th published post; thank you so very much for reading us.

10.19.14: Perspectives on Ebola in the U.S.

Does a travel ban make sense if it is only to make the American people feel better?  Chuck Todd discussed this with Senators Roy Blount (R-MO) and Bob Casey (D-PA) during today's 'Ebola Summit' on "Meet The Press," among many other aspects in combating an outbreak of the virus.  We'll dissect the above mentioned tactic and a couple of other points in an attempt to bring perspective to the whole thing.

Laurie Garrett, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and long-time medical journalist explained that since Ebola is new, there is a new fear, and what comes with new is unknown so it's natural national reaction.  The media hasn't been any help in quelling those natural fears, especially when you present the story in terms of a summit.  That's a cheap jab because all the guests offered insightful perspectives. 

(Cudos this week to Mr. Todd and his team for their best show so far in terms of pacing, tone, and information.  Staging still a little awkward but to an increasingly minimal degree.)

But the first thing that should be noted is when Mr. Todd reminded us that over 50,000 people per year in the United States die of flu and pneumonia; one has died from Ebola, to which Ms. Garrett commented that since it's familiar there is no hysteria.  (Makes you think about going out to get that free flu shot now, doesn't it?)

However, and this is a big 'however,' there is an epidemic occurring in Africa - all agreed - and it is to be taken seriously.  The Ebola virus is a deadly disease, as we know, that attacks the central nervous system  and causes dementia and violent behavior on the way to a quick death.  From Ghana, Dr. Anthony Banbury, UN Mission Ebola Emergency Response, warned that the world is not prepared to combat the spread of this virus and the number one resource needed on the ground is more healthcare workers. 

When Senator Blount was asked about his support for it, he dialed back his answer saying that we should not issue visas to individuals from countries where there is emergency status.  That's a lot different than a travel ban.  A ban means no to-and-from at all.  A ban means that Dr. Banbury is never going to get those healthcare workers that he needs to fight the spread.  As Ms. Garrett commented, it disincentives healthcare professionals from going overseas because they wouldn't be sure that they would allowed to come back.  And with all due respect to Senator Blount, you can not call from a travel ban and then NOT support making CDC protocols in hospitals mandatory, reasoning that it's not realistic that all hospitals would comply; as if it's realistic that an issued travel ban is going to keep everyone from west Africa out of the United States.  In essence, Senator Blount is saying that it's OK to be irresponsible here at home.  (Freedom doesn't mean act stupidly.)

Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, making a return visit to the program, warned that this initial experience should serve as a wake up call for preparedness. We also agreed when he said it would be 'nice' (his word) to have a Surgeon General so that there is a central figure to get information out and coordinate cooperation between agencies - the essential function of a 'czar' he said.  (Former vice-presidential chief of staff Ron Klain has been appointed to that position.)  But on the topic of Surgeon General, Senator Casey said that simple Washington dysfunction was the reason why we do not have one.  Senator Blount blamed senate majority leader Harry Reid for not bringing it up for a vote.  The truth there is in what Mr. Todd said that the current nominee (the more than qualified, impeccably credentialed Doctor Vivek Murthy) stated that gun violence is an issue of public health and because of that the National Rifle Association stated it would then score the Senators' votes, hence holding up the process.

If flu and pneumonia, at 50K deaths per year, is a public health concern, why wouldn't 30K deaths per year from guns also be a concern?  The NRA will not allow to be versus one death in the United States from Ebola.  It would be more than just 'nice' for the United States to have a Surgeon General. 

Another curious thing that Dr. Fauci said was that he disagreed with the notion, presented by one of his colleagues earlier in the week in an op-ed that we would have a vaccine by now if budgets for research hadn't been cut by more than 50 percent over the last three years.  He explained that nothing less in research is being done, the cuts just mean it's being done slower.  Wait....What?  He basically just confirmed the point that he disagreed with. As the guests discussed, private funding - tens of millions of dollars - for something like a vaccine for Ebola, a virus never before present in the United States, is going to be readily available, and this is understandable.  What's not understandable or comprehensible is increasing funds for border security in reaction to the presence of the Ebola virus while decreasing funding for vaccines.  As we stated in last week's column, diligence to what Dr. Fauci called contact tracing along with quick responsible care will stem fears in the U.S.

The doctor also stated that the deadline to reverse the spread of the virus in Africa is Dec. 1st.  If the numbers don't start going down by then, the epidemic there will be out of control.  Laurie Garrett pointed out that for every known case of infection, there are 2.5 that are unknown according to the World Health Organization so there is no way that deadline will be met and that given that math, 300,000 cases could be recorded in Africa by Christmas.

Dr. Danbury described it as fighting a medical war in Africa, where we don't have enough combatants.  Sure sounds that way to us.



Panel: Mike Murphy, Republican Strategist; Andrea Mitchell, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News; Stephanie Cutter, Democratic Strategist; and Manu Raju, Politico

10.12.14: U.S. Culture Wars and Perpetuating Fear

Considering the three main topics of discussion today - the Ebola virus, the war against ISIS, and the culture war/election (in that order), we'll take on the last first as we haven't given it attention previous as much as the other two.  After all, it is election season.

To the chagrin of social conservatives, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear pending cases on same sex marriage, which essentially paved the way to legalization in now what is a majority of states.  After an outlining series of historical clips of Republicans' alliance with the religious right, Chuck Todd discussed with syndicated Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker and David Brody, political director of the Christian Science Network, how Democrats are winning the culture wars right now, dictating its movement which is decidedly left.  That would seem to be the case on the surface but the Democrats aren't the deciding factor in this case.  No one touched on the core cause of the conflict within the Republican party.

Ms. Parker explained that conservatives, like Pope Francis and the Vatican, are trying to reconcile being opposed to such cultural shifts and not judging too harshly being more accepting - a 'reformation' to use her term.  We agree with the notion that same sex marriage is not a potent an issue as abortion and Ms. Parker pointed out.  Mr. Brody explained that evangelicals don't always vote in the numbers people think and because of the cultural shifts within the Republican party, there is always the possibility that they could stay home from the polls.

The core conflict within the Republican party is between the notions of social conservatism and libertarianism, and it's odd that none of the three in the discussion outlined it as such.  Perhaps unconsciously, Mr. Todd did when he explained that independents [read: libertarians] are cutting into conservative votes in senate races in various states.

One of the unintended consequences of continually advocating for gun freedoms, for example, is that people will start to apply those ideas of freedom in other areas; in other words, live and let live.  If two gay people want to get married then so be it.  This is what you're seeing from libertarian conservatives, and this is the group that is really causing the shift in the culture wars.  Abortion is a different issue because some people consider that to be 'killing a person.'  For the record, we would disagree with that - for the sake of the focus of this column, please agree to disagree with us here.  Overall point being is that conservatives are the source of the shift and it's the  conservative idea of libertarianism that is the cause.

This idea runs counter to another the conservatives are perpetuating right now, because of the election, and that is the politics of fear.  A classically effective short-term strategy that is always a long-term loser for Americans - think about the all-consuming NAS data monitoring we now live with.  However, it's to be expected that in a bid to control the Senate, Republicans would hammer the President and by extension the Democratic candidates with these kinds of political tactics focusing on the Ebola virus and war with ISIS.  As Tom Brokaw correctly noted, the latter more of a dangerous threat than the former.

In the interview with National Security Advisor Susan Rice, we liked most of what we heard.  Ms. Rice outlined how Turkey, formerly a non-voice on the scene, is responding with action since ISIS is now 6 miles from its border in the city of Kobani, Syria.  They have decided to allow the training of moderate Syrian forces at their bases, they are blocking the flow across their border of foreign fighters to ISIS, among other things.  The broad strokes of a strategy that Ms. Rice spoke about - continuing U.S. airstrikes and support of the Kurdish and Iraqi armies and coalition building - all seemed sensible though the degrees to which their employed is debatable.  And even if the United States is cooperating with Iran in this fight, we understand why Ms. Rice would deny any such contact.

However, the one thing that Ms. Rice said that was truly disappointing, infuriating in fact, is what she explained as building the capabilities of regional partners and that it is something that takes time, not overnight.  With the exception of the Kurds and moderate Syrians, Ms. Rice was referring to the Iraqis and an army, in which the United States has poured billions.  How long is that supposed to take after ten years already? 

In the one confrontation between ISIS and the Iraqi Army, sans American participation, the Iraqis dropped their guns, turned and ran.  Evidence that the training we've been giving them didn't take, unlike the Kurdish Peshmerga who just needed the resources and with the assistance of American air power were able to keep ISIS from advancing.  Given this, it shouldn't be surprising to hear NBC's Richard Engel report that ISIS has turned its attention toward Baghdad, where the army is weak and the United States can not bomb.

So we contend with one more of Susan Rice's points, which was her 'yes' answer to whether or not the United States has been successful in its degrading of ISIS.  Chuck Todd brought the point to Ms. Rice about a request from an Iraqi minister in the Anbar province for more troops to fight ISIS.  With that in mind, it seems as though ISIS is advancing and therefore the answer is clearly 'no,' to success so far.

And lastly, if you listened to what The New York Times Helene Cooper said about traveling to Liberia for two weeks (clip below), political leaders spreading fear about an Ebola outbreak in the United States is irresponsible.



Calm, in control, and disciplined are the qualities that should be expressed.

Anthony Fauci MD, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believed this first transmitted case of Ebola to a hospital nurse was due to an inadvertent breach of protocol when removing protective clothing.  The aforementioned qualities are more important than ever when it comes to this public health risk, do you think?


Round Table (Panel): Tom Brokaw, NBC News; Helene Cooper, The New York Times; Robert Gibbs, fmr. Press Secretary for President Barack Obama; and Sara Fagen, fmr. White House Political Director to President George W. Bush.


Question of the Week:  Where is Korean Dictator Kim Jung Un?  And Susan Rice's awesome answer: We're continuing to monitor.