Tonight's Rescue Rangers are shayera, Lousiana 1976, Alfonso Nevarez, dopper0189, jennyjem and grog.

• In the history of corporations pt 5, Lenny Flank focuses on the nature of corporations during the New Deal and through WWII. (Alfonso Nevarez)
• DParker takes us back 80 years to the unlikely events that marked the start of the civil rights movement in Great moments in criminal defense: the Scottsboro boys. (grog)
• goinsouth offers some thoughts on how to Change Your Life -> Change the World. (shayera)
• indiemcemopants doesn't think that certain Americans should have to bide their time until they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and says, Just wait? NO. (jennyjem)
• erratic pens an evocative story of work with kids in low-income public housing: On positive conflict: James the Baptist. (grog)
• Disgusted by the barrage of Super Bowl Ads intended to convince viewers that men are hopelessly oppressed, cabaretic argues that Contrary to Some Voices, Masculinity is Not Under Attack. (Alfonso Nevarez)
• American Pie spots something suspicious in Defense Secretary Robert Gates rebidding of the contracts: Is Robert Gates Protecting a Criminal Enterprise? (dopper0189)
• SisTwo gives us her engrossing personal account of how and why she became The Salt-Free Me. (Louisiana 1976)

jotter gives us the day's High Impact Diaries: February 7, 2010, while virgomusic has Top Comments - A Heap of Coolness Edition.

Shamelessly self promote your diary or pimp for a friend in this Open Thread!

For those of you who have gone into campaign minutiae withdrawal, there is good news: The Wrap is back. With primaries on the horizon and the real world (aka my day job) interfering a bit, it looks like the Wrap will be a three day a week feature for the next few months. So, expect to see the Wrap on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

And, on this particular Monday, there is MUCH to see....

THE U.S. SENATE

FL-Sen: High-Ranking GOP House Member Sides With Marco Rubio
In the latest sign that the GOP candidacy of Governor Charlie Crist is circling the drain, high-ranking House Republican Mike Pence has thrown his endorsement to insurgent GOP candidate Marco Rubio. Pence, you will recall, flirted with a Senate bid of his own earlier this month before standing down.

IN-Sen: The Coats Rollout Continues to...Well...Amuse
Former Republican Senator Dan Coats, who has decided to challenge Democrat Evan Bayh, is taking heavy incoming fire as he rolls out his campaign. Bad enough that the Senator-turned-lobbyist's firm lobbied for Yemen, but the DSCC quickly got on the board with an ad, complete with video, of Coats singing the praises of his home state...of North Carolina.

NV-Sen: Tarkanian, Now the Frontrunner, Makes Flub Caught on Tape
Recent polls, including one from Rasmussen late last week, make clear that Danny Tarkanian is the leading Republican in the race against Senator Harry Reid. Given that status, he probably doesn't want to get caught, on tape, accidentally getting Harry Reid and Ronald Reagan mixed up.

NY-Sen "A": Charles Schumer Likely To Get Serious GOP Opponent
To this point, all of the Empire State Senate talk has revolved around the seat held by freshman Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. That might change now, with the news that CNBC talking head Larry Kudlow is increasingly likely to make a Senate bid against Charles Schumer. Schumer, seeking his third term, might sweat at Kudlow's notoriety, but the recent polling (PDF) from Marist seems to put Schumer in good shape: they have him leading Kudlow 67-25.

OH-Sen: New Ras Poll Shows Dems Gaining on GOP Frontrunner
Republican standard bearer Rob Portman has a huge cash edge over both Democrats (Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner). His polling edge, however, might be dissipating. A Rasmussen poll released today has Portman leading either Fisher (43-39) or Brunner (42-38) by the same four-point margin. Brunner was closer than Fisher the last time Rasmussen polled the race, but Brunner's campaign is reeling a bit from the news that she raised less than six figures in the last quarter of 2009.

WA-Sen: Murray May Have Legitimate Oppo in 2010 From The GOP
Patty Murray has been confronted with a series of second-tier Republicans up to this point, but that may well be about to change. Don Benton, who has served Southwestern Washington in the state Senator for years and ran for Congress over a decade ago, is looking to get into the U.S. Senate race.

THE U.S. HOUSE

AZ-03: Field Firming Up in the Shadegg Open Seat
One of the final dominoes in the Arizona 3rd has fallen with the news that Shadegg staffer Sean Noble will not see his old boss' seat in Congress. The GOP field was probably too full, at any rate, with three state legislators and Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker already in the race. On the Democratic side, Jon Hulburd has already raised an impressive amount of cash as the only announced Democrat in the field, while Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is still mulling it over.

CO-03: Dusty GOP Poll Says This Could Be Close Race
Here is a potentially interesting catch from DC's Political Report: a poll conducted back in December by Tarrance Group had three-term Democratic incumbent John Salazar only up two points on Republican state legislator Scott Tipton (46-44). Salazar has won easily in his last two House bids, but this is a district (on Colorado's Western Slope) which is pretty amenable to Republican candidates at the federal level. Also, the former GOP Congressman from the region, Scott McInnis, will be on the ballot as the likely GOP gubernatorial nominee, which might boost GOP turnout.

HI-01: Main Dem Contenders Stands At Two With Espero Announcement
Democrats got a break of sorts over the weekend with the news that Democratic State Senator Will Espero will not run for Congress. This is not intended as a slight to Espero, but is based on the peculiarities of Hawaii election law--the Spring's special election is an all-candidate affair, meaning that the Republican in the field (councilman Charles Djou) could emerge victorious given enough division in the Democratic Party's support.

KS-03: Democrats Suffer Major Recruiting Setback in Moore Seat
This has to be defined as a major blow for Democrats: when former KCK (Kansas City, Kansas) Mayor Carol Marinovich declined a Congressional bid a few months back, the assumption was that her successor, Joe Reardon, would make the race. Only he has also now declined to run, as well. This sends Democrats back to the drawing board in a race that is an open seat in swing territory.

NH-01: Has Guinta's Fade Opened the GOP Playing Field?
For most of 2009, the assumption was that the NRCC had coalesced around former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta in his bid to take out sophomore Democrat Carol Shea-Porter. His weak campaign (most clearly marked by anemic fundraising) has apparently inspired a lack of confidence in his bid. One Republican, businessman Rich Ashooh, is already in, and now comes word that former GOP Committeeman Sean Mahoney is eyeing the race, as well.

RI-01/RI-02: Poll Paints Different Pictures For R.I. Dems
A new poll out today from Fleming and Associates for WPRI-TV shows that one Democratic incumbent in Rhode Island is in good shape, while the other is in seriously perilous shape. The safe Democrat is the 2nd district's Jim Langevin, whose re-elect stands at 42%, with his "replace" figure at just 14%. For longtime Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, however, the picture is a little less certain. Just 35% say they'd re-elect Kennedy, while 31% are interested in replacing him.

TN-09: Cohen Again Target of Racial Campaign Appeal
Not that he isn't already somewhat familiar with the tactic, but Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen (who is white) is again being hit by an opponent eager to use race as a campaign rationale in the heavily-black Memphis-based 9th district. Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, who is making a somewhat quixotic bid against Cohen, said that African-Americans living in Tennessee should find it wrong that the state's Congressional delegation is all-White. He also seemed to strongly imply that fairness dictated that the 9th distict's representative should be African-American. Cohen dealt with similar issues in his last Democratic primary against Nikki Tinker.

RACE FOR THE HOUSE: Republican Girl Power!
Women make up a slight majority of the population and the electorate. Despite that, they only make up roughly 15-20% of the Congress in any given year. But those are huge numbers compared to the number of women in the NRCC's vaunted "Young Guns" program for campaign challengers. At present, that number stands at a cool 6.3%. That's right, just 4 of the 64 names on the list are women.

THE GUBERNATORIAL RACES

CO-Gov: Rasmussen Sees A Democratic Leader in Colorado
Rasmussen polls with Democrats in the lead are practically "Stop the Presses!" moments by now, so take note of this one. In the state of Colorado, Rasmussen has Democrat John Hickenlooper, Denver's Mayor, with a four-point lead over likely GOP challenger Scott McInnis (49-45). McInnis routinely led incumbent Democratic Governor Bill Ritter, and had a three-point lead over Hickenlooper in a January poll taken just after the Denver Mayor announced his candidacy.

MI-Gov: Dem Field Grows With Commitment From Bernero
It looks like Democrats are finally coming off of the sideline in the high-profile open-seat Governor's race in Michigan. Virg Bernero, the forty-something mayor of Lansing, has announced that he is running for Governor. Bernero is often referred to as a "populist", which might be a good approach in this campaign cycle. Other Democrats eyeing the race including House Speaker Andy Dillon and UM Regent Denise Ilitch.

NV-Gov: Reid Trails Sandoval, Leads Other GOPers
Here is another Rasmussen poll that is not particularly awful for Democrats. In Nevada, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, the only high-profile Democrat in the field, trails only former federal judge Brian Sandoval among the three Republican hopefuls for Governor that were tested. Reid trails Sandoval by a solid margin (45-33), but leads both North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon (40-36) and embattled incumbent Governor Jim Gibbons (44-35).

NY-Gov: Paterson In Trouble? He Denies It
New York Governor David Paterson became a target for some salacious campaign gossip over the weekend. Reports began to surface early in the weekend that Paterson was about to be exposed for some pretty major league personal indiscretions, with the rumor that the New York Times was working on a bombshell piece. There was even a report late in the weekend that Paterson was contemplating either resignation or retirement. Today, though, Paterson lashed out at the press, denying all rumors and implying that he was still full speed ahead on running for re-election.

RI-Gov: Former GOP-Turned-Indy Leads in Deep Blue State
Could the Democratic embrace of Lincoln Chafee when he left the GOP and endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 be biting them on the behind now? In a deep-blue state like Rhode Island, neither major Democrat running for Governor manages to lead the former Senator in the latest poll by Fleming and Associates for WPRI-TV. State Treasurer Frank Caprio comes a little closer, with Chafee edging him 31-30, with Republican John Robataille well behind. Against Democratic state Attorney General Patrick Lynch, Chafee leads 34-23, with Robataille at 18%.

The White House released this statement on the passing of Rep. John Murtha.

Michelle and I were deeply saddened today to hear about the passing of Congressman John Murtha.  Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to earn the distinction of being the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.  Jack’s tough-as-nails reputation carried over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of nearly 55 years, Joyce, their three children, and the entire Murtha family.

Speaker Pelosi, who was very close to Murtha, has this statement:

“Today, with the passing of Jack Murtha, America lost a great patriot. He served our country on the battlefield winning two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star. He served his country in his community winning the hearts of his constituents and served in the Congress winning the respect of his colleagues.

“On Saturday, he became the longest-serving Member of Congress from Pennsylvania, and one of the most distinguished. He is well-recognized as a champion of our national security; always putting the troops and their families first. He quietly and regularly visited our men and women serving our country who were injured to assess their needs and offer them thanks and encouragement. As proud Marine, he was always Semper Fi!

“The nation saw his courage writ large when he spoke out against the military engagement in Iraq – winning him the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. ... Dedicated to God and Country, and devoted to Joyce and their family, Jack Murtha was a giant. All who served with him were honored to call him colleague. I was privileged to call him friend.

“I hope that is a comfort to Joyce; their children, Donna Sue, John and Patrick; and their grandchildren that so many people mourn their loss and are praying for them at this very sad time.”

Roll Call has the reaction of his colleagues in Congress [sub req.]

Majority Leader Hoyer:

“Rep. Murtha served his country as a Marine in Vietnam and in Congress for more than three decades,” Hoyer said in a statement. “He worked hard for Western Pennsylvania and he consistently guarded the interests of our men and women in uniform. I offer my sincere condolences to his family.”

Chris Van Hollen:

“As a Marine who wore the uniform for 37 years, Congressman Murtha courageously fought in Vietnam. As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Congressman Murtha worked to ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families had the support and resources they deserve,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

Minority Leader Boehner struck a dignified and kind note:

“Today, our nation has lost a decorated veteran and the House of Representatives has lost one of its own.”

Boehner also reached out to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had a close relationship with Murtha. “I also want to express my condolences to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who valued Congressman Murtha’s advice and friendship. He will be missed.”

And his fellow Pennsylvanians:

House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.) said Pennsylvanians “should be saddened by the news that my good friend Jack Murtha died suddenly this afternoon. Jack’s shoes will not be filled because he was a one-of-a-kind public servant and a rare breed of American whose love of country ran as deep as anyone I know.”

Brady recalled how he would “kiss my friend Jack on the cheek” and “share a smile” each week before Congress adjourned.

“There is no smarter, tougher, kinder, funnier or more revered Member of the House of Representatives, and I will miss seeing him each time I walk on the floor,” he said.

Rep. Joe Sestak (D), another Pennsylvanian, praised Murtha’s “unyielding commitment” to his constituents and said he most admired Murtha’s decision to run for Congress after returning from Vietnam.

“He holds my greatest respect for the courage he showed in serving as a United States Marine and subsequently becoming the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress. In doing so, he gave a voice to millions of men and women who fought in an unpopular war and were not afforded the respect and care they earned and deserved,” Sestak said in a statement.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) said Murtha was “a public servant in every sense of the word and his passing is a great loss to all of Pennsylvania.”

There will be a special election to fill Rep. Murtha's seat, likely to be held on May 18 when the state has already scheduled federal primaries. According to Pennsylvania law, the governor has ten days following a vacancy to annouce the special election, and that election can be no sooner than 60 days from that announcement.

Shelby's blanket holds on pending nominees has apparently been lifted, just in time for Ben Nelson to step up to the plate and announce that he will join the Republican filibuster of Craig Becker's nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Senate Democratic leaders needed the help of their entire 59-vote caucus, plus one Republican defector, to invoke cloture this Tuesday on Becker's nomination, which has awaited a full Senate vote since the summer of 2009. But Nelson's decision to oppose the White House's top candidate for the job seriously threatens those plans, as it now appears Democrats will not have the votes they need to proceed as intended this week.

Nelson outlined his objections to Becker's nomination in a statement issued late Monday, stressing he felt the former AFL-CIO lawyer would "take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB, and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the Administration.”

“This is of great concern, considering that the Board’s main responsibility is to resolve labor disputes with an even and impartial hand," Nelson added. "In addition, the nominee’s statements fly in the face of Nebraska’s Right to Work laws, which have been credited in part with our excellent business climate that has attracted employers and many good jobs to Nebraska. Considering these matters, I will oppose the upcoming cloture motion and the nomination.”

....

[T]he move could also carry significant implications for the NLRB itself, currently embroiled in a Supreme Court crisis that could render it temporarily unable to adjudicate labor disputes.

Only two members sit on the all-important panel -- Chairwoman Wilma Liebman, a Democratic appointee, and Peter Schaumber, a Republican appointee. The lack of a quorum has ultimately prompted the nation's high bench to question whether it should continue operating without additional members.

Because you don't want anyone who is pro-labor actually on the National Labor Relations Board, or even for labor disputes to be heard.

Thanks again, DNC, for stepping up to protect Ben Nelson with those anti-HCR ads. How's that half a million investment in defending him, when he's not even up for re-election this year, working out for you?

Update: On Shelby's holds, they are not all lifted, with some critical military nominations still held hostage.

They're no postmen:

With Washington still digging out from the weekend snow and expecting more snow beginning Tuesday afternoon, the House leadership put off votes set for Tuesday night, leaving the Congressional schedule for the week uncertain.

House officials said they would reassess Tuesday based on updated weather forecasts, but the decision means that scores of lawmakers will not have to try to return to Washington during the day Tuesday just as another storm was predicted to begin and with the region’s airports still recovering from being shut down over the weekend.

Congress is already scheduled to be out next week for a President’s Day recess and Democratic leaders would prefer not to lose this entire week. But another significant accumulation of snow, estimated at anywhere from 8 to 20 inches by Wednesday, could force them to cancel the remainder of the week and return at the end of the month. An announcement on plans was expected Tuesday afternoon.

Normally I'd make fun of them for being a bunch of wusses, but as anyone who lives in this area can attest, it's been a nightmare for travel ... nearly impossible to get around, even two days afterwards and now they're tossing another foot or so into the mix?

Unless they skip their President's Day recess -- and by the way, what part of "day" don't they understand -- we won't be seeing the usual inaction from Congress for another couple of weeks.

Come to think of it, it'll be business as usual ... with cocoa.

The NYT Caucus blog reports

A former Marine, Mr. Murtha, his office noted, was the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to Congress. Throughout his years, Mr. Murtha paid particular attention to defense spending and to the Pentagon and the military.

When he called for bringing the troops home from Iraq in 2005, after having voted for the war, his proposal stunned many in Congress and added a powerful voice to the growing forces demanding immediate drawdowns and or deadlines.

The buffeting we've all endured during the past several years in politics makes it easy to forget how powerful Murtha's opposition to the Iraq War was for those of us on the outside who could see what a colossal mistake the war was, and still is. Murtha's steadfast opposition to the war, and his fierce support for and desire to protect the men and women fighting in Iraq grounded opposition to the war in principle.

June 16, 2006, Iraq Supplemental debate:

It's easy to stay in the air conditioned office and say i'm going to stay the course. Let me tell you something, those troops I hope they believe in what they are doing. That's what America's all about. But standing here and talking about policy and criticizing people just because they disagree with the policy is absolutely absurd. All of us support the troops. All of us want the troops come home as soon as we can. What we need is a change in direction so we'll be able to work this thing out. All of us want to stability in the middle east. That's what this whole thing's all about. We just disagree on how you do it.

March 23, 2007, closing the debate on the U.S. Troops Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act:

[4:44] Finally, we're saying in this bill "you can't send troops back in to battle unless they have the appropriate training, they're fully trained, mission capable." Is there anybody going to vote against that? If you vote against this bill you vote against that. If you vote against this bill you vote against sending troops back with less than a year at home. That's unacceptable. You can sit here and say we're fighting this war. Oh, yes, you can sit here in Washington and say we're fighting this war. But let me tell you something. Those young people, some of them going back three and four times, their families are suffering. These are not 140,000 people. These are each individuals with families and relatives that are bearing the brunt of this fighting that are sent back....

[7:04] I'll tell you what hurts the troops. I'll tell you what hurts them. It hurts 'em when they're extended beyond 13 months, or the Marines have gone seven months. It hurts the troops . . . if you send them back before they have a year at home. That's what hurts the morale of troops. I'm the person that found the 44,000 shortage of body armor in the initial invasion of Iraq. We had troops in danger because they didn't have the equipment they needed. We cannot send troops back into combat without equipment and being fully trained....

My great-grandmother lived to be 96. I was six years old when she died. She said you're on this earth to make a difference. We're going to make a difference with this bill. We're going to bring those troops home. We're going to start changing the direction of this great country.

Thank you, Rep. Murtha, for your courage in standing down those who equated opposition to the war to treason, and for showing what "support the troops" should always mean. May you rest in peace.

What you missed on Sunday Kos ….

• In Connections: Smoke and Guns, DarkSyde explained the simplicity of (believe it or not) rocket science.
• In With Friends Like These, Angry Mouse ripped into women who pile on other women for having the audacity to choose to think and live for themselves.
• And speaking of women who think for themselves, Plutonium Page snagged an interview with Queen Noor of Jordan, published as The Road to 'Global Zero', in which the struggle for nuclear disarmament was explored agains the backdrop of the summit in Paris. A really terrific, in-depth interview with a brilliant and inspiring woman.
• In Reading "The Movement", Laura Clawson turned her eye to the media, critiquing a recent New Yorker piece that spent a lot of time and effort taking the Tea Partiers at face value.
• In What goes around, comes around, exmearden cast back to the New Deal, the WPA, the CCC and an era when building things to last--with "constructive purpose at the onset of creation" and "an emotional and aesthetic goal for the future."
• In Frequency, Dante Atkins explored the possible reasons--and certain hypocrisy--for conservative pundit disavowal of the Daily Kos poll released last week that showed the conservative base is … well, nuts.

Honest to God, how do these people spew this crap with a straight face?

Here's the morning crew on Fox & Friends, with their take on Sarah Palin's 19th century palm pilot:

CARLSON: I think she did it on purpose. I think she did it on purpose, yeah. Because it’s an exact opposite of reading off the teleprompter with a script written for you with every word in a sentence and here’s she’s just taking crib notes on her hand. It makes her look like she can just talk off the cuff and she just jotted down a few couple notes before she went out to give a big long speech.

DOOCY: I think she did it because she probably does it a lot. I do that all the time. [...]

KILMEADE: But to sit there and look at, and do the interview and look down at her hand, I think that is — like you said before, Gretchen — folksy, absolutely, down-to-earth, I can identify.

Leaving the eye-roll inducing rationalizations aside, do these idiots realize that Palin uses a teleprompter when she gives speeches? Are the talking heads at Fox News really that stupid?

Snow and Republicans are conspiring against the nation's unemployed. There's not much anyone can do about the former, with even more forecasted over the next day and a half. And with Scott Brown now seated, there are questions about what can happen with the latter.

Although both parties say Washington should be focused on jobs — January’s unemployment rate came in Friday at 9.7 percent — Democrats can’t move a bill without 60 votes, and they control only 59.

And while the storm made negotiations more difficult, aides and lawmakers say there were substantive problems, too — and that the difficulty of reaching agreement even on a relatively small jobs bill, packed with tax cuts backed by Republicans, illustrates the tough partisan politics of the Senate as it moves toward the elections this fall.

Meanwhile, unemployment still hovers around 10 percent, despite a slight downtick in the latest numbers. With stimulus funding now running out, the crisis for states is still looming, particularly in education. Republican games continue, and the nation continues to hurt. Brian Beutler reports on the sticking point:

Republicans are working with Democrats on one key aspect of the legislation: tax breaks for employers who hire new employees. But beyond such a measure, Republicans are balking at supporting a full package. And with Democrats now one vote shy of a 60-vote supermajority, they will need one GOPer to break ranks if they want the package to overcome a filibuster.

So far, Democratic rhetoric has been gentle. Last week, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said "You need two to tango. And you need Republicans for bipartisanship."

"Hope is prospective," he said. "We don't have bipartisanship at this moment. I hope we'll have it in a matter of minutes, hours, days."

Days later, they still don't have it. Which makes you wonder if and when leadership will pivot to directly call out Republicans for unanimously filibustering a jobs relief package when unemployment hovers at near 10 percent.

That's a good question. It also makes you wonder if the healthcare reform debacle taught Dems a lesson about how to get these key pieces of legislation passed, and if they are exploring all their options for this one. This is a funding bill, and reconciliation should be definitely on the table for getting America back to work.

GOP Rep. Paul Ryan handed House Democrats the perfect wedge issue last week, and they're going to use it.

House Democrats want to kick House Republicans where it hurts, and are exploring ways to force the minority party to take a stand on Rep. Paul Ryan's budget "roadmap" that has become a political minefield in advance of this fall's elections.

A Democratic leadership source told TPMDC they are considering options for turning the Ryan plan into a bill. Once that's done the Democrats would put the bill on the floor, forcing Republicans to vote for or against a plan they don't want to talk about.

Why is it such a minefield? Because he wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare, and has put GOP leadership in a very difficult position: of course Republicans want to get rid of Social Security and Medicare, it's been their raison d'etre since the programs were established. But they're coming off of a year in which their loudest opposition to the Democrats' healthcare reform bill was "Medicare cuts." Yglesias links to a Roll Call story:

Republican leaders bashed the Democratic health care plans for cutting more than $400 billion out of Medicare, but GOP budget hawks view controlling Medicare costs as essential to balancing the budget.

A Republican who asked to have his name withheld said the party’s leadership and rank and file aren’t ready to follow Ryan’s lead. “There’s a lot of worry that we beat the Democrats up on health care for cutting Medicare and now we’re going to turn around and do it,” the Republican said.

As Matt says, the major difference here is that the Dems had very targeted cuts aimed at whittling away at inefficiencies in Medicare, while Ryan's budget "just goes after Medicare with a chain saw." And he's doubling down on his plan, despite opposition in his own party.

A floor vote on Ryan's Republican budget could be the best thing that's happened for Democrats in months. It exposes the depths of Republican hypocrisy in the HCR debate and would force an extremely difficult political vote. What Republican wants to vote to slash Social Security and Medicare in an election year, other than Paul Ryan.

• Don't expect any breaking news out of Washington D.C. today -- the city is still digging out of this weekend's snow storm (I got 30+ inches at my house).
• Apparently there's a a lot of angry people out there:

  Three-quarters of the nation’s voters are “angry” at the federal government’s policies, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey out Monday.

  Of the 1,000 likely voters surveyed Feb. 5-6, 75 percent said they were either “very” or “somewhat” angry with the “current policies of the federal government.” Forty-five percent said they were “very” angry.

• Watch Andrea Mitchell mock Sarah Palin's hand notes, and then watch Chuck Todd defend them because, "she [Palin] has different rules."
• The teabaggers may love Kentucky senatorial candidate Rand Paul, but they're not too happy with his father:

  ... Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is drawing three primary opponents for his own re-election bid. Ironically, all three are from the Tea Party movement ...

• Michele Bachmann (LUNATIC-MN) has solved the national debt problem -- it involves "weaning" everyone off of Social Security and Medicare and a chalkboard.
• Do Republicans ever take responsibility for anything?

  Rep. Paul Ryan is blaming the "Democratic attack machine" even though members of his own party don't publicly support his plan to dramatically cut Medicare and Social Security and effectively privatize those entitlement programs to end the deficit.

• Shoot me:

  House Democrats say leadership has their work cut out in convincing the public to support a tax increase on those making more than $250,000.

• Texas lawmakers are trying to decide which would make things more safe -- more or less guns.
• Harold Ford's ex-Lieberman spokesperson Tammy Sun is already peddling garbage:

  Tammy Sun, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ford, said Ms. Gillibrand had "already broken her promise not to use underhanded tactics to keep a potential opponent off the ballot, since that's the way her insider friends in Washington and Albany always do it, but it is quite shameful."

• Oh to be in New Orleans last night

from the diaries - BarbinMD

From a press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) passed away peacefully this afternoon at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. At his bedside was his family.

Murtha, 77, was Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in February of 1974, Murtha dedicated his life to serving his country both in the military and in the halls of Congress. A former Marine, he became the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to the U.S. Congress.

This past Saturday, February 6, 2010, Murtha became Pennsylvania's longest serving Member of Congress.

A complete biography is available on his website.

Prayers go out to his family.

May he rest in peace.

... or she is willing to lie about when it's okay to do so.

From Greg Sargent at The Plum Line:

Case in point: On Fox News yesterday, Palin explained why it’s okay that Rush Limbaugh used the word “retard” even as Rahm Emanuel’s use of the term “retarded” constituted a firing offense:

PALIN: I didn’t hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with ‘f-ing retards’ and we did know that Rahm Emanuel has been reported, did say that. There’s a big difference there. But again, name-calling, using language that is insensitive, by anyone, male, female, Republican, Democrat, is unnecessary. It’s inappropriate. Let’s all just grow up.

So Palin’s claim is now that Rush didn’t refer to people he disagrees with by using the R-word. But of course, Rush did exactly that:

LIMBAUGH: Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards. I mean these people, these liberal activists are kooks. They are looney tunes.

Naturally Chris Wallace, who was conducting the interview, immediately called her out for her blatant misrepresentation of what Limbaugh had said ... okay, okay, stop laughing.

As Sargent points out, Palin's lies are "growing increasingly blatant, casual and even effortless," but when you restrict yourself to appearances on Fox News, that's obviously not a problem.

Last Wednesday, Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove spent five minutes of airtime claiming that the Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll on the crazy beliefs of Republican voters was fraudulent.

"The poll is a fraud," O'Reilly said, "as is the website."

"Daily Kos is trying to make an argument," Rove said, "and the argument falls flat on its face when you begin to look inside the numbers and you look at the methodology."

Flash forward to yesterday, and on Fox News Sunday -- the network's flagship broadcast -- Chris Wallace asked Sarah Palin whether she would run for president, pointing out that a recent poll showed her as the frontrunner among Republican voters.

Which poll was Wallace citing? You guessed it: none other than the Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of Republicans derided just days earlier as a "fraud" by O'Reilly and Rove.

Of course, Wallace didn't actually credit Daily Kos as the media organization that commissioned the poll (which was conducted by Research 2000). But if even Chris Wallace and Fox News Sunday recognize that this poll was a scientific survey, isn't it about time for O'Reilly and Rove to admit that they know our poll was accurate? Truth is, they're just worried that people will kind out what a bunch of loons the modern Republican Party has become.

They're not so much ready for that bipartisan thing. Greg Sargent:

Eric Cantor’s office responds to Obama’s announcement of a bipartisan summit on health care with the most explicit and direct assertion I’ve seen yet that the only way Dems can win bipartisan cooperation is to fully embrace the GOP health care plan and nothing more:

After going it alone on health care reform for nearly a year, President Obama has decided he wants to bring Republicans into the conversation. Here’s the problem: unless the President and Speaker Pelosi are willing to scrap their government take over and hit the reset button, there’s not much to talk about.

Republicans believe the status quo is unacceptable, but so is any health reform package that spends money we don’t have or raises taxes on small businesses and working families in a recession. To that point, House Republicans have offered the only plan, that will lower health care costs, which is what the President said was the goal at the start of this debate.

I’m not sure if it could be made any more explicit than that.

It can't. Republican leadership has spoken. Eric Cantor has now joined Boehner and McConnell to say that they're not budging. And yet, in an interview with HuffPo's Sam Stein, HHS Secretary Sebelius says that "President Obama is willing to 'add various elements' to health care legislation suggested by Republican lawmakers during an upcoming bipartisan meeting on the topic." Various Republican elements have already been added to the bill, in the committee processes. Those concessions even included a ridiculous abstinence-only sex ed provision from Hatch. Did Hatch then vote for the Senate bill? No. Making further concessions to the Republicans, now that GOP leadership has issued the marching order, is not going to garner any more GOP votes.

That expectation, and any possible concessions to Republicans resulting from that expectation, needs to be taken right off the table.

Sunday it was Q&A time with former half-term Governor Sarah Palin. Of course, she kept the interview within the family (the Fox family), so we took the liberty of rephrasing the questions she was asked in order to shed some light on the true nature of what she was saying:

Last week was a flurry of mixed messages on healthcare reform, first with sources telling Greg Sargent that the White House supported the reconciliation fix for healthcare reform. Then another administration source told HuffPo's Sam Stein "that no such signal was being sent."

Meanwhile, Sherrod Brown complained that Obama's involvement has "dried up," with Al Franken and Bernie Sanders reiterating that message directly to Obama adviser David Axelrod, pressing him for more leadership from Obama. Rounding out the week, a report in Saturday's Times on Thursday's leadership meeting with Obama suggested that Pelosi again "rejected continued pressure from the administration simply to pass the Senate bill and send it to Mr. Obama for his signature," an approach that Pelosi has reiterated just can't happen. At the same time, Obama told the DNC that

I’m not gonna walk away from health reform. I’m not gonna walk away from this challenge. I’m not gonna walk away from any challenge. We are moving foward. We are moving forward.

How he's intending to move forward emerged as a real head-scratcher: yet another bipartisan summit.

“I want to come back and have a large meeting, Republicans and Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward,” Mr. Obama said in the interview from the White House Library.

Mr. Obama challenged Republicans to attend the meeting with their plans for lowering the cost of health insurance and expanding coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans. Republican leaders said they welcomed the opportunity and called on Democrats to start the debate from scratch, which the president said he would not do....

When asked by Ms. Couric if he would agree to discard the bill and start over, the president said he would not. The starting point, aides said, would be with the proposals that passed the House and Senate.

While Obama is stressing that he won't start over from scratch, he's leaving room for "scaling back the scope of the legislation in hopes of drawing more support for a health care plan." A vain hope, if indeed he's really thinking there's Republican support out there to be had.  Both Boehner and McConnell are already approaching this summit as a restart on the whole process. The experience of the past year should be enough to convince anyone other than David Broder that Republicans would actually play a part in passing any kind of reform.

Perhaps this nothing more than an elaborate set-up to expose the depth of Republican obstructionism and, as Greg Sargent speculates lay the groundwork for passing the bill through reconciliation by providing them cover. But a more straightforward, and quicker, path would certainly be providing the leadership the Senate seems to be craving and help push the reconciliation fix through.

You know what the funny thing is about the leader of the anti-bailout Tea Party teabaggers? She supported the bailout in the first place!

Yep, Sarah was for the bailout before she was against it. Just like Glenn Beck.

The DOJ is hiring for its Civil Rights Division:

The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorder, mental retardation, mental illness, severe distortion of limbs and/or spine. Applicants who meet the qualification requirements and are able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation are encouraged to identify targeted disabilities in response to the questions in the Avue application system seeking that information.

Eugene Volokh explains:

I’m pretty sure I know what happened here: Boilerplate that was designed for a wide range of federal jobs — including the ones (probably a relatively small percentage of all federal jobs) for which one can be qualified even though one is mentally retarded — is just being copied here; and the limitation to “qualified applicants” who “are able to perform the essential functions of the position” ensures that no mentally retarded lawyers will indeed be hired.

And the comments are classic:

So, anyone know any good lawyer jokes?

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Thursday p.m.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010

On Monday, the House will not be in session.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (6 Bills)

1. H.R. 4238 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 930 39th Avenue in Greeley, Colorado, as the "W.D. Farr Post Office Building" (Rep. Markey (CO) - Oversight and Government Reform)
2. H.R. 4425 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2-116th Street in North Troy, New York, as the "Martin G. 'Marty' Mahar Post Office". (Rep. Tonko - Oversight and Government Reform)
3. H.Res. 1059 - Honoring the heroism of the seven United States Agency for International Development and Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance supported urban search and rescue teams deployed to Haiti from New York City, New York, Fairfax County, Virginia, Los Angeles County, California, Miami, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, and commending their dedication and assistance in the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 Haitian earthquake (Rep. McMahon - Foreign Affairs)
4. H.Res. 1048 - Commending the efforts and honoring the work of the men and women of USNS Comfort and the United States Navy in the immediate response to those affected by the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 (Rep. Tim Murphy (PA) - Foreign Affairs)
5. H.R. 3695 - Billy's Law (Rep. Murphy (CT) - Judiciary)
6. H.Res. 1066 - Recognizing the bravery and efforts of the United States Armed Forces, local first responders, and other members of Operation Unified Response for their swift and coordinated action in light of the devastation wrought upon the nation of Haiti after a horrific 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Port-Au-Prince and surrounding cities on January 12, 2010 (Rep. Meek - Armed Services)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

H.R. 2701 - Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Rep. Reyes – Intelligence) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. __ - Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act (Rep. Perriello – Judiciary) (Subject to a Rule)

• Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
• Motions to go to Conference should they become available.
• Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

The Senate will proceed to Executive Session to debate concurrently the nominations of Joseph Greenaway (US Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit) and Craig Becker (Member of the National Labor Relations Board) until 5:00pm, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.

5:00pm votes in relation to the following nominations:

• Confirmation of the nomination of Joseph Greenaway, of New Jersey, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; and
• Cloture on the nomination of Craig Becker, of Illinois, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Yes, suspensions kick off the week in the House, but even in busy weeks, the first day back in session is usually spent that way. And there are just a half dozen on the schedule for this week. The latter half of the week appears dedicated to work that signals two things: 1) the start of the new budget cycle for fiscal year 2011 (FY11) and; 2) the attempt to maintain some momentum for health insurance reform in the absence of an agreement to move forward with the main reform bill.

The first measure listed for consideration under regular order is the FY10 intelligence authorization bill. Authorization is the second step (after the writing of the budget itself) of the spending process, where the individual committees of jurisdiction decide how much of the money allocated by that budget for each government function will be available for the appropriators to actually spend. That's the slightly crazy, three-step process it takes to spend tax dollars. First they get "allocated" by the budget, which tells authorizing committees how much they have to play with. Then they get "authorized," which tells appropriators how much of what was allocated to the Department of XYZ is available for each of that Department's functions. Finally, appropriators push through their appropriations bills, which say how much of those federal dollars will actually be spent on those functions (as opposed to how much the authorizing committees said they would clear, which can often be different).

But wait, this is the FY10 intelligence authorization bill. Why would that signal the beginning of the FY11 budget process? Well, it doesn't, really, except insofar as they want to clear out the old, unfinished business they have lying around before taking on the new budget cycle. That'll give you some idea of where authorization bills stand in the hierarchy, though. You're not supposed to be able to appropriate money that hasn't already been authorized, but there are ways around that. And when the function is intelligence, nobody even asks questions anymore. Oh, terrorists and stuff? Here you go. We'll "authorize" it later.

The second bill on the agenda is the repeal of the anti-trust exemption for the health care insurance industry that was once a part of the Senate health insurance reform bill, but was dropped when they were chasing Ben Nelson's ultimately very embarrassing and troubling vote for the bill. Now everybody wants what he demanded be included to come out (the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback") and what he demanded come out be included again (the anti-trust repeal). So the House is taking that up, and probably hoping that doing so keeps some of the momentum going for the larger bill. For those concerned that this represents a turn toward the strategy of breaking the big bill up into smaller pieces, don't worry. Well, sort of. Since the repeal never made it into the big bill, this doesn't really count as breaking it up. On the other hand... the repeal never made it into the big bill, and that's kind of embarrassing. Thanks, Ben! You really suck. So now we're doing clean up on aisle Nebraska.

In the Senate: nominations. And because the sun rose, a cloture vote. This one's on Craig Becker's NLRB nomination, which Scott Brown (R-MA) insisted on being sworn in early to block. Screw you, blue collar folks in Massachusetts who decided to dabble in teabaggery to elect me! My first vote will stick it to you! Ka-chow! Naked Scotty out!

Huge committee schedule appears below the fold. As I mentioned, the new budget cycle is starting, and that means a heavy workload for everyone, and you'll see that reflected in the chart. Thanks again to Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks for putting it all together!

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

The Mouse Roars

When you lead a protest against your fifth-grade teacher and win, that's a pretty good sign that you're political activist material. Such was the case with one of Daily Kos's new Featured Writers, Angry Mouse, although reports differ on whether she marked her victory by standing on her desk and pumping her fist, or writing "Booyeah!" a hundred times on the chalkboard. Later the Santa Barbara native wowed 'em at UC Santa Cruz, graduating with both a degree in women's studies and a dean's award in economics. After spending time in Virginia and Washington, she moved to the Bay Area, where she now lives. This morning things get a little tense (and by tense I mean relaxed and jovial) when Angry Mouse hops aboard our giant gerbil wheel for a spin in the latest edition of our C&J interview series Yes, We're All Staring At YOU!

Cheers and Jeers: How long have you been blogging and what originally brought you to Daily Kos?
Angry Mouse: In 2004-ish, a friend started her own blog in Simi Valley, a.k.a. Reagan Country, to counteract the local conservative wingers. Being a luddite, I didn’t really understand this whole "blogging" thing---I can barely operate a coffee maker---but she was so excited about it that I started reading her site, and then I started commenting, and then I started visiting her list of favorite blogs, and then, before I knew it, I was a pajama-wearin’, basement-dwellin’, bloggin’ fool. (I do not, however, like Cheetos.)  

You got your degree in women's studies. What grade would you give the current state of the women's movement in America, and what are the important priorities for the future?
There’s a women’s movement in America? (I kid, I kid. Sort of.) I think the next big step in the women’s movement is Paycheck Feminism [pdf], which means reforming working conditions in this country to appropriately address family leave, flex time, benefits, child care---issues that affect everyone, but disproportionately impact women. When we can provide for ourselves and our families, everyone wins.

When I first heard about Stupak Amendment in the House healthcare bill, I was like, "What??!!" What's your opinion of the response from women's groups to it?
Oh, you mean the torrent of emails asking for more money. Considering that even Senators Boxer and Murray gave a big middle finger to women on the Nelson Amendment, I’m thinking FAIL.

What kind of music makes you feel invincible to the GOP horde?
Anything by Get Set Go, the most awesomest band ever. Righteous hostility with a poppy beat you can dance to.

You have a Dean's Award in economics. If President Obama called and said, "Gimme three things I need to do to fix the economy and I promise I'll do 'em," what would you tell him?
Well, first I’d ask if he’s sure he has the right number---my award came from UC Santa Cruz, after all, where math is considered a tool of the capitalist patriarchy. But then I’d tell him to make Elizabeth Warren Goddess of All Money Stuff, tax the holy heck out of corporations, and shrink the defense budget until it’s small enough to drown in a bath tub. (I know, I know---I should stick to writing about chick stuff.)

What's the one book every Kossack must read?
You mean, besides The Elements of Style? Definitely Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, by Dorothy Roberts. Roberts writes about the fight for reproductive rights that has been largely ignored in this country, including by mainstream feminism. Once you understand the history of forced sterilization of African-American women, you understand that "choice" isn't just about abortion. It really is about freedom, equality, and autonomy. And it will completely change your understanding of reproductive justice.

Your bio says your first moment of activism was in fifth grade when you led a protest against your teacher. How'd that turn out?
I’d call it a rousing success.  We had a sit-down with our teacher during lunch.  As appointed spokesgirl, I delivered our list of grievances, and he promised to be more vigilant about giving us equal time in the classroom, which he did. ’Course, it also earned me the oh-so-charming nickname "feminazi," but I’ve been called worse.

Finish this sentence: In the kitchen I make a mean...
Um...frozen dinner?  I used to be a rockin’ cook when I was doing the happy housewife thing, but now that it’s just me and my cat, I’m all about the microwave and take-out.

How much are you going to miss Arnold when he's gone...and who do you hope ends up filling his giant governor's-chair buttock indentations?
Well, I put a "Recall Arnold" sign in my car the night he was first elected, so I think I’ll miss him about as much I miss hearing Dubya trip all over the English language.  I’m leaning toward Jerry Brown right now...unless, of course, Meteor Blades throws his hat into the ring.

No waffling here: dogs or cats?
Cats.  Specifically, my cat.  He is the cutest cat ever, and he loves me very, very much.  And it’s not just because I feed him. I don’t think.

I have one question left, but I have to head over to the "I love Obama/I hate Obama" diaries and make people see things my way. Please ask and answer the final question yourself...

Are you really that angry?
Nah.  But Scrabble-Playin’-Buffy-Watchin’-Vodka-Drinkin’ Mouse doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

Go New Orleans! The Little Engine That Could!

WaPo:

At the moment the Saints won the Super Bowl and New Orleans would never be the same, they spilled through the doors of Sidney's Saloon at the corner of St. Bernard Avenue and St. Claude. They jumped and they danced and they hugged and they shouted to the night, "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?"

WSJ:

Wait—does the entire country get the day off, or is it just New Orleans? It's everyone, right?

Jonathan Capehart:

After former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin strode across the national political stage and chewed up the scenery with her bravura performance at the 2008 Republican convention, I wrote one PostPartisan after another comparing her to the talented, ambitious and fictional star Eve Harrington from the movie "All About Eve." Now that I've seen Palin's Saturday night address to the Tea Party convention in Nashville, I would like to extend my apologies to Harrington. She would never have given such a poor performance.

Mike Lupica:

Now there are many, many ways Sarah Palin could help this country. Running for President will never be one of them. You listen to her long enough and actually feel yourself getting dimmer by the minute, like a dying light bulb.

NY Times editorial:

The ongoing debate over sex education has been rekindled by a provocative new study [here] suggesting that teaching abstinence can delay the start of sexual activity among inner-city youngsters — if it is freed from the moralistic overtones and ideological restrictions that were the hallmark of abstinence-only programs under the Bush administration.

Paul Krugman:

We’ve always known that America’s reign as the world’s greatest nation would eventually end. But most of us imagined that our downfall, when it came, would be something grand and tragic.

What we’re getting instead is less a tragedy than a deadly farce. Instead of fraying under the strain of imperial overstretch, we’re paralyzed by procedure. Instead of re-enacting the decline and fall of Rome, we’re re-enacting the dissolution of 18th-century Poland.

We ain't done yet. Pass health reform and get this country moving again. You still have majorities. Use them.

EJ Dionne:

"I introduced myself as a fella who was defeated in 1994, the last time we didn't pass meaningful health-care reform," Inslee recalls saying. "I said it was a painful event, and I didn't want them to go through that pain." In politics, he told his colleagues, assuming the "fetal position" can be the most dangerous thing to do.

What he said.

Boston Globe quoting Robert J. Blendon, director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program:

"there remains a steady core of adults who, regardless of messaging and other efforts, has chosen not to get the H1N1 vaccine." Blendon added that this group's attitude regarding the virus "has proven very difficult for public health officials to change."

Anti-vax factions remain well-funded and well voiced, despite the retraction of the Wakefield paper on autism and MMR from the Lancet and Wakefield's censure. It isn't just attitude towards H1N1. But in the H1N1 department, parents (one half) did better than adults for themselves (one third).

Stephen M. Walt at Foreign Policy writes:

If [Friday]'s New York Times was reporting accurately, you should be very skeptical of anything that Afghan commander General Stanley McChrystal says. Not because he's inherently dishonest, mind you, but because misleading everyone about the situation in Afghanistan may be part of his strategy for victory.

To be specific, [Friday]'s Times also contains an article with the headline "Top U.S. Commander Sees Progress in Afghanistan." It quotes McChrystal as follows: "I am not prepared to say that we have turned the corner. So I'm saying the situation is serious, but I think we have made significant progress in setting the conditions in 2009, and beginning some progress, and that we'll make real progress in 2010."

This is nicely hedged, but McChrystal went to describe the war in a way that leads me to question virtually anything he might have to say now or in the future. According to the Times, the general also said that "The biggest thing is in convincing the Afghan people ... This is all a war of perceptions. This is not a physical war in terms of how many people you kill or how much ground you capture, how many bridges you blow up. This is all in the minds of the participants" (my emphasis).

On the one hand this statement is something of a truism, in the sense that resolve, morale, and expectations about the future can be critical factors (though what is actually happening on the battlefield is hardly irrelevant). But McChrystal's statement invites us to doubt anything he might choose to tell us about the progress of the war either now or in the months to come.  Why? Because if he believes it is "all a war of perceptions," then spinning the war in the most favorable possible light has to be part of his strategy, in order to try to persuade both Afghans and Americans that we are winning. And that means we can't accept anything he says at face value, because we can't know if he's giving us an honest appraisal or just deploying a lot of blue smoke and mirrors in order to influence perceptions (which he thinks are key).

• • • • •

If you haven't read it, Jane Mayer has written about Eric Holder and the battle over the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed at The New Yorker. Mayer will be in a live chat on Wednesday at 3 p.m. EST. You can submit questions in advance here.

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are grog, ItsJessMe, YatPundit, BentLiberal, ybruti and vcmvo2, with claude at the Editor's desk.

• skralyx shows how human activity has caused the first steps of speciation in the Central European blackcap, effectively demonstrating Evolution in real time. (ItsJessMe)
• With passion and sadness, rturner229 urges Don't blame teachers when violence hits our schools. (ItsJessMe)
• scribe looks back on 70 years of U.S. history with a blend of sadness and optimism in One View from the Sidelines. (grog)
• BillieJohn describes the Jobless Recovery -- An Amateur's View in a once-prosperous small Illinois town. (ybruti)
• CeeBee analyzes advertising by CBS, the Hypocritical Right-Wing Propaganda Machine. (ybruti)
• patrickz recreates A conversation with Dad as a tribute to his father now in hospice care. (ybruti)
• Rob Lewis writes on an intriguing psychological concept in Is "cognitive fluency" the new "framing"? (vcmvo2)
• change the Be looks at the drug war from his own unique persepectve in (Beyond) Good vs Evil. (BentLiberal)

Our regular features...

jotter brings us High Impact Diaries: February 6, 2010 AND High Impact Diaries: January x - February 5, 2010.

BeninSC has tonight's Top Comments - Idiots of the 33rd Degree.

Please use this Open Thread to promote what YOU consider significant, and be sure to praise our diarists' efforts.

Play nice.

This isn't so much an essay as it is an indictment. And there's plenty of guilt to go around.

DailyKos released a poll. The poll was conducted by professional researchers who found self-identified Republicans and asked simple yes-or-no questions. Questions such as "Do you think Obama is a socialist?" and "Do you think Obama is a racist who hates white people?" The questions aren't trick questions. There are three options: yes, no, or not sure. This wasn't a push poll; it was a basic opinion survey, even if the opinions being tested were slightly unusual.

The results were shocking, as in many cases around a third of Republicans polled believed things that were either extremist or simply false. And needless to say, "fair and balanced" news organizations everywhere got the vapors and trotted out Karl Rove to dismiss it as partisan hackery. After all: if anyone knows partisan hackery, it's Karl Rove.

The outraged handwringing is astonishing, angering, and hypocritical. It was, after all, that same "fair and balanced" network--as well as other popular conservative media outlets--that pushed the very ideas that the very same network is calling extreme and evil. And they did it over. And over. And over.

There are two big questions, then: first, how on earth did they pull this off; and second, why aren't these conservative media organizations embracing these poll results, as opposed to running away from the very ideas that they have been promoting? The answer is a distressing one, and reaches to the heart of everything that is wrong with our country's politics and its political media.

Heading into 2009, it seemed that Democrats had all the advantages: a President-Elect riding sky-high approval ratings; an overwhelming advantage in the House of Representatives; and a supposedly filibuster-proof majority as soon as the challenges to Senator-Elect Franken's victory had made their way through the courts. Republicans were overwhelmingly unpopular because of their disastrous stewardship of our nation's economy and military. Democrats were discussing implementing popular policies that would make a huge difference in the lives of regular people. Conservative ideologues had only one option: the hail mary.

There's only one thing that can make a Representative from an unpopular Party stand up to a popular President pushing for popular policy: the Party base. The best way to unite the base? Scare base voters about Obama so much that resisting Obama became easier than resisting the base. And the best way to scare base voters about Obama? Well, when your target is the first ever non-white President, is named Barack Hussein Obama, is the son of a Kenyan, and spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the easiest way to scare the white Christian base is self-explanatory.

Republicans have been playing dog-whistle politics ever since Lee Atwater theorized on how to use taxes as a subliminal code for racism, but getting people to believe that a highly popular and historic President is a Bolshevik racist Muslim who is ineligible to hold his office and wants the terrorists to win? That requires a totally different frequency and amplitude.

Trying to fault the conservative movement for taking such drastic steps to destroy Barack Obama is somewhat like trying to fault a crab for pinching. When the underlying premise of an entire ideology is that greed is good, it's no surprise that its adherents aren't always the most scrupulous. The fault, rather, lies with those who refused to call this abhorrence what it really is.

Ironically, the truth is the most common casualty of the pursuit of objectivity. Climate change is an oft-cited example: in many old media outlets, those who don't believe in anthropogenic climate change are often given inches equal to those who do. This is in spite of the fact that its existence is documented by extensive scientific evidence, while deniers are a tiny minority usually funded by corporations with a political agenda. This is done, of course, in the interest of supposed fairness. And when the question is the basis for contentious policy decisions, that "balance" may be forgivable. But when the question posed by conservatives becomes "is the duly elected President really a Caucasian-hating Bolshevik?" a harder line becomes necessary.

That harder line came too little, too late. After the onslaught of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Jerome Corsi, and even Orly Taitz, the base was sufficiently radicalized. Add to that the fact that Fox News explicitly promoted the viewpoint normally only found in cult programming that all other information sources were out to deceive, and it's an open question whether or not any pushback from other media sources would have been sufficient to deprogram a base that trusted only one source of information.

It worked. Republican elected officials were dead scared about their new radical base. One even idled in the Congressional pharmacy for twenty minutes rather than answer whether he agreed with his new constituency. The only people who had the moral authority to turn back this tide could no longer do so and feel safe about keeping their jobs, and opposed Obama unanimously, even voting against their own ideas to do so. The big lie worked.

But why stop now? And why act appalled at the results? Quite simple.

First, they feel they've already won. Republicans are motivated and Democrats are anything but; Scott Brown is the new Senator from Massachusetts; and health care reform has become a compromise of a compromise of a compromise, with independents ticked off that little real progress seems to be forthcoming. The supposed ascendancy of the conservative Republicans in the wake of three consecutive statewide elections is far better propaganda than continuing to use the same attacks on an already-thwarted adversary.

Second, Obama has himself given them pause. His masterful State of the Union speech, combined with his impressive and well-publicized "question time" event before the House Republican Caucus, have--temporarily, at least--given the President control once again of his own narrative, and he has taken advantage of that to present a vision that is decidedly mainstream. Until the glow from that wears off, the usual excoriations will seem like nothing but hyper-partisanship to anyone but those who are already true believers. As Obama himself explained: many of the ideas that he has embraced are Republican ideas. So if he's an America-hating socialist, what does that say about Republicans?

Third, the honchos in the conservative movement know that the rest of the public knows that the fringe beliefs of the conservative base are insane--and secretly, they agree, despite being more than happy to use that base energy in the meantime. Consequently, when information comes out publicly about just how much of the conservative base holds an insane viewpoint, they have to deny it. Republicans have a very strange mentality when it comes to acts they perpetrate that harm America's ability to successfully function as a country: it's not their fault for perpetrating these acts; rather, it's the fault of the political opposition for pointing out what they've done.

The worst part is that they'll get away with it. In the interests of doing anything they can to prevent themselves from being called the "liberal media," other news entities--outside of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow--will be content to let the months that Murdoch's media spent promulgating these myths just slide down the memory hole.

So for now, they'll be content to tone down the noise a little and feign indignation that anyone actually showed the outcome of what they've done, safe in the knowledge that nobody will ever hold them accountable for the hypocrisy of slamming the very ideas they have planted--even as they bring live wall-to-wall coverage of the teabagger convention proving the case against them.

But not to worry. When Obama and the Democrats push the next major initiatives for banking regulation or fixing the Supreme Court's error in Citizens United, the noise machine will once again reach fever pitch, and the old cycle will start anew. And while it's likely that the general public hates banks worse than it hates socialism, it's a safe bet that some Republicans will fall for the old attacks hook, line and sinker--probably about 34%, to be specific.

"He put Americans back to work building things we still use."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, State of the Union Address to Congress, January 1936:

If these gentlemen believe, as they say they believe, that the measures adopted by this Congress and its predecessor, and carried out by this Administration, have hindered rather than promoted recovery, let them be consistent. Let them propose to this Congress the complete repeal of these measures. The way is open to such a proposal.
Let action be positive and not negative. The way is open in the Congress of the United States for an expression of opinion by yeas and nays. Shall we say that values are restored and that the Congress will, therefore, repeal the laws under which we have been bringing them back? Shall we say that because national income has grown with rising prosperity, we shall repeal existing taxes and thereby put off the day of approaching a balanced budget and of starting to reduce the national debt? Shall we abandon the reasonable support and regulation of banking? Shall we restore the dollar to its former gold content?

I hear that it is naïve to compare then to now. Such a different world, such a different mentality. How much has changed?

Shall we say to the farmer, "The prices for your products are in part restored. Now go and hoe your own row?"

Shall we say to the home owners, "We have reduced your rates of interest. We have no further concern with how you keep your home or what you pay for your money. That is your affair?"

Shall we say to the several millions of unemployed citizens who face the very problem of existence, of getting enough to eat, "We will withdraw from giving you work. We will turn you back to the charity of your communities and those men of selfish power who tell you that perhaps they will employ you if the Government leaves them strictly alone?"

Shall we say to the needy unemployed, "Your problem is a local one except that perhaps the Federal Government, as an act of mere generosity, will be willing to pay to your city or to your county a few grudging dollars to help maintain your soup kitchens?"

Shall we say to the children who have worked all day in the factories, "Child labor is a local issue and so are your starvation wages; something to be solved or left unsolved by the jurisdiction of forty-eight States?" (This is different, only by degrees. We now outsource our child labor to other countries.)

Shall we say to the laborer, "Your right to organize, your relations with your employer have nothing to do with the public interest; if your employer will not even meet with you to discuss your problems and his, that is none of our affair?"

Shall we say to the unemployed and the aged, "Social security lies not within the province of the Federal Government; you must seek relief elsewhere?"

Shall we say to the men and women who live in conditions of squalor in country and in city, "The health and the happiness of you and your children are no concern of ours?"

Shall we expose our population once more by the repeal of laws which protect them against the loss of their honest investments and against the manipulations of dishonest speculators? Shall we abandon the splendid efforts of the Federal Government to raise the health standards of the Nation and to give youth a decent opportunity through such means as the Civilian Conservation Corps?

Members of the Congress, let these challenges be met. If this is what these gentlemen want, let them say so to the Congress of the United States. Let them no longer hide their dissent in a cowardly cloak of generality. Let them define the issue. We have been specific in our affirmative action. Let them be specific in their negative attack.

(emphasis mine)

My own naïvete may stem from being raised by Depression-hardened parents. Some manner of truth in the comparison between the 1930’s and now surely exists. To me, a major discrepancy seems underlined in the apparent lack of a national and nationally promoted program that continually advertises itself as the Stimulus. Are we worried about socialism, truly?
I see CNN “report” on the impact, or lack thereof, of the Stimulus in different communities across the country. I see local TV news stories, comments on blogs, bits and pieces of articles in the few remaining small community newspapers – all emphasize a lack of consistency in application and message, a lack of branding of the projects funded by Recovery dollars.

Why is an Administration so very good at self-promotion during the Presidential campaign, now blind to the benefits of promoting each Stimulus project with a visible identifier, a notable “label”?  I don’t get it.

As a kid, I heard the pride and the identification my mother had, when I asked her about FDR.

"He put Americans back to work building things we still use."

Respectfully, FDR did more than that. He formed a team able to create programs that were branded as his legacy, people of vision who understood that legacy.

I was a kid in 1968 and we were driving back down Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast from Portland to our home in the southwestern part of the state. Youthfully perspicacious, I noticed the design and structure of the "waysides"; I drank in the gothically designed spires and deco stanchions of the many bridges we crossed from Lincoln City north to North Bend travelling south, the rock and wood construction of shelters and restrooms, stone-cairn barriers and monuments girding the road along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

"Those were mostly built by the WPA or with money from the government in the '30's."

Mother's further answers to me covered the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the New Deal of FDR. She fleshed out more information than my ten-year-old mind could accommodate at the time. What stuck with me was the breadth and depth of these structures built some thirty years previously. There was a rich design of parks, and history, and public works that could be identified up and down the Pacific Coast. Beautiful things, costly things built during a time of great need with vision and a nod to both history and the future.

It's taken me forty years to fully comprehend what I saw and learned on that coastal trip, what remains now, and why it is that I remember.

Those spires touch my memory. Layered scales of reinforced concrete or steel, rising to a sharp point into the sky over an often foggy coastal estuary.  Lofty images in my head. They reach to the sky. The cathedral-like arches of bridges, rounded triangular shapes of historical cairns; these architectural designs offer a hint that reaching up was part and parcel of the recovery mentality during the Great Depression.

It gives us guidance.

Our disastrous economic and politically divisive climate suggests the necessity of forging a legacy that serves at least two purposes:

• A constructive purpose at the onset of creation – put people back to work and improve our crumbling physical infrastructure.
• An emotional and aesthetic goal for the future - provide us with substantive proof of what we've done.

It remains a hobby of mine to attempt to identify the bridges, structures, or murals that were developed and executed through the WPA or CCC employment of thousands of workers, artists, and architects. Timberline Lodge ranks as my favorite WPA structure on the West Coast, aside from the soaring bridges built along Highway 101. Building and bridges with a soul that advertise the value of the necessary millions of dollars poured into nearly every community during the Great Depression; they spurred imagination and industry, not just relief, put people back to work, and boosted the esteem of an economically and emotionally demoralized populace. Many of those projects were derided by the politicians and businessmen of the day as boondoggles, especially those that included artistic works, or cultural, theatrical involvement.

The artifacts and archives show that many of those projects have had a lasting effect on our common conscience as we debate the benefits of new programs with echoes from the past.  The same arguments are used. The same defenses are arguably stronger because of the relevant and living impact of many of the WPA/CCC projects today.

We don't see historical placards on existing WPA structures that emphasize the following: "This was a bipartisan project, enacted through the combined efforts of both Congress and the Administration".

Good works, necessary works, are needed. Go bold. Now. Take a leaf from Roosevelt's second term and note that few domestic programs were successfully legislated after 1936.

Leave aside the brilliant, though mostly wasted, spoken effort, the verbal attempt at reaching across the aisle with each piece of legislation.

Give this stimulus a soul, put Main Street back to work, both industriously and culturally.

FDR was a couple of years into his first term before he took the extra step of instituting the Federal Art Project components of the New Deal (the Second New Deal) and enhanced the strength of recovery with the Works Progress Administration.

I’m not certain we can afford to wait that long. It will take people of more foresight than has been displayed so far, and more cooperativeness, to intersperse this recovery process, this Stimulus, with recognizable, functional, concrete works that prove we can compete, create, conserve. We can and we do aspire.

It's delightful and brilliant political theater for enthused and re-energized liberals when you step into the lion's den and come out strong, Mr. President.

At the end of a professorial day, perhaps at the end of the Presidency, maybe even at the nadir of a life when the children, as adults, are driving through Chicago, or Honolulu, or perhaps Muskegon, what will be the visible, concrete, perhaps graceful proof that you put America back to work, that we renewed our culturally collective soul and improved our damaged national self-esteem?

Will there be a parent who wells with emotion as she says, "He put Americans back to work building things we still use"?

For an interesting Time article from 1972 on re-activating the New Deal, check out The Boondoggle Recalled

Ain’t it lucky, ain’t it swell
I ran all the way home to tell
I'm so happy it's just like ringing a bell—
Papa's got a job!

Background - Dailykos:

The face of the Great Depression
Black Sunday (April 14, 1935)
The CCC - FDR's Forest Army  
CCC in Texas State Parks  
STFU
1000 words, 1000 years
Bread and Roses
Open Thread - Why stimulus spending should go to public art
Back when populism wasn't a dirty word

Additional links

The New New Deal
New Deal Cultural Programs
Depression Era Public Works
Google "WPA projects state capitols"

It's halftime in Miami and after it looked like the Colts were going to run away with it early, the Saints have come back with two field goals, making it the Colts 10, Saints 6.

Go Saints!

Updates: Wow! Gutsy onside kick, quick drive, a TD pass from Drew Brees to Pierre Thomas and the Saints lead, 13-10.

And the Colts come right back and score on a short run by Joseph Addai -- Colts up, 17 - 13.

Saints within one point on a 47-yard FG by Hartley. We approach the end of the third quarter with the score 17 - 16.

Jeremy Shockey catches a 2-yard TD pass from Brees, the Saints unsuccessfully (challenge it!) go for two. With 5:42 left in the game, it's the Saints 22, Colts 17.

And the Saints listen to me, successfully challenge the call -- now lead 24 - 17.

Yes! Porter has an interception return for a TD. With 3:12 left in the game, Saints up, 31 - 17.

Who dat!

Update: Whoooooooooooooooo! New Orleans wins the Super Bowl!

Indianapolis takes the early lead on the leg of Matt Stover (why did the Ravens ever let him go?).

The early commercials haven't been too impressive, although the guy, his dog and the Doritos wasn't bad.

And btw, coming up at halftime, The Who is performing -- why, I have no idea.

Update: With less than a minute left in the first quarter, Indianapolis finishes a 96-yard drive with a touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to Pierre Garcon.

Colts lead 10-0.

Update: Garrett Hartley hits a FG from 46-yards out.

Colts 10 - Saints 3

We're fast approaching the kickoff to Super Bowl XLIV, featuring the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

This marks the first Super Bowl appearance for the Saints in their 43 year history, and the second for the Colts since they stole the team from Baltimore in the dead of the night in 1984.

Treat this as an open thread, and remember:

Who dat, who dat, who dat say they gonna beat them Saints ...

Update: For more Super Bowl talk, see slugghajells diary.