PERRspectives: January 2009 Archives

January 2009 Archives

	The Audacity of Pope The Vatican may have chosen the wrong week to protest President Obama's reversal of the Mexico City policy banning federal funds from international family planning groups. Even as a Vatican spokesman blasted Obama's decision as "the arrogance of a person who, having the power, thinks they can decide on life and death," Pope Benedict XVI restored a Holocaust-denying Bishop to his station within the church. Meanwhile in California, federal authorities revealed an investigation into allegations the Diocese of Los Angeles... more Posted on January 31, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	Senate Republicans May Filibuster Obama Stimulus Package Last year, the Roadblock Republicans of the 110th Congress set the all-time filibuster record. Forcing 104 cloture votes by October 2008, the Senate's GOP minority easily eclipsed the old mark of 61 filibusters. And now, fresh on the heels of "elated" and "celebrating" House Republicans' refusal to provide a single vote in support of President Obama's $825 economic recovery package, Senate Republicans are now suggesting they will filibuster the stimulus bill. That's the word from ThinkProgress, which Friday afternoon offered... more Posted on January 30, 2009 \| Comments (6)

	Republicans Brand Ronald Reagan Socialist Welfare King Among the most predictable frauds in the Republican war against the Obama stimulus plan is the bogus claim that it offers to tax credits to Americans "not paying taxes." But while voters on Election Day rejected the cries of "socialism" from John McCain and Sarah Palin, GOP leaders from Rudy Giuliani and John Kyl to Jim Demint continue to deride Obama's proposed tax credits for working Americans as "welfare." As it turns out, that puts them on the opposite side... more Posted on January 30, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	2001 Flashback: Dems Vote for $1.35 Trillion Bush Tax Cut For those keeping score, Wednesday's final was Immovable Object 1, Irresistible Force 0. For all of his unprecedented outreach to Republican leaders on his economic stimulus package passed by the House yesterday - the poetry of post-partisanship, larding the bill with business tax provisions he opposed, meeting three times with GOP leaders, a rare presidential trip to Capitol Hill - Barack Obama was rewarded with no Republican votes. And if Mark Halperin is to be believed, Obama's shutout yesterday is... more Posted on January 29, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Obama's Outreach to Earn Zero Votes from House GOP? In November, the American people elected Barack Obama not so much to change the tone in Washington as to change the direction of the country. One week into his tenure as President, it's clear that the Republican minority in Congress will help with him neither. After all of his outreach to the GOP - incorporaing business tax cuts he opposed, three meetings with Republican leaders, the paeans to bipartisanship, the unprecedented trip Tuesday to Capitol Hill - President Obama may... more Posted on January 28, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Barack the Appeaser Back in May, President Bush, John McCain and the conservative echo chamber slandered Barack Obama's proposed diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East as "appeasement." Of course, President Obama is no appeaser of America's enemies abroad. But as his latest capitulation to Congressional Republicans over contraceptive funding in the stimulus bill suggests, Obama's willingness to appease his political foes at home is another matter. Obama's economic recovery package is quickly becoming a case study in the iron law of Washington: the... more Posted on January 27, 2009 \| Comments (5)

	GOP on Stimulus: Obstructionism Now, Obstructionism Forever When it comes to blocking President Obama's economic stimulus plan, what is old is new for the conservative movement. Fearing a permanent Democratic majority if Bill Clinton succeeded in passing his health care reform package, Bill Kristol in 1993 famously rallied Republicans with a memo urging his party to halt it at all costs. With Congressional Republicans and right-wing talking heads now circling the wagons, history is apparently repeating itself. Afraid not that Obama's plan might fail, but that it... more Posted on January 26, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Internet Non-Savant McCain Now Opposes Broadband Expansion During the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican John McCain famously acknowledged "I'm an illiterate" when asked about his use of personal computers and the Internet. Then as now, McCain's ignorance is reflected in his public policy. After laughably extolling online auction giant eBay as the cure for what ails the American economy, John McCain now opposes federal funding for the expansion of broadband access he once supported. During a campaign last spring, McCain lauded high-speed, broadband access as critical to the... more Posted on January 25, 2009 \| Comments (5)

	Bush Latest GOPer to Show Democrats Better for the Economy On Friday, the New York Times provided a jaw-dropping analysis of the dismal state of the economy under George W. Bush. Just days after the Washington Post documented that Bush presided over the worst eight-year economic performance in the modern American presidency, the Times charted his historic failure in expanding GDP, producing jobs and fueling stock market growth. As it turns out, Bush is just the latest Republican to confirm the maxim that Wall Street and the economy overall almost... more Posted on January 24, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Cheney Should Smile as Obama Tells GOP , "I Won" Staying true to his commitment of bipartisanship, President Obama today hosted Congressional Republican leaders to discuss his proposed $825 billion economic recovery package. But while Obama listened to the GOP team air both its grievances and its alternative proposals, the President also gently reminded his Republican guests, "I won." And as Congress considers the Obama stimulus program, that's a message the Republicans should remember well from Dick Cheney eight years ago. As Politico detailed, Obama summed up the economic crisis... more Posted on January 23, 2009 \| Comments (7)

	Obama Reverses Bush Course on Reproductive Rights When it comes to Americans' reproductive rights, it's amazing what a difference one week - and one new president - makes. On Sunday, President Bush offered a final parting gift to anti-abortion extremists in the form of "National Sanctity of Human Life Day." But by Thursday, President Barack Obama marked the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade by declaring "I remain committed to protecting a woman's right to choose." And on Friday, Obama will reverse... more Posted on January 23, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Boehner Recycles GOP's "Club Gitmo" Talking Point On the very day President Obama signed an executive order calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center within one year, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) regurgitated one of the GOP's tried and untrue talking points in its defense. Claiming the facility "has more comforts than a lot of Americans get," Boehner is just the latest Republican to present that blight on America's international standing as "Club Gitmo." At a press conference today, Boehner rejected the notion... more Posted on January 22, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Blocking Holder Cornyn's Latest Defense of Bush Crimes Less than a week into the Obama presidency, Texas Senator John Cornyn has emerged as the new face of the obstructionist Republican Party in Congress. Rejecting President Obama's calls for a new spirit of cooperation, Cornyn on Tuesday delayed the inevitable confirmation of Secretary of State Clinton. The next day, Cornyn pushed back the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General by at least a week out in hopes of a extorting a pledge not to pursue torture prosecutions against... more Posted on January 22, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Bush Bookends Presidency with Jesus, Life Day Proclamations When he famously proclaimed Christ his favorite philosopher ("because he changed my heart") during a 1999 Republican debate, George W. Bush was signaling the outsized role the religious right would play in his presidency. Now as his disastrous tenure in the White House draws to a close, President Bush has offered Christian conservatives a final parting gift in the form of "National Sanctity of Human Life Day." As it turns out, that January 18, 2009 goodbye kiss to anti-abortion extremists... more Posted on January 19, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Cornyn Blesses Detainee Torture, Threats to Judges Among the lowlights of the confirmation hearings for Eric Holder this week was a jaw-dropping endorsement of torture by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). Having watched one too many "ticking time bomb" scenarios on the Fox series 24, Cornyn asked the would-be Attorney General if he "would still refuse to condone aggressive interrogation techniques like waterboarding to get that information." But as the record shows, John Cornyn is an aggressive advocate of illicit violence not just against terrorism suspects, but towards... more Posted on January 17, 2009 \| Comments (4)

	Bush's Farewell Conflation of 9/11 and Iraq In his predictably self-absorbed farewell address to the nation, President George W. Bush grudgingly acknowledged, "There are things I would do differently if given the chance." But as he demonstrated last night, rejecting his repeated linkage of the 9/11 attacks to his war on Iraq is not among them. Even as Bush and Vice President Cheney prepare to slink off into the sunset, their duplicitous conflation of Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein is destined to outlive their... more Posted on January 16, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	Mocking Obama, Right Lauds Bush as Abraham Lincoln With Barack Obama's inauguration just days away, the conservative commentariat is outraged about comparisons between the 44th president and the 16th, Abraham Lincoln. The true successor to the Great Emancipator, the right-wing noise machine continues to insist, is George W. Bush. And as it turns out, no one has made that comical analogy more frequently - or forcefully - than Bush himself. Over at CQ, guest columnist Richard Connor is just the latest to echo the right-wing line that "history... more Posted on January 15, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Bush Still Peddling Myth He Inherited a Recession During a final press conference characterized by his trademark petulance, George W. Bush repeated the myth that opened his presidency. Defending his failed stewardship of the economy, President Bush falsely claimed Monday, "I inherited a recession." Sadly for the first MBA president, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the same NEBR which declared the current Bush recession began in December 2007, concluded his first started in March 2001. Of course, that didn't stop the double-dipping President Bush from pretending otherwise.... more Posted on January 13, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	George W. Bush, the "Nobody Could've Predicted" President In an interview Thursday with the AP, Vice President Cheney neatly summarized the failed Bush presidency. Comparing the financial meltdown and implosion of the American economy with the 9/11 attacks, Cheney insisted, "I don't think anybody saw it coming." As it turns out, from 9/11, sectarian conflict in Iraq and the election of Hamas to the Bush recession and the drowning of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, the leading lights of the Bush administration claimed they never saw it coming.... more Posted on January 12, 2009 \| Comments (3)

	Bush May Struggle to "Replenish the Ol' Coffers" As he prepares to slink into the sunset, George W. Bush is like a giddy child when it comes to his future presidential library. While acknowledging this week that the institution won't be a "George Bush is a wonderful person center", he said, "It will be cool-looking." But when it comes to his plans for a post-presidential windfall from giving speeches and writing a memoir, it appears the historically unpopular Bush may struggle to "replenish the 'ol' coffers." That objective,... more Posted on January 11, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Cheney's Lesson for Obama on the Economy His inauguration just days away, President-elect Barack Obama is facing friendly fire over his economic stimulus plan. With today's grim news that unemployment skyrocketed to 7.2% in December came rumblings of discontent from economist Paul Krugman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bevy of Democratic Senators worried that Obama's proposed recovery package is too timid given both the scope of the crisis and his overwhelming mandate from the American people. But in addition to heeding the words of his allies,... more Posted on January 9, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Red States Show Highest Teen Birth Rates Just days after Bristol Palin officially became the poster child for her mother's failed abstinence-only sex education policy, a new report from the CDC revealed that in 2006 Alaska experienced the nation's fastest growing teen birth rate. While Mississippi suddenly surpassed Texas to earn the dubious leadership distinction, it comes as no surprise that the 10 worst performing states all voted for George W. Bush in 2004. Overall, teen birth rate jumped in 26 states, combining to reverse a 15-year... more Posted on January 8, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	DOJ to Prosecute New York Times over NSA Story? In a Newsweek exclusive three week ago, former Justice Department official Thomas Tamm revealed his role in helping the New York Times make public President Bush's program of illegal domestic surveillance. Now Salon's Glenn Greenwald has details on the DOJ's efforts to punish the whistleblower. And as it turns out (and as I suggested back in 2007), the Bush administration's ultimate target may be the New York Times itself. As Greenwald spells out today, the Justice Department investigation is not... more Posted on January 7, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Yoo, Bolton and Saltsman Lead GOP Irony Machine Beaten and battered, the Republican Party long ago was reduced to an irony-producing machine. But for sheer productivity, Monday's hypocrisy generation by leading lights of the conservative movement was impressive. In the span of 24 hours, would-be RNC chairman and distributor of "Barack the Magic Negro" Chip Saltsman announced his party needed to improve its outreach to minority communities. Meanwhile, John Yoo and John Bolton, two men who helped gut the Geneva Conventions, called for Congress to uphold its role... more Posted on January 6, 2009 \| Comments (1)

	Laura Bush Memoir Tops List of Upcoming GOP Books On Monday, the Scribner division of publishing giant Simon & Schuster announced it had signed a book deal with First Lady Laura Bush. While her husband and his former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have each so far failed to secure publishers for their respective memoirs, Laura Bush's "intimate account" of her eight years in the White House is scheduled for release in 2010. As it turns out, the First Lady's memoir is just the first of a torrent of books... more Posted on January 5, 2009 \| Comments (2)

	The Republicans' Old Black Magic While the controversy over would-be RNC chairman Chip Saltsman's distribution of a CD featuring a song titled "Barack the Magic Negro" continues, the transformation of the GOP into a Southern rump party appears to be virtually complete. After four decades in which race-baiting became a central Republican electoral strategy, Saltsman's gambit is finding both quiet supporters and vociferous defenders within the Party of Hate. That Mike Huckabee's former campaign manager would cap the 2008 election with a racist parody which... more Posted on January 3, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	ESPN's Gift to Ohio State Fans For Ohio State football fans, the arrival of the New Year's bowl season can't help but produce fear and loathing. After all, the Buckeyes not only got crushed in the past two BCS title games, but on Monday face a heavily favored Texas team many believe should be playing for the national championship. Which is why ESPN's "12 Bowls of Christmas" is the ideal holiday gift for the fragile psyches of Ohio State faithful everywhere. ESPN readers voted on their... more Posted on January 2, 2009 \| Comments (0)

	Loyal Bushie O'Beirne Protests Obama Changes at the Pentagon 10 days ago, the Obama transition team notified about 90 of the Pentagon's 250 Bush political appointees that their services would no longer be needed after Inauguration Day. But despite DoD spokesman Geoff Morrell's declaration that holdover Republican Defense Secretary Robert Gates was "absolutely satisfied" with way the transition was being handled, one loyal Bushie at the Pentagon was anything but. Jim O'Beirne - the same Jim O'Beirne who famously populated the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad with Republican campaign... more Posted on January 1, 2009 \| Comments (0)