10 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

1. Our senior U.S. Senator is not going to want to read this. 

   Maybe John Salazar, or Betsy, or Mark, or Hick would understand what it's saying and kinda whisper the bad news in his ear.

   Proof That Centrism Is Dead

   I come to bury centrism, not to praise it. Discussions of the economy during the 2016 campaign will look very different from those of the past two elections, because centrism as an ideological force has collapsed.

   An optical illusion has shielded centrism from critique. Centrists position themselves as anti-ideology, representing a responsible compromise between liberals and conservatives. The word conjures sobriety and restraint, caution and moderation—all of which sound compelling in uncertain economic times.

   But institutionalized centrism is more than that: It's an elite group of thinkers and writers, popular in Washington, DC, and favorable to business leaders, who told a very specific story about what was happening during the Great Recession. They populate the opinion pages of The Washington Post and think tanks like the Bipartisan Policy Center, and they influenced officials like former Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag. Circa 2010, they argued for a "sensible" response to the Great Recession: reduce the deficit to fix the short-term jobs crisis, privatize Medicare, and focus on the long-term economy—since, they claimed, working Americans would eventually bounce back during the recovery. Democratic candidates took these positions seriously.

   Yet each element of the centrist story has turned out to be absolutely false.

   Facts is facts, people.

   Centrist groups, such as a task force formed by former Republican senator Pete Domenici and former CBO director Alice Rivlin, sought to replace Medicare with a coupon for the elderly to buy their own private insurance, known by the anodyne term "premium support." Yet it turns out the government is good at providing social insurance: Instead of exploding, healthcare costs have remained flat. 

   Mark Udall promoted the Rivlin Domenici commission here and boldly pulled a "Bennet" for the Bowles-Simpson Catfood Commission here. (There are way too many videos of Udall spouting this crap to Larry Kudlow, imho.)

   Udall said "We're running out of road" at the time. 

   But, despite Republicans' intractable opposition to almost every Obama proposal, and key Democrats' acquiescence, the economy has continued to slowly, yet surely, improve.

   Does industry need more help from government? Do they need TPA and TPP to ensure even greater profits? When are the Job Creators (by definition our most successful companies and industries) going to reinvest in America and create all those high paying jobs?

   Corporate profits have skyrocketed, and 76 percent of the recovery has gone to the top 1 percent. How can centrists continue to focus on the long term and business confidence when all the fruits go to such a small group?

   Business is doing just fine, and maliciously holding $21 Trillion in profits overseas so they don't have to pay taxes on it. (Congratulations should go to Grover Norquist, Doug Bruce, Ronald Reagan and team.)

   The last, and arguably most insidious, thing about centrism is the implicit idea that there's no real difference between the parties—just good and bad administration of the centrist common sense. President Obama, who thought he could transcend party differences through personality, suffered from the centrist orthodoxy. The GOP, caring far more about privatization and lowering taxes on the rich than about deficits, benefited. However, 2016 will point up the real differences between the two parties, and this time the Democrats have a shot at getting it right.

   Democrats do have a chance here. Those that see this clearly have already been speaking about these key issues. Those that took the centrist route can surely adjust their thought, their rhetoric, their campaigns. Politicians are usually more followers than leaders, and if they're smart, they'll take notice that centrism has failed and died an ugly death at the hands of reality and a Republican Party that is hostile to American workers and the Middle Class and they'll follow the lead of others to start the process of reviving the Middle Class………something Democrats should never shy from. 

   Just so you know: I will never support that skunk Coffman, and I don't necessarily want Bennet to lose, nor do I think I'm some kind of purist lefty Socialist. There really was a day when Democrats could say this stuff in public and be sure the public would understand the issues and support those who unabashedly told the truth. Bernie unabashedly does it. Warren unabashedly does it. Merkley and Sherrod unabashedly do it.

   And I agree with the article: Bowles-Simpson is dead. Rivlin-Domenici is dead. The Grand Bargain is Dead. And Centrism is Dead.

    

    

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   1. In as much as the GOP idea of centrism is that Dems are welcome to join them in supporting failed policy….yup.

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   2. Good riddance! "Center" was center-right, no matter how green (liberals like green, see.) they tried to paint it.

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   3. What is the saying? The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos…

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2. Will R's call for infrastructure spending yet?

    

    

   Will R's who voted against Sandy reconstruction (hey, maybe they knew how corrupt Christie was) stand down from asking for help in Texas?

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   1. Only in their own backyards. And they'll want tax credits to "pay for it". Ya ever notice how the "we hates taxes, institute fees to pay for infrastructure" crowd is always the first with its collective hands out when bad things happen? 

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   2. Governor Perry touted his "Texas Miracle" of low taxes resulting in growth. He claimed that Texas didn't need to spend any money on infrastructure, such as flood control or upgrading water treatment. But he won't be accountable for his decisions:

      Perry is not up for re-election in November. His time as the Governor of Texas, and the one tasked with cleaning up this infrastructure funding mess, is limited. Most of the problems resulting from the 'miraculous' population boom won't be addressed until long after he has vacated the Governor's mansion. Though all his talk about the “Texas miracle” is to Perry's benefit on the national scene, it will be up to Texas voters and future office-holders left behind to clean up the mess.  

       

      And since Perry also doesn't believe that climate change is caused by humans, (if it exists at all) he's not about to regulate fossil fuel extraction emissions that result in climate change. Texas and Oklahoma, two of the reddest climate-change denying states, are being hit by epic flooding and chaotic weather, as jet streams pick up more moisture from warming oceans.

      The widespread heavy rains are being caused by a prolonged warming of Pacific ocean sea surface temperatures that generally results in cooler air, coupled with an active southern jet stream and plentiful moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, said meteorologist Forrest Mitchell at National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman, Oklahoma.

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      1. if you've been to Texas last 10 years, you'll see the incredible amount of infrastructure spending that's taken place in Dallas and environs, at DFW airport, and elsewhere. And those are all part of Perry's lie about TX.

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3. 

    

   Well looky here: Michael Bennet proud to be called a Progressive by the Progressive Coalition for American Jobs. Thank you, Michael, you are a man of rare character. Of course free trade is good for us and there should be no debate, nor any changes, to any free trade bill ever again.

   Please give my apologies to CO Pols for criticizing their insipid support of your thoughtful, Progressive policies.

   (From the front page of the Denver Post digital edition.)

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4. Not Colorado, but close.
   Live Anthrax Samples Mistakenly Sent Out by U.S. Defense Lab
   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-27/live-anthrax-samples-sent-out-by-u-s-defense-lab-in-a-mistake

   "The Dugway Proving Ground in Utah sent out the samples by truck to eight companies in nine states…"

   Dugway is an interesting place to visit. Nerve gas and bio weapons galore.

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