Open Left - opening the day

Opening the Day: Coal, Telecom Prepping the Biggest Hissy Fit of All Time Against Obama

Matt Stoller — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:18:16 GMT

That's me in the foreground, and another voter in a partial tron costume to the left.

I'm in DC to cast my vote, after having spent a bunch of time in a suburban area. And what struck me is how urban politics is just so fundamentally different than suburban politics. In cities, you stand around in crowded places and meet candidates, and encounter lots and lots of people. In the suburbs, you're a pod person with a car and you never have to actually deal with anyone except by choice. It's really quite lonely and unnatural.

Juan Enriquez is prepping a whole lot of 'good liberals' for drastic cuts in entitlements. I love the pain caucus. Meanwhile, the economy is falling off a cliff.
Big coal is screaming through the right-wing blogs that Obama is going to drive the industry out of business. That's not actually what he's going to do, he's just going to force coal to compete with renewables and pay the costs of carbon emissions. If coal can win in the marketplace, great. But they can't. And they know. Hence, hissy fit.
The telecom sector is similarly very very upset.
"Probably the thing that scares the industry the most about a Democratic administration is regulating the Internet," Dan Hesse, chief executive of Sprint Nextel, said in a speech in Washington on October 24.
Doug Schoen is a wanker.
Earl Blumenauer to be Secretary of Transportation? Awesome. He's in the bike caucus.
Go vote for Zack Exley's proposal to the Knight Foundation. If he pulls it off, this project could be a fundamental shift in how we organize our society.
Twittervotereport.com is actually a really neat election day project. Election day is usually really boring, with lots of poll-watching and sign holding and waiting around until vote counting starts. If there are problems with voting machines, well, then it gets a bit, um, exciting? This site should be very useful for such incidents and for run of the mill reportorial info.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Obama's 30 Minute Hopefomercial

Matt Stoller — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Wow, well I watched that half hour Obama spot last night, and it blew me away. Though it looks like an unbelievable election, I'll note that no one ever says that Lincoln, FDR, or Washington were great President's because of how they campaigned, and, say, Warren Harding's landslide didn't cover him in glory.

The Fed cut rates to historically low levels. Bailout fail.
Massachusetts has a measure on the bailout to get rid of the state's personal income tax. It's losing 64-29. The income tax is a relatively easy way to pay taxes, versus the property tax which really sucks for a lot of reasons. Go Massachusetts! It's a smart state in some ways.
A coordinated DNS attack on marriage equality sites fighting Prop 8?
Want more evidence that most local press is a conservative interest group? Check out this endorsement from Bellevue Reporter.
What McCain defectors see in Obama.
Geek legend Tim O'Reilly supports Obama.
The Cunning Realist, a conservative financier whose blog I enjoy greatly, also endorsed Obama.
Democrat Kay Barnes looks like her race against Sam Graves is slipping away. She was a top recruit for the DCCC, but I'm getting concerned about a repeat of 2006's gender problem.
This is a good ad, by Republican Rick Goddard against Blue Dog Jim Marshall in GA-08. I think Marshall's going to hold on, but if he doesn't, and Nick Lampson and Tim Mahoney lose, it'll be interesting that the only three Democratic incumbents losing this cycle are Blue Dogs.
A Romney-Clinton axis? Romney operative Kevin Madden just joined the Glover Park Group, the anti-net neutrality lobbying firm that has such operatives as Joe Lockhart and Harold Wolfsen.
Comcast just fired its Republican chief and hired a Democrat, Melissa Maxfield, a former Daschle aide. Here's why they fired the Republican head.
David Cohen, Comcast's executive vice president, cited "budget constraints and new challenges" as the reason for the staff shake-up, according to a company release.

I love bureaucratese!
However necessary you think this might be, it's awful.
Supporters could eat dinner in Los Angeles with Warren Buffett, an Obama adviser and one of history's shrewdest investors, for $28,500, the federal limit for donations by an individual to a national party committee.
Or they could attend a "VIP reception" with the sage of Omaha for $10,000, or an "economic roundtable" for just $1,000...
A "Round Table Discussion" in Boston with Robert E. Rubin, who was Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and talked on the phone with Obama as the financial crisis broke out, cost $28,500.
And a reception in Boston with former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), a possible chief of staff in an Obama White House, was offered for $500 or $2,500.
The DSCC is putting $2M into defeating Mitch McConnell.
Saxby Chambliss gets racist.
The Republican is outwardly confident, but there's urgency in his voice as he tours North Georgia, trying to boost turnout in his predominately white base: "The other folks are voting," he bluntly tells supporters.

After watching that half hour hopefomercial, I was filled with hope against my will. To balance out the sickening feeling of optimism, I kept saying in a low negative campaign style voice things like 'Barack Obama: America can't afford all that inspiration' and 'Barack Obama, Too Leaderlike to Lead'.

What are you reading? And if you didn't chime in on last night's thread, what did you think about the hopefomercial? How are your friends and family reacting?

Opening the Day: One Week to Go

Matt Stoller — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

And now it gets even dirtier and crazier.

McConnell calls on Ted Stevens to resign.
Ted Kennedy is coming back to DC.
Are credit cards the next group of debt instruments to collapse?
The Democrats have a lot on their plate.
Lieberman's going to be ousted from his committee chairmanship, but he won't be kicked out of the caucus.
Democratic leaders are discussing a major reshuffling of Senate committee chairmanships, according to multiple sources, and the proposed changes include ousting Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) from his coveted chairmanship.
Lieberman, a former Democrat who supports Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president, is likely to lose his gavel on the Homeland Security Committee he has chaired since January 2007, say the sources who see him being replaced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (Hawaii), the committee's third-ranking Democrat.
Members of Congress grew 13% wealthier in 2007.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Uglier and Uglier for the GOP

Matt Stoller — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

If you're just listening to the news cycle, McCain is done. The only question is how bad the fallout will be for the Republicans, and the Ted Stevens trial kind of pointed to another disastrous election for them. Like, really really bad. Picture two 1994s in a row, plus a slightly less than 1984 style route. All in the space of two years. Ow.

VoteVets is going after Saxby Chambliss with this ad. Look familiar?
Have you pitched in for Use It or Lose It yet?
Democrats behind on their dues
Democrats facing token opposition
Do what Chris says. Obey Chris.
This is the most vicious anti-endorsement of Saxby Chambliss imaginable.
Gordon Smith cannot beat back the Obama wave in Oregon. I'm not much of a Smith fan, but to be fair to him, he's a horrible person.
Central banks are continuing to slashing rates. Wheee!
David Axelrod may take an Obama White House position.
"Obama trusts him, and he cares about policy," Carville said, adding that he stayed out of the Clinton administration because he wanted to make money, but that Axelrod's lucrative consulting practice had put him in a position to go to the White House. "The only people that go into government are either very young or very rich," Carville said.

That's super healthy for democracy!
Wayne Huizenga wants to sell the Dolphins before Obama raises his capital gains taxes. I'm a huge Dolphins fan, and I hate Huizenga's stewardship of the team, which was perpetually 7-9, 8-8, 9-7, or 10-6 throughout the 80s and 90s and 00s. If Obama gets this guy to sell, I'm sold on his Presidency.
The Bank of England says the global financial crisis has cost $2.6 trillion so far. And the IMF may not have enough firepower to deal with all the countries needing assistance.
Meanwhile, this is fucked.
Five straight quarters of losses and a 70 percent slide in its stock this year haven't stopped Merrill Lynch & Co. from allocating about $6.7 billion to pay bonuses.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, both still on track for profitable years, have set aside about $13 billion for bonuses after three quarters, down 28 percent from a year ago. Even some employees at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which declared the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history last month, will get the same bonus they received a year ago.
The LA Times is laying off 75 more people. It used to be a very good paper.
Patrick Creadon of the ridiculous film IOUSA is shocked, shocked that someone might consider the whole 'let's gut entitlements' movement a sham.
Dailykos will raise $2M in its Orange to Blue campaign. That's a lot of money. Wow.
Jim Marshall is having a tough time with his reelection. He'll be fine, but if he's not, alas, it couldn't have happened to a nicer Bush Dog. And Nick Lampson is going down. With Tim Mahoney added in there, that makes three Blue Dogs in trouble. Awww.
I guess Drudge no longer rules their world.
I like this tip from Mark Kleiman discussing Frank Wolf's campaign's assault of a Democratic tracker.
Send the trackers out in pairs, so that one tracker can point a camera to record the violence against the other.
Christy Hardin Smith has a petition out to fight local conservative journalism.
The Metro will randomly search people's bags. Security expert Bruce Schneier has pointed out that this was extremely dumb when they did it in New York. Of course that means it's coming to DC. Wheee!
This is a good quote from Darcy Burner in Roll Call.
"From my perspective, when they are breaking the law and then use that money to go up on television to say that I don't have a degree that I did in fact earn, do I think it's getting nasty? Absolutely. But not on our side," Burner said. "They will do anything to hold onto this seat, and they don't care about the law or the truth."
This is just kind of sad.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (Nev.) said Monday afternoon that it was a "fair possibility" that Democrats could reach a filibuster-proof, 60-seat majority in the Senate on Nov. 4.
Speaking to Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, Ensign seemed to upgrade the Senate Democrats' chances for widening their margins. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority in the chamber.
..."We would welcome Joe Lieberman. We welcome him with open arms," Ensign said.

It'll be interesting to see how the GOP rebuilds itself. I know Mitt Romney is positioning to be a wealthy GOP Daddy type who can restore the eastern elite credentials in 2012. We'll see, I suppose.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Karl Rove Throws in the Towel

Matt Stoller — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Soon, very soon, very very soon.

Eight points in Virginia? And half of all voters in the state contacted by the campaign? Wow.
Democrats are warning people not to become complacent about Obama's win, but it doesn't help that Karl Rove is publicly throwing in the towel. Speaking of complacency, who's going to replace Obama in the Senate? Larry Handlin makes some guesses.
Third Way communications director Matt Bennett and Brookings Institution fellow Bill Galston doubt that Obama can follow through on his transparency pledge.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a progressive policy think tank that leans Democratic, said he sees parallels between Obama's plan and Clinton's pledge in 1992 to cut the White House staff by 25 percent - the symbol of his overall platform to reduce and reorganize government in a year when, like 2008, "change" was a more popular mantra than "experience."
"His staff will struggle to comply with what will eventually feel to them as arbitrary rules," said Bennett, a former Clinton administration aide. "I go back to the Clinton vow to cut the White House staff by 25 percent. It was arbitrary and capricious. It was very hard to do and caused significant trouble, and he got zero political benefit out of it."

Norm Ornstein also gets in a few digs. You know, can't they wait until Obama wins to start telling him why he shouldn't run an open administration?
Lots of different companies are now competing for the bailout money.
Insurers, automakers and American subsidiaries of foreign banks all want the Treasury Department to cut them a piece of the largest government rescue in U.S. history.

It's a grab bag! Can I have some?
Democrat Paul Kanjorski in Pennsylvania is just not doing well. This ad isn't helping, making him look old and out of it.
Lobbyist revenue is taking a dip.
Do we really need 60 Senators to pass legislation? Sheldon Whitehouse doesn't think so.
"If the White House political team can't figure out a way to get two Republican senators to vote with us between Air Force One, tea at the White House, U.S. attorneys and judges and dams and roads and ambassadors and all that other stuff, somebody should take them out to the woodshed. Sixty is less a magic number than a zone."
New York's going to lose 40,000 Wall Street jobs. I don't know how the city's going to deal with that.
The GOP in the House is preparing to tear itself apart.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Economic Gloom Deepens, Palin's Expensive Wardrobe

Matt Stoller — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:30:00 GMT

It's going to be a busy day, with the GOP sleaze hitting so fast and furious that there is literally just too much interesting and outrageous stuff to post. Our Better Dems page has expanded in keeping with the incredible moment we're in, you guys have helped us bust through $42k, and our traffic on the site is going gangbusters. This is a once in a lifetime election, where we really can pick up random seats that no one's paying attention to. So please give, let's make this happen.

We're gunning for $50K. I threw in some money for Josh Zeitz last night, we've got a bunch of new candidates on the Better Democrats page, go check 'em out. Now's the time to build our generational majority.

The HuffPo profiles the candidates for Treasury Secretary.
What the hell is Karl Rove doing speaking at the mortgage bankers convention? Comparing notes on fucking up the country? Speaking of which, Karl Rove just mentioned Pennsylvania as a place where they cling to their 'guns and their faith', on Fox News. I'm sure the outrage-o-meter will begin any. Second. Now.
I'm on a podcast on Horse's Ass with David Goldstein. If you want to hear an hour of Stoller and co, go for it.
Lovely.
Here's a video warning about climate change in 1958 that is dead-on accurate. Wow.
McCain has no ground game. At all.
CEPR takes on IOUSA. Lots of letters, probably the most important item in Opening the Day.
Job losses are accelerating. Get ready for an ugly retail season followed by layoffs.
Palin will finally release her medical records. Not so much John McCain.
The Florida GOP is limiting voting, again, through malice and incompetence. I remember in 1994, when Jeb Bush ran for Governor and got his ass kicked. It was a Republican year all over the country, but his campaign had the dumbest fucking bumper stickers ever: "Jeb!" I was all of 16, but I remember that campaign in Miami. I didn't really care about politics but even then I hated the Bush's.
This campaign season will cost more than $5B. Sounds like a lot? Come on, this is a $10T economy. We just bailed out banks for $700B. We probably spend four times that on ice cream every year.
Chuck Todd argues McCain and Palin have no chemistry. Not sure I like punditry like that, even when I agree with it. I know people love him, but I find Chuck Todd kind of irritatingly conventional.
Network news is shedding viewers even in an election year. I wonder if those numbers include streaming on the web.
Hedge Funds lost $180B so far this year, and it's only a $1.7 trillion industry. That means lots of funds going under, redemptions, etc.
In recent years, public pension funds, foundations and endowments poured billions of dollars into these private partnerships. Now, in the midst of one of the deepest bear markets in generations, many of those investments are souring.

Nonprofits, schools, etc are going to take a big hit.
GOP donors are mad Palin's spending their money on clothes.
"As a Republican Eagle and a maxed-out contributor to McCain's general campaign, I'd like my money back - he can still have my vote," complained one irate donor on Tuesday.
"I'm not one who says a candidate shouldn't wear fine clothes," he added. "I'd just like to think they were successful enough in the private sector to have afforded their wardrobe with their own money, not the party's or the campaign's, which is really our money as contributors."
Barbara Lee is going to fight to remain chair of the progressive caucus.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: McCain's Health Comes Under Strong Scrutiny

Matt Stoller — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Finally, the very real possibility that McCain may not live through a term or two of the Presidency and that he won't disclose his medical records hits the front pages of the New York Times.

Obama is getting very aggressive about voter fraud, Bush, and McCain.
The presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) asked the Justice Department on Friday to allow an existing special prosecutor to probe the possible collaboration between the Bush administration and the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in generating what Obama aides charge are spurious allegations and investigations of voter fraud.
In the letter, and in a conference call, Obama officials charged that government leaks about FBI investigations into possible voter fraud point to a potential collaboration between the administration and the campaign.
Ah, the Family Guy does McCain/Palin.
Vint Cerf, one of the creators of the internet, has endorsed Obama. He's often mentioned as a possible CTO for the US.
The New York Times reports on California's energy efficiency policies.
California's energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000, according to a study to be released Monday.
The study, conducted by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, found that while the state's policies lowered employee compensation in the electric power industry by an estimated $1.6 billion over that period, it improved compensation in the state over all by $44.6 billion.
Built into that figure were increases of $1.2 billion in the light industrial sector, $11.2 billion in wholesale and retail trade, $7.3 billion in the financial and insurance sectors and $17.8 billion in the service sector.
"Consumers were able to reduce energy spending," the study said, adding that "these savings were diverted to other demand."

Eco-extremists!
Lunsford is really making a go at Mitch McConnell. He really could take the Minority Leader of the Senate out.
Obama has 3.1 million donors. Goldwater had a million, Kerry had over a million. Still, Obama is blowing up the records here, and political fundraising is not likely to ever be the same.
Pelosi won't support a stimulus larger than $100B.
McCain's latest gambit is to spread rumors that his internal polls show the race dramatically moving his way. Mmmkay.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: And the Race Goes On

Matt Stoller — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:32:28 GMT

We have 57 more donors to go on the Better Democrats page. With the map expanding rapidly, candidates on this list will be able to use every penny to tremendous effect. Jim Martin, the progressive Senate candidate standing up on FISA in blood red Georgia, raised $1.3M last quarter (more than Chambliss) but has only $93,000 cash on hand. Aside from DSCC money, Martin needs to be funded on the fly. Throw some coin in, it'll help and you'll be proud of these candidates.

Boohoo.
Sen. John McCain can't catch a break.
As he exited his hotel in New York City en route to a fund-raiser, the GOP presidential hopeful found his motorcade was lined up right next to the red-carpet premiere of Oliver Stone's new movie "W.," a disapproving portrayal of President George W. Bush.
Cindy McCain, subsidized with government monies.
The FBI is getting very political these days.
Robert Rubin, on why he blocked the regulation of derivatives.
RUBIN: I do think it was a deterrent to moving forward. I thought it was counterproductive. If you want to move forward...you engage with parties in a constructive way. My recollection was...this was done in a more strident way.
Glenn Greenwald discusses Jim Martin.
Roughly 50% of Democrats in Congress voted for that bill, along with Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and the entire top level of the House Democratic Congressional leadership. Yet here is Martin -- running in a bright red state in the South, just a few weeks before a very tight election, knowing that all hard-core Democrats and liberals in that state are already supporting him and that there are only independents and disenchanted Republicans left to target -- and he chooses to respond to a somewhat vague question about FISA and wiretapping (in response to which he could easily have mouthed some unspecific and safe platitudes about balancing security and civil liberties) by instead going out of his way to volunteer that he opposes telecom immunity to such an extent that he would have voted against the FISA bill that the Bush administration, the GOP caucus and many leading Democrats were insisting was Absolutely Vital if we wanted to avoid being slaughtered by the Terrorists (as Stoller said by email: "Apparently the pro-telecom movement is very popular in San Francisco and Maryland but not so strong in Georgia. Who knew?").

Martin outraised Chambliss this quarter, but has only $92,000 cash on hand. This is one we're going to have to fuel as we go. Give here.
Crisitunity has a state legislature roundup.
Some nice ratfucking.
Amazing ad from Tom Udall.
Did Scott Kleeb opponent Mike Johanns violate the Hatch Act? Well my guess is yes, since Republican officials tend towards criminal activity as a matter of course.
I'm finding this race exhausting but exciting. What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Markets in Flux, Not a Good Night for McCain

Matt Stoller — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:00:43 GMT

I don't think this debate mattered for the election, but for governance there are some consequences. Here was my post-debate wrap-up video for Al Jazeera. The gist is PAYGO is gone and Obama's embraced clean coal in an especially obnoxious manner.

Larry Lessig wants to scrap the coalition on Presidential debates.
Oh hey look here.
Vice President Dick Cheney's planned surgery this afternoon to correct an abnormal heart rhythm might put the health issue -- and Sen. John McCain's age and bouts with cancer -- back in the presidential campaign spotlight.
Look out for the damage they are doing as they exit.
Bush administration officials, in their last weeks in office, are pushing to rewrite a wide array of federal rules with changes or additions that could block product-safety lawsuits by consumers and states.
Karen Tumulty points to this remarkable piece from the Washington Post. Apparently, Cindy McCain had cell phone towers installed on her isolated property, at a cost in the six figures, from both AT&T and Verizon.
The bailout cost goes up to $2.25 trillion. Nouriel Roubini is very pessimistic and thinks that the government is going to have to buy more stakes in these banks, with voting shares and the ability to force lending to continue.
Black Swan author Nassim Taleb is also worth listening to. He gets very angry explaining his ideas, and he is 100% correct.
Congratulations to Planned Parenthood, which endorsed Tom Allen over the lukewarm Susan Collins. It's not easy to make this call, but few single issue groups on the left take these kinds of risks. Kudos.
You should vote.
Darcy doubled Reichert's fundraising in the last quarter.
All around scumbag Democrat Tim Mahoney may not seek reelection.
Oregon Senator Gordon Smith has only $1.5M in cash left.
Obama is launching ads in West Virginia.
Pundits, always wrong, even in Washington state.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Neel Kashkari Speaks, Will the Markets Listen?

Matt Stoller — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Via Barry Ritholtz, here's Richard Whitney, President of the New York Stock Exchange, advocating against regulation of the markets in 1934. Ah, conservatives. Whitney was put in jail a few years later for theft.

The IMF and the G8 met this weekend, and Neel Kashkari, Hank Paulson's henchman, is speaking at 8am ET to discuss what he's going to do with the $700B bailout. The Europeans are announcing their plans, and it sounds like coordinated global leadership is actually happening (according to Soros). The market is extremely oversold and traders are talking about a bounce, so we won't know if this works for awhile (unless the markets continue to crash).

Anyway, I'm going to be following Mr. Kashkari. Supposedly, he's a very quiet man, so when he speaks the words will be well-considered.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Fed Cuts Rates in a Worldwide Cut, McCain's 'That One'

Matt Stoller — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:02:21 GMT

My TV is screaming about a world wide interest rate cut and frozen credit markets after yesterday's market tumble. And then I flip over to MSNBC and I hear a McCain spokesperson saying that McCain will stand up to corporate interests, that McCain is corporate America's 'worst nightmare'. What the fuck? I don't like inefficient, stupid, and evil corporate influence, but who wants to elect their 'worst nightmare'? Who exactly is he pandering to? Communists who love Die Hard?

Another weird moment was McCain's proposal to buy up mortgages and renegotiate them to match the lower value of homes. This may or may not be a good idea, but it was a randomly and suddenly introduced idea that will cost a lot of money. Kind of like his spending freeze, which was also introduced randomly at a debate. Don't these two ideas conflict? Or am I missing something?

I'll be doing an event on October 14 in New York.
ACORN's offices were raided in Nevada. It looks like the conservative attack on voting rights is having a PR success.
Democrat Paul Kanjorski is now down by 8, a lead that has widened. His vote for the bailout is probably part of the reason.
Jeff Merkley thanks us for his blow-out quarter.
The US Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB are seeking to limit their losses and kneecap Democrats in 2009.

"Nov. 4 is a date and not the end of this," said Greg Casey, president and CEO of BIPAC.
He warned that incoming Democrats will make a mistake if they begin passing the legislation demanded by their labor allies immediately upon arriving in Washington.
"Whoever comes to the 111th Congress should know that a lot of people who voted [for] Republicans in 2004 and Democrats in 2006 don't want a partisan food fight, they want a government that works," Casey said.
"A blue legislator in a red district who votes on bills that fulfill ideological, partisan promises may see the same angry electorate that Republicans saw in 2006."
Reichert is going on the air against Darcy, opening lying about taxes. Yay!
Apocalypse John. Awesome.
Surprise!
The Maryland State Police classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases that track terrorism suspects, the state police chief acknowledged yesterday.
Police Superintendent Terrence B. Sheridan revealed at a legislative hearing that the surveillance operation, which targeted opponents of the death penalty and the Iraq war, was far more extensive than was known when its existence was disclosed in July.
Zack Exley has a new piece on the organizing model behind the Obama campaign.

I'm on the airport later today, so light blogging from me. What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Bailout Fiasco, Bitterness, Fear, Recriminations, and a Debate Today

Matt Stoller — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT

A really nasty negative tone in the race, a sour and frustrated public, and an economic crisis is all leading to massive rises in the polls for Democrats. There's a debate today between McCain and Obama, and Chris will be live-blogging it. I'm pretty much interested in what these guys are going to say about the bailout. What I can't figure out is why they keep bragging that they were more effective than their opponent at getting this really unpopular piece of legislation passed.

Anyway, the recriminations are starting, because the bailout didn't seem to solve market confidence problems.

In an article by insider publication The Hill titled 'Doubts grow over rescue', every excuse for the failure of the bailout is given by various financial and think tank pundits, from 'Congress didn't pass it fast enough' to 'Congress didn't 'inspire confidence' in the way it passed the bill to an urging that Congress move beyond partisanship and encourage the Fed to act. My favorite is this one, from former IMF official and current Peterson Foundation fellow Morris Goldstein.
Goldstein said that Congress might have to return to Washington in the next several weeks to pass an emergency economic stimulus package, increase the federal insurance limit on bank deposits or enlarge the financial authority of Paulson to buy distressed assets.

Ah, so the bailout isn't big enough. Peter Peterson, the guy who funds this fellow, is a private equity billionaire Republican who tried to privatize Social Security, so of course, you know, there's always that.
You know what reason ISN'T given as a possible explanation? That the bailout was a stupid fucking idea put out there by the lying criminal incompetents who got us into this mess.
Seven polls from the DCCC are showing Democratic rematches looking good, all of them in the northeast, mid-atlantic, or industrial midwest. That tracks with the recessionary areas of the country.
There will be Senate vacancies, no matter who is elected President. Frankly, this is the only circumstance I would support a bipartisan cabinet, if you could get a Republican Senator to leave his seat to take a department.
Lehman Brothers is leading to some heated hearings on the Hill.
The Sierra Club is greenwashing more nice front groups, not just that of T. Boone Pickens. And it's helping Clorox sell more crap! Way to go Carl Pope!
Obama supports open debates. Good for him.
The Wasilla Project launched.

That's a mini-documentary on rape kits. Interesting how rapidly produced documentaries on youtube are now a political tool.
the sad tale of a boring banker in exuberant times... and after by Jerome a Paris is worth reading.
Women's Voices Women's Vote registered 1 million people this cycle, almost all of which were unmarried women. Check out the states.
That million includes 166,411 from Florida; 104,230 from Ohio; 76,799 from Pennsylvania; 63,133 in Illinois; 57,282 in Michigan; and 46,523 in Missouri, the six states where WVWV generated the most registrations. In addition, WVWV generated 34,170 in Colorado; 43,518 in North Carolina; 40,154 in Virginia; and 13,509 in Nevada. Over 7,000 people were registered online, including more than 4,000 through Facebook.
Chris Hayes has a piece out on Free Trade called Free Traitors.
The WTO and free trade is going to be a major fight next cycle. Obama's health care and climate change proposals are going to be subject to WTO rules, which means that corporations can sue the US government and dismantle his carbon reduction laws or health care reforms as 'trade barriers'. Lieberman-Warner had a carbon tariff in it, but the bill never went anyway, so nothing came of it. But there's no question the Chamber of Commerce is going to use this legal avenue through American subsidiaries of foreign companies to gut any attempt by Obama to engage in social safety or environmental protection.

Opening the Day: The Dow Collapses, Anger Mounts

Matt Stoller — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:03:34 GMT

The Dow has now dropped below 10,000 for the first time since 2004. Last week, when I was trying to convince members to vote against the bailout, I had a conversation and the question was posed 'well what would you tell a small business owner who can't get a loan?' I said that the bailout probably wouldn't help them, not for any economic reason but because it seemed obvious that the people planning the bailout don't actually care about a random small business somewhere. Then last night, a few economists told me that a credit tightening is normal right before or during the initial stages of a recession as banks become more conservative. So what I said was correct on the economics. It's not a difficult concept, but what's interesting is how the press conflated the credit tightening prior to a recession with a run on hedge funds and investment banks. Anyway, there you go.

The Palin-Biden debate attracted nearly 70 million viewers, far more than the Obama-McCain debate. Here's Palin in 30 seconds.

She's being mentioned as a 2012 contender. I doubt it, she'll be impeached in Alaska first. Astroturf group Team Sarah has launched.
The US Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB are going to put $400,000 against Darcy Burner, and the NRCC is already outspending the DCCC in that district.
Here's the raw data on what you think about the bailout.
McCain is still taking the weekends off.
Palin's in Omaha, fighting for that one electoral vote carved out by Nebraska's unique electoral system.
Ari Berman has a good piece on Rick Davis's lobbying ties to Russia. At what point does this become an issue of overt disloyalty to the American public?
Gordon Smith and Jeff Merkley are going at it. Smith is attacking Merkley for running up the debt after Smith himself just voted for $700 billion.
Republicans are whining they can't suppress the vote and intimidate in Ohio.
Sometimes you just gotta love Redstate beating up on Naomi Klein.
There are plenty of bloggers who unthinkingly endorse Klein's work. That is a stain both on their critical thinking skills, and their reputations for honesty as pundits.

The Democratic and Republican Strategist Assocation is going to begin license renewals soon.
Campaign Money Watch broke out the Keating last week.
Hillary Clinton has raised $8M for Obama. That's a lot of money.
59% of voters would vote to replace the entire Congress.
Voter registration trends are still favoring Democrats, quite dramatically.
Joe Lieberman on Palin: "She's so strong, she's so capable, she's so competent," Lieberman told the cheering crowd. Emphasizing her "faith," he added that she is someone who "with your help--and God's help--will be the next vice president of the United States." More big cheers.
Hank Paulson can ignore all contracting regulations.
House Republicans are defending deregulations.
Jim Marshall is running ads defending his bailout vote.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Bailout Fiasco, Palin Debate on Deck

Matt Stoller — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:46:21 GMT

The bailout passed the Senate yesterday, with massive support from Obama. Dean Baker has one good way to think about this problem; if we need more funds, then the people who passed this bill need to resign. I don't think that'll happen for awhile, because the $700 billion is a revolving account and the government can play games with toxic assets. In fact, I think that this fund is mostly going to be used to buy toxic assets from Arabs and the Chinese, who own a lot of them, and who probably threatened to cut off their lending to us unless we took it off their hands at subsidized prices. We are now officially a banana republic, with foreigners able to lend at high rates and pillage our government and middle class when they don't get paid off. Get ready for years of no growth and nasty recessions, what is known in Japan as a 'bright Depression', and an unstable world where America is paralyzed. Obama pushed this through, it's his bill. He has handcuffed this country, and my guess is, that this is how he wants it.

The Palin-Biden debate is on deck. I know people are obsessed with Palin, mostly because she's a fascinating train wreck. I am too, but I haven't had a chance to really watch her in action. Tonight'll be interesting.

The Harvey Milk Democratic club in San Francisco is thinking of de-endorsing Pelosi.
This is Byron Dorgan arguing against the Financial Modernization Act in 1999, the act that repealed much of Glass-Steagal and set the stage for today's crisis. He literally says, in 1999, that in ten years we'll look back and regret repealing the act. Incidentally, Dorgan was a 'no' vote on the bailout yesterday. On the other hand, he looks creepily like Donald Rumsfeld.

(video moved to extended entry because of auto-play--Chris)
This is Obama's bill. He whipped it, he made it his.
I assume he's willing to give up the 700 billion for the near dictatorial power over the US economy which is still embedded in the bill, power which he will wield through his Treasury Secretary. Or maybe, encouraged by his economic advisers, almost all of whom were amongst the architects and cheerleaders of the policies which made this crisis occur, he really believes that bailing out the rich with middle class money is how the country has to operate. After all, some people are important and some people aren't, and since the middle class can vote for him or for a man who has made himself into a national joke with Sarah Palin as the punchline, what are they going to do? Vote for John McCain, the laughingstock, who was also for the bill he was against, or some such?
If this bill doesn't work, or even if it does, it will have a huge cost and that cost will be born by the middle class. Even if you think it will work, not adding surcharges to make the rich pay for their own bailout is unconscionable.
Americans are being robbed, reverse Robin Hood style. Take money from ordinary folks, hand it directly to the rich. That's Obama's first real act as the presumptive President and as the Democratic party's de-facto leader.
MyDD and TPM are mocking Palin for opposing Roe versus Wade yet arguing that there is a right to privacy in the Constitution. Now, Palin's an ignorant lunatic. But how is this any different than any other politician who is willing to talk about the importance of privacy and then rush mindlessly to allow government wiretapping of our communications or tut-tut on teenage girls and abortion across state lines (all the while remaining 'pro-choice')? I'm sure Obama will talk about the importance of privacy, but the point is that this is all just code for Village-approved gibberish. Now yes, Palin is a rabid idiot. But that's not her problem. She's just not a Village approved rabid idiot.
Al Giordano has a wonderful post about a woman who registered over 1000 people by herself in Pennsylvania.
The Defenders of Wildlife are expanding their extremely effective ad against Palin. Animal cruelty is not ok, and it doesn't sell.
Obama made McCain very uncomfortable on the floor of the Senate today. By saying 'hello'. Super-Presidential, John.
Warren Buffett gets GE shares at good rates. $3 billion worth.
Bernie Sanders rails against the bailout.
Phones are still ringing off the hook.
Auto numbers are falling off a cliff.
Gwen Ifill's defense is just awesome.
"I've got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I'm not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation," Ifill said. "The proof is in the pudding. They can watch the debate tomorrow night and make their own decisions about whether or not I've done my job."

Her beef is with the McCain campaign, not chatter on blogs. This is a standard Village defense, getting mad at the people instead of the Republican elites who push this crap.
I don't think Obama's running a good campaign, but McCain is really trying to lose this. Republican operative Mike Murphy blogs:
As a former general in the GOP, I get a lot of emails from various operative types around the country. Many are old comrades from the forgotten wars of old Republican statewide campaigns. Unlike the well meaning but under-experienced six month wonders who seem to populate most of the GOP campaign apparat in Washington of late, these salty old pros have years of experience out in the field actually winning campaigns for our side, especially during the Republican glory years of the 90's when we held about every Governor's office in the country worth holding, as well as the House and Senate. Most are sidelined this time. And almost to a person they are dismayed by what they see as the stunning lack of competence in the McCain operation.
McCain aspires to be a dictator! What is with these Republican creepy statements about desiring authoritarian regimes?
Sally Quinn endorses McCain.
For what it's worth, our colleague Sally Quinn said that McCain himself hasn't been a stranger on the circuit.
"I've sat next to him many times at dinner parties in Georgetown," Quinn said. "He's an absolutely delightful dinner partner."

Bill and Hillary Clinton did NOT receive the prestigious Sally Quinn endorsement. Fyi. And speaking of weird old men, check out this from Virginia Republican Senator and 1970s bad boy John Warner.
"From that beginning ... commenced the transformation of the Senate in many ways, from one lady to where today we have many," he announced. "As a matter of fact, we don't count them, because they have gotten into the full fabric of the Senate."
Warner added that although others might not notice the now fully assimilated womenfolk in the chamber, he still does. "Everybody is totally unconscious, except people like myself with a wandering eye," Warner said.

There are 16 women in the Senate, and 84 men. That's probably why Warner thinks women are fully assimilated, because there aren't very many of them.
Shadegg says he might support the bill. As the chair of the Republican Study Committee, which is known for its conservative tendencies, and by that I mean its bad faith meaningless dishonest hissyfits, this means that he'll carry water for Wall Street, as he always meant to do.
Ron Paul owns a lot of gold stocks. Don't say he never committed to being a gold bug vaguely segregationist weirdo.
Help out blogger Nate Willems, who is running for office in Iowa. Gotta back our own!

What are you reading? And what are you expecting from tonight's debate? Even though I can picture both people, I just can't imagine their interaction.

Opening the Day: Bailout Confusion as the Senate Picks Up the Ball

Matt Stoller — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:26:59 GMT

I'll have an analysis of the DeFazio-Edwards plan out in a bit. Basically, it's not so much a legislative package as it is a series of recommendations for the executive branch that can be put into a piece of legislation (with a significant change to the FDIC). It's designed so that both Republican and Democratic members can say to constituents that they voted for a solution to the crisis when they vote no on the compromise put forward in the Senate. As it stands now, what matters is the final shape of what emerges. I know there's a lot of skepticism at the removal of mark-to-market accounting, and I share it, but that can be done at both the executive or legislative level - the SEC just issued new rules 'clarifying' that firms have more latitude in valuing assets with no liquid market (ie. toxic paper).

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that this is primary a shield against the compromise bailout coming to the House on Friday, and much of it depends on the Senate today and whether House members will find the Senate version acceptable. Dean Baker thinks the bailout as it is composed still nonsense, George Soros thinks the bailout will simply signal to creditors that America is going to inflate away its debt, while Krugman wants to see it go through. If this bailout goes through (which I now think it will), Krugman's credibility is why.

ABC's new poll is out.
If elected, McCain would take office at age self, is that something with which you're entirely comfortable, somewhat comfortable, somewhat uncomfortable or entirely uncomfortable?
52-48

And the numbers have been moving the wrong way for McCain. Sam Stein has more on McCain's health issues. This has been covered up in a major way.
The Senate is moving forward on the bailout.
The text of the Senate bill is here.
Palin Bingo is being set up for the debate. And yes, she thinks dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time.
When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said "she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks."

Girls Against Sarah Palin launched.
Crisitunity has a great analysis of where the votes came from in the bailout.
One other interesting way to break this problem down is by region. Basically, the greater physical proximity you have to Wall Street (or to a lesser extent, another major metropolitan area), the likelier you were to vote for the bailout.
The South is having severe gasoline shortages that will last into mid-October. That's probably why Jim Martin is now in contention against Saxby Chambliss.
Conservatives are beginning to threaten Democratic big dollar donors with 'exposure' to their communities should they give to certain groups. Good. I'm thinking this can now be a badge of honor, if you haven't been 'exposed' by these guys you're not giving enough and you're not giving to the right groups.

Ok, the Senate is going to vote on a package, and Marc Ambinder thinks the House now has the votes. I do too. Paul Krugman is saying that "the true cost to taxpayers will probably be close to zero, and it would buy some time. But I'm not passionate about this. The real financial rescue still lies in the future, probably under the Obama administration. "

Let's hope that he's right and George Soros is wrong that this measure will "cost zero dollars". This is already a high leverage moment to push through a real bailout for the economy, which we've lost except for some tax breaks for renewable energy and an AMT fix (per the Senate version).

Opening the Day: Bailout Fiasco Helps Democrats, Obama Move into Landslide Territory

Matt Stoller — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:00:00 GMT

Today is OpenLeft's push to get Better Democrats some extra juice for the final 35 days of the election. Leadership is costly, and each of these people has chosen to exercise it by running aggressive campaigns and rejecting big money interests to favor progressive stances that benefit the country. These people will make history, since whatever crisis has been unleashed will continue to roil our country for years. These people will write the rules of a new America we are building. So give a few bucks. The goal is to reach 100 donors from our tiny corner of the universe, and I guarantee you will be proud of having supported them.

Bush is going to address the country at 7:45am ET to talk about the financial crisis. I'm not sure what President Pissypants will say, but I really am curious. He couldn't deliver his own party for a bill he wanted, so he doesn't really have much credibility with them. He doesn't have credibility with the public. In fact, the only people he seems to sway are Congressional Democrats. So it'll be interesting to see what he puts forward. Boehner's been whining about Pelosi's speech being excessively partisan (contradicted by members of his own caucus), simply because he wants to move the next bailout negotiation to the right.

I've made a few calls around the country, and what is becoming increasingly clear is that the economic tailspin is helping Democrats. I made an obvious prediction a few months ago that if the economy were doing well, Obama would have trouble, if it melted down, Obama would romp. I still think that's true, but now the Congressional races are also floating upwards on this environment of chaos. The public is demanding change and leadership, and the Democrats are the only ones answering the call, however meekly. I mean, it's just Virginia going blue, North Carolina is shifting.

Now, I am beginning to believe, possibly for the first time, that there is a remote possibility Obama could be a great progressive President. The failure of this bailout is an optimistic sign, and if he listens, or if he is forced to listen, he could be truly great.

The Palin freakshow continues, and though I haven't followed it very closely, I think it is devastating the Republican base. Palin filled up their phone banks for awhile with volunteers, but she's also part of an abysmal campaign that has Republicans throwing in the towel. Bush/Cheney webmaster and Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini is incredibly pessimistic about McCain's chances now, arguing that Obama shows a much more Presidential air and McCain is acting like an impulsive testosterone driven he-man Senator. Conservative blogger Sean Oxendine is writing McCain off and encouraging the House Republicans to go even further to the right.
You now need to claim ownership of this defeat, which is already assigned to you. The argument is simple: "We are not going to vote for the $750 BILLION in spending of taxpayer dollars for Wall Street, the one proposed by President Bush and Nancy Pelosi." You need to do the reverse of what President Clinton did -- they need to triangulate against the President and the House Democratic leadership. Neither of them is very popular, and McCain is increasingly unlikely to win. Drop them and run against them. If Pelosi brings up a bill farther to the left, 190 Republicans need to vote against it.

I think this is where the House GOP is going.
Joseph Stiglitz discusses what is needed for a better bailout. By the way, if you want economists talking about sophisticated policy ideas, you can find them if you read OpenLeft. Only, Chris, David and I tend to link to them instead of pretending that we have PhDs in finance. I will however argue that this kind of news makes Hank Paulson less credible.
Wall Street firms have shared profits liberally with employees. The five biggest -- Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns -- paid their 185,687 employees $66 billion in 2007, as problems with subprime mortgages mounted, including about $39 billion in bonuses. That amounts to average pay of $353,089 per employee, including an average bonus of $211,849.
Wall Street insider the Cunning Realist has a must read post on why this bailout failed and why it's good that it failed.
Digby argues for a progressive shock doctrine. I actually began writing about this a few months ago in the beginnings of a book project, which I shelved. She says it right.
Let's have the argument and let the American people decide. If the Democrats win it they will have a mandate for real progressive change in the middle of a crisis that demands it. If they play their cards right they'll end up neutering the failed conservative ideology for a generation, put in place some important and long neglected structural changes and mitigate the worst of this downturn at the same time. There's no reason that the Shock Doctrine can't be used for good.
The rift among insiders in the party still hasn't healed. Hillraisers aren't giving to Obama.
Only about 20 "Hillraisers," the title bestowed to the more than 300 fund-raisers who bundled together $100,000 or more in campaign contributions for Mrs. Clinton, gave to Mr. Obama for the first time in August, down from roughly 40 in July. In all, less than a third of Hillraisers have given to Mr. Obama, according to the most recent campaign finance filings.
Steve Clemons offers a somber note about our economy.
The bailout would have given the Treasury Secretary unprecedented authority to "award contracts of nearly any value without any competition" and sidestep minority hiring procedures. No one could have predicted...
The country's first cap and trade system started in the Northeast, with $40M raised for sustainble fuels.
Democracy corps shows good leads for Democratic House candidates in 40 districts.

What are you reading? And for those of you who caught Bush's speech, how was it?

Opening the Day: Why Democratic Candidates Aren't Harder Edged

Matt Stoller — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:49:35 GMT

I'm heading to the Clinton Global Initiative for a few hours before going back to DC for the debate. One thing to note is just how wankerous the Democratic leaders including Obama are being in this crisis. I'm glad McCain and the House GOP blew up this deal, and frankly, the notion that Obama is acting like an adult by wanting to give $700B to Wall Street is nauseatingly stupid. Note that Democratic leaders are all equally angry that McCain pulled out and praising Obama for being 'serious'. It's just more evidence that Obama's people represent zero change from the Democratic status quo. Even with the $700B number completely pulled out of thin air and an election in 40 days, these fuckers can't bring themselves to control their obviously showing boners at a possible bipartisan deal and let the voters make a damned decision for once. This crisis has been good for Obama's electoral chances and all the downticket Democrats, so you'd think the Democrats would play this for all its worth.

Nope. They hate politics. They hate it and wish it would just go away so they can cut a deal without those pesky voters. It's really pathetic. They also won't realize that Republicans don't agree with us on most stuff, as Sirota noted in his post yesterday. They aren't interested in solving this, they are proudly racist and selfish and want a monarchy built on those values. They need to be fought. Why do Democratic leaders keep extending a presumption of good faith to this faction of illiberalism? They don't believe in good faith, they think Democrats are evil chumps.

So watch, again, as Lucy puts the football down for Obama to kick.

This is interesting.
The pistol-packing Sarah Palin is the party's new housewife saint, a cross between Annie Oakley and Joan of Arc. If elected, she will be a heartbeat from the presidency. One of McCain's old friends in Washington told me the senator has serious but so far undisclosed ailments. Americans had better think hard about President Palin from Alaska.

A friend who works on broadway told me you don't spend $5000 on makeup without getting prosthetics in there. This is a very serious story that isn't getting attention.
McCain is still futzing around with the debate as the market tanks.
Tom Edsall reports.
The progressive wing of the House Democratic caucus reacted angrily Thursday evening to the news that Barack Obama opposes attempts to add bankruptcy reform to the Wall Street bailout bill.

Obama is backtracking on this, I hear. But we'll see.
I'm hearing there are lots of IE ads in the works, but the money's not there yet. Surprise surprise, Democratic big dollar donors are acting like the selfish narcissists that characterize the rest of the party. Republican donors wouldn't tolerate the shit Obama would force them to eat, they'd tell McCain to go fuck himself and spend the money anyway on defining his opponent and Congressional challengers. Merkley is facing $500k of Freedom's Watch money, Darcy's facing some Chamber cash, Shaheen's getting pounded, etc. With no pushback from our side. Thanks, Democracy Alliance! Great job structuring all your money to be c3 driven, I bet you saved a lot by taking tax deductions. On the other hand, having no political money lets the Republicans screw up this bailout, so you probably lost a lot more of it as the dollar and the markets tank.
Why aren't Democratic candidates being harder edged on the bailout? I learned last night that it's because a lot of their donors have money in the stock market, and a lot of them are afraid that if there's no bailout their constituents will lose jobs.
Democrats Mike Capuano an Bob Brady continue to be morons about letting House members use youtube.
Here's Gore playing armchair revolutionary.

Hey Al, why not actually work with the people willing to engage in these kinds of actions instead of throwing contracts to the Glover Park Group? Oh wait, that would require you going outside your politician comfort zone and changing your own behavior. God forbid anyone ask Gore to change his behavior, it's up to civilizations to change, not Al Gore.

Yes, I'm in a rabble rousing mood and not particularly inclined to be nice about it. As the Cunning Realist, a Wall Street guy, asks, "is the ballot box part of the solution?

Hell yes, it is. The solution starts with the voters. With us. With democracy. And it shouldn't a surprise that online, which is a democratic medium, the pushback against this piece of shit deal has been ferocious.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: Democrat Pete Stark Goes After Paulson's "irresponsible rumor mongering hogwash"

Matt Stoller — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:36:10 GMT

What I'm learning is that Republican opposition is hardening to anything but a clean bill, and the Blue Dogs are the swing bloc around this deal. As usual.

Here's a Dear Colleague letter from Congressman Pete Stark:
Dear Colleague:
Many years ago, I was the Chief Executive Officer of a retail California bank, with assets approaching a billion dollars. I feel compelled to comment on the part of our financial system upon which ninety percent of our business and individual constituents rely.
The independent community of savings banks and credit unions are safe, sound, and liquid.
Yes, they may be suffering from higher delinquencies due to local economic problems - unemployment, lower home prices, natural disasters, etc. - but that, for the majority, results in lower profits, slower growth, and higher credit standards for potential borrowers.
For those of us who believe in a market economy, those results should come as no surprise. It should also come without question that the proposed bailout will only help reckless speculators who have been caught on the wrong side of the come line.
Yesterday, a colleague said that he was worried that banks had to pay close to six percent for "Fed funds" (day loans between banks, usually available at one to two percent, to adjust cash requirements.) Well, dear colleague, Duh! Whilst one bank paid six percent, another bank earned six percent.
Another colleague attributed to Secretary Paulson a comment to the effect that absent his bailout, folks wouldn't be able to get cash at ATMs. That is irresponsible rumor mongering hogwash.
Please, friends, whatever you decide about the "bailout," (and I intend to ignore/oppose it in any of the forms suggested thus far) I ask you not to create fear and incite the public to unwarranted hysteria, which actually could hurt the economy.
Sincerely,
Pete Stark
Member of Congress
Krugman:
My sneaking suspicion is that they started with a determination to throw money at the financial industry, and everything else is just an excuse.
Inhofe says the economy is 'not really a problem.'
DFA is running an ad on McCain's health records. CNN declined the ad.
Jeb Bradley is slightly ahead of Carol Shea Porter in NH-02. This is a progressive seat, and it would be too bad to lose it, though I'm less enthralled ever since she voted for the FISA compromise.
Jeff Merkley is now leading Gordon Smith by two.
Bill Clinton continues to praise McCain. The Clinton's are obviously split; they are helping Obama, but want Obama to lose so that she can run again in 2012. People are already informally lining up behind her in case Obama loses. Pathetic.
The House approved $25 billion for carmakers. I guess we should call this the 'other bailout'.
Larry Page accuses broadcasters of manipulating the FCC.
There is massive public opposition to the bailout. People are mad.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: No Blank Check Consensus Emerges

Matt Stoller — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:23:32 GMT

Good morning. First of all, the anonymous lawmaker wants you to know that they are the author of Primary Colors and let Joe Klein take the credit. Second of all, why did they pick $700 billion as the number for the bailout? It's literally just plucked out of thin air as between a trillion and a half a trillion. Is that supposed to be reassuring or something?

Hell no on this bailout, my friends.

So now Obama and Pelosi have come out against a blank check. We're still waiting on Dodd, Schumer, Reid, and Frank. Paul Krugman explains the state of play on the substance. I think the debate right now is between members who want to say 'hell no' and members who want to put the stimulus into the bill to help the average homeowner and Wall Street. My suggestion is that Congress puts up a punitive throw everything in there bill, and let the Republicans vote it down, which they will. It is wholly irresponsible to pass a bill with Republicans playing their role right now, because the Republicans are going to use this to take power in 2009 and fuck everything up again.
Patrick Ruffini explains the corrupt Republican logic of voting against any bailout.
Republican incumbents in close races have the easiest vote of their lives coming up this week: No on the Bush-Pelosi Wall Street bailout.
God Himself couldn't have given rank-and-file Republicans a better opportunity to create political space between themselves and the Administration. That's why I want to see 40 Republican No votes in the Senate, and 150+ in the House. If a bailout is to pass, let it be with Democratic votes. Let this be the political establishment (Bush Republicans in the White House + Democrats in Congress) saddling the taxpayers with hundreds of billions in debt (more than the Iraq War, conjured up in a single weekend, and enabled by Pelosi, btw), while principled Republicans say "No" and go to the country with a stinging indictment of the majority in Congress.
This creates pressure on the "change" message. If this issue is made controversial, and Obama is not the first to make it an issue, how exactly is a Washington deal backed by Bush's Treasury Secretary "change?"
But for this to be actionable, it has to be controversial. So this can't be a few lonely voices like Coburn and DeMint. It needs to be the bulk of the Republican conference. In an ideal world, McCain opposes this because of all the Democratic add-ons and shows up to vote Nay while Obama punts.

Remember, modern Republicans are bad people who don't care whether the financial system melts down. They are a cancer that needs to be destroyed or else they will destroy our democracy using mechanisms like this to do it.
Goldman and Morgan Stanley are now banks.
The plan is now to sell everything to the Treasury!
Matthew Yglesias mocks the crisis demands of Paulson. Explain to me again why this guy is respected?
Someone was passing these out at the convention. Maybe it's time to bring this one back.

As per a longtime prediction, the economy is the determining factor in this election. North Carolina is the state that the Democrats are trying to steal.
I've already talked about progressive Democrat Josh Zeitz in NJ-04 running against hard right reactionary Chris Smith, with labor (teachers and SEIU) endorsing Smith. According to James Kirchick or the New Republic, it turns out Smith has pretty deep ties to anti-gay and vaguely white supremacist groups. Way to go SEIU/NEA! I have more here and here.
I don't expect Obama to do that well against McCain in the debates. McCain outperformed him at Saddleback.
Incidentally, the bill leaked out at Calculated Risk, which led to the organizing and discussion online. This is a good thing and prevented the Bush Treasury from jamming through the bill without obvious complicity from Democratic leaders. Go to PublicMarkup.org and add your thoughts on institutional transparency. It would be a good thing if Congress posted its bills online before voting on them for 72 hours, and would allow for real public input prior to the vote. At the same time, it would also change the negotiating leverage for Congressional leaders, and allow them to push against well-capitalized interests by pointing out that public rage is something they now have to consider in what bills are proposed.
The American Psychological Association narrowly voted to disallow its members from participating in military torture.
Blogger Nate Willems is running for Iowa state house. If you're around there, get involved. And his picture on the web site is adorable.
Here are two guys making out in the background during a CNN report on Lehman brothers.
Rick Davis was paid $2 million to block financial regulation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

What are you reading?

Opening the Day: The US Government Nationalizes Our Financial Industry

Matt Stoller — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:01:11 GMT

The Dow is down 224 points as I'm writing this. The joke I keep hearing from friends is 'lend me $85B, I'm having a liquidity problem, I'll get you back next week'. My friends aren't that funny, but they do pay attention to the news.

McCain struggles when the issue is the economy.
Democrat Paul Kanjorski is in trouble. He's pretty much the only likely incumbent loss we have right now (counter-evidence is here).
The government now owns 80% of AIG with an $85B loan. I saw the former Chairman Hank Greenberg on CNBC talk about how AIG is a 'national treasurer' and it's in 'our national interest' to keep the company in existence. Um, ok.
Paul Krugman says that our slow motion meltdown is not getting better.
Drudge is giving McCain more favorable coverage and knocking Obama more over the past month, according to self-described 'Drudge-ologist' Chris Cilizza.
The House voted to lift the ban on offshore drilling.
Catholics United is out with this ad hitting McCain for not being pro-life.
Barney Frank is upset with the Wall Street Journal editorial board for its intellectual dishonesty. Surprising.
Billy the Straight Talk Bus Driver has a message.
I do love journalist sycophants.

Why does CNN keep telling me to sign up for their twitter feed? Sign up for my Twitter feed!

What are you reading?