Bret Stephens
John Fortier
"So Bobby Jindal makes fun of “volcano monitoring”, and soon afterwards Mt. Redoubt erupts. Susan Collins makes sure that funds for pandemic protection are stripped from the stimulus bill, and the swine quickly attack.
What else did the right oppose recently? I just want enough information to take cover..." - Paul Krugman
A deal was reached this morning that may save Chrysler from going bankrupt. It involves the creditors writing down its debt by almost $5 billion, and entering into an agreement with its workers, yet to be ratified by the unions. This is pretty historic if it happens, because the auto workers would own 55% of the company, with Fiat owning 35%. Reported by the Washington Post: "The carmaker had owed a fractious group of 45 banks, hedge funds and other firms about $6.9 billion. These creditors have agreed to write down the debt to $2 billion.
The two sides had been far apart in the negotiations, leaving Treasury officials little choice but to prepare a bankruptcy filing. Indeed, one government official said last week that it would take a "miracle" for a deal to be worked out. But the lenders realized that they would have received far less in a bankruptcy and ceded to government demands.
Chrysler also reached a deal over the weekend with the United Auto Workers, in which the union would own a majority stake in the automaker.
A source familiar with the matter said if the restructuring of the storied American automaker is completed according to the tentative deal, the union would have a 55 percent stake in the company, the Italian automaker Fiat would eventually hold a 35 percent stake, and the government and Chrysler's lenders would share a 10 percent stake in the company. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly on the talks." The Pontiac division will be gone, as well as the best-selling PT Cruiser. Now, if only I could get my mortgage written down by my creditor...
Oh hey look at that—Citigroup and Bank of America need more money. Reuters reports: " U.S. regulators have told Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc they may need to raise more capital following stress testing of the two banks.” The shortfall at Bank of America, according to people familiar with the situation, is billions of dollars, and it is expected that some of the other 17 banks that underwent stress tests will need more capital. Officials at Citi and BofA are objecting to the findings and plan to reply with detailed rebuttals."
The Washington Times has an article on Rush Limbaugh upsetting gun owners across America: "Rush Limbaugh's new pet project -- fighting animal cruelty for the Humane Society of the United States -- is riling sportsmen from coast to coast, prompting fears that the talkster typically supportive of gun rights is aiding a group they say has a secret agenda to end all hunting in America.
Twenty-eight groups representing millions of hunters and sportsmen are demanding that the conservative radio commentator end his collaboration with the HSUS and stop "helping them to mainstream their image in the minds of reasonable people." Gosh, you just can't please everybody in this day and age...
The two sides had been far apart in the negotiations, leaving Treasury officials little choice but to prepare a bankruptcy filing. Indeed, one government official said last week that it would take a "miracle" for a deal to be worked out. But the lenders realized that they would have received far less in a bankruptcy and ceded to government demands.
Chrysler also reached a deal over the weekend with the United Auto Workers, in which the union would own a majority stake in the automaker.
A source familiar with the matter said if the restructuring of the storied American automaker is completed according to the tentative deal, the union would have a 55 percent stake in the company, the Italian automaker Fiat would eventually hold a 35 percent stake, and the government and Chrysler's lenders would share a 10 percent stake in the company. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly on the talks." The Pontiac division will be gone, as well as the best-selling PT Cruiser. Now, if only I could get my mortgage written down by my creditor...
Oh hey look at that—Citigroup and Bank of America need more money. Reuters reports: " U.S. regulators have told Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc they may need to raise more capital following stress testing of the two banks.” The shortfall at Bank of America, according to people familiar with the situation, is billions of dollars, and it is expected that some of the other 17 banks that underwent stress tests will need more capital. Officials at Citi and BofA are objecting to the findings and plan to reply with detailed rebuttals."
The Washington Times has an article on Rush Limbaugh upsetting gun owners across America: "Rush Limbaugh's new pet project -- fighting animal cruelty for the Humane Society of the United States -- is riling sportsmen from coast to coast, prompting fears that the talkster typically supportive of gun rights is aiding a group they say has a secret agenda to end all hunting in America.
Twenty-eight groups representing millions of hunters and sportsmen are demanding that the conservative radio commentator end his collaboration with the HSUS and stop "helping them to mainstream their image in the minds of reasonable people." Gosh, you just can't please everybody in this day and age...
Maybe better news today for GOP lovers. No longer will they be seen as the way David Roberts portrays them in the Huffington Post: ""They are increasingly beholden to the hardcore, angry-white-man demographic, which is getting increasingly insular and wingnutty, screaming about socialism and handshakes with Chavez and one-world currency. Republicans in Congress have decided on a program of total obstruction.
"This shrinking minority and its representatives in Congress are unreachable and unreasonable. They speak only to one another and their shared mythology of victimization and looming threat is increasingly baroque and opaque to those outside. They are shrinking into themselves, drifting into the wilderness, becoming more and more cultish. There is, in short, no reason to pay much attention to them." Sigh, I could go on like that all day...
"This shrinking minority and its representatives in Congress are unreachable and unreasonable. They speak only to one another and their shared mythology of victimization and looming threat is increasingly baroque and opaque to those outside. They are shrinking into themselves, drifting into the wilderness, becoming more and more cultish. There is, in short, no reason to pay much attention to them." Sigh, I could go on like that all day...
But, as I said, things are looking up, as CQ Politics reports : "...if there is a silver lining for Michael Steele in the GOP’s special election loss in upstate New York, it could be that the new head of the Republican National Committee is finally taking more flak from Democrats than fellow Republicans.
Steele’s three-month tenure as the GOP’s first African American chairman has been marked by intraparty sniping, back-biting and hand-wringing, all of which have contributed to raising Steele’s profile beyond heights attained by most of his predecessors...
Republicans showed no interest in playing the blame game in the wake of Democrat Scott Murphy’s razor-thin victory over Republican Jim Tedisco in the New York race where second-term Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand left open the 20th District when she was appointed to fill the Senate spot of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton . That left it to the Democrats to pummel Steele."
And the Democrats aren't mining just for Steele, but also for our poor mad housewife, Michele.
From Politico: "Democrats just can’t get enough of Rep. Michele Bachmann, the always controversial, always quotable Minnesota Republican.
In fact, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has built a website — www.bachmannwatch.com — devoted entirely to Bachmann’s rhetoric, slamming what they believe are overstatements or exaggerations about everything from ACORN to the stimulus.
“The same woman who once said Congress should be investigated for those with anti-American leanings and once argued that she couldn’t support the economic recovery act because America was ‘running out of rich people,’” the site blares.
But if the DCCC couldn’t knock off Bachmann in the wildly successful Democratic congressional campaign of 2008, it may have a tough time in 2010. Bachmann’s office seems more amused than upset about the attention.
“When you can’t defend your policies and you’re so far out of touch with the American people, I guess there’s nothing more you can do than nitpick your opposition,” said Bachmann spokesman Dave Dziok." Amen to that, brother Dave.
Finally, fed up with truly weird policies, like Karl Rove and Dick Cheney thinking that supporting torture is a good pick me up for Republicans, and the bad history from Newt, Ed Gillespie has decided to roll up his sleeves and actually create something helpful for Republicans running for office. Politico also reports: "Ed Gillespie, the former GOP chairman and counselor to President George W. Bush, and top pollster Whit Ayres on Tuesday are launching Resurgent Republic, a group aimed at shaping the debate as the party regenerates itself for the upcoming elections.
Resurgent Republic plans to offer itself as a resource for policymakers and congressional leaders and will conduct focus groups and polling, and plans to hold at least one forum this year.
Think of it as a Republican version of Democracy Corps. “The Republican Party has been declared dead at least three times already in my lifetime — in 1964 after Goldwater lost in a landslide, in 1974 after Watergate and in 1992 after Clinton won with a Democratic House and Senate,” Gillespie said.
“In every case, we came back, and that will be the same in this fourth instance. But we have real challenges as a party, and we need to be thoughtful in addressing them. The most important thing we have going for us is that our center-right philosophy is in sync with where most Americans tend to be also. Making sure people understand how that philosophy translates into policies that translate into improvements in the day-to-day lives of families and workers is where we have to put our focus.” Right now it's a shell of a web site, but I will provide a link in my blogroll when they begin posting useful information.
Resurgent Republic plans to offer itself as a resource for policymakers and congressional leaders and will conduct focus groups and polling, and plans to hold at least one forum this year.
Think of it as a Republican version of Democracy Corps. “The Republican Party has been declared dead at least three times already in my lifetime — in 1964 after Goldwater lost in a landslide, in 1974 after Watergate and in 1992 after Clinton won with a Democratic House and Senate,” Gillespie said.
“In every case, we came back, and that will be the same in this fourth instance. But we have real challenges as a party, and we need to be thoughtful in addressing them. The most important thing we have going for us is that our center-right philosophy is in sync with where most Americans tend to be also. Making sure people understand how that philosophy translates into policies that translate into improvements in the day-to-day lives of families and workers is where we have to put our focus.” Right now it's a shell of a web site, but I will provide a link in my blogroll when they begin posting useful information.
Some vintage late night jokes on the Republican convention, from 2004:
"Tonight at the Republican National Convention, in what was called the biggest speach of his career, President Bush took on his enemy, the English language." --Jay Leno
"Now that Bush has accepted the nomination the next step, of course, is the rigging of the voting machines." --David Letterman
"Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a terrific speech last night. See, that's where the Republicans are really smart. They don't want to portray themselves as the right-wing party so they bring in an actor to play the moderate." --Jay Leno
"Republicans went from Arnold Schwarzenegger last night to Dick Cheney tonight. It's like, Arnold's like the picture in the dating service ad, and Dick's the guy who shows up." --Jay Leno
"Protesters made it inside the Republican convention and started taking off their clothes. Republicans said it could have been worse, one of the naked protesters could have been Michael Moore." --Conan O'Brien
"Word now is circulating that Republicans are not tipping the hotel staff where they stay. And I'm thinking, Come on folks! Why not spread some of that Halliburton loot around?" --David Letterman
"Earlier this week the Republican party held a reception for black Republicans. Apparently the receptions was a big success. They both showed up." --Conan O'Brien
"You probably know it's been crazy here in New York City with the convention. We have had naked people in the streets. We have had all-night parties, arrests. And that's just the Bush twins." --David Letterman
"The Republicans are in town this week. Don't worry, they will only be here until we are capable of self rule." --David Letterman
"Over 800,000 New Yorkers left during the convention. Boy, Bush really knows how to clear a room, doesn't he? 800,000 people leave town because of the Republican convention. They raise the terror alert in New York to elevated, no New Yorkers leave. A threat by al Qaeda to destroy our financial institution, New Yorkers stand firm. Republicans come to town it's like, Get out of here." --Jay Leno
"Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke tonight at the convention. At first they were planning on having Arnold speak on the same night as President Bush but, then they realized, oh no, the convention interpreter's head would have exploded." --Jay Leno
"The Republican Convention goes on all week, and of course, the highlight will be toward the end of the week. George Bush will show up for one day, you know, just like he did in the National Guard." --David Letterman
"You folks excited about the Republican convention? Well here's good news, Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge has declared New York City is safe. Of course, that's based on 4-year-old intelligence." —David Letterman
"If you are planning on going to the convention, even if you are a delegate, you're going to get frisked, you're going to get patted down, you're going to get groped, and that's just by Arnold Schwarzenegger." --David Letterman
"Now that the Democratic convention is over, the Republicans are getting ready for theirs. Their slogan for Bush: Four more wars, four more wars!" —Jay Leno
"How many of you folks watched the Democratic convention? It's over and now the Republicans have just one month to become ethnically diverse." —David Letterman
"At the convention John Kerry showed up with all his Vietnam crewmates. And not to be outdone, next month at the Republican Convention George W. Bush is going to show up with all his college drinking buddies." —David Letterman
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