2/28/2005
“Where you goin’?”
by Matt Singer on 5:31 pm.
Ezra takes a look Lieberman’s motivation to buck the party. Ezra has a point. In a party increasingly dominated by the netroots, Lieberman will not be comfortable any time soon:
Lieberman found himself ignominiously rejected during the 2004 primaries, basically ignored during the election, branded a traitor during the Gonzales vote, and then viewed as an enemy on Social Security.Of course, there is one reason left for him to not bolt the party on this issue. And that’s because Bush is advancing a bad proposal. That said, this puts the netroots in a real weird position, because it is instructive to know that cracking the whip too often only causes people to rebel. No big surprise there.
What is interesting is that I don’t get the feeling that Lieberman has been targeted by the people who may be termed the blogerati. Kos has repeatedly defended Lieberman as a Democrat. I know I did. Ezra probably has. We’ve occasionally chided, but a lot of elected officials have been chided. The noise about running someone against him came from other quarters as far as I know.
That said, if blogosphere leaders are unable to promote the right level of whip-cracking, what happens when the netroots start demanding 100% adherence to the “progressive” view on litmus test issues. Such an issue is the problem with increasing the power of the grassroots without much of a thought of how to win middle America.
Still, it’s hard to believe that the netroots will screw up more than Hollywood when it comes to influencing the party in a heavy-handed, ignorant manner.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: democrats, political |
The Latest E-Brief: Fact-Impaired and a former Governor in the Secretary of State’s Office
by Matt Singer on 5:17 pm.
In one of the stranger turn of events in recent history, former Governor Judy Martz has apparently joined the team in the office of Secretary of State Brad Johnson. Now, this is bizarre for a handful of reasons. Johnson ran in a primary against Todd O’Hair, Martz’s natural resource advisor. In that campaign, Johnson blasted O’Hair for being too close to Judy Martz and said that with that baggage, he would be unable to get elected.
And Martz herself chose not to run for reelection. I am having trouble even finding the boilerplate explanation she used, but I’m guessing it had something about more time with family. She also expressed interest in joining the conservative lecture circuit. That, apparently, hasn’t happened in any meaningful way.
Let’s just say that it is bizarre when a former Governor has to work part-time in the Secretary of State’s office.
As for the fact impairment in the E-Brief, it’d be this paragraph:
“You’re not welcome here,†remarked British Columbia legislator Bill Bennett to Senator Max Baucus last week during a meeting in Fernie, British Columbia. Bennett’s applause-inducing riposte came in response to the lecturing tone that Baucus set during the meeting. “I wouldn’t dream of coming to Montana to tell you how to manage your natural resources,†Bennett said.As news reports make clear, Bennett’s words came at the beginning and the reporter’s impression (I know, it is the liberal media, but somehow, I doubt the Montana Republican Party was in attendance) was quite different:
By day’s end, however, Baucus appeared to have outlasted his critics and achieved much of what he came for – namely the beginnings of a transboundary coalition that would serve as an information conduit between the two countries.The Republican Party would be wise to remember how important preserving water quality has become to a sizeable number of professionals in the Flathead. A traditional GOP constituency, they backed a Democrat for County Commission and won. Democrats also added one house seat and one senate seat in the Flathead. If Flatheaders think the GOP is selling out their water supply, they’ll probably continue to vote that way.
Word to the wise: anti-water is not a popular position.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: gop e-brief watch, ideologues, montucky, republicans |
Kemmick Chimes in on GannonGate
by Matt Singer on 10:30 am.
Ed Kemmick is not impressed:
If anything analogous to this had happened during Clinton’s term in office, it would have been 24-hour-a-day fodder on talk radio, Fox and all the other members of the chorus. But this story has been, as far as I can tell, traveling mostly under the radar, as if it mattered only to people in Washington.Kemmick also lifts some good stuff from a Knight Ridder story.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: corrupt, political, republicans |
Lebanese Prime Minister Resigns
by Matt Singer on 10:09 am.
Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami announced the resignation of his pro-Syrian government Monday, two weeks after the assassination of his predecessor, Rafik Hariri, triggered protests in the streets and calls for Syria to withdraw thousands of troops.Update – More at Juan Cole and Caveman in Beirut,
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: foreign, policy |
Lebanese Prime Minister Resigns
by Matt Singer on 10:09 am.
Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami announced the resignation of his pro-Syrian government Monday, two weeks after the assassination of his predecessor, Rafik Hariri, triggered protests in the streets and calls for Syria to withdraw thousands of troops.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: foreign, iran, policy |
Schism (Part 2): Aha, I do know more than Matt Y about something!
by Matt Singer on 8:01 am.
Matthew Yglesias shows his ignorance of the West:
Robert Farley has an idea: “My favorite option would be to cut both Oregon and Washington in half, call the west half (now having Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Vancouver, Portland, Salem, and Eugene) Cascadia, and the other half (with metropolitan areas like Spokane and Pendleton) Idaho II: Revenge of the Rednecks.” Technically, though, Vancouver isn’t located in Oregon or Washington. There’s also the small matter of the U.S. Senate to consider. Nevertheless, a tempting joke. (Some emphasis added.)Incorrect. Vancouver, WA, is very much in Washington (although it is nearly in Oregon). Vancouver, BC, is not.
As for Eastern Washington being Idaho II, that seems a bit extreme to me (although Eastern Oregon does have that reputation in my mind). Maybe it’s just because of my time in Walla Walla, which is not representative of those areas (or maybe it is specifically Whitman College that is not representative) or maybe it is my fear that C. Etzel Pearcy’s map will be adopted (hat tip, littleboy) and Missoula and Butte will be severed from the rest of the Democratic outposts in Montana and thrown in with Idaho and Eastern Washington and Oregon to form a new state named Bitterroot that would be oh so beautiful, but full of wingnuts. Please, if we start redrawing, do not let this happen to me.
I beg of you.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: general |
Oh, my God
by Matt Singer on 7:53 am.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: general |
2/27/2005
Schism: Spokanada in the Sagebrush? (Part One)
by Matt Singer on 12:03 pm.
The New West Network, a new blogging (and eventually print) media enterprise based out of Missoula, has officially launched. I encourage readers to check it out.
Yesterday, Courtney Lowery had a brief piece on Eastern Washington efforts to break off a 51st state with Eastern and Central Washington separated from the Western, urban portion of the state. Such a move would have huge impacts on the region and it is one that theorists of the West have been pondering for some time.
I, however, am late for lunch so I shall have to write more on it later. Unfortunately, Western Democrat appears to have no comment on the suggestion. How disappointing.
| Comments (4) | Permanent Link | Categories: policy |
You know you’re lame when…
by Matt Singer on 11:47 am.
someone who plays online scrabble describes his inability to take you seriously.
| Comments (0) | Permanent Link | Categories: general |
2/26/2005
What’s the Matter with Kansas? Nothing Montana Can’t Fix
by Matt Singer on 4:17 pm.
Shakespeare’s Sister, giving the ever lazy Ezra Klein a weekend vacation, is concerned about the actions of Kansas’s AG, who is trying to subpoena medical records related to late-term abortions. Problematic is that I don’t even think “late-term” is the correct term, since Kansas prohibits abortions after the 22nd week. The AG is actually investigating so-called “partial birth” abortions, which the anti-abortion community likes to confuse with late-term so as to create an impression of a fully formed child birthed and killed, which simply isn’t happening.
Most problematic, though, as Sister (can I call her simply Sister?) identifies is the AG’s reasoning, which is to discover child abuse and statutory rape.
The first problem (and there’s always a problem with the intentions of these folks, isn’t there?) is that invading the privacy of rape victims, statutory or otherwise, is in direct contradiction to the facilitation of an atmosphere where rape victims feel safe to identify their accusers.Within the past 3-4 years, I’ve had the unfortunate responsibility of discussing personal rape experiences with a number of friends and acquaintances. None of them (to the best of my knowledge) chose to prosecute. Many are afraid simply of the medical responses to rape (the rape kits and examinations are often considered traumatic experiences). What is needed to actually stop rape in this country is a more accessible medical and legal system for victims.
State Rep. Dave McAlpin (D-Missoula) is carrying legislation to fund rape kits and examinations and to hold the evidence with a “Jane Doe” option for thirty days so that victims have time (more than the current 48-72 hour window) to decide whether to prosecutre. Funding the kits (which are kind of cheap) and the examinations (which can be very expensive) removes another barrier to catching criminals. Thankfully, the bill is currently getting broad bipartisan support and moved out of committee with unanimous support.
And, let me just say that while I’m on the topic, people should take note of Rep. Kevin Furey’s Minor in Possession legislation. A young woman was raped while drunk at a party last year in Lake County. When she reported the rape (and her own drunken state), she was issued a citation for Minor in Possession, providing yet another concern for young women who want to come forward. Virtually anyone who partied in college also knows about people who either got beat up or needed medical attention while illegally intoxicated. This bill would protect these people from getting cited based on statements they make while seeking medical attention or reporting sexual crimes. It would also protect friends helping them out.
It’s good legislation and I hope it gets modeled elsewhere.
| Comments (4) | Permanent Link | Categories: general |
Socialism, Progressivism, and Hayek
by Matt Singer on 3:54 pm.
Ezra Klein defended government intervention into markets as a way of reducing risk to increase entrepeneurship and got criticized for not providing a full enough defense of his argument. I joined in, arguing, as we progressives do, that government interventions can create positive benefits.
Now this has been criticized as socialism, which makes it worth noting that most American progressives are not socialists and do not aspire to socialism. The arguments that I have set forth (and that I believe were set forth by Ezra) did not necessarily call for government planning as the solution to problems. In some cases, we clearly do support all-out government intervention. In other arenas, like health insurance, I favor a move from one social contract to another, with the new one including no sizeable increase in government intervention in the health insurance market.
Let me say that I really do this fallback on Hayek repeatedly to be a problem with many conservative critiques of liberal thought. Hayek has some extremely strong arguments. In fact, I’ve relied on them for my own critique of neo-conservatives in the past. But one cannot simply yell Hayek any time progressivism rears its pretty head.
Why not? The fact is that a call for tax credits to individuals rather than companies for health insurance really is not an increase in government planning or government intervention. It’s a wise move. Mike, the commenter who raised these arguments himself, acknowledges that the rule of law is critical to societies.
The rule of law is part of the social contract that forms the foundation of the social engineering of society. Social engineering is often seen as a negative term, but really it shouldn’t be. What the government should aim to do is create an environment in which people are raised smart enough and free enough to seek out their own happiness. Public education (while allowing for private and home-based alternatives) is a perfect example of this balance.
And requiring catastrophic health insurance (with a possible exception for those who object to medicine on religious grounds) while allowing people to choose their plan from a private insurer is another good example of finding the balance.
Regardless, I haven’t read The Road to Serfdom so it would be unfair of me to ascribe to Hayek the argument that Mike does — that Nazism was a result of socialist predecessors. The factors leading to the rise of the Third Reich are far more complicated than that. And numerous socialist governments have existed (Sweden and England come to mind) that have not moved into totalitarianism. By the arguments of those American conservatives who most often cite Hayek, one would think that America, too, should clearly be headed for totalitarianism.
If we are on that dark road, I think it is clear that it is not a result of America’s liberal party.
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2/25/2005
Big Box Store Tax
by Matt Singer on 3:53 pm.
Mr. Klein has questions. We’ve got answers. Senator Toole’s proposed tax bill (you can check its status on that page) is a rather innovative idea. As to its chances, I am honestly unsure. A similar move was afoot a couple years ago to impose the tax. If I remember correctly, the argument that Sen. Toole makes is that Wal-Mart has a national price menu and that menu doesn’t seem to correlate at all to local tax/rent conditions. In other words, the costs of adjusting their price menu is high enough that they’re better off just setting it nationally.
That means Montana can impose a tax and not even have to pay for it. But it also means that Wal-Mart will be forced to pay part of the costs they impose on the state. Additionally, since it is a statewide movement, it undermines Wal-Mart’s ability to simply pack up and move to a nearby city (even Montana’s “border”/shopping cities of Billings, Miles City, Missoula, Butte, and Kalispell, etc., tend to be 60-100 miles from the neighboring state). Additionally, since it is a gross receipts tax, no one sees the tax on their receipts, meaning it should have relatively low impact on those mass crowds of Wyomingites and Idahoans who come across the border into no sales tax territory.
That said, what are its chances? Who knows. It is a fairly progressive idea and the House is still split 50/50. And the Republicans will probably be ready with a nasty “anti-business” mailer for Dems in close races who vote for it. On the other hand, labor has a pretty good grip in each party in this state.
We’ll see. Like I said, you can track its progress here.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: economic, health care, montucky, policy, political, taxes |
Bizarro World
by Matt Singer on 9:38 am.
The US Drug Czar paid Montana a visit last fall to convince us that medicinal marijuana was not a good idea. He was so successful that we adopted that particular ballot issue by the largest margin of any medicinal marijuana ballot issue in history.
Unfortunately for the Drug Czar, he did not file with the Commissioner of Political Practices. The Marijuana Policy Project has now filed a complaint against the Czar’s office accusing them of spending money to promote or oppose a ballot issue without disclosing it, which violates Montana law.
The Drug Czar’s response?
Jennifer Devallance, press secretary for the drug czar’s office, declined Thursday to comment on the legal issues raised in the complaint. But she said Fox’s organization wants to use it “as a chilling effect to prevent people from speaking out against the dangers of marijuana.”Now, apparently there is a 19th century Supreme Court ruling that says “federal officials are immune from state action when exercising the functions of their offices” that caused Nevada to decide they couldn’t take action against the federal bureaucracy, but since when is expecting compliance with state campaign finance laws to much to ask of the federal government? The rest of us have to do it. Surely, the government doesn’t have stronger First Amendment protections than typical citizens.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: montana, political |
2/24/2005
Wireless is Back
by Matt Singer on 9:34 pm.
I have a wireless card again. Thank heavens. Back on my lovely laptop with Firefox.
Update (2/25/05 9:15 AM) – That didn’t last long. I rebooted my computer and it appears that the third-rate wireless card I picked up on E-Bay is forked. Not only that, but it is messing with my whole laptop — not my intended outcome.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: general |
Reducing Risk as a Primary Source of Economic Development
by Matt Singer on 5:02 pm.
Dave Justus, in comments on Ezra Klein’s blog, makes the powerful economic argument that in order for a program to be a worthwhile expenditure, it must be more beneficial/efficient than the next best use of funds. In the real world, our test is actually that we find the evidence to show that such a situation will result, since perfect information is illusory.
Regardless, he’s basically introduced us to the concept of opportunity cost. Hooray!
Now, back on his own blog, he presents a more complete argument against the implementation of universal health care, social security, or universal day care. Klein had suggested such programs on the basis that their existence liberates America’s workers to move jobs, start their own businesses, and take other actions that may be too dangerous for fear of losing certain benefits, like health insurance (or being forced to pay ridiculous COBRA-rates for health insurance).
| Comments (6) | Permanent Link | Categories: economic, policy |
Reaping as they Sow
by Matt Singer on 1:15 pm.
Bush is still seeking his one Democrat.It seems Rove went too far. In his attempts to create a one-party state, he’s eliminated every Democrat willing to cross the aisle, to compromise, and to otherwise muck up the Democratic strategy. He’s created a hardened, resolved Democratic Party that would otherwise still be in the minority, but not in the opposition.
His mistake, but it was bound to happen based on the way they governed. The Republican Party valued partisan purity over any policy goals, which meant that eliminating members of the opposition from swing states who compromise became a top political goal. This is a perfectly understandable stance while in the minority and seeking to rebuild a majority. Once one has the majority, a wise ruler seeks merely to maintain control, not to necessarily continue expanding power.
Rove is not wise. And now, thank heavens, it is biting him in the ass.
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: overreach, political, republicans |
The Honorable Student
by Matt Singer on 8:55 am.
My latest article is up at CampusProgress.org. To tell you the truth, I’m a bit confused by the headline, but that’s out of my hands.
The article looks at two freshman legislators in Montana who are also 22-year-old college students.
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2/23/2005
“National” Forests: The Future of Environmental Politics in the West
by Matt Singer on 10:18 pm.
This morning, the Montana Kaimin ran an editorial from a writer concerned about the imminent closing a lumber mill in Eureka, MT, which I can only assume is the writer’s hometown. This afternoon, my roommate received a phone call from one of the “zero cut” outfits here in town trying to convince him to travel to a salvage logging area for environmental review and I watched him decline, frustrated with people who don’t understand that forests “grow back.” This evening, I finished reading Daniel Kemmis’s This Sovereign Land. Kemmis is the Director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West and a former Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives.
Kemmis is also a political philosopher and might even be adequately described as a theorist of the West. A large portion of his argument in The Sovereign Land is tied into the inadequacy of the federal government generally and the BLM and Forest Service as caretakers of western lands.
| Comments (3) | Permanent Link | Categories: montucky, policy, political, scientism |
Compromising on Retirement Age
by Matt Singer on 12:42 pm.
Matthew Yglesias says raising the retirement age should not be off the table. Or, at least, that it shouldn’t be off the table as long as the President’s BS privatization scheme disappears.
He’s responding to Kevin Drum who was objecting to a Saletan column. Now, frankly, I think that what we should be doing is tying any reduction or delay in benefits to true shortfalls in the Social Security system. Hell, we should even tie any increase in the Social Security payroll tax cap (or maybe, we could eliminate the cap, reduce the rate, and then tie increases in the rate to true shortfalls in the Social Security system).
By all historic indications, the government’s actuaries have grossly underestimated Social Security’s solvency. If they’re doing that again, it is quite possible that there is not just no crisis, but that the entire potential problem is a giant numerical mistake. If that’s the case, why should we cut benefits or increase taxes?
| Comments (3) | Permanent Link | Categories: policy, social security |
Doing the Dirty Work of Wall Street
by Matt Singer on 10:24 am.
The Campaign for America’s Future just blasted an email outlining how Rep. Jim McCrery, the President’s point-man on Social Security privatization in the House of Representatives, accepted nearly $200,000 from Wall Street firms poised to benefit if the President’s forced savings “impersonal” accounts were to be adopted.
Ain’t it nice to have representatives doing the dirty work of big business?
| Comments (1) | Permanent Link | Categories: policy, social security |
