DAYLEE PICTURE: A Cassowary in northeast Queensland in Australia. From National Geographic.
"The fact that China has so far avoided the unrest and uncertainty plaguing so many other countries these days is good news for those who depend on China’s strength for the stability of their own economies, but it is bad news for those who hope that China’s leaders will soon begin to adopt new attitudes toward global politics and market-driven capitalism."
First Thoughts: A Tale of Two Problems (Chuck Todd et al.) from MSNBC
"What has been the more significant disaster -- the problems associated with the federal Obamacare website, or the state of the Republican Party after the shutdown? There is one important difference between the two stories. While the Obama administration is throwing every resource to fix its website issue, is anyone inside the GOP trying to prevent an all-out ideological civil war from breaking out? In fact, it seems to be just the opposite: Gas is being thrown on the internal GOP fire."
I had noticed the same thing. Where is the "Reagan 11th Commandment" caucus within the GOP, the one that says, "Thou shall not criticize fellow Republicans"? Answer: it's gone! The factions within the GOP each now see that they can no longer paper over their differences and make nice. Increasingly, they are coming to hate each other as much as they despise Obama and the Dems, if not more so because the sense of personal betrayal is deeper (ask Mitch McConnell). We're passed the "Lincoln wins the election" stage -- Fort Sumpter is still to come. My guess is that right now, people are either choosing sides, or feeling tremendous pressure to take sides. Where do you see this? Everywhere. Within the state GOP party organizations, from fundamental lobbying groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and the National Manufacturers Association, from large donors, PACs, and conservative think tanks, from conservative media (with FOX News moving away from the Tea Party and talk radio pundits moving towards them), from traditional foreign policy and national security groups (such as neo-cons and pro-defense hawks verses the growing isolationist/libertarian/budget nihilist faction), and from the ranks of cultural warriors where gay marriage, pot legalization, and immigration reform are issues throwing sand in the GOP machine in virtually every state.
Web Sites and Grave Sites (Charles Blow) from the New York Times
"Republicans are demanding an immediate fix to something they want to break. ... The only problem for Republicans is that a technical issue isn’t likely to have legs. Yes, it’s embarrassing. Yes, it’s frustrating. Yes, it’s an unforced error. But it’s also fixable, and in the grand scheme of things, a malfunctioning Web site is more understandable and less consequential than a malfunctioning political party."
Don’t Give Up on the Uninsured (E.J. Dionne Jr.) from the Washington Post
"Obamacare is working. True, that sentence comes with a large asterisk. It is working in states that have followed the essential design of the Affordable Care Act, particularly in Kentucky, Connecticut, Washington and California. The law was written with states’ rights and state responsibilities in mind. States that created their own health-care exchanges — and especially those that did this while also expanding Medicaid coverage — are providing insurance to tens of thousands of happy customers, in many cases for the first time."
When Obamacare Works It Will Be "Politically Untouchable" (Bob Shrum) from MSNBC via Real Clear Politics
"... after it gets fixed, the volume of calls and of people trying to log into this tells you that people want this health insurance, they're going to get this health insurance. It’s going to become ultimately politically untouchable and the real people who are afraid are the Republicans. They’re afraid of when that happens."
No Country for Old Moderates (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"It’s not ‘moderates’ vs. ‘conservatives. The two opposing Republican sides, if they really are opposing, are ‘radical’ and ‘conservative.’ And only one side is fighting. The other is rolling over."
The Cry of the True Republican (John Taft) from the New York Times
"Throughout my family’s more than 170-year legacy of public service, Republicans have represented the voice of fiscal conservatism. Republicans have been the adults in the room. Yet somehow the current generation of party activists has managed to do what no previous Republicans have been able to do — position the Democratic Party as the agents of fiscal responsibility."
Fiscal Crisis Sounds the Charge in G.O.P.’s ‘Civil War’ from the New York Times
"Though the election and re-election of Mr. Obama may have radicalized many conservatives, the base’s fury has its roots in the two terms of his predecessor, Mr. Bush, whose expansion of Medicare, proposed immigration overhaul and 2008 bank bailout left many conservatives distraught."
Inside the Messy but Moneyed Republican Plan to Neutralize the Tea Party from the National Journal
"The business-friendly GOP establishment is putting its cash to work in skirmishes across the country that might reshape the 2014 elections."
The Second Coming of Reagan Isn't Going to Save the GOP: It's Time to Come Up with a Better Plan (Matt K. Lewis) from The Week
"Today's conservatives ought to embrace a similar "work as if it all depends on you/pray as if it all depends on God" mentality. But they should also accept the fact that today's challenges are different than they were 50 years ago. Technology is vastly different — and so are the nation's demographics."
The Decline And Fall Of Christianism (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Dish
"We do not yet know what a more apolitical, Gospel-centered, life-centered Christianity will achieve, how popular it may be, or whether it will lead to higher levels of commitment to God than at present. But I suspect even Pope Benedict finally realized it is the only way forward – hence his resignation in the face of his papacy’s near-total failure. What matters now and always is truth, not usefulness, faith, not politics. The next generation gets this."
Virginia GOP in Full Retreat, Anvil Time! (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos
"The right-leaning Loudoun Times-Mirror newspaper, representing one of the state's key swing counties, has endorsed virtually the entire Democratic ticket. The paper has stuck with a handful of incumbents, but for a newspaper that endorsed Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Bob McDonnell, their endorsements of a mostly Democratic slate is astounding."
Why Is the Chamber of Commerce So Mad at Ted Cruz? (Brendan Greeley) from Businessweek
"... he told reporters, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would begin evaluating candidates for Congress in 2014 based, as my Bloomberg News colleague Laura Litvan writes, on “their willingness to secure the nation’s long-term economic health and the broader interests of business.” It’s hard to buy a good Congress. Maybe he’ll get it right in 2014."
Fox News Planted False Information to Discredit reporter, Stifle Bad News (Eric Wemple) from the Washington Post
"Voilà — what was once a story about CNN beating up on Fox News in ratings becomes a story about false information being spread about Fox News. Of the PR operation, Folkenflik tells the Erik Wemple Blog, “They are essentially a political unit appended to something that presents itself publicly as a cable news operation.”"
I have to wonder to what extent this is really news. I guess it's good that someone in the media is finally calling FOX what it really is: an essentially political operation masking as a legitimate cable news operation. Politics and money are what they are about, not the distribution of fair, accurate or balanced news.
Will The Christie Juggernaut Roll Over Ted Cruz And Rand Paul? (Joe Conason) from the National Memo
Answer: not a chance. While he will certainly provide the potential for reality-based fireworks during the 2016 primaries, I cannot see how the Tea Party base of the GOP voting in any numbers for him. His ONLY chance is if he is the only candidate out there who is remotely moderate and he faces 6-8 Tea Party types. But even there, if Jeb Bush throws in his hat (50-50 says he will), that would divide the already weak and disorganized moderate vote. Above and beyond these considerations, Christie's
pragmatic views on gay marriage, his chuminess with Obama and his all-over-the-map views on abortion are more then enough to sink him with red state conservative primary voters. His opponents will make mincemeat out of him.
"... for those enjoying the current civil war within the GOP as a spectator sport, the prospect of a Christie presidential candidacy is promising indeed. Moving toward the center, he is plainly preparing for combat with the herd of politicians – mostly legislators like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Paul Ryan – whose aspirations depend on mobilizing the Tea Party base. And there will be nothing “moderate” about Christie when he sets to work taking those opponents apart."
Wellstone's Revenge: How Minnesota Democrats Took Their State Back (Andy Kroll) from Mother Jones Magazine
"Minnesota's once-woebegone progressives have quietly crafted a road map for turning state capitols blue."
WORLD SERIES NUGGET!!
The Greatness of Koji Uehara (Nicholas Thompson) from the New Yorker
"Koji Uehara, the best relief pitcher on the Boston Red Sox, only throws strikes. He threw eleven pitches in the ninth inning of Game Six against the Tigers: all were strikes. A really good pitcher has a
strike-out-to-walk ratio of about two or three to one. Since August 3rd, Uehara has struck out forty-four and walked no one. In one stretch, he retired thirty-seven batters in a row—and threw twenty-five balls during the whole time. He has allowed the fewest hits and walks per nine innings of any pitcher in history."
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