UP-FRONT CHINA NUGGET!!
Why Is China Really Provoking Its Neighbors? (Robert Kaplan) from Real Clear World
A lengthy excerpt is in order here.
"... what if the Chinese regime merely wants to raise tensions with the United States for the sake of a domestic audience, while avoiding actual conflict with it? That is a risky proposition, but it does explain China's behavior. ... In almost all cases the Chinese are not fundamentally altering strategic realities, for they cannot. Preponderant Chinese naval and air ability is not yet there. ... What we are seeing, therefore, is mainly a managed set of confrontations that serve domestically in China to keep the nationalistic spirit at a high volume in order to reinforce the sense of rising Chinese power -- something particularly necessary for the leadership during a time of slowing economic growth."
This is what I've been saying for years. Chinese authorities have played on their citizens' sense of inferiority and historical grievance to maintain the threadbare legitimacy they currently enjoy -- but of course the danger for them is backing themselves into a rhetorical corner where, spurred on by hyper-nationalists at home, they will feel compelled to act to save face.
Five Years Later, the Obama Stimulus has Proved its Value (Jay Bookman) from the Atlanta Journal Constitution
"Initial government statistics badly underestimated the impact on the nation's gross domestic product; at an 8 percent decline, it turned out to be twice as bad as anyone understood at the moment. Without the stimulus, the situation would have been much much worse. It's important to document that success, so that the option will still be available to the next president faced with an economic crisis."
Filthy Rich But Quietly Scared (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"Why are the super-rich whining so much? They rigged the game for themselves, but are terrified of being discovered."
Unemployment The Number 1 Problem For Americans, Gallup Poll Says from the Huffington Post
"Unemployment has retaken its place in Americans' minds as the country's biggest problem, according to a new Gallup poll published Monday. 23 percent now consider unemployment the greatest challenge facing the nation, while only 16 percent said the same in January."
Seriously, What Is Wrong With Kansas? (Mary Sanchez) from National Memo
"What’s really happening — what’s threatening the religious conservatives of Kansas — is that the general public’s views on homosexuality are shifting. Rapidly."
Growing Student Debt May Hurt Housing Recovery (Dina El Boghdady) from the Washington Post
"Loans may keep some first-time buyers, the bedrock of the market, from saving for a down payment or obtaining a mortgage."
Obamacare's Winners Include Older Americans from CBS News
"For many older Americans who lost jobs during the recession, the quest for health care has been one obstacle after another. They're unwanted by employers, rejected by insurers, struggling to cover rising medical costs and praying to reach Medicare age before a health crisis. These luckless people, most in their 50s and 60s, have emerged this month as early winners under the nation's new health insurance system."
"The Strongest Evidence We Have that Background Checks Really Matter" (Nora Caplan-Bricker) from the New Republic
"A new study makes the case for gun control."
Bobby Jindal Relaunches Himself One More Time from Talking Points Memo
"... for all of his credentials and the symbolic freight he carries, his every step towards the Ultimate Prize has been frustrated from the get-go by false starts and the pesky folks back home in Louisiana (including many in his own party) who aren’t real enthused by his performance there."
Voting Against John Boehner Just Became The Tea Party's Litmus Test from Talking Points Memo
"House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is quickly becoming a new litmus test for whether a Republican is conservative. Outside tea party groups have begun targeting Boehner and those who vote with him in recent days."
Rand Paul’s Republican Revolution from Politico
"On an early February political swing through his native Texas, where Paul was joined by a POLITICO reporter, the contradictions and challenges that would define such a run were on vivid display — as was Paul’s belief that his blend of libertarian-infused conservatism could forge an entirely new path to the White House."
Why a Clinton Candidacy May Hurt Democrats in Long Term (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"The positives are clear. The negatives are less obvious but have both a symbolic and logistical component."
The Monica Moratorium (John Dickerson) from Slate
"It’s in nobody’s interest to talk about Hillary Clinton’s marriage."
Infighting: McConnell-Cruz Feud Intensifies Ahead Of 2014 Election from Talking Points Memo
"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was forced to spend the long weekend defending his debt limit vote and talking up the importance of compromise to being a good leader. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) did the exact opposite: he publicly torched his own party's leadership for walking the plank and portrayed Republican senators a bunch of liars and cowards who think Americans are "rubes.""
Tea Party Takes on Boehner (Patricia Murphy) from the Daily Beast
"Conservative groups like the Madison Project are using a candidate’s support for House leaders as a litmus test in the mid-term elections."
Angry at Ted Cruz, Republicans Should Remember What He Represents (Byron York) from the Washington Examiner
"... the episode did remind the Republican leadership, as if it needs any reminding, that there are conservatives around the country who are deeply frustrated by the GOP and want it to show some fight. To them, Cruz represents that fight. Maybe they've been misled. Maybe they're living in a fantasy land. But that's what they believe. Republican leaders have to keep them in mind as November approaches."
York's column has been kicking around in my mind for several days now. It so perfectly captures the dilemma of the GOP "establishment" -- especially where he says "Maybe they've been misled. Maybe they're living in a fantasy land. But that's what they believe. Republican leaders have to keep them in mind as November approaches." They "have to keep them in mind..."?! And why is that, prey?? Part of the problem here is that too many GOP lawmakers have ridden into office pandering to the paranoia and delusions of this segment of the electorate -- and now they're STUCK. Most of them really know what's going on -- but to actually speak the truth is impossible. While (God knows) I am not a conservative Republican, I suspect that this is one of the deep sources of conservative rage with the GOP: the Tea Partiers and others KNOW their party is lying to them. Those voters can't bring themselves to accept some myth-destroying truths and their lawmakers can't bring themselves to speak the truth. Lawmakers have to constantly prove that they really ARE the ideological firebrands that they campaigned on.
Ted Cruz Isn’t Planning to be in the Senate for Very Long (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"On Wednesday, Ted Cruz did something you almost never see in the Senate: He purposefully made political life harder for his Republican colleagues. ... He may well run for a second term but if he decides at some point between now and then -- or even after he is re-elected -- to go the Jim DeMint route and simply walk away from the Senate, don't be surprised. Cruz won't be climbing the leadership ladder. Ever."
PRESIDENT'S DAY NUGGET!!
The Fix’s List of Best Presidential Biographies (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
Cillizza gets a three-fer today!
"In late 2012, we put together a list of the best presidential biographies for each of the 43 presidents -- based almost exclusively on reader submissions. That list is below. Enjoy!"
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