The Hollywood Liberal

Finally, Some Republicans Go to Jail

White House Will Consider Moving 9/11 Trials
“Facing mounting pressure from New York politicians concerned about costs and security, the Obama administration on Thursday began considering moving the trial of the chief organizer of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks out of Manhattan,” the New York Times reports.

Did Louisiana’s Republican Elite Support the Landrieu Phone Squad?
There’s still a lot more to learn here, but this is shaping up to be a very interesting scandal.

There's still a lot more to learn here, but this is shaping up to be a very interesting scandal.

Why Atheists Don’t Turn to Religion When Faced with Death or Disaster
The notion that ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’ isn’t just mistaken, it’s bigoted and ugly; a denial of atheists’ humanity and the reality of our experience with death.

The notion that 'there are no atheists in foxholes' isn't just mistaken, it's bigoted and ugly; a denial of atheists' humanity and the reality of our experience with death.

Blackwater’s Youngest Victim
Nine-year-old Ali Kinani died from a gunshot wound to the head in the Nisour Square massacre. His father may be the one man standing between Blackwater and total impunity.

Nine-year-old Ali Kinani died from a gunshot wound to the head in the Nisour Square massacre. His father may be the one man standing between Blackwater and total impunity.

How to Date a Corporation: Dating Rules for a Post-Citizens United World
The Supreme Court recently determined that corporations are entitled to freedom of speech because they are legally persons. The ramifications of this decision, Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, cannot be overstated: it introduces an entirely new and untapped population…


Citizens United - Supreme Court of the United States - Federal Election Commission - Supreme Court - Corporation

Iran: Making the Regime-Change Calculation
Having used Robert Kagan as a stand-in for skeptics of engagement more than once, let me give a more measured response to the argument he made today for supporting Iranian regime-change (fellow Democracy Arsenal blogger Pat Barry will give you…


Iran - Middle East - Regime change - Democracy Arsenal - United States

Obama’s Post-Partisan Style of Partisanship
Obama, who hates to thunder against Republicans outright–it’s not in his metabolism–held fast to post-partisanship tonight: what the American people hope - what they deserve - is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to…


United States - Republican - Democratic - Politics - Congress

Does Rove Think Reagan And Bush Were ‘Weak’ For Discussing The ‘Situation’ They Inherited?
In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama described the dire state of affairs he faced as he entered office a year ago. “One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in […]

In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama described the dire state of affairs he faced as he entered office a year ago. “One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt,” said Obama.

Conservatives, who often complain that Obama blames former President George W. Bush too much, did not appreciate Obama’s recitation of the facts. “The blaming of the past administration is pathetically unpresidential,” blogged National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez last night. On Fox News this morning, Brian Kilmeade asked former Bush adviser Karl Rove if it’s “good politics” to “bring up your predecessor and talk about your first year in office while looking back at his last year in office?” “No, I think it makes you look weak,” replied Rove. Watch it:

By Rove’s logic, conservative icon Ronald Reagan and his former boss George W. Bush were also “weak.” As Media Matters’ Matt Gertz noted last night, Reagan “devoted significant portions” of his 1982 State of the Union “to attacking President Carter’s administration for ‘the situation at this time last year’”:

To understand the State of the Union, we must look not only at where we are and where we’re going but where we’ve been. The situation at this time last year was truly ominous. […]

First, we must understand what’s happening at the moment to the economy. Our current problems are not the product of the recovery program that’s only just now getting under way, as some would have you believe; they are the inheritance of decades of tax and tax, and spend and spend. […]

The only alternative being offered to this economic program is a return to the policies that gave us a trillion-dollar debt, runaway inflation, runaway interest rates and unemployment.

Though it wasn’t technically a State of the Union address, when former President Bush first addressed a joint session of Congress in February 2001, he too cast aspersion on his predecessor’s legacy. “Last year, Government spending shot up 8 percent. That’s far more than our economy grew, far more than personal income grew, and far more than the rate of inflation,” said Bush. “We must take a different path.”

The State of the Union address reveals a president of two minds
Obama tiptoed Wednesday along the seam that bifurcates the Democratic Party’s brain.

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After Obama speech, Democrats confused about path ahead
A day after President Obama called on them to renew efforts to pass his ambitious agenda, congressional Democrats remained in disarray Thursday about how to move forward, with at least some pointing at the White House as the cause of the legislative standstill gripping Capitol Hill.

Democrats prepare legislation to counter ruling on campaign spending
Sensing a clear political opportunity, congressional Democrats are rushing to craft legislation to counter a Supreme Court ruling that they fear could lead to a flood of foreign spending on U.S. political campaigns.

Chris Matthews on Obama: `Forgot he was black’
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews says President Barack Obama has done so much to heal racial divisions that he “forgot he was black” while watching his State of the Union address.

No Sign of Reset After Massachusetts Message
Clive Crook, The Atlantic
Little sign of a reset that I could see. The speechemphasized jobs and the economy over healthcare reform, but that wouldhave made sense even if the political landscape had not shifted. As forthe poll numbers, as for Massachusetts, they might never have happened.He mentioned Scott Brown's victory only obliquely, and in way thatdenied it any significance.I know it's an election year. And after last week, it isclear that campaign fever has come even earlier than usual. But westill need to govern.He conveyed almost no sense that the country was sending him amessage and that he was…

A Bid to Recapture the Magic - With a Dose of Reality
Peter Baker, NYT
WASHINGTON — By now, President Obama can hardly be under any illusions about the depth of the partisan divide as he seeks to reboot his presidency. Yet he still seemed surprised on Wednesday night when he could not get Republicans to applaud tax cuts.The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.As he boasted in his first State of the Union address that his economic program had cut taxes for 95 percent of working families, Democrats jumped to their feet to cheer. Republicans sat quietly. Mr. Obama paused as…

Obama Defined Problems, But Was Short on Solutions

The State of the Union is Strongly Angry
Gail Collins, New York Times
My fellow Americans, the state of the union is angry. Also strong. Presidents usually say the state of the union is strong. But this year you would have to go with strongly angry. Gail Collins David Brooks and Gail Collins talk between columns. In his speech on Wednesday night, President Obama actually dropped that traditional state-of-the-union-is rhetoric completely in honor of the new irascibility. “We all hated the bank bailout,” he said in one of his first big applause lines. Yes, the one good thing you can say about our highest elected officials is that they are…

Faux Contrition: Obama Blames the Public
George Will, Washington Post

State of the Union: Change Isn’t Easy
If you missed President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address or you just can’t get enough, you can catch the whole thing right here.

If you missed President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address or you just can’t get enough, you can catch the whole thing right here.

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